LGBTQ+ Archives – Page 3 of 3

Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies by Misha Popp

May 16, 2022November 15, 2022 by CarolNo Comments

Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies is not your typical cozy mystery. Yes, we have an amateur sleuth who is a baker; she has a dog and a couple of potential love interests. But we know who the killer is - Daisy herself. She kills men with magic and pies - but they deserve it. The mystery is who is threatening to expose her. I liked Daisy - but she does kill people. She's a fabulous baker and a statewide pie contest has some of her attention during the book. She has an adorable trailer she lives in and she wears vintage dresses. For someone in her line of business, she can be a bit trusting. We learn about halfway through who the blackmailer is, but by then we're invested in seeing how Daisy will solve the problem without crossing any of her lines. The book has the lightheartedness I expect from a cozy, but it does talk about serious issues...

The Verifiers by Jane Pek

April 22, 2022April 27, 2022 by Carol4 Comments

The Verifiers is a fun book, part mystery, part family drama, and part exploration of the data we provide online to corporations and how they might use that. Claudia Lin, our amateur detective, is the youngest, and at least according to her mom the least successful, of three siblings. She has left her low-level corporate job to work at Veracity, but she hasn't told her family. Claudia is a mystery lover and Veracity is a bit like a detective agency, allowing wealthy clients to investigate people they meet on dating sites. Veracity takes on a new client, a woman who wants them to investigate two men she met online, but whom she is no longer in contact with. At first, it's just interesting, but then the client is found dead in her apartment, an apparent suicide. Claudia is a likable character. She's smart and funny. She loves books and bicycling through New York. She's a lesbian and a romantic by...

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

January 25, 2022January 25, 2022 by CarolNo Comments

Black Sun is the first book in Between Earth and Sky trilogy, and it is a high fantasy inspired by the civilizations Pre-Columbian Americas. The winter solstice in the holy city of Tova usually means a time for celebration and renewal. But this year a solar eclipse will occur with the winter solstice. The story marches toward that Convergence. I listened to the audiobook and each of the four points of view had their own narrator. We have Xiala, a boat captain who can control both water and people with her Song. We have Serapio, a blind man who Xiala needs to make sure is in Tova before the Convergence. The chemistry between them is fabulous. Naranpa is the Sun Priest, doing her best even though she has more enemies than she understands. Last is Okoa of clan Carrion Crow, who we know the least, but seems the most willing to accept what he doesn't understand. They're all compelling...

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

October 21, 2021November 12, 2021 by Carol4 Comments

So I loved Gideon the Ninth. She sucked me right in with her attitude, her snarkiness, her sword. She's a fabulous character. She will tell the world she doesn't care, but at the same time is fiercely loyal and honestly cares about the other on this adventure. She is Cavalier to Harrowhark, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House, ruler of their home planet. Harrowhark and the necromancer heirs of the other houses have all been brought Canaan House with possibility of becoming Lyctors, powerful, nearly immortal generals in the Emperor/God's army. Gideon the Ninth is maybe sci-fi. It takes place in space, there were a couple of space shuttles, but it is much more fantasy/horror. All the combat is hand to hand or with swords. Gideon and Harrowhark, her master/crush/frenemy, are exploring what basically a gothic space castle with skeleton servants and words written in blood that appear on the walls. Or maybe it's a murder mystery. The Emperor has...

Red Tide at Heron Bay by Gerri Hill

September 2, 2021November 12, 2021 by CarolNo Comments

The romance and mystery in Red Tide at Heron Bay are evenly balanced. Harley Shepherd comes to Heron Bay Resort to investigate a case of vandalism. Lauren Voss is the manager of the resort, which is owned by her grandmother. Even though both women have been living in the town for a while, this is their first meeting. Harley is friendly and casual, but Lauren immediately finds her annoying. Of course, they both have pasts. Lauren had a bad breakup; Harley has come to the small town after an incident when she was a homicide detective in San Antonio. The mystery was interesting. Of course, the vandalism is just the tip of the iceberg. First a dead bird, then a dead body is found. There's a killer at Heron Bay and Harley will need Lauren's cooperation to find them. The clues were tucked in well and Harley was a competent investigator. Once Lauren realizes the danger, she is reasonable...

Orlando by Virginia Woolf

January 27, 2020January 27, 2020 by Carol6 Comments

Orlando is a beautiful novel. The writing is smooth and descriptive. Orlando, man or woman, is charming and intelligent and introspective. He/she cares about literature and nature, love and (sometimes) people. It's rather plotless. Time passes, fashions change, but not much really happens. And the things that do, like Orlando becoming a woman rather than a man or living 300+ years, are treated as no bigger, no life-changing than day to day events. Orlando handles everything with grace and honesty. at heart, she is the same person he had always been. Reading Orlando in 2020 is not the same as reading when it was first published. When Orlando becomes a woman, she cannot inherit her own home. She can't be an Ambassador again. She feels she needs to be more aware of others see her. We forget that at the time women were just gaining the vote when this was published, and Woolf uses her book to show the...