Book Review: The Book of the Unwinding by J.D. Horn
The Book of the Unwinding is a chronicle of several families in present-day New Orleans. It’s also the second book in J.D. Horn’s Witches of New Orleans series. It’s creepy and chilling, which is just right as I head into the Halloween reading season. The Marin Family...Book Review: Ophelia Immune by Beth Mattson
Beth Mattson introduces us to Ophelia Immune in her sometimes shocking but always innovative debut novel. Ophelia and her Family survived the Zombie apocalypse. As the novel opens, they are Drivers. Which is the alternative to being Hikers, and means they are living...Book Review: Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler (Earthseed #2)
Parable of the Talents cements Octavia Butler as one of my favorite speculative fiction authors. The second and final in the Earthseed books, Talents offers a disturbing view of the near future. At the end of Book #1, Parable of the Sower, Lauren Olamina, her husband...Book Review: A Pomegranate and the Maiden by Tamara Agha-Jaffar
Tamara Agha-Jaffar just released the audiobook version of her first novel, A Pomegranate and the Maiden. The story draws directly from Greek mythology, particularly the story of Demeter and Persephone. Young Kore is the daughter of the Goddess Demeter and Zeus, King...Graphic Novel Review: Upgrade Soul by Ezra Claytan Daniels
Ezra Claytan Daniels is both author and illustrator of the new graphic novel, Upgrade Soul. In it, Hank and Molly decide to undergo an experimental procedure to regain their youth. Daniels tells how this long-married couple makes such a momentous decision. He shows...Book Review: Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell
Eight quirky stories fill the pages of Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell. Looking back over the list of titles, I only was drawn into three of them. And I had major objections to one. So it often goes with short story collections. But I expected more from...Book Review: The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler (Earthseed #1)
I have a love / hate relationship with The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. I love the book and hate how much I think her speculative fiction feels like our 21st century reality. Butler creates a world, set in our near future 2025, where anarchy reigns. I also...Book Review: The Sea Was a Fair Master by Calvin Demmer
Calvin Demmer creates a gruesome collection of flash fiction in The Sea Was a Fair Master. With 23 stories, the book numbers just 83 pages. Each word is considered and not one is wasted. I’m in awe of the atmospheric, creepy tales he creates in so few words. The...Book Review: Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
In Norse Mythology Neil Gaiman takes readers to the worlds of Asgard, Midgard, and Jotunheim. It’s a fun romp with gods, giants, and dwarves. If you’ve watched the recent Marvel Comics movies, you’re familiar with the names Odin, Thor, and Loki. And Freya’s name has...Book Review: The King of Bones and Ashes by J.D. Horn (New Orleans Witches #1)
J.D. Horn begins a new series with The King of Bones and Ashes. Set in post-Katrina New Orleans, Horn introduces us to the Marin family, young, old, and not entirely alive. This is definitely an atmospheric, Southern gothic-tinged fantasy. The Marins are part of the...Book Review: Changeless by Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate, Book 2)
Book Two of the Parasol Protectorate, Changeless, is a romp in a supernatural steampunk world. Like the first book, it features Alexia Tarrabotti who is now Lady Alexia Maccon. She’s a preternatural, which means that if she touches a supernatural they will be human...Book Review: Soulless by Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate, Book 1)
Gail Carriger introduces Alexia Tarrabotti in Soulless, the first of the Parasol Protectorate series. I love a promising new to me series, don’t you? Soulless is set in a steampunk version of Victorian England reimagined with dirigibles, vampires, and werewolves. The...Book Review: Dune by Frank Herbert
Frank Herbert’s Dune is a classic epic fantasy that my darling husband calls one of his favorites. Never mind that he was a teenager when he read it. So when I saw a clean copy on the shelf of a used bookstore, I grabbed it up. I like epic fantasy, so why not? Then I...Book Review: The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld
Rene Denfeld brings her personal experience to the writing of her first novel, The Enchanted. Although I didn’t know this while I read the book, Denfeld’s “Letter to the Reader” tells of her unique connection to prison culture. She works as a death penalty...Book Review: The Kingdom of Gods by N.K. Jemisin (The Inheritance Trilogy, Book 3)
N.K Jemisin is a talented author, and The Kingdom of Gods is a strong finish to her Inheritance Trilogy. But it was my least favorite of the three books. I would have liked it better with 150-200 pages of bloat removed. And with a few more likable characters. Like the...Book Review: The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin (The Inheritance Trilogy, Book 2)
The timeline of this second book in the Inheritance Trilogy, called The Broken Kingdoms, doesn’t follow immediately after its predecessor. It begins some ten years later, when the city called Sky has become Shadow. N.K. Jemisin makes another mortal the main character....Currently reading
Data from Goodreads
Recently added to TBR
Data from Goodreads
Purchase My Book
I will definitely recommend Kick Pain in the Kitchen to my patients: Those who are looking to avoid pharmaceutical treatment and those who want to combine western medicine with alternative therapies.
Jane A. Swartz
ARNP, MSN, Rheumatology Nurse Practitioner
Blogger and Reviewer Sites
Recent Comments