A- #BookReview: Nobody’s Baby by Olivia Waite My Review: This follow-up to last year’s delightful Murder by Memory is, well, a bit more grounded than that series opener. That grounding being more than a bit ironic, as ship’s detective Dorothy Gentleman, along with the HMS Fairweather, the ship that she is one of the detectives both for and on, is three centuries out from Earth, headed for an unknown planet that still seems to be nowhere in sight.

A- #BookReview: Nobody's Baby by Olivia Waite #booksky @oliviawaite.com #torbooks @tordotcompub.bsky.social #DorothyGentleman #sciencefiction #mystery #sciencefictionmystery #SFmystery

A- #BookReview: Cabaret in Flames by Hache Pueyo My Review: The story begins with Ariadne, in the middle of the night in an unnamed city in Brazil, living in the midst of a district controlled by literal monsters - who is not afraid. At least, not afraid of the monsters on the outside. Because she knows those monsters intimately. From the inside. Because she’s the only doctor capable of treating their ailments and injuries when their own natural advanced healing isn’t enough.

A- #BookReview: Cabaret in Flames by Hache Pueyo #booksky @hachepueyo.bsky.social #torbooks #tordotcompub #horror #fantasy #romance #horrormantasy #horromance @tordotcompub.bsky.social

A+ #BookReview: Sentient by Michael Nayak My Review: When I read Symbiote, the first book in what is now called the Ice Plague Wars series, back in late 2024, the very first scary thing in the story was that it takes place in 2028 as the U.S. and China are on the brink of World War III. Yes, that’s a THREE, in a story that was only four years out at the time.

A+ #BookReview: Sentient by Michael Nayak #booksky @angryrobotbooks.bsky.social #sciencefiction #horror #thriller #michaelnayakauthor

A+ #BookReview: The Patient by Tim Sullivan My Review: This is my third read in the DS George Cross series, after The Dentist and The Cyclist, and so far I am enjoying the whole thing very much. So much so that I have zero plans to stop until the current, or for that matter any future, end. The series so far, and the stories within, are all mysteries with a bit of a thriller edge.

A+ #BookReview: The Patient by Tim Sullivan #booksky @timsullivanauthor.bsky.social @atlanticcrime.bsky.social @groveatlantic.bsky.social #DSGeorgeCross #mystery #thriller

#AudioBookReview: Hot Chocolate on Thursday by Michiko Aoyama translated by E. Madison Shimoda My Review: This interconnected collection of short stories begins, and ends, with a young woman arriving at the cozy little Marble Cafe in Tokyo to order a hot chocolate. On Thursday. Always on Thursday, always at 3 pm. It makes a delightful little treat for her, for the cafe’s manager, and for the reader as well. Because the story in between that manager’s perspective of her and her regular visits at the beginning and her perspective at the end is every bit as round as a marble, just like the cafe’s name.

#AudioBookReview: Hot Chocolate on Thursday by Michiko Aoyama translated by E. Madison Shimoda #booksky #BookReview #audioreview #audiobooks #HanoverSquarePress #harlequinaudio
#relationshipfiction #MagicalRealism #michikoaoyamaauthor @hanoversquarepress.bsky.social #MarbleCafe…

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 3-1-26 How's the first day of March where you are? Do temps in the mid-70s constitute lion-like or lamb-like behavior? That's what we're supposed to get in the ATL and inquiring minds probably need to know. Personally, I think it's just that spring has sprung here, whether the calendar says so or not, but we'll see. While this picture isn't a creepy cover, it did kind of creep both Galen and I out when we saw it in real life.

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 3-1-26 #SundayPost #NightstandBooks #TBR #TBRshelf #nightstand #booksky

Stacking the Shelves (694) This is an interesting stack - in a case where interesting isn't even a euphemism for something else. It's just interesting. It's not particularly creepy, which is kind of a relief after last week's Meat Bees. I'm still shuddering at THAT cover. There's also not a lot of truly 'pretty' in this stack, except for the very pretty…

Stacking the Shelves (694) #STS #StackingTheShelves #TBRshelf #TBR #newbooks #booksky

#BookReview: Monster in the Moonlight by Annelise Ryan My Review: Most mysteries begin with a dead body. The Monster Hunter Mysteries series, however, may be the only one that begins with a dead body that looks like it might have been mauled by Bigfoot. Or a Chupacabra. Or, in this particular case, the werewolf who has gone down in local Wisconsin legend as “the Beast of Bray Road”.

