Date Read: July 9
Author: Valerie Valdes
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: 4/5
Captain Eva might not be the richest spaceship captain in the galaxy, but her ship does have psychic cats. Her life of delivering small cargo for smaller profits is interrupted when her sister calls, sending her spiraling down into a complicated series of missions for the galaxy’s most dangerous crime syndicate. Will Eva manage to save her sister, or will it prove too dangerous?
Date Read: July 8
Author: C.L. Polk
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
It’s only been days since Grace helped her brother undo the atrocity which powered their nation. Now she finds herself trying to save her nation, which is entering winter with no power and not enough Stormsingers to stop the storms on the horizon.
I couldn’t tell him that fear surged in me, chilling my hands and stealing my breath. I couldn’t tell him how tiny I was, how insignificant I felt against the immense, whirling power coming to bury us.
– Stormsong
Date Read: July 7
Author: C.L. Polk
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
When Miles was born, he was destined to either be sent to an asylum for witches or become a magical battery for his younger sister. He runs away to the military, and comes back to be a doctor. When a poisoned patient dies and exposes Miles, he must find out what happened before his past catches up to him.
He laughed, and I caught my breath at the sound. I wished I was funny, just to hear him laugh again.
– Witchmark
Date Read: July 7
Author: Robert Charles Wilson
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 3/5
In 1912 the Miracle happened, transforming all of Europe into a nightmarish jungle full of monsters. Guilford Law travels to new-Europe, called Darwinia, and finds that the Miracle was even more complicated than he ever imagined. The novel’s premise certainly had potential, but it ended up being overly complicated and was taken too far.
I won’t put my ignorance on an altar and call it God. It feels like idolatry, like the worst kind of idolatry.
– Darwinia
Date Read: July 5
Author: Stephen King
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
When the king dies, murdered with a strange poison, his oldest son is imprisoned in a tower. He must find a way to escape, because he is one of the few who knows that the true murderer is Flagg, an evil wizard who is now the new king’s advisor.
One of the great things about tales is how fast time may pass when not much of note is happening. Real life is never that way, and it is probably a good thing.
– The Eyes of the Dragon
Date Read: July 4
Author: M.K. Hutchins
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4/5
Tenjat lives on a massive island Turtle, which swims through an ocean of monsters. His dream is to work for the Tree at the center of the island as a Handler so that he can protect the Turtle and his younger sister. Even as his dreams start to come true, Tenjat begins to discover that life is not what he has always believed.
Date Read: July 4
Author: Meredith Katz
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: 4/5
Clara is an AI technician. When she moves to Seattle, she finds a tea shop run by Sal, a fully autonomous robot. Sal has been running the tea shop ever since her original owner died, and now Clara must discover whether or not she can help Sal move on.
Date Read: July 3
Author: David Walton
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: 5/5
When Neil’s older brother returns from a trip to the Amazon, he’s not the same as when he left. He survives a severe fungal infection, and immediately starts to claim that the fungus is still in his brain – and has made him smarter.
Inefficiency is imagination. It’s singing in the rain and vaudeville shows and sandcastles and whimsy and falling in love and yearning for our dreams to come true. Inefficiency is the best part of who we are.
– The Genius Plague
Date Read: July 2
Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Genre: Horror
Rating: 5/5
When Noemí receives a frantic letter from her recently-married cousin, she finds herself in an isolated house in the Mexican countryside. The longer she’s there, the more she finds herself unable to trust anyone…even herself. Ever since I read Gods of Jade and Shadow, I have been eagerly awaiting the release of this book. It was worth every minute of the wait, full of suspense and every page as creepy and horrifying as the one before.
Loyalty to the family is rewarded, and impertinence is punished. Remember that and you shall be very happy.
– Mexican Gothic
Date Read: July 1
Author: N.K. Jemisin
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
The moon is returning, and what happens next depends on Essun and Nassun and their choices. The world is ending for the last time, and sometimes what is corrupt cannot be cleansed. It must be destroyed.
“I think,” Hoa says slowly, “that if you love someone, you don’t get to choose how they love you back.”
– The Stone Sky
Zoey's Year in Books 2020