“…lost in a memory stirred alive by the moon.” Amanda Peters’s debut The Berry Pickers (Catapult 2023) is a quiet triumph of a novel about grief, anger, loss, identity, and forgiveness. When I was a child, I asked for The Face on the Milk Carton for Christmas. (It’s one of a few books I rememberContinue reading “THE BERRY PICKERS – Amanda Peters”
Tag Archives: book review
LADY TAN’S CIRCLE OF WOMEN – Lisa See
“Do you need a man to confirm what your body is already telling you to be true?” Set in 1469-1511, Lisa See’s Lady Tan’s Circle of Women (Scribner 2023) is a remarkable story of a high-status woman doctor, her midwife best friend, and an assortment of women from whom she draws strength, courage, and goodContinue reading “LADY TAN’S CIRCLE OF WOMEN – Lisa See”
YOURS TRULY – Abby Jimenez
“Because love shows up.” I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again – I rarely read romance, but when I do I want romance that is cleverly written and pulls you into a warm hug. That’s Abby Jimenez all the day long. Yours Truly (Forever 2023) is only my second Jimenez novel, but IContinue reading “YOURS TRULY – Abby Jimenez”
LET US DESCEND – Jesmyn Ward
“The first weapon I ever held was my mother’s hand.” Let Us Descend (Scribner 2023) is my first Jesmyn Ward novel, but it certainly won’t be my last. Ward’s writing is as lush and powerful as everyone says, and there is a cadence to the storytelling that echoes oral traditions centuries old. The novel isContinue reading “LET US DESCEND – Jesmyn Ward”
A FEATHER SO BLACK – Lyra Selene
Lyra Selene’s A Feather so Black (Orbit March 12, 2024 – thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy!) is a lush romantasy full of fae, magic, curses, and morally grey characters. Using Irish folklore, this Swan Princess retelling set in Tír na nÓg had a lot of potential but ultimately fell short due to,Continue reading “A FEATHER SO BLACK – Lyra Selene”
DAWA: THE STORY OF A STRAY DOG IN BHUTAN – Kunzang Choden
Next installment of Tommi Reads the World – we’re in the Bs. Country: BhutanTitle: Dawa: The Story of a Stray Dog in BhutanAuthor: Kunzang ChodenLanguage: EnglishTranslator: NonePublisher: Riyang Books 2016, originally published 2004 Dawa is the story of a street dog. While I’ve never been to Bhutan, I did study in Thailand where street dogs, orContinue reading “DAWA: THE STORY OF A STRAY DOG IN BHUTAN – Kunzang Choden”
NAMED OF THE DRAGON – Susanna Kearsley
“We don’t let any of them die, in Wales – Merlin and Arthur and Owain – we keep them close by and asleep in the hills, to be wakened if ever we need them.” Susanna Kearsley is a bestselling Canadian novelist who has been consistently publishing since the early 1990s. I believe she writes mostlyContinue reading “NAMED OF THE DRAGON – Susanna Kearsley”
JOLLOF RICE AND OTHER REVOLUTIONS – Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi
“…oga dinma, oga dinma, it will be okay. Today. Tomorrow. Someday.” Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi’s Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions: A Novel in Interlocking Stories (Amistad 2022) is my favorite kind of short story collections – the kind where the stories weave in and out of each other, building the reader’s connection to a full castContinue reading “JOLLOF RICE AND OTHER REVOLUTIONS – Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi”
THE AS*TROBIOLOGISTS – Olga Gromyko
Next installment of Tommi Reads the World – we’re in the Bs. Country: BelarusTitle: The As*trobiologists Volume 1Author: Olga GromykoLanguage: RussianTranslator: Shelley Fairweather-VegaPublisher: Cyborg Protection Union Ltd. (2021) Kissed with the spirit of Futurama meets Firefly, Olga Gromyko’s The As*trobiologists is a hilarious space adventure. I imagine some of the humor is lost in the translation,Continue reading “THE AS*TROBIOLOGISTS – Olga Gromyko”
THE VANISHING HALF – Brit Bennett
“You could never know who might hurt you until it was too late.” I finally got around to reading Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half (Riverhead 2020) – it was likely the most hyped on my TBR that had just been sitting there for ages, and it was on my “Must Reads” for 2024. (Yes. IContinue reading “THE VANISHING HALF – Brit Bennett”
A Girl Named Tommi 