#BookReview: Monster in the Moonlight by Annelise Ryan #booksky @anneliseryan.bsky.social @berkleypub.bsky.social #mystery #MonsterHunterMystery

A- #BookReview: At Star’s End by Anna Hackett My Review: I originally reviewed At Star’s End OMG TWELVE years ago for the much-lamented Sci-Fi Romance Quarterly. That was a long time ago, especially in internet years, and represents an entire space flotilla of books under the reading bridge. But it’s a story that has stuck in my memory over all these years. Not necessarily the specific details, but definitely the gist.

A- #BookReview: At Star's End by Anna Hackett #booksky #AnnaHackettAuthor #PhoenixAdventures #sciencefictionromance #SFR #SFRom #scifiromance

#BookReview: Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher My Review: I picked this up because, well, Kingfisher. That’s not going to surprise anyone. Howsomever, based on the blurb, I wasn’t exactly sure where this one was going to fall genre-wise - and now that I’ve finished it I’m still not sure. Snake-Eater is wrapped around the crossroads where dark fantasy forks between magical realism and outright horror. At the same time, it’s also a bit of cozy fantasy written as a love letter to the author’s old/new home in the desert southwest.

#BookReview: Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher #booksky @redwombatstudio #tkingfisher @amazonpublishing #horror #47North #fantasy #magicalrealism

Spring Giveaway Event! Welcome To The $150 Amazon eGift Card or PayPal Cash Giveaway! Giveaway: 1 lucky winner a $150 Amazon eGift Card or PayPal Cash. The event is running from February 23rd to May 16th. Giveaway open Worldwide everywhere PayPal is negotiable & age 18+. GIVEAWAY DETAILS Prize: $150 Amazon eGift Card or PayPal Cash One Lucky Winner Will Receive choice of: …

Spring Giveaway Event! #Sweepstakes #SpringHop #Contest #ContestAlert #VTEvents #FebruaryHop #bookgiveaway #booksky @versatileer.bsky.social

A+ #AudioBookReview: Inside Man by John McMahon My Review: The first book in this series, Head Cases, set up the characters and the structure of the FBI unit they work in, the Patterns and Recognition Unit, or PAR. They’re the ‘head cases’, the freaks, the ones who solve cold cases that defy ordinary investigative methods because something about the case isn’t ordinary - and neither are they.

A+ #AudioBookReview: Inside Man by John McMahon #bookreview #booksky #johnmcmahonauthor @minotaurbooks.bsky.social‬ #macmillanaudio @jwdamron.bsky.social #PARunit #mystery #suspense #thriller

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 2-22-26 This week's schedule fell completely to bits, because last weekend turned out to be a lot busier than I thought it was going to be. One of the things that made it so busy was running out to get our new gaming chair. Which you wouldn't think would be THAT big a deal, but it turned out to be. I'm thrilled with the chair as it's a lot more supportive for my back when I play.

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 2-22-26 #SundayPost #NightstandBooks #TBR #TBRshelf #nightstand #booksky

Stacking the Shelves (693) There's way more 'pretty creepy' than there is pretty in this stack. The one seriously pretty cover is What We Are Seeking. Although Alibi by Accident, Lost in the Summer of '69, The Paris Match and The Pie & Mash Detective Agency certainly have cute covered. (Ahem, so to speak, pun intended and all that.) Creepy is creeping all over this stack, between…

Stacking the Shelves (693) #STS #StackingTheShelves #TBRshelf #TBR #newbooks #booksky

#BookReview: Perun’s Hammer by Ian Heller My Review: It begins with the impossible delivery of an equally impossible video - even if all that Rich Penton and his crew at RECON are certain of at that point is that the delivery shouldn’t have been possible. The video looks like REALLY good CGI of a meteor crashing into downtown Chicago. RECON is a successful, award-winning news magazine TV series (sorta/kinda like…

