Welcome to our To Be Read pile! Or what was recently a part of our TBR pile. Here you can find reviews of the books we meant to pick up for months, sometimes years, and have only recently gotten to read. These are reviews of books that aren’t quite new, but not quite old either.
Small Favor (The Dresden Files #10)It seems that Jim Butcher felt we were long overdue for some time with with the fairies as we see Queen Mab come back into Harry’s life and demand one of her favors from Harry. It also appears that we were overdue for some involvement from Gentleman John Marcone as the plot of this book is brought on by his capture.
Konosuba: God's Blessings on This Wondrous World!, Vol. 1I love everything fantasy. Fantasy novels. Fantasy light novels. Fantasy manga. High fantasy. Low fantasy. Magical realism. All of it. I’ve seen all the tropes, all the clichés, and format specific tendencies. Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!, Vol. 1 by Natsume Akatsuki takes every single one of those, plays with it, and turns it on its head.
Durarara!!, Vol. 1I have not loved a book as much as this one in a long time. There is a reason why my library went out of its way (or at least deviated from its normal book purchasing habits) to get the first book in this series. Durarara!!, Vol. 1 by Ryohgo Narita is a book that has something for everyone. It’s got fantasy, mystery, and thriller aspects. Twists and turns abound, the buildup perfect, fantasy elements blended perfectly in as we traverse the streets of Ikebukuro.
The Dragon RoundI’d like to think that I keep up with new released in my favorite genres. But with so many new books released every year a few are sure to slip through the cracks. The Dragon Round by Stephen S. Power is one of them. The book jumped out at me when I was perusing the new acquisitions shelves at the library, but not for the reasons you might think. It wasn’t the beautiful cover design, nor was it the dragon in the title. (While I love dragons, it isn’t a make or break thing for me in the fantasy I read.)
Funnily enough, the author’s name was close enough to an old elementary school teacher of mine to make me do a double take. Even more ironically, the author’s bio in the back of the book states that he lives only a few towns away from me. I’d never heard of this author before, which was odd both because Power is a local author and because his work was previously nominated for a Pushcart Prize. So, I decided it was only fair – nay, my duty! – that I read the book.
White Night (The Dresden Files #9)Once more back to the Dresden universe where, in book number nine, things have not gotten easier for Harry Dresden or his loved ones.
The Shootout SolutionI hadn’t heard of this series at all before I stumbled upon this book at the library. The Shootout Solution, Episode 1 in the Genrenauts series, by Michael R. Underwood is a fantastic novella that combines science fiction and western genres and is just plain fun.
HorrorstörThe more I think about it, the more I like this book. Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix is a traditional haunted house story turned on its head. Familiar themes are explored, changed, and discarded while remaining happily familiar and easily readable.
Seige and Storm (The Grisha, #2)I returned to the Grisha series with high hopes and while I liked book two more than book one it was only barely more. Siege and Storm offers a lot to the series but still it was one of those books I liked, not loved. Nonetheless, as I always do, I will finish the series and pick up book three sometime soon and I’m hoping all of my little issues with the story are solved by then because I love this premise and these characters but something, I don’t know what is lacking here for me. Hopefully my brain can sort it out.
Saga, Vol 1If you read blogs, follow booktube, or are a fan of graphic novels, chances are pretty good that you’ve heard of Saga, Vol 1 by Brian K. Vaughn. I first heard of the series quite a long time ago, probably near the first volume’s original release date way back in 2012. I debated and debated, and eventually bought something else. But the cover stuck with me even if the plot didn’t. Recently it seems that everyone’s been talking about Saga and, when I saw a copy for sale at Book Con, I finally picked it up.
Letter 44, Vol. 1I often find myself reading manga. It’s a genre I love. Truth be told, I should read more graphic novels and comics than I currently do. I’ve had Letter 44, Vol. 1: Escape Velocity by Charles Soule on my radar for quite some time and, finally, I picked it up. This is a graphic novel promising political intrigue and alien encounters deep in the asteroid belt. With action both on and off planet this is graphic novel sure to please fans of both thriller-esque political intrigue and fans of standard sci-fi.
Welcome to Looking Glass Reads! We review speculative fiction novels as well as manga, light novels, and graphic novels.
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