Morren Aconite

Found some gems this month, and overall had a quite pleasant time with this selection of books.

Boom Town, Nic Stone

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wild, heartbreaking, and dark thriller about two missing erotic dancers. The characters’ stories intertwine so intricately throughout the years; it’s amazing. I don’t want to reveal too much about this book beyond the fact that it was a perfect read for me.

Automatic Noodle, Annalee Newitz

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fun and unique sci-fi novella about a team of robots who suddenly find themselves in dire need of money and with an opportunity to run their own restaurant. I loved the characters and the atmosphere (also, got extremely hungry for those Chinese noodles by the end of this).

Brigands & Breadknives, Travis Baldree

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

As always, it was cute and cozy and goes perfectly with some sweet treats or a bubble tea. I wish I’d enjoyed it more, but it’s not on the book – I might have been in the wrong state of mind for this adorableness.

The Mind Reels, Fredrik deBoer

⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘Sorry came after, when she was medicated again. That was the worst side effect, and the cruelest element of all. To enter treatment again was to feel waves of unrelenting guilt for what she did when she was not in treatment. The only time she enjoyed her life was when she was in the process of destroying it.’

A disturbingly realistic portrayal of how a young woman’s mind slowly unravels into the pits of insanity. It is a rare case where a book doesn’t sugarcoat or glamorize the nightmare that is severe mental illness.

The Killer Question, Janice Hallett

⭐️⭐️⭐️

A story of secrets and murder, told entirely through text chains, witness statements, etc. Centered around a remote English pub’s quiz nights, it has cool vibes, but I found that the intrigue didn’t hold my interest past the first 20% of the book. The ‘past’ storyline contributed heavily to it, since it bored me to tears.