#BookReview: Perun's Hammer by Ian Heller #IanHellerAuthor #MenloParkPublishers #sciencefiction #thriller #booksky

A- #AudioBookReview: Accidentally Yours by Christina Lauren My Review: In case it’s not obvious, this week kind of fell apart for me. Or ON me. I read something really heavy over the weekend and needed something TOTALLY light and fluffy to counteract the gloom. And I sorta/kinda promised myself I’d read a romance this week - because Valentine’s Day was last weekend and it seemed like the thing to do.

A- #AudioBookReview: Accidentally Yours by Christina Lauren #christinalaurenauthor #amazonoriginalstories #improbablemeetcutesecondchances #booksky #romcom #contemporaryromance #workplaceromance #bookreview

#GuestReview: Grade A #BookReview: Waging a Good War by Thomas E. Ricks My Review: In his influential but incomplete work, On War, military theorist Carl von Clausewitz defines war as "an act of violence intended to compel our opponent to fulfil our will". Martin Luther King, Jr., of course followed the example of Mohandas Gandhi in preaching and practicing nonviolence during the Civil Rights Movement and afterwards. Violence on the one hand, nonviolence on the other.

#GuestReview: Grade A #BookReview: Waging a Good War by Thomas E. Ricks #guestpost #booksky @fsgbooks.bsky.social #farrarstrausandgiroux #UShistory #americanhistory #civilrightsmovement #nonfiction

#AudioBookReview: The Murder at World’s End by Ross Montgomery My Review: This isn’t merely a “locked room” mystery in the classic, “Golden Age” tradition, it goes two steps further to being a locked mansion and even a locked island mystery. Admittedly, by way of a day trip to, well, Crazytown. Because Viscount Conrad Stockingham-Welt is out of his very tiny mind - not that he’d ever admit either that his mind is tiny or that he’d left all sense behind.

#AudioBookReview: The Murder at World's End by Ross Montgomery @mossmontmomery.bsky.social #williammorrowbooks #harperaudio @joejameson.bsky.social #sirderekjacobi #historicalmystery #historicalfiction #halleyscomet #bookreview #booksky

Wish Big Giveaway Hop Welcome to the Wish Big Giveaway Hop, hosted by Mama the Fox and Mom Does Reviews! Today is also Presidents Day. Or as an old friend used to quip, Birthington's Washday. Make of that what you will. But this is the "Wish Big" hop, which means that you might be wishing you had this holiday off. Or that it was a longer weekend.

Wish Big #Giveaway Hop #bloghop #GiveawayHop #GCgiveaway #giftcardgiveaway #bookgiveaway #FebruaryHop #WinterHop #booksky

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 2-15-26 Yesterday was Valentine's Day, so it seemed like a good idea to include a lovely picture of one of our little loves. This is obviously Princess Luna of the little white feets, catching a nap in a sunbeam and looking cute and adorable. As she does. She's certainly more 'beautifully' posed than last week's snap of her brother Tuna!

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 2-15-26 #SundayPost #NightstandBooks #TBR #TBRshelf #nightstand #booksky

Stacking the Shelves (692): Valentines Day Edition Happy Valentine's Day! If your loves are human, I hope you're able to celebrate in in whatever way works for you. If your loves are four-legged and furry, I hope they don't leave you too many presents of the 'unfortunate' kind. With cats that either means they've caught prey FOR YOU, or they've left a hairball and neither are anything their human wants.

Stacking the Shelves (692): Valentines Day Edition #STS #StackingTheShelves #TBRshelf #TBR #newbooks #booksky

#BookReview: The Midnight Taxi by Yosha Gunasekera My Review: This review is being posted on Friday the 13th. Which is kind of fitting because on the night this story opens, let’s just say that if it weren’t for bad luck Siriwathi Perera wouldn’t have any luck at all. A situation that manages to get a whole lot worse before it finally turns the corner. Siriwathi thinks she’s being observant.

