CJ's Updates en-US Sat, 08 Aug 2026 09:57:03 -0700 60 CJ's Updates 144 41 https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Review6822415931 Sat, 08 Aug 2026 09:57:03 -0700 <![CDATA[CJ added 'A Sorceress Comes to Call']]> https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6822415931 A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher CJ gave 5 stars to A Sorceress Comes to Call (Hardcover) by T. Kingfisher
bookshelves: bookclub, fairytales, retelling, 2024-reading-challenge, 2026-23-worlds-away
A bit of a slow start but Kingfisher's inner Grimm really takes off once the bodycount starts to climb. Best Regency-esque book I've read in years! ]]> Review8212894138 Tue, 30 Jun 2026 11:28:20 -0700 <![CDATA[CJ added 'We Burned So Bright']]> https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8212894138 We Burned So Bright by T.J. Klune CJ gave 5 stars to We Burned So Bright (Hardcover) by T.J. Klune
bookshelves: 2026-18-pride-picks, alternative-history, best-couples, cover-porn, difficult-read, fantasy, netgalley, quick-easy-read, novella, scifi, solarpunk, squad-goals, too-much-angst, urban-fantasy, villains-need-love-too, when-im-raging-at-the-world, i-m-not-crying-you-re-crying
Do you remember that episode of The Last of Us, "Long, Long Time"? Yeah, THAT one. The one that made us all sob our little hearts out. This story reminded me of that. Klune provides a glimpse into the spectrum of the human psyche during the end of days and to no one's surprise, it isn't all sunshine, rainbows and frolicking in the meadows.

This is definitely one of those books that after finishing makes you want to call your family or reach out to an old friend. There is nothing like an inevitable end that makes you realise you are as tiny and insignificant as dirt in the vast cosmos. We may all be made of stardust, but some people shine so much brighter. Never wait until the end to tell them so. All the stars for Klune!

Thank you to Netgalley, Pan Macmillan and the author for the arc.

Recommended for fans of Matt Haig, Fredrik Backman, The House in the Cerulean Sea, The Bones Beneath My Skin, The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances, Station Eleven, Never Let Me Go, The Stranger, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, Theo of Golden, The Road to Tender Hearts ]]> Review8491693270 Tue, 30 Jun 2026 10:42:54 -0700 <![CDATA[CJ added 'Rough Around the Hedges']]> https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8491693270 Rough Around the Hedges by Lish McBride CJ gave 5 stars to Rough Around the Hedges (An Uncanny Romance, #2) by Lish McBride
bookshelves: alternative-history, best-couples, book-boyfriend, characters-that-annoy-me, cozy, fantasy, horrible-families, favorites, kick-ass-girl-power, magical-realism, quick-easy-read, romantasy, series, special-snowflake, squad-goals, too-much-angst, urban-fantasy, when-im-raging-at-the-world
Is this what normal friendships and relationships are supposed to be like? Supportive, non combative, non toxic!!! Or was that part of the fantasy? Reading this was cheaper than therapy! Now I just need to get a couple of ferrets and I'll be one step closer to being an functioning adult.

Recommended for fans of: anyone who f***ed up family dynamics, Ashley Poston, Heather Fawcett, Sangu Mandanna, Travis Baldree, Alix Harrow
]]> Review8360368028 Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:15:00 -0700 <![CDATA[CJ added 'The Everlasting']]> https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8360368028 The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow CJ gave 5 stars to The Everlasting (Kindle Edition) by Alix E. Harrow
bookshelves: alternative-history, best-couples, bookclub, fairytales, fantasy, folk-tales, horrible-families, kick-ass-girl-power, made-up-lands, myths-legends-and-magic, mythical-creatures, smart-ass-know-it-alls, special-snowflake, squad-goals, too-much-angst, unreliable-narrator, when-im-raging-at-the-world, 2026-11-trending-books, 2024-01-fall-vibes, 2026-14-books-on-books, 2026-17-escapist-read
Me in any conversation about books:
"I'll ready anything except military history and memoirs. Also not a fan of angsty yearning, find it too eyerollingly cringy. Love time travel."

Alix Harrow: Hold my beer

This is a masterclass in swoon worthy yearning.

Recommended for fans of: Divine Rivals,The Crystal Cave, Garth Nix, Giles Kristian, B. K. Borison, Amal El-Mohtar ]]> Review8034676852 Wed, 13 May 2026 14:34:31 -0700 <![CDATA[CJ added 'The Girl with a Thousand Faces']]> https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8034676852 The Girl with a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean CJ gave 5 stars to The Girl with a Thousand Faces (Kindle Edition) by Sunyi Dean
bookshelves: 2026-reading-challenge, 2026-15-aapi, alternative-history, assassins, antiheroes, bookclub, creepy-and-mysterious, fantasy, folk-horror, historical-fiction, horrible-families, kick-ass-girl-power, kaiser-soze, magical-realism, mythical-creatures, own, netgalley, quick-easy-read, revenge, squad-goals, unreliable-narrator, urban-fantasy, villains-need-love-too, wee-beasties, hong-kong
Do you like ghost stories, little sister?
Sit down, get comfortable. You haven't heard this one before.

