Book Reviews
I typically post between two and three book reviews a week. Please refer to my review policy if you’d like to submit a book for consideration. I invite you to subscribe to my newsletter to get a summary of my reviews once a month.
Book Review: Swimming Back to Trout River by Linda Rui Feng
After finishing the last page of this book, I released a great big sigh. Not because I was relieved it was over, in fact, I had hoped Swimming Back to Trout River by Linda Rui Feng would go on longer past its 260 pages. Instead I let out a sigh of contentment because...
Book Review: The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke
Happy Halloween! Today is the perfect day to curl up with a spooky read (really, the entire month of October is) and I've got a stellar recommendation for getting you into the Halloween spirit. The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke landed on my doorstep towards the end...
Book Review: A Beginner’s Guide to Murder by Rosalind Stopps
A Beginner's Guide to Murder by Rosalind Stopps seems like a cozy mystery at first glance; a bunch of little old ladies plotting a murder together to save a friend. This appeals to the Murder She Wrote lover in me because I relish the idea of getting older but not...
Book Review: The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig
This is my second-to-last Halloween book that I've got on my shelf, and now that I've been reading horror for a few straight weeks, I'm feeling a bit sensitive to all the violence I've been exposed to, but I'm also more attuned to the critiques of society that this...
Book Review: Nothing but Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw
I was in search of a new Canadian-authored Halloween book to read during October, and had trouble finding something, as I typically do. Luckily, I stumbled upon this terrifying little novella, Nothing but