#BookReview: The Midnight Taxi by Yosha Gunasekera #yoshagunasekeraauthor #BerkleyBooks #mystery #suspense #thriller #legalthriller #booksky

Is that the UK cover? It is GORGEOUS. And the book was great too! Thanks for reposting!

Grade A #AudioBookReview: Trailbreaker by Ruthie Knox and Annie Mare + #Giveaway My Review: I had missed the first book in the Prairie Nightingale series, Homemaker, when it came out last year. I have to confess that I probably bounced right off that title and didn’t look more deeply. (I REALLY don’t do domestic.) BUT, then I saw this tour, and did look more closely at the authors’ names and remembered that I loved both their books (

Grade A #AudioBookReview: Trailbreaker by Ruthie Knox and Annie Mare + #Giveaway @ruthieknox.bsky.social @anniemare.bsky.social #miahutchinsonshawnarrator #thomas&mercer #prairienightingale #mystery #suspense #thriller #domesticthriller #bookreview #BookTour @dollycas.bsky.social…

A- #BookReview: After the Fall by Edward Ashton My Review: I think I’ve read everything this author has published from Mickey7 onwards, and they’ve all been fascinating in their very different ways. But taken as a whole, these works have one fantastic thing in common - in the end, they don’t go to any of the places that the reader thinks they will at the beginning. I lied. They all have a second thing in common as well, and it’s that they do not tell their stories from a position of human superiority.

A- #BookReview: After the Fall by Edward Ashton @edashtonwriting.bsky.social #stmartinspress #ScienceFiction #scifi #postapocalyptic #dystopian #booksky

Grade A #BookReview: Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett My Review:  The wizard Havelock Renard is about as charming as the feral cats that Agnes Aubert rescues and socializes in her initially not mystical at all cat shelter. It’s a good thing that she’s so good at that particular job, as the wizard the newspapers have dubbed ‘Witch King’ isn’t exactly fit for polite company when this story begins.

Grade A #BookReview: Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett #heatherfawcett #delreybooks #cozyfantasy #historicalfantasy #romantasy #booksky

A- #BookReview: The Rainseekers by Matthew Kressel My Review: The blurb isn’t exactly wrong, but the emphasis is on the wrong person. Not that Sakunja Salazar doesn’t tell her own story in this story, but it’s not about her. It’s about all of them, collectively. A somewhat motley crew of characters in search of the ineffable, surprisingly like Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales - and isn’t that a bit of a surprise?

A- #BookReview: The Rainseekers by Matthew Kressel @matthewkressel.net @stmartinspress.bsky.social #stmartinspress #sciencefiction #booksky

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 2-8-26 Reading-wise, it was a very good week. In the getting-things-done department, it was a bit less successful. I started out behind because of Monday's post, which was not what I'd originally planned. We also had insulation installers in on Wednesday and the plumbers on Friday, so more disruption than I care to have. But it was all necessary, and I'll get caught up eventually.

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 2-8-26 #SundayPost #NightstandBooks #TBR #TBRshelf #nightstand #booksky

Stacking the Shelves (691) We definitely have some gorgeous covers this time around. YAY! Daggerbound, Exit Party, The Eye of Leviathan, Murder Unabridged and Twig's Traveling Tomes are each pretty in their own ways. And I love both Murder Unabridged and Twig's Traveling Tomes for the delightful depictions of books. While Daggerbound is beautiful in its own right AND fits in beautifully with the theme started in the…

Stacking the Shelves (691) #STS #StackingTheShelves #TBRshelf #TBR #newbooks #booksky

Grade A #BookReview: The Daughter Who Remains by Nnedi Okorafor My Review: This final novella in the She Who Knows trilogy brings the story of Najeeba, the ‘she who knows’ of the series title, full circle, back to the place - if not the time or even the world - where she began in the opening book, also titled She Who Knows after Najeeba herself. Najeeba’s first daughter was Onyesonwu, …

Grade A #BookReview: The Daughter Who Remains by Nnedi Okorafor @nnedi.bsky.social @dawbooks.bsky.social #SheWhoKnows #WhoFearsDeath #sciencefiction #sciencefantasy #AfricanFuturism #booksky