I’m going to start putting my mini-reviews here as well as longer reviews for books that I think merit it.
Books
The Starving Saints, by Caitlin Starling. Medieval fantastic horror in which three women (a knight, a heretical nun, and the daughter of an executed noble) are locked in a besieged castle with supernatural forces that come as the face of their goddess and her saints. Really good with vibes and twists. I only picked this up because of the medieval connection; I don’t normally read horror.
The Case of the Missing Maid, by Rob Osler. Series starter with a novice woman private detective in Progressive era Chicago; she has to find a missing woman in the Polish community in a case that hinges on, among other things, exploration of her lesbianism. The second book isn’t out yet but I’ll be interested in seeing where this series goes.
Short Stories
Why We Sing, by C.C. Finlay. Paywalled. The story of how mermaids came to be, with a twist.
Welcome 2 the Freedom Galaxy, by Maurice Broaddus. Paywalled. Interstellar funk wars. I love the Prince-inflected musician our protagonist follows.
Banded Iron, by T. K. Rex. Paywalled. What happens when it’s your turn to go back to Earth to fight the interstellar kaiju?
The Green Glass Paperweight, by Sarah Monette. (Reprint from 2004) Hard to talk about this one without breaking the twist but it’s worth it. What does the hated godson select as his bequest?
All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt, by Marissa Lingen. The gift shop manager convention on a space station takes an unlikely turn.
Music
MARINA, Princess of Power. We listened to this in the car and my husband thinks it’s a post-divorce album. It’s retro disco-pop in a fun way, really girl power, and I’m going to be listening to it again and again. I never really got into her last two albums as much as the first three, but this one hit the sweet spot again.