nmcannon's reviews
1382 reviews

The Final Scene by Carolyn Keene

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

The Message in the Hollow Oak by Carolyn Keene

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

The anti-indigenous racism, though somewhat lampshaded, is very intense, given the plot. It's a shame, especially since the mystery and queer subtext sparkle.

Mystery at the Ski Jump by Carolyn Keene

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

The Fashion Disaster by Carolyn Keene

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

A perfectly cute mystery!

Kitty Steals the Show by Carrie Vaughn

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

City of Shadows by Victoria Thompson

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Queer Nature: A Poetry Anthology by Michael Walsh

challenging hopeful relaxing fast-paced

4.0

Steel City Mafia by Paul N. Hodos

informative fast-paced

3.0

Season of Love by Helena Greer

hopeful slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

My partner and I always keep our eyes peeled for more sapphic Jewish books, and Season of Love’s premise is too cute to ignore. Literally who can say no to a tree butch.

Cassandra Carrigan loved few people, so she set up a Christmas tree farm. Then she only had to deal with them for three months out of the year. The irony that she was proudly Jewish just added the right zest. A generation later, Cass is gone and the farm is struggling. When granddaughter Miriam returns to sit shiva for Cass, she finds a once tight-knit family in disarray and still hurting from how she left. The head arborist Noelle is especially upset with her–which is awkward because the only way to save the farm is to work together. 

Before I cracked the first page, Season of Love was familiar: it follows the typical pacing and character beats of a romance novel, and this familiarity and the cozy setting make for a fantastically comfy reading experience. While Miriam and Noelle start as “enemies” (I use the term incredibly loosely), it’s more that they’ve misunderstood each other’s choices. Within context, the choices are understandable. It was a toe-curling delight to watch them find each other and that understanding. The “let’s save the small business” arc/trope is a treat. Mental health, trauma, and grief are gentle seasonings to a lovely, comfort food of a novel.

The weakest part of the book was the Christmas aspect. It generated plot holes. For example, Miriam says she was responsible for decorating Christmasland, which of course means lots of tree decorating. Later, she says she’s never decorated a tree. The repeated jokes about Noelle’s name, the mountain of twee Xmas merch, and Miriam’s “Christmas elf” looks landed awkwardly on the ear. I couldn’t quite put my finger on why. Nuances spun in my head. These are Jewish women forced to live a Christian-dominate society–yet the book didn’t quite let them be Jewish and inhabit that outsider point-of-view. I’m not sure if I’m articulating this thought correctly. Miriam, Noelle, and others are ethnically Jewish the entire book. Each Jewish person has their own relationship with Judaism, and sometimes that relationship is very casual. Maybe I’m way out of line because Helena Greer is Jewish(?). Maybe Greer had to “tone down” the Jewish-ness to get Season of Love published by a Christian-normative publishing industry. Still, there was a niggling in my brain that incredibly little would change if Miriam and Noelle were Catholic or Protestant. By the end, I wished this book more centered the Jewish experience and a Jewish holiday. Looking at other reviews, I feel bolstered. Some Jewish readers deeply enjoyed Season of Love and its depiction of Judaism and Jewish characters; others’ experience was more like mine.

In any case, if you’re in the mood for a sapphic holiday romance but want something different in your Christmas Town, I still do recommend Season of Love. 

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

What Moves the Dead is my first book by T. Kingfisher, despite having followed her on social media for awhile. Fungi make me ridiculously happy with their absurd ways, I like Poe, and horror is nice, so color me unsurprised that I liked this book.

When Madeline Usher writes to her childhood friend Easton, she knows ka will come. Ka is a loyal solider (occupation: solider; gender: solider) and friend. And quite polite about the multitude of horrors that have wiggled out of the lake and infected the house and the wildlife. Ka compliments the smelly, fleshy mushrooms. Ka (along with a feminist mycologist and doctor) will fix everything, and we can get back to what really matters: growth.

Kingfisher’s narrative borrows from Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” and plays in the tradition of Ruritanian romances. I’m familiar with Poe, but the Ruritania was new to me, and I appreciated Kingfisher’s explanation of the trope in the back matter. Basically, it’s a literary trope of a fictional Central or Eastern European country with different traditions and cultural norms than Western Europe. Think Genovia from The Princess Diaries, Marvel Comics’ Latveria, or Cohdopia from the Ace Attorney video games. I don’t know if these Ruritania elements were needed in the narrative, but they were quite good fun. At its best, What Moves the Dead weaves together Poe, fake country world-building, and the badass characters to create quality horror comedy.

I continue to love fungal horror. If you want queer mushroom shenanigans, pick up What Moves the Dead.