September 22, 2020
I fell down a rabbit hole of reading lists about diverse books when the colorful color of The House in the Cerulean Sea caught my eye. I noticed that the book is set in a home for magical children, which reminded me of one of my favorite series, Ransom Riggs’ Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. I also want to…
August 4, 2020
I hate novellas. I very rarely ever feel that this length of book properly tells a story. However, I kept reading fantastic reviews for Follow Me to Ground. Then my favorite blogger, Jenny Lawson aka The Bloggess, chose it for her book club. Lawson finds humor in difficult situations, like her offbeat upbringing and struggle with mental illness, so I…
July 28, 2020
The pretty cover of The Ten Thousand Doors of January intrigued me but I was sold when I read the premise, because I love magical realism and stories about passages into other worlds. I started reading the book last winter but had to take it back to the library before I could finish it. I bought my own copy when…
June 26, 2020
I first learned about Midnight at the Blackbird Café when the Speculative Chic editor tagged me in a Facebook post about the book. It’s a well-known fact that reading and baking are my truest loves. The gorgeous blueberry tart on the cover immediately caught my attention because it looks so delicious. Every aspect of the book felt tailor-made for me.…
June 2, 2020
On the very last day before the public library closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, I made a frantic trip to snatch up as many books as I could. Grave Sight was one of the books that I grabbed because I enjoy Charlaine Harris’ light, quirky paranormal mystery books. I also chose this book because it was the only first…
April 28, 2020
For the first time since the challenge started, I thought about not doing the POPSUGAR Reading Challenge this year. I haven’t been thrilled with the most recent prompts and the challenge had started to feel like a chore. Then I perused the list and much like the mafia, just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in…
December 16, 2019
They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, the weekly column where we grab someone in speculative circles to gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we sit down with Speculative Chic contributor Kelly McCarty, who is one of our…
November 6, 2019
The Twisted Ones (2019) Written by: T. Kingfisher Genre: Horror Pages: 381 (Paperback) Publisher: Saga Press Why I Chose It: The Twisted Ones first caught my attention because it is set in Appalachia. Although I live in Virginia and the book takes place in North Carolina, I have gone hiking on the Appalachian Trail. I know those woods can be…
October 31, 2019
Midnight Crossroad (2014) Written by: Charlaine Harris Genre: Paranormal Mystery Pages: 349 (Paperback) Series: A Novel of Midnight Texas Book #1 Publisher: Ace Why I Chose It: I am a huge fan of True Blood, which was based on Charlaine Harris’ The Southern Vampire Mysteries series. This is blasphemy, but I think the TV show was actually better than the…
October 17, 2019
The Hunger (2018) Written by: Alma Katsu Genre: Fiction Pages: 373 (Hardback) Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Why I Chose It: Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. Adding a supernatural element to the story of the doomed, cannibalistic Donner Party struck me as an excellent idea. The premise: A tense and gripping reimagining of one of America’s most fascinating…