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What Books Are You Currently Reading From NetGalley
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Sandysbookaday (taking a midwinter break)
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Jul 14, 2023 10:33PM
Black Thorn by Sarah Hilary ⭐⭐⭐⭐.1 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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I loved Katherine Heiny's latest book, Games and Rituals: Stories. Unconnected stories ranging from imagining who taught Ted Bundy to drive (yikes!) to worrying if your wife's Marie Kondo decluttering is going to turf you out next. (Do you still spark joy?!) Thought-provoking as well as entertaining.
My review of Games and Rituals
Finished this collection of short stories, Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz: Stories of the Witch and the Puppet Sorcerer by Garth Nix
originally published in magazines(?), and they read like it...Not very impressed with them and this is also the first book(s) I've read by this author.
2 Stars
As the title suggests,
The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies
is an amusing historical fiction about the daring adventures of twin aristocratic sisters who risk more than their reputations to rescue women living in desperately awful circumstances. Fun, but also dark.
My review of ...ill-mannered Ladies
The Thing at 52
by Ross Montgomery is the most beautifully illustrated story of a small child and an enormous creature learning about life. The artwork by Richard Johnson is stunning and as moving as the story. Every child should read this one.
My review of The Thing at 52 with several of the illustrations
Return to Valetto
by Aussie author (living in US) Dominic Smith felt like someone's real story to me. Old women in an ancient Italian village conduct Google searches from their crumbling villa. War crimes are not forgotten. 
My review of Return to Valetto
This is another good sci-fi story from Amazon's The Far Reaches collection. Falling Bodies by Rebecca Roanhorse has a more advanced "offshore detention" than what is currently used.
My review of Falling Bodies
Just finished the re-published, re-named book The Phoenix King by Aparna Verma
. (Original title The Boy With Fire, looks like it was offered through NetGalley back in 2021).Not awful, but not the fantasy the blurb hinted that it was. This is sci-fi. Dune/Star Wars desert land. It had a nice twist at the end, but it was a slow read and I didn't find myself wanting to sit down to read.
2 Stars
A Sydney brothel in 1930 may not sound like a YA setting, but I think teens would enjoy young Violet. Even the title, Violet Kelly and the Jade Owl, sounds good. It's a mystery with some local history by Aussie author Fiona Britton
My review of Violet Kelly and the Jade Owl
Just finished Devoured: A Novel by Bryan Alaspa.I liked it. It's a 'B' movie-type monster book with Godzilla, Jaws, and Reign of Fire tropes, among others, one I could see becoming a 'B' movie. It's an easy read, with some morbid (disturbing) deaths.
3 Stars
More character development and descriptions could have earned it another star.
Just finished Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim
and it was not disclosed in the blurb that it's a prequel, but luckily I didn't have any issues with the storyline or the characters, though it's a quick-read that's easily forgotten.3 Stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I seem to be late 'discovering' popular UK crime writer Mark Billingham. His new Detective Miller series, The Last Dance, has plenty of scope to move into the next book, which I look forward to. Declan Miller seems very human rather than hard-boiled. Funny. Sad.
My review of The Last Dance
Every Rising Sun by Jamila Ahmed
An Arabian Nights spinoff centred on Scheherazade (or Shaherazade, as she is called in this version.) A great attempt, but too ambitious for a debut novelist. You might fare better with it if you don't know much about the original. I did.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities by Heather Webber
A sweet magical realism story. And when I saw 'sweet', I mean 'overly saccharine sweet'. Works well for the plot, so no major complaints.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Idk how to link a book thumbnail sadly, but I am currently reading Kiersten White's Mister Magic ! https://www.goodreads.com/read_status...
Paperwitches ♡ wrote: "Idk how to link a book thumbnail sadly, but I am currently reading Kiersten White's Mister Magic ! https://www.goodreads.com/read_status..."
You can link books and covers from the website on a laptop or from the website on a device. The app is useless for that.
