Review: No Good Duke Goes Unpunished

No Good Duke Goes Unpunished by Sarah MacLean

My rating: 3 of 5 stars




A regrettable side effect of having read so many of this series in the last couple of weeks is that I have started noticing the author's verbal patterns. I'm not sure I'll ever recover from so many uses of the words "straining tips" in reference to erect nipples on a woman. Once it jumps out at you, it will never be easy to scan past.

I'm so sorry for pointing it out, if you didn't see it.



View all my reviews

Review: One Good Earl Deserves a Lover

One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean

My rating: 4 of 5 stars




I am going to read every single one of these, and I don't care what anyone else thinks about it.

They are delicious.



View all my reviews

Review: Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty

Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty by Christine Heppermann

My rating: 3 of 5 stars




A younger version of me would have loved this book so much, but its themes don't really speak to me at all in full adulthood. It's cute in places, and moving in others, but overall, my impression is one of gentle, tolerant lukewarmness.



View all my reviews

Review: The Moment of Everything

The Moment of Everything by Shelly King

My rating: 3 of 5 stars




This had some charming moments, but on balance, it's a perfect example of what a pop culture reference does to your text. A lot of this book is going to feel really, really dated in about 20 minutes.

Sweetly spun, and hardly any real substance here at all. I liked it, but I won't be handing it off to anyone and insisting they read it.



View all my reviews

Review: Golden Son

Golden Son by Pierce Brown

My rating: 5 of 5 stars




As finely drawn, as brutal, as the first in the series, with a raising of stakes and a darkness that all second novels should aspire to. This is the Empire Strikes Back of the Red Rising series, and it broke my heart and made me wish there were more yet to read.

I'll be waiting impatiently for the next installment.



View all my reviews

Review: Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith

Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars




This is really two books. It's the story of a double murder that took place in Utah in the 1980s, and it's the sordid history of the Mormon church. At times, the history portions seem out of place, but they do ultimately fuel an understanding of both historical and fundamentalist Mormon ideology/ideologies that contributed to the murder.

My particular edition could have benefited from an update: the discussion of Warren Jeffs did not include that he is currently serving a life sentence for sexually assaulting a child.



View all my reviews

Review: Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic

Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars




This book is one of the best books on epidemiology that I have read, hands down. Its science is more rigorous than other "Ebola books" and it even takes "And the Band Played On" to task for some of its excesses. Spillover hits the tone just right between giving you the facts about zoonotic diseases and doing so in a wholly engaging way.

If you dig scary diseases, this is a solid entry in the genre.



View all my reviews