So what have you been reading?

This is a retelling of the tale of the seven boys turned into geese and saved by their sister who has to make them shirts while never speaking until the task is complete.  The setting is the usual Regency England with the Elemental Masters but it is set in the countryside and only at the end do we even see the White Lodge get involved.  The father is a minor lord who managed to get a swanmaid to marry him and then he hid her cloak of feathers so she couldn’t leave. When she gets it back she leaves and never returns abandoning her 8 children.  The four sets of twins, 7 brothers and one sister are mostly ignored by their father and are surprised when years later he shows up with a new bride. The story follows the tale’s framework and the usual ending happens. This story does show what happens with courtesans and how some made a living. Granted they didn’t use dark magic like the one in the story did. But the story also shows how small acts of kindness can pay back to the person when they need it the most. 

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

This is set a few years after Legends and Lattes. Fern the bookstore rattkin friend of Viv’s from her early days as a merc has sold her store and moved next door to Viv to open a bookstore next to the coffee shop.  But soon after she opens the store with doubts in her head and a belly full of alcohol she wakes up the next day in a wagon far from town. Fern is in the company of a legendary Elf warrior and her bounty moving far away from where Fern should be.  So the only way back seems to be the way forward and Fern has adventures and constantly writes letters back to Viv.   

For extra enjoyment of this story find and read Goblins & Greatcoats, a short story set in the same universe. You don’t have to but you will enjoy it as well since that character is found in the pages of this book.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley
 

Periwinkle the cat narrates his life in the pages of this book. Starting with coming to live with Nnedi and her daughter Anyaugo, Periwinkle takes a few months to warm up to them but now loves them very much. When they are asleep, he jumps in his space ship and races an orange space cat that has extra limbs and is from Neptune just like Periwinkle’s father.  He protects the family from a hot sauce demon and also goes to Nigeria when Nnedi goes there for a year to write a book.  When he is there he still has his spaceship since he keeps it in liminal space. He gets out one day and has even more adventures.  The story and the art work hand in hand the entire book and I love the illustrations.  A fun read for all ages.  

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

Chih and their hoopoe companion Almost Brilliant are traveling to the city of Baolin to collect stories about the famine for their monastery. After eating a bowl of a pork dish the city is famous for, Chih is called to visit the local magistrate and is put under guard while there.  Chih still does their work collecting stories from people in the home even as they can see there is a secret hiding in the house that is llinked to the famine.  The 18 year old mystery is solved by the end and the story gives insight to just what people will do when there is nothing to eat and they are being hunted by a famine demon.  As with most of these stories they can be read in almost any order and no real need of backstory to enjoy it.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss

Sera Swan was a magical prodigy and the star protégé of the leader of the England’s magical guild even if her background wasn’t from the old families.  But on a visit home her great aunt dies and with the help of a cursed witch staying at the inn she is able to resurrect her Aunt Jasmine.  But to cast the spell cost her almost all of her power and because she worked magic she shouldn’t have she was exiled from the guild.  The inn has been infused with some magic and has become a refuge for people that need it even if they have no magic of their own.  Fifteen years later her young cousin from her Icelandic side of the family has magic and has come to live with her.  Now she has a chance to fix what happened to her but will it all work out is the question. 

I really liked this book, with having family by choice and realizing that not all family members are good for you. 

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss

The newest instalment in the series is a good jump in point for new readers and a good book for fans of the series.  There is enough backstory given to the reader to bring them up to speed on the politics of the universe without bogging down the story.  Gretchen Trujillo works in Diplomatic Affairs and has an Obin assistant who is also a bodyguard.  They are sent to find out what happened to a mixed-race colony that has disappeared. But the real theme of the book is the entire time she is underestimated even when people know her background. At least at the end people recognize what she is capable of.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss

Lizbeth Rose is back in California with her husband to protect her sister while Felecia attends the Wizard’s Ball. The Ball is an event that moves around every 3 years for eligible magical people to attend to find spouses. Geopolitical politics are play during the meet ad greet and Felica is attacked again and again mostly by German and Japanese magicians because if she will not work for them then they would rather see her dead.  Lizbeth is constantly thinking how she just doesn’t fit into Eli’s world and she desperately wants to go back home once all of this is done. Eli doesn’t seem to be talking to Lizbeth about what is going on in the gregori society during the ball and what he wants. The ending was surprising but a good ending but I would like to see more with Felicia.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss

A group of bots that had been working in a restaurant decide to reopen it so they can pay their bills. Robots have a limited number of rights in California after the war and this group of friends decide to take matters in their own hands and make Biang Biang noodles to pay the bills. They are selling well but dister strikes in the form of review bombing them based on being a robot kitchen. By the end of the book they find out who is doing this and take the bad press and make it work for them.  This is a SF cozy even if it is set in a future San Franscisco trying to rebuild from a war.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss

Every wonder what happens to all the Chosen Ones/Scooby Gang when they grow old? Well now you can find out.  A used bookstore built into a very old house that has been in Temple’s family for generations and infused with all of the previous generations magics.  Temple is a very old sorcerer living with two roommates; Jenny and Annette. Jenny is a former Hunter of Artemes, she was taught at a young age to hunt all monsters but now she heals them in the kitchen and works in the bookstore.  Annete is a half succubus retired PI that is working on repairing her relationship with her son and keeping her two grandchildren in her life.  When a young man shows up in the store the morning after an attack on one of the friendly local monsters everyone goes on alert that he is the one attacking them.   The POV rotates between the three and each of them have regrets about their lives. The story uses a lot of urban fantasy mythos and is a fun read.  I’m really hoping there will be more to read about in the future.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley