Phantastic Reads

The Tea Dragon Society, by K. O’Neill Greta is already learning her mother’s blacksmithing trade when a chance encounter in the market presents the opportunity to learn about tea dragons and their care. Lost arts and slow crafts, finding and growing your family, and not having to choose between the things you love.  The art is beautiful and has a folk art aspect that pairs well with the subject…

Quaint Folk, by Bitter Karella Jessica’s family is falling apart. After twenty years of marriage her husband Greg is never home and doesn’t look at her. Their teenager is getting into fights and witchcraft. When Greg’s boss sends the whole family to a remote English island to close a deal for the tech company, Jessica vows to use this enforced working vacation to bring everyone closer together.…

The Disaster Gay Detective Agency, by Lev AC Rosen Brandon hooks up with a guest at the hotel where he works, convinced it’s love at first sight. When the guest checked out early without a word, leaving his cell phone behind. Determined to reunite with his true love, Brandon drags his friends along on his quest to return the phone. Unfortunately, there’s a lot more going on than a lost phone,…

Kill All Wizards, by Jedediah Berry, narrated by Raphael Corkhill The barbarian Gotichmus sought out the ruling wizards, hoping to enlist their aid in righting a terrible wrong. Instead of a person, they him as a valuable chess piece and set out to use him in their infighting. Now he’s out for revenge. I’ve previously reviewed the print version and noted that it would likely be amazing in audio…

Tapeworm: A Vampire Novel, by A.P. Thayer Vic heads out to spend the weekend with his friends, hoping the party atmosphere will help him get past the pain of a vicious separation from his wife. Even though Trish is skipping this trip her memory haunts the annual retreat. But something strange is happening in the town around the vacation home, an ancient creature wakes and it’s hungry. I wasn’t…

Possession Island, by Sarah McCarry When her mother died, Angela Bell was left to grow up on the suffocating Possession Island, the setting of her mother’s wildly popular book about lesbian vampires. When she comes home from college she finds her life remains entangled with the same people from high school—Sally Raleigh, who was called home from school to care for her father and run the bar,…

Hemlock & Silver, by T. Kingfisher Anja is a merchant’s daughter, a spinster more interested in poisons and antidotes than people, politics, and fashion. when the king himself asks for help discovering what’s wrong with his surviving daughter, Anja has no choice but to pack up her lab and hope for the best. Once again, I regret not picking up this book sooner. I love Kingfisher’s anxious,…

Goldie Vance Book One, by Hope Larsen, Brittney Williams, Sarah Stern, and Jim Campbell Goldie Vance works as a valet at a Florida resort, but aside from fast cars her biggest obsession is solving mysteries. This volume collects the first eight issues. I love Goldie Vance. It has all the mystery and adventure of Nancy Drew, but Williams works magic with the character designs, the settings and…

Herculine, by Grace Byron New York isn’t cutting it for our narrator, so she caves in and returns to rural Indiana where her ex claims to have created a utopian commune for trans women. But Ash and the girls at Herculine have secrets, and our narrator may not have outrun her own demon as after all. I definitely got in over my head with this one: gallows humor, religious trauma, demonology, and…

Uncanny Valley Complete Collection, by Tony Fleecs and Dave Wachter Oliver is different, but he doesn’t realize just how different he is until cartoon birds come after him. Suddenly his mom’s caginess about their family tree makes a lot more sense. The story is sweet, and the backstory about the toon world was interesting (especially the villain origin). Kudos to Wachter for not only pulling…

When the Night Comes Knocking, by Katherine Daniel Jane and Thomas are siblings driving in fraught silence to the family cabin for Thanksgiving. A last-minute stop at the country store for a bag of marshmallows traps them overnight with strangers and their secrets as a monster lays seige to the store, hunting a guilty heart. Trappings of King’s The Mist with Appalachian roots. I was a bit…

The Other, by Annie Neugebauer Part 2 of The Extra. A married couple goes on a four-day backpacking trip to either save their marriage or send it off, but when they run into their doppelgängers on the trail can they be sure if the partner they left with is the one that returns? I love how Neugebauer uses the dual viewpoints here. Elise and Logan have spent half their lives growing around each…

Proper English, by KJ Charles Now that her eldest brother is married off, Pat is set to enjoy a hunting party at her old friend Jimmy’s country house while she decides where life as a spinster will take her. There are several uninvited guests at Rodington Court, including Jimmy’s fiancée the stunning Fenella Carruth. Pat never wanted to marry Jimmy so why is she suddenly jealous? And why is…

A Lonely Broadcast, by Kel Byron Like Quinn’s How to Survive Camping, Byron’s A Lonely Broadcast is informed by online weird fiction, this time in the vein of Welcome to Nightvale and King Falls FM—the radio station is weird, but the world outside is weirder still and trying to get in. Book one is the start of a proposed trilogy. Engaging characters, creepy cosmic woods, quippy dialog that…

Fence Book One, by C.S. Pacat and Johanna The Mad Seiji and Nicholas are both obsessive fencers, tied together by their independent, indelible connections to the infamous Jesse Costa. When they both start at Kings Row Boys School they are placed as roommates. Will their rivalry drive them to distraction, or greatness? I love fencing, and obviously queer comics, so it should come as no surprise…