Across Five Aprils: 4/ 5 Stars This is another Civil War book, and another Civil War book taking place in the midwest, that I read as a kid. I grew up in the South and thought about the Civil War a LOT. It happens. Anyway, like Rifles for Watie mentioned in the previous one, this focuses on the western theater of the war but still deals a lot with the news from the East. This becomes a kind of interesting conceit, where our main character […]
I did not enjoy it.
And I’m pretty bummed about it. I wanted to like it. I liked the first half, in which nerd genius Laurence and young witch Patricia meet in middle school and become half-assed friends. I liked its many, many beautiful lines. I liked young Patricia and to a small degree, adult Patricia. I liked that it was a book by a trans woman that got mainstream attention without her trans-ness being the reason. I liked the cover art. I liked that a nonbinary character who used […]
God bless busybody community matriarchs, and all that sail in them.
More, please. More, more, more. I just love me some Peter Grant. And fair warning to the reader who may be interested in this series: this book, Broken Homes, which is Book 4 of the “Rivers of London” series, isn’t the strongest of the bunch. But it’s still a delight and a treat, and I will fight anyone who isn’t a fan. Listen, I have five more “Dark Tower” books to read in the next five weeks, but I still just checked out Foxglove Summer […]
Like young men from the dawn of time, I decided to choose the risk of death over certain humiliation.
Oh boy, did I miss Peter Grant while I was taking my super fun journey through the last four heartwrenchers. It felt like I was waiting FOREVER for Whispers Under Ground to become available at the library. Peter Grant is a delight. He is the perfect not-very-straight straight man for all the madness in this fantastic world of Ben Aaronovitch’s creation. I keep reminding myself as I read these books that for all of Grant’s self-deprecation and insistence that he’s a terrible cop with bad […]


