Jane Litte's Blog, page 34

REVIEW: A Fire Born of Exile by Aliette de Bodard

The Scattered Pearls Belt is a string of habitats on the edge of a huge galactic empire—a glittering, decadent society rife with corruption. Now, one of its victims—Quynh, a scholar betrayed and left for dead—has come back for her revenge, under the guise of the glamorous and enigmatic Alchemist of Streams and Hills.

Quynh’s path intersects that of Minh, the daughter of one of her oldest enemies, who chafes at her own lack of freedom; and of Hoà, a near-destitute engineer who poses a threat to...

REVIEW: Living with the Dead by Vibeke Maria Viestad and Andreas Viestad

Death is universal. It will meet us all. But it’s also a practical problem – what do we do with dead bodies? The Viestads live by a cemetery and are daily spectators of its routines, and their fascination with burials led them to dig deep to examine our relationship with the dead. Taking us on a journey through the world and the past, they explore how the deceased are honoured and cared for, cremated and buried. From archaeological sites in Spain, Israel and Russia to Ghana’s fantasy coffins a...

REVIEW: A Holly Jolly Ever After by Sierra Simone & Julie Murphy

Dear Sierra Simone & Julie Murphy,

I enjoyed last year’s A Merry Little Meet Cute so much it made my Best of 2022 list, so I was keen to read the (second) follow up book about Kallum (the “K” in INK, a boy band featuring Isaac, Nolan and Kallum which broke up some years before). Unfortunately, A Holly Jolly Ever After did not have the same charm for me.

In book one, Bee got the role in “Duke the Halls” when wholesome actress Winnie Baker was stuck at “Unfestival”. A Holly Jolly Ever After brings...

Review: Resurrection Reprise by Hailey Turner

Possession is nine-tenths of the law.

Spencer Bailey has spent his entire life under government oversight for something he can’t change: his magic’s affinity for breaking souls. After surviving the end of the world, Spencer joins the Supernatural Operations Agency with the intention of keeping his head down and his hands clean.

Tasked with tracking down a stolen artifact, Spencer wants to run his first case with the SOA by the book. The master vampire of the Seattle Night Court won’t make th...

REVIEW: Oh. It’s You.: Love Poems by Cats by Francesco Marciuliano

From the author of the beloved I Could Pee on This series comes a new book of hilarious love poems from cats to their people.

Cats have so many ways to say “I love you.” Sometimes it’s a gentle purr and a slow blink. Sometimes it’s a tiny dead animal offered in tribute. And sometimes, it’s expressed in that deepest of cat love languages: poetry.

The author of the internationally bestselling series of tongue-in-cheek poetry helps cats put paw to keyboard to express the depth of their feline fee...

REVIEW: The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead

I was looking for the upcoming book by this author, whose first book In My Dreams I Hold a Knife I read and enjoyed last year. I discovered I’d missed a whole book in between. I read a sample of The Last Housewife and was hooked enough to order the whole book and start reading it immediately.

Shay Deroy is a 30-year-old writer (currently unemployed but ostensibly working on a book) living with her husband Cal in Dallas. Shay previously worked for online publications (writing what sound like Buzz...

REVIEW: The Roaring Days of Zora Lily by Noelle Salazar

2023, The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History: A costume conservator is preparing an exhibition featuring movie costumes from the 1920s to present day. As she gingerly places a gown once worn by Greta Garbo on a mannequin, she discovers another name hidden beneath the designer’s label, leaving her to wonder—who is Zora Lily?

1924, Seattle: Poverty-stricken Zora Hough spends her days looking after her younger siblings while sewing up holes and fixing hems for clients to bring in e...

REVIEW: Surely You Can’t Be Serious : The True Story of Airplane! by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker

An in-depth and hysterical look at the making of 1980’s comedy classic Airplane! by the legendary writers and directors of the hit film.
Airplane! premiered on July 2nd, 1980. With a budget of $3.5 million it went on to make nearly $200 million in sales and has influenced a multitude of comedians on both sides of the camera.

Surely You Can’t Be Serious is the first-ever oral history of the making of Airplane! by the creators, and of the beginnings of the ZAZ trio (Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker) – c...

REVIEW: Wreck the Halls by Tessa Bailey

Dear Tessa Bailey,

Beat Dawkins and Melody Gallard are the (adult) children of the two women who made up the Steel Birds, an iconic band in the 1980s and 1990s. When the Steel Birds broke up in something known as “the Incident” both Octavia and Trina were pregnant with their respective children. Fans of the Steel Birds have been salivating for a reunion for 30 years but the two women apparently hate each other so the likelihood of it happening is approximately the same as hell freezing over.

Bea...

REVIEW: The Salvation Gambit by Emily Skrutskie

A hotheaded hacker must outwit the AI at the heart of a rogue warship–turned–penal colony if she and her crew of con women want to escape with their lives in this electrifying sci-fi thriller from the acclaimed author of Bonds of Brass.

Murdock has always believed in Hark, the woman who shaped her from a petty thief and lowlife hacker into a promising con artist. Hark is everything Murdock aspires to be, from her slick fashion sense to her unfailing ability to plan under pressure. Together wit...