I have not been reviewing much this year. At all. But I’ve read a lot of fun books, so I want to at least mention the ones that stuck with me, so here’s another little catch up series.

Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor

I listened to this on audio and I enjoyed it a lot. It’s a strange tale, with how young the protagonist is but how heavy and traumatic parts of her story are. I liked the setting of near-future Ghana, I find sci-fi books set outside the US/UK very interesting.

Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu Collector’s Edition by Junji Ito

This was a graphic novel I got from my Secret Santa. It was so fun! About a dude (the artist) who didn’t want cats and how he grows to love them. He’s a horror comic artist, so it’s a fun mix between horror-art style and cats just doing cat. things.

The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard

This book took me so long to read. At least half of that was because my paperback had such a small uncomfy font I never ended reading much of it. So it felt like it went by ever so slowly, but I’m sure that’s just me. I really like the setting, I loved the murder husband novella set here, but the main story was much more serious. Murder husband for one is super scary and not at all friendly here. And there is a gothic edge and gloomy air to it all, as the story is mainly set in an old house that’s fallen from glory. One interestin thing, that had mixed results with me, was how the most fun, charming, radiant character was absent, we just get memories of him .

I liked it, and will continue the series, but a combo of bad mood and print made it fall short on the active enjoyment scale.

The Everlasting Rose by Dhonielle Clayton

I loved this one so much, it had everything I liked from the first book and more. We got to learn some more dark secrets about this fascinating world, where magical beauty hides sinister secrets. The main characters were put through a lot and I liked seeing how they fared. The new characters we met were #goals. I loved how the story unfolded, great sequel.

Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson

I am so glad I got this in audio, because that fixed everything I struggled with when reading Brown Girl in the Ring. The narration was so good and melodious I found my inner voice sort of switching to the book’s Anglo Patois for days after I finished it. I loved reading about a far future space setting that was Carribean-inspired, and I really enjoyed the way the story was told.

Lightless by C.A. Higgins

This is a mod friend’s favorite and she’s been talking about it for years. It’s a very small scale sci-fi set on a ship with a very small crew. I really liked the personal focus and the MC’s bond with her ship. In some ways reminded me of Long Way to Angry Planet, but less cosy, still optimistic, I think.

Warriors 1 – 4 by Erin Hunter 

Cats! I binged a bunch of these when I was in the need for comfort reads. I never read them as a kid and always felt like I missed out cause talking cats is so incredibly my thing. I liked them a lot, I only stopped because my, other, mod friend told me the 5th one is kinda sad at times and my emotional state said no. They were very fun and I loved the cats and the kittens and they ways they did cat things like purring and snuggling.

Hustlers, Harlots and Heroes: A Regency and Steampunk Field Guide by Krista D. Ball

Read for the non-fiction square, it’s about life in the regency period. I really liked the emphasis and different people lived and what they could’ve done for work based on their class. It shows a lot of details that can be added to a historical book to make it more alive.

Snapdragon by Kat Leyh 

A graphic novel but a very quick read. It was lovely and also emotional. There’s a badass old lady and I’m always into that.

Darkly: Blackness and America’s Gothic Soul by Leila Taylor

Another non-fic read, this book took a while to get to the sff-related part, but it was a very intersting read, I’m not very knowledgable about gothic stuff, but I find American gothic very interesting and I really liked reading about it from the Black perspective.

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week a new theme is suggested for bloggers to participate in.