With such an amazing story hook, it is easy to tumble down the rabbit hole into this vivid magical Hong Kong under- and nether- world. It is such an interesting mix of historical fiction and magical realism. I loved the rich mythology and folklore with the Hungry Ghost Festival, and definitely spent a large chunk of the book daydreaming of a career pivot and becoming a Ghost Talker with a shapeshifting ghost cat sidekick. Seems like an industry futureproof from AI takeovers.

It was just the right balance of spooky mystery and not too much body horror so it passed the readable-before-bed-no-nightmares test. Unfortunately, that plan backfired slightly when I got to what is one of the BEST villain origins stories I've ever read. I was glued to the page until the wee hours of the morning to finish it. Holy moly, no one gets under your skin and pushes your buttons like family.

Recommended for fans of: Cassandra Khaw, Nghi Vo, T. Kingfisher, Alix Harrow, Emily Tesh, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Christina Henry, Angela Carter, Chuck Wendig, Victor LaValle, Someone You Can Build a Nest In, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, Don't Let the Forest In, The Library at Mount Char

Thank you to Netgalley, HarperCollins UK and Sunyi Dean for the ARC. ]]> Review8487291742 Fri, 24 Apr 2026 09:21:39 -0700 <![CDATA[CJ added 'Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy']]> https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8487291742 Replaceable You by Mary Roach CJ gave 5 stars to Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy (Hardcover) by Mary Roach
bookshelves: fun-with-science, funny-shit, 2026-11-trending-books, 2026-13-editors-pick
Bwahahahahaha
"And here we see how the anus can be used as a substitute for the male brain."

Oh Mary Roach, you are such a gem. Please don't ever stop making science interesting, fun and entertaining. Another fascinating read.

Recommended for fans of: Oliver Sacks, Randall Munroe, Bloomsbury Academic Object Lessons series, The Psychopath Test, Elephants on Acid, Jurassic Park, The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York, Mr. Wilson's Cabinet Of Wonder: Pronged Ants, Horned Humans, Mice on Toast, and Other Marvels of Jurassic Technology ]]> Review8212878789 Mon, 02 Feb 2026 13:33:43 -0800 <![CDATA[CJ added 'Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter']]> https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8212878789 Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett CJ gave 5 stars to Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter (Hardcover) by Heather Fawcett
bookshelves: alternative-history, assassins, best-couples, book-boyfriend, bookclub, cover-porn, cozy, canada, fantasy, horrible-families, historical-fiction, magical-realism, quick-easy-read, special-snowflake, squad-goals, urban-fantasy, villains-need-love-too, wee-beasties, when-im-raging-at-the-world, where-is-the-next-book
When I was young I was obsessed with Enid Blyton's Faraway Tree and Magic Wishing Chair series. I loved the characters. I loved the adventures. I loved the magic. I loved the mix of fantastical with the seemingly mundane. Growing up on a small island in an isolated community meant it probably took a lot longer for the reality bodycheck and harsh realisation that that is soooooo not how the real world works. But I really wished it did.

Heather Fawcett taps into this feeling of wistful nostalgia in Agnes Aubert with a jackhammer. She pulls you into a charmingly quirky world that rivals your childhood daydreams. It is full of delightful characters, great banter and an explosion of magical and feline shenanigans. And given some of the twists in the later part of the story, definitely worthy of a reread.

There are a few not so subtle digs at current cultural affairs to remind you that these magical worlds still have many of the same flaws as reality, and it is ironic how it is easy to gloss over them once the fluffy whiskery action starts up again.
"Do you think that any of them ever think to themselves that perhaps they have too much power? That perhaps nobody should be able to make a book that unravels rime, or ends the world?"
"I doubt it. They aren't usually the ones harmed by their mistakes, are they?"

This 1920s reality-adjacent Montreal is the closest I've come to replicating that same feeling I had on my many adventures to the Enchanted Wood, and I'm not going to regret the (probably unhealthy) amount of time I will now be spending daydreaming about this new world.

It was the most perfect rainy day read.

Recommended for fans of: Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries, Apprentice to the Villain, Legends & Lattes, Fool's Errand, Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore, Kiki's Delivery Service, Miss Percy's Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons, We'll Prescribe You a Cat, How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You (If only Agnes had this one)

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group for the ARC ]]> Review7533712832 Sat, 11 Oct 2025 07:27:34 -0700 <![CDATA[CJ added 'The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam']]> https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7533712832 The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam by Megan Bannen CJ gave 2 stars to The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam (Hart and Mercy, #3) by Megan Bannen
bookshelves: bookclub, characters-that-annoy-me, cozy, disappointing-ending, fantasy, faustian-bargains, horrible-families, kaiser-soze, kick-ass-girl-power, made-up-lands, magical-realism, mythical-creatures, myths-legends-and-magic, not-my-cup-of-tea, netgalley, romantasy, series, special-snowflake, urban-fantasy, villains-need-love-too
Alas, this one wasn't for me. Think I am going to be one of those readers who live in the world where Mercy and Hart exists is a solo book with maybe an accompanying novella of The Underrating of Duckers and Zeddie taken from their scenes in Books 2 & 3.

