“The mountain that saw everything turned from green to rust, from rust to brown, from brown to green again.” Erin Somers’s The Ten Year Affair (Simon & Schuster 2025) was on my radar simply because of my goal of reading more Booker eligible litfic. While I could see this being listed, I didn’t like it. Continue reading “THE TEN YEAR AFFAIR – Erin Somers”
Author Archives: Tommi Powell
HOW TO COMMIT A POSTCOLONIAL MURDER – Nina McConigley
“Because you always seem to want to take what I give you and translate it into something else, something that fits your narrative, you can have it.” “It is an acknowledged truth that to be a girl is to be extracted. Girls, we are taken.” “And if you’re lost, if you have no idea whatContinue reading “HOW TO COMMIT A POSTCOLONIAL MURDER – Nina McConigley”
CURSED DAUGHTERS – Oyinkan Braithwaite
“She was a mermaid – queen of song and sea, goddess of the gill-bearing vertebrates, mistress of the hearts of men.” After a couple of “meh” BOTM reads (I’m trying to clear a backlist), I read one that reminded me why I keep the membership. Oyinkan Braithwaite’s Cursed Daughters (Doubleday 2025) gave me absolutely everythingContinue reading “CURSED DAUGHTERS – Oyinkan Braithwaite”
CRUX – Gabriel Tallent
“Waiting was death, and total commitment his only chance.” I don’t know what I expected with Gabriel Tallent’s Crux (Riverhead 2026), but it wasn’t what I got. The more I think about the novel, the more I have issues with it, so I’m going to get this out before I completely hate it. I saidContinue reading “CRUX – Gabriel Tallent”
LOST LAMBS – Madeline Cash
This is likely going to be an unpopular opinion based the positively gushing reviews all over, but I didn’t like Madeline Cash’s Lost Lambs. (Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2026) It was quite nearly a rare DNF for me. Perhaps I’m so hard on it because it bills itself on being the exact type of quirkyContinue reading “LOST LAMBS – Madeline Cash”
TOM’S CROSSING – Mark Z. Danielewski
“I am no more her then she is anymore me now.” “The Illiad cannot contain what the horses have to say. It has neither the ear for their speech nor for their hearts.” “You get what you deserve when you ride with cowards.” “ ‘You could stick around and help me dig up Landry,’ KalinContinue reading “TOM’S CROSSING – Mark Z. Danielewski”
COLORED TELEVISION – Danzy Senna
I wanted to like Danzy Senna’s Colored Television (Riverhead Books 2024) more than I did. Perhaps I’ve unfairly held her work up to that of her husband’s (Percival Everett), but I felt the novel missed its mark. There’s some fantastic stuff here, particularly with the build up of Jane and pacing of the novel, butContinue reading “COLORED TELEVISION – Danzy Senna”
THE THIRD GILMORE GIRL – Kelly Bishop
Gilmore Girls is one of my comfort shows. I put it on as background noise when I’m working, reading, sleeping. It is soothing. Kelly Bishop’s The Third Gilmore Girl: A Memoir (read by the author – Gallery Books 2024) had that same soft comfort to it; her oh so recognizable voice captivated me as sheContinue reading “THE THIRD GILMORE GIRL – Kelly Bishop”
KATABASIS – R.F. Kuang
“Don’t worry, it can’t hurt them. It’s only a memory.” The discourse around R.F. Kuang’s Katabasis (HarperCollins 2025) has been absolutely ridiculous; the book community is certainly not immune to the toxic nature bred and natured by online communities. So, I’ll begin with this – if you didn’t like this novel, it doesn’t mean you’reContinue reading “KATABASIS – R.F. Kuang”
SUNRISE ON THE REAPING – Suzanne Collins
I can’t read when I’m sick, and the first of year brought that wicked creeping crud along with it. And that’s where Libby comes in – during my feverish state, I listened to Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins, narrated by Jefferson White. Now it’s been a hot minute since I’ve been in theContinue reading “SUNRISE ON THE REAPING – Suzanne Collins”
A Girl Named Tommi 