Category: Doreen

Closed Casket (New Hercule Poirot Mysteries #2) by Sophie Hannah

Given how prominently the name Agatha Christie is displayed on the cover, I wonder why they don’t just call this Agatha Christie’s… oh actually, I can see why now, nvm. But yes, this is the second novel in Sophie Hannah’s take on the beloved Belgian detective, and I found I liked it less than the …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/01/14/closed-casket-new-hercule-poirot-mysteries-2-by-sophie-hannah/

You Have A Match by Emma Lord

Whereas Emma Lord’s debut novel Tweet Cute updated You’ve Got Mail for the 21st century, her follow-up You Have A Match is a smart, modern take on The Parent Trap. Sixteen year-old Abby Day only takes one of those Ancestry-DNA-type tests out of solidarity with her best friend Leo, on whom she also happens to …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/01/12/you-have-a-match-by-emma-lord/

Death Of A Messenger (Koa Kāne Hawaiian Mystery #1) by Robert B. McCaw

It genuinely felt like this book was written by one person for the first 60% and another for the last 40%. Maybe this has something to do with the book being a reissue from 2015, telling the first chronological story of the Koa Kane Hawaiian Mystery series, and perhaps being updated for 2021. What I …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/01/11/death-of-a-messenger-koa-kane-hawaiian-mystery-1-by-robert-b-mccaw/

Lore by Alexandra Bracken

Siiiigh. In the year 2021, is describing a book as being like The Hunger Games even a good reference any longer? Especially since, if you’re really looking for an on-the-nose comparison, Highlander would be much more appropriate? I suppose I’m focusing on the petty business of book marketing because I don’t want to address how …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/01/08/lore-by-alexandra-bracken/

Dance Class #11: Dance With Me by BéKa & Crip

It took me a while to get into the flow of this volume, but once I was there, I was all in! The Dance Class series revolves around three French girls — Alia, Julie and Lucie — who take the same dance class, as well as their families, friends, love interests and rivals. In this …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/01/07/dance-class-11-dance-with-me-by-beka-crip/

The Soul of Purpose: A Step-By-Step Approach to Create A Purpose-Driven, Healthy Life by Jaya Jaya Myra

New Year, New You, and if that’s your thinking as 2021 opens, then you could do much, much worse than to pick up a copy of Jaya Jaya Myra’s The Soul Of Purpose. As with all self-help books, what you put into the process is what you get out of it, and I’ll plainly state …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/01/05/the-soul-of-purpose-a-step-by-step-approach-to-create-a-purpose-driven-healthy-life-by-jaya-jaya-myra/

Persephone Station by Stina Leicht

The thing about Stina Leicht’s latest novel, Persephone Station, is that it’s remarkable not for what it does but for what it is. The story itself is bog standard: a ragtag group of misfits is hired to defend an outpost of innocents against a group of corporate marauders whose vengeful leader has complicated reasons for …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/01/04/persephone-station-by-stina-leicht/

The Case of the Fire Inside (Bad Machinery #5) by John Allison

My husband got me this book several years ago as I’m a huge Bad Machinery fan, but for some reason or other, I put off reading this until I felt it was the “right time.” So it’s been languishing on my dining room table for years, unready to join its kin — the first four …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/01/01/the-case-of-the-fire-inside-bad-machinery-5-by-john-allison/

White Ivy by Susie Yang

I had a very Lucille Bluth moment at the end, reading the final sentence and saying aloud, “Good for her!” even as I wished I had a martini in hand. Whether to celebrate or to sedate with is a good question, tho. The weird thing is that while I was cheering her on, I didn’t …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2020/12/30/white-ivy-by-susie-yang/

The Mythics Vol 2: Teenage Gods by Philippe Ogaki, Patrick Sobral, Fabien Dalmasso, Alice Picard, Jerome Alquie, Frederic Charve & Magali Paillat

This has got to be one of the most beautiful anime-inspired comic book titles for young readers out there today. Despite the creative teams varying between each of the three issues that make up this trade paperback, the quality is uniformly high, and the art style doesn’t deviate so much between issues as to seem …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2020/12/29/the-mythics-vol-2-teenage-gods-by-philippe-ogaki-patrick-sobral-fabien-dalmasso-alice-picard-jerome-alquie-frederic-charve-magali-paillat/