Doreen Sheridan

Professional book critic, amateur cellist, full-time polymath. Occasional game designer, perpetual game enthusiast. Mom of 3. Arsenal till I die. I like a good story. My other mystery reviews can be found here: https://www.criminalelement.com/author/dvaleris/

Most commented posts

  1. Deathless (Leningrad Diptych #1) by Catherynne M. Valente — 12 comments
  2. A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan #1) by Arkady Martine — 10 comments
  3. Sweet Tea by Piper Huguley — 7 comments
  4. I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley — 6 comments
  5. Busting Vegas by Ben Mezrich — 5 comments

Author's posts

Twinkle, Twinkle, Nighttime Sky by Elizabeth Everett & Beatriz Castro

This is 100% the book you should buy for any astronomy-minded young readers you have! Throughout the pages of this picture book, a diverse set of children look at and learn about the nighttime sky, with accompanying text set roughly to the cadence of the Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star nursery rhyme. Whether they’re outdoor campers …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/10/28/twinkle-twinkle-nighttime-sky-by-elizabeth-everett-beatriz-castro/

Monster Locker Vol 1 by Jorge Aguirre & Andrés Vera Martínez

Coatlicue help me, I’m pretty sure my kids have infected me with their brainrot, because as soon as I realized that this story was set in Ohio, I began chortling to the tune of Swag In Ohio. But that Midwestern state (and Gen Alpha shorthand for weirdness) is honestly the perfect setting for this tale …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/10/25/monster-locker-vol-1-by-jorge-aguirre-andres-vera-martinez/

Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson

Oh my God, this was incredible and terrifying all at once. Spicy, sweet and hardcore revolting, this sapphic horror novella breathes new life into the trope of obsessive love as a lonely young woman falls hard for a mysterious figure she meets at the fair. Ro’s recovery from being betrayed by her ex-boyfriend, and the …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/10/24/bloom-by-delilah-s-dawson/

The Knitting Witch by Norma Kassirer & Mark Richardson

Very shortly after beginning to read this book on my Kindle Paperwhite, it struck me that I was definitely missing out by not being able to see all the illustrations in full color. After some frantic searching across various websites and devices, I was finally able to access a non-grayscale copy, and oh readers, what …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/10/23/the-knitting-witch-by-norma-kassirer-mark-richardson/

MrBallen Presents: Strange, Dark & Mysterious — The Graphic Stories by MrBallen, Robert Venditti & Andrea Mutti

I am genuinely loving the resurgence of horror comics, as well as the myriad channels by which they’re coming onto the market. Some cynics may say that books like these are just a cash grab, but I’d honestly never even heard of MrBallen before this engaging volume landed on my desk. Call me an old …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/10/22/mrballen-presents-strange-dark-mysterious-the-graphic-stories-by-mrballen-robert-venditti-andrea-mutti/

Patsy Cline’s Walkin’ After Midnight by Judith A Proffer, Julie Dick Fudge & Yoko Matsuoka

It almost always surprises people to hear that I enjoy country music. I’m not sure why: so much of it is fantastic, and I love good music of every genre. Perhaps it helps that I lack the class prejudices of most Americans when it comes to music. Admittedly, I don’t care for stoner jams, but …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/10/21/patsy-clines-walkin-after-midnight-by-judith-a-proffer-julie-dick-fudge-yoko-matsuoka/

Tantalizing Tales — October 2024 — Part Two

Time flies, dear friends! Halloween will soon be upon us, so let’s check out some of the best spooky season reading, as well as some excellent counterprogramming should you be in the mood for a break from the cold, dark and scary. Into that first category goes Joelle Wellington’s sophomore effort, The Blonde Dies First, …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/10/18/tantalizing-tales-october-2024-part-two/

Gaza Faces History by Enzo Traverso

translated from the original Italian by Willard Wood. This review is going to require a lot of background on me as a reviewer so buckle up, or feel free to scroll down till you get to the parts that are primarily about this book, around six paragraphs down. When I was a girl growing up …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/10/17/gaza-faces-history-by-enzo-traverso/

Mr. Lovenstein Presents: Feelings by J.L. Westover

I’ve seen plenty of Mr Lovenstein panels and cartoons floating around as memes on social media, but it never occurred to me that these were actually part of a regular webcomic. Thank goodness for books collecting this material so that people like me can finally understand what the rest of the Internet has been going …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/10/16/mr-lovenstein-presents-feelings-by-j-l-westover/

The Light Keeper by Karen Levine, Sheila Baslaw & Alice Priestley

Times are hard in young Shmuel Saslovsky’s shtetl. Papa has just lost his job, and tho everyone in their family of eight pitches in to make ends meet, it’s a struggle to get by. While Shmuel’s five older sisters earn a few kopeks taking in mending or helping out around town, no one wants to …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/10/15/the-light-keeper-by-karen-levine-sheila-baslaw-alice-priestley/