His Bloody Project reminds me of an episode from a dark histories podcast. Including R. Macrae's personal account of events creates a second level of investment in the case that left me bewildered. Pictures of a hard-scrabble life and tragic loss are backdrop to some funny and pure moments. It's no fairy tale, but I enjoyed it. Artwork by Jane Holford Atkin

Great modern lit with magic and fairytales, plus dark and spooky horror action. Melissa Albert drew her characters well, and I wasn't deprived of description, like other contemporary work I've read. Just the kind of book I love! I look forward to more...

I love this book, and just finished re-reading it. Dan Simmons does an incredible job. Based in Victorian England, this story seeps with history and horror, and is un-put-down-able.

"The beetle in my brain seemed assuaged when I was writing..."

"Stupid scarab."

I had to read The Marrow Thieves in short increments, because it was stark in a way I did not enjoy. Lean descriptions and character interaction that served the purpose, but left me wanting more. I did appreciate the themes of heritage, connection, and hope in uncertain times, and found myself compelled to continue reading to the end, despite experiencing a lack of comfort throughout. Ultimately, an intense book I don't regret reading.

The Anatomist's Apprentice is an enjoyable little historical mystery. It's the first in a series I look forward to continuing. I found it moved at a decent pace without being too "heavy", despite some of the grim imagery it contains. Artwork above by Nunzio Paci.

Gutsy, gritty story of a university student and their friends - a group of political activists. It's written with stream of consciousness, poetic expression and real frankness. This Canadian author makes a story of rust and blood incredibly palatable.

Outrage is a drug, both giving us life and sucking us dry.

Sweet book! June's character is deep and real. This story is beautiful and tragic, just like how life is.

I really enjoyed reading Circe! I wasn't sure if the subject appealed to me, but the great storytelling in this book was easy to delve into.

Such pretty imagery and dark deeds in this book. I read nearly halfway through before I really fell into it, but once I did, the remaining pages rushed by like a breeze in the trees.😉

There is no justice...but we stand for it anyway.

- Malcolm

Meddling Kids was a tough read! The writing style is incredibly distracting. Dialogue switches between a novel format and a screenplay, completely made-up words, and run-on sentences that had me wishing it would end, tempted me to assign this book to the Did Not Finish list. The funny spots and endearing characters barely save this book. A younger reader who's more hip with the lingo may find it more enjoyable than I did.

Your deeds are your monuments.

The things we do are the most important things of all. They are more important than what we say or what we look like. The things we do outlast our mortality. The things we do are like monuments that people build to honor heroes after they've died. They're like the pyramids that the Egyptians built to honor the pharaohs. Only instead of being made of stone, they're made out of the memories people have of you.