Just Out of Jupiter's Reach by Nnedi Okorafor is another intriguing sci-fi story from Amazon's The Far Reaches collection. The astronaut and space ship share DNA, which must be a first!
My review of Just Out of Jupiter's Reach
Together We Rot
. The book cover is cool, the plot sounds interesting, but sadly it's underdeveloped. 100 more pages would have made a BIG difference!2 Stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
John Scalzi's short sci-fi story, Slow Time Between the Stars, is more than a little worrying, as he imagines what Artificial Intelligence could do by itself when we turn it loose. 
My review of Slow Time Between the Stars
Remember, Mr Sharma by A.P. Firdaus
Indian historical fiction with a talking vulture. Interested? ;)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Got
The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle by T.L. Huchu finished last night. I love the idea of this story and the series, but there's slang in just about every sentence. Too much... Made it hard to follow along and also respect the MC.2 Stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Women
5* all the way for this amazing new book by Kristin Hannah. It's available on Edelweiss and NetGalleyhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Those We Thought We Knew by David Joy
A literary crime drama as brilliant and as poignant as its title!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Robert Bryndza's latest novel, Fear the Silence, is a standalone thriller that takes place on a remote Croation island in wild, stormy weather. English doctor Maggie is alone and terrified!
My review of Fear the Silence
The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue
I didn't find it funny as the blurb claimed it to be, but it was a good coming-of-age literary fiction.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Sandymancer
by David Edison sounded good... Yeah, I wish I'd DNF before page 50, but I pushed on hoping for the best... If I wasn't napping I was skimming.1 Star
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Lisa Regan has once again brought us a suspenseful mystery with an unexpected twist on the 'missing child' trope in book #18 of her Josie Quinn series.
My Child is Missingreview: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
One Christmas Morning by Rachel Greenlaw
An interesting debut work, but don't expect lighthearted Christmassy feels. It is quite intense. Think Groundhog Day + A Christmas Carol.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
For some reason, when I link the title and cover, my post won't stick. But the review link seems to work."Calypso's Guest: A Short Story" is a unique, marooned-in-space retelling of Calypso's story from Homer's classic, The Odyssey. Pulitzer Prize winner, Andrew Sean Greer, combines tenderness with the Twilight Zone.
Here is my review of Calypso's Guest
I’m reading Impossible Creatures but Katherine Rundell!
The Returned: A gripping Irish crime thriller by Amanda Cassidy ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
One Little Word
is all it takes to avert a crisis, as these children discover when The Argument (monster) takes over their playground in this expressive little book.
My review of One Little Word with lots of illustrations
Vanishing Bodies
by Moses Yuriyvich Mikheyev was another 1-star read for me. Skimmed a lot of it.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Unnatural Creatures: A Novel of the Frankenstein Women by Kris Waldherr
A retelling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein from the perspective of the women in Victor Frankenstein's life. Very interesting!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I recently enjoyed the seventh adventure with Master Mercurius (now Doctor, thank you very much!) in the Netherlands, 17th century. This time, author Graham Brack has him investigating a 'locked-room' Murder In Maastricht where he is supposed to be engaged in a debate about witches. An impossible crime scene? Witches?
My review of Murder in Maastricht
Norah's Ark by Victoria Williamson
Enjoyed this middle-grade novel though it is a bit more intense than typical MG works. A lovely tale of friendship and understanding.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Great picture book! I loved The Story of Conservation: A first book about protecting nature. Illustrator Amy Husband's artwork adds delightful detail to author Catherine Barr's excellent and simple timelines and history. 
My review of The Story of Conservation with several of the illustrations
If you have someone in your life who thinks they're hopeless, show them Beatrice Blue's cute book, Once Upon a Witch's Broom. It follows a pair of little witches, one confident, one anxious, from toddlerhood to old age. 
My review of Once Upon a Witch's Broom with several of the illustrations
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