Harrow the Ninth

Harrow the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir. I was a little overwhelmed when this popped from a looong library queue three days before Return of the Thief day, especially when I realized I was also going to want to reread Gideon (and hadn't finished my Queen's Thief reread either), but, hey, housework schmousework. Rereading Gideon was a good choice (rereading the Queen's Thief series was also a good choice) and I recommend it for people reading this one, unless of course you are a lot better with names and details than I am. I liked this book and continue to recommend the series to people who liked the first one, although I will say that this is a very different book. If Gideon was Hunger Games meets The Westing Game (like I have said), let's call this one the Inheritance Trilogy plus Inception.

Everything else behind the spoiler cut, major spoilers: ( Read more... )

A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking

I apparently never reviewed A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking, which I read back in... September? As with much Ursula Vernon, it was very Ursula Vernon, which if you like will delight you and if you don't then I suppose you would not. I am always happy to get to read a new Vernon. This one is more like Minor Mage or Summer in Orcus in having a middlegrade-aged protagonist who is having to deal with darker and heavier stuff than your typical middlegrade, as opposed to the Clockwork/Sword/Paladin books with adult protags who have romance. (I like both.)