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The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

“Hig, Jasper, his faithful dog, and Bangley, a gruff, taciturn man, are some of the few survivors of a pandemic that decimated the population. Hig flies his old Cessna, securing the perimeter, and Bangley takes care of any other survivors that might wander onto the property. When Higs' world is turned upside down, and he narrowly escapes with his life, he decides it's time to start looking for others. This was a rough, raw, and emotionally intense book that had me hooked from page one and never, ever let up. It was heartbreaking but also hopeful, and it's one of those books that will stay with me for a very, very long time. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐⭐ Pros:  With Hig being the only narrator, you can feel the isolation and emptiness of everything. Hellers' writing style leaves no doubt that this is a very changed world. It was unnerving, to say the least.   Cons: The writing style took a bit of getting used/Some of the descriptions of fishing were lost on me.  Full Review: Hig, his lovi...
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Vengeful (Villains #2) by V.E. Schwab

"A direct continuation of Vicious , Schwab leads the reader on a fast-paced, violent adventure that follows three separate storylines that eventually all come together. Like the threads of a spiderweb, everyone's tangled up and as Mitch says, "There's no good guys in this game." Great series overall."   ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pros:  Schwab has made the entire cast of characters both likable and terribly flawed/Victor really is one of the most morally gray characters I've come across. I love him/Great ending. Cons:  I had trouble with the time jumps but knew in the end they'd come together; I was just frustrated in getting there/The part with Dr. Haverty seemed rushed and terribly convenient.  Full Review: ***Disclaimer - If you've not read Vicious (Villians #1) by Schwab, please do so and then come back and read this at your leisure. That way you'll know what I'm talking about.*** Picking up right where Vicious  left off, well, I feel like I can't real...
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The First Witch of Boston by Andrea Catalano.

"Margaret (Maggie) Jones pays the ultimate price for being an outspoken and intelligent woman back in Puritanical Boston. We already know what happens to her but learning the circumstances that led to her trial was entertaining overall."  ⭐⭐⭐ Pros:  It was a quick read, and engaging throughout.  Cons:  The ending, with Maggie's constant repetitions of Thomas being her entire world, got a bit old/The big confession between Thomas & Maggie and Maggie's thoughts of accepting that he'd been unfaithful but then biting his head off when he admits it was sigh-worthy.    Full Review Thomas Jones is leaving the Massachusetts Bay Colony after his wife Margaret (Maggie) is hanged as a witch. When he boards the ship, it suddenly starts listing dangerously, and the Captain bows to the whims of the terrified passengers and throws him off. He later takes solace in the company of his neighbors/friends, the Strattons, who are just as distraught at the death of Maggie as...
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The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon

"A heartfelt, surprisingly topical, and genuinely inspiring story about "smart" appliances and one Roomba's daring quest to ensure that her human, Harold, is kept safe and sound in his home after the death of his wife. "The Brave Little Toaster" for the 21st Century, and it was absolute perfection."  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pros: This was an incredibly unique and intriguing story with courage, compassion, and love at its core. It was also a very topical lesson about how much we rely on machines and automation for comfort. Be wary of the Robot Overlords.  Cons:  Sometimes Dixon's descriptions of how people moved, "clomping, shriveling" were a bit odd, but other than that, the book was perfection.  Full Review Harold and Edie Winters have lived in the same house for the last forty years. All of the appliances are now "smart", meaning, more or less, sentient. There's Clock, taciturn and to the point, since he, of course, tells time. Wellington F...
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Ode to the Half-Broken by Suzanne Palmer

“Be, a former War Mecha, wakes up in the robotic version of a bathtub full of ice, missing a kidney, IE, a bathtub full of EMPs missing their leg. The rest of the story is their journey into discovering who was behind the attack and why Mecha are suddenly acting so strangely. Be, and their crew was amusing, but after a while their antics and banter became drawn out, and the ending was all terribly convenient."  ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pros:  A talking cyborg dog is always amusing/Atticus gave the book levity with his sarcasm and wit.  Cons:  As part of its self-imposed exile, the MC doesn't call itself by any name until halfway through the book, so it was hard to refer to them as anything/Once they get to Milton Mindsystems, numerous pieces were thrown on the board and the last 100 pages felt rather forced into making them all fit together/The book could have easily been shorter and still conveyed the same message of hope and friendship.  Full Review Our MC wakes up in a bathtub...
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Ruthless Vows (Letters of Enchantment #2) by Rebecca Ross

"The "frenemies, slow burn" build-up of Iris/Roman's relationship was what hooked me in  Divine Rivals.  The war between the Gods was more in the background. The fact that the War is more prominent in Ruthless Vows and the Gods themselves are characters took away from the story. I felt like Ross tried too hard and this story fell flat, sadly."  ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pros : There were some deeply intense scenes between Roman/Iris and their love story is what intrigued me in the first book.  Cons : What hooked me in the first book was the tension between Roman/Iris, the war between Enva and Dacre was, to me, background noise. The fact that Dacre/Enva and their magic becomes more important in this story, I'm not sure why but it just didn't quite work for me.  Full Review:  ***Disclaimer-If you’ve not read Divine Rivals  by Ross, please go and so so and then come back and read this at your leisure. That way you’ll know what I’m talking about.*** ***Spoilers Ahead*** This...
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The Possession of Alba Diaz by Isabel Canas

"Take a mercury mine nestled in the mountains of Mexico, add a dark and evil presence, and throw in some bristling tension between Alba and her fiancé's cousin, Elias, and you've checked off all the boxes for a darkly delightful Gothic Historical Romance.  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pros:  The mystery behind the mine and all the strange feelings Alba/Elias gets from it are definitely intriguing and had me eager to learn more/The betrayal near the end, now that was a good twist.  Cons: Alba is rather manipulative and gets huffy/indignant when she doesn’t get her way. This seems to be a common trait in Canas’ FMCs, and it’s rather obnoxious/The ending started to get a bit repetitive.  Full Review The Monterrubio family owes the Diaz family a large sum of money, and has for the last twenty-odd years. Alba learns of this when she sees papers outlining the loan her father gave the Monterubbios for a mine in Mina San Gabriel in the mountains near Zacatecas. She was rooting through his desk in d...
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