It is almost like the author thought Mercy and Hart was going to be standalone story so the ending was tied up nicely. But then publishers and readers went "We love this. Give us more!" and there was a wee bit of a scramble of "well where do we go from here" - y'know what everyone wants, dragons!

For a book with magical worlds full of gods, demigods and enchanting fauna and flora it was missing some story magic. There was no spark and was overall a bit boring. It kinda felt like an early draft. They all get stuck in the danger world because a character was trying to save a soufflé and the FMC reads a spicy book called BLANDishment. I hear ya, RoFo!

As many other reviewers have said, books 2 & 3 were really missing the dual POV to bring some depth and connection to the characters. I am definitely now going to be one of those curmudgeonly old readers that declare "if your name is in the title you should have a POV", otherwise you're banished to the deep dark depths of the bottom of the TBR pile.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group for the arc. ]]> Review6094284077 Tue, 15 Jul 2025 20:38:16 -0700 <![CDATA[CJ added 'Bride']]> https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6094284077 Bride by Ali Hazelwood CJ gave 5 stars to Bride (Hardcover) by Ali Hazelwood
bookshelves: alternative-history, assassins, best-couples, characters-that-annoy-me, bookclub, fantasy, horrible-families, kaiser-soze, magical-realism, mythical-creatures, paranormal, quick-easy-read, romantasy, series, smart-ass-know-it-alls, special-snowflake, squad-goals, urban-fantasy, villains-need-love-too, wee-beasties, 2025-reading-challenge, 2024-reading-challenge
This was another buddy read with my romance-book-loving sister. She chose this as middle ground cause "you like vampires, right?" Skip ahead to the midnight messages (we're in different time zones) asking about alphas, vampire politics and her regrets when tumbling down the internet rabbit hole after googling knotting ("I can't unsee this!"). Welcome to the Omegaverse baby!

It's true I haven't been a fan of some of Ali Hazelwood other books. I find the doe-eyed virginal smart girl meets big-dick-energy combo a bit cringe even if the sciencey bits are good. I did like Bride though. The story was entertaining, the characters were interesting and had a bit more bite, excellent sass and banter, and I do love me a scooby-doo villain. It was a really fun read. Some of the characters are beginning to sound a bit samey across books, but that is probably me and not Hazelwood. I only have so many voices in my head.

Of course this has sprouted more arguments about who is the victor in our ongoing book genre battle. My sister in getting me to like romance (no way!) or me getting my sister to like fantasy (obviously the correct answer) and the nuances of classifying this book as Fomance or Romantasy. My sister's delightfully innocent messages when discovering the explicitly detailed world of the monster-mash were hilarious and I'm still laughing. Many many thanks to all the wonderful weirdos on the internet, A03 and Ali Hazelwood for making the stars align and gifting me with one of the bestest inappropriate stories I will ever be able to share at family gatherings. You all made my day.

Wonder what the next buddy-read will be.

Recommended for fans of: Dead Until Dark, A Discovery of Witches, Fall of Ruin and Wrath, The Serpent and the Wings of Night, House of Earth and Blood, Neon Gods, Fan Service, A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon ]]> Review5768092897 Tue, 15 Jul 2025 17:59:10 -0700 <![CDATA[CJ added 'He Who Drowned the World']]> https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5768092897 He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan CJ gave 5 stars to He Who Drowned the World (The Radiant Emperor, #2) by Shelley Parker-Chan
bookshelves: alternative-history, bookclub, historical-fiction, china, magical-realism, own, retelling, series, special-snowflake, smart-ass-know-it-alls, squad-goals, villains-need-love-too, netgalley
It has been many months since I finished reading this book and at the time I was lost for words about what I could say about it. How do you review a book that leaves you hollow and emotionally drained? And would I recommend you put yourself through this emotional rollercoaster? Definitely!

If you're the type of reader who trawls Wikipedia after reading interesting historical fantasy fiction, you would have a vague idea of the journey from SWBTS's ending to what was yet to come, and know it is a dark and bloody path ahead. Surprisingly in a book based on military conquest and imperialism it isn't the carnage and warfare descriptions that are the most harrowing, it is the characters. There are no heroes in this book. Shelley Parker-Chan aptly refers to them as her "terrible murderous queers" and they will haunt you.

This is one of the few books I've read over the past few years that continually lingers in the back of my mind instead of getting lost in the book ether. Shelley Parker-Chan's writing really is superb at keeping the reader engaged in this bloody game of Fate Roulette. I have recommended this series to many people as well as bought it for a few.

Recommended for fans of Iron Widow, The Poppy War, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, The Song of Achilles, Shōgun, The Devils

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the arc.

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