February 20, 2020
Working at a bookstore has its sad moments. That may sound like a strange thing to say, but it’s true. Going through the shelves and picking out all the books that are due to be returned is one of them. I always get sad when books we only have a few copies of have to get sent back. True, often…
February 6, 2020
I seem to do this thing where I’ll be super-excited for a book, buy it the day it’s released…and then never get around to reading it. Or read it much, much later than originally planned. I think part of that stems from knowing once I’m finished, I’m back to waiting for the next/final book in a particular series. That’s pretty…
January 9, 2020
This month, I decided to have a look at His Dark Materials, which is currently on HBO. It is an eight-episode series based on Philip Pullman’s book series of the same name. Dafne Keen plays Lyra Belacqua, our main character. As a note, though I’d heard of the book series (and adored the name), I’ve never read any of the…
December 27, 2019
There are lots of exciting things slated for 2020 release: the new Wonder Woman movie; the next Ghostbusters film; the long-awaited Black Widow stand-alone; the debut of new series Locke and Key… lots of major premieres and new seasons of returning favorites. But may we also suggest for you some other goodies that might be flying under your radar? Here are…
December 5, 2019
Pet (2019) Written by: Akwaeke Emezi Genre: Fantasy/Young Adult Pages: 204 (Paperback) Publisher: Random House Why I Chose It: We get a lot of Advance Reader Copies at the bookstore — this happened to be one of them. But if you dangle a book featuring a blood-summoned monster from a painting in front of me, I’m going to read it…
December 4, 2019
Catfishing on CatNet (2019) Written by: Naomi Kritzer Genre: YA Science Fiction Pages: 294 (Hardcover) Publisher: Tor Teen Why I Chose It: I read and really enjoyed Kritzer’s award-winning short story “More Cat Pictures, Please” and heard she was expanding that world of a kind, cat-loving, self-improvement-urging AI into a novel. My first thought was, “Huh, how’s that going to…
November 29, 2019
To Kill a Kingdom (2018) Written by: Alexandra Christo Genre: Fantasy Pages: 352 (Paperback) Publisher: Square Fish Why I Chose It: At this point almost everything I find to read I discover at work (the bookstore) first. Same goes for this one. Unfortunately at the time this one was due to be sent back to the publisher, but the tentacles…
November 21, 2019
Feast of the Mother (2019) Written by: Miranda Honfleur, Nicolette Andrews Series: Witch of the Lake #1 Genre: Fantasy/Young Adult Pages: 308 (Paperback) Publisher: Self-published Why I Chose It: Earlier this year, I read and enjoyed Miranda Honfleur’s fantasy romance, No Man Can Tame. When the sequel was delayed, I decided to check out her other work and eventually settled…
October 1, 2019
The Rampant (2019) Written by: Julie C. Day Genre: YA Fantasy/Horror Length: 138 pages (Novella) Publisher: Aqueduct Press Disclaimer: I received a copy of the novella for free in exchange for an honest review. Why I chose it: I’m new here at Speculative Chic, and I’m trying to find my groove. Figure out where I fit in. As a reader…
September 10, 2019
The Infinite Noise (2019) Written by: Lauren Shippen Genre: YA Fantasy Pages: 329 (ARC) Publisher: Tor Teen Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review. The Premise: Caleb Michaels is a sixteen-year-old champion running back. Other than that his life is pretty normal. But when Caleb starts experiencing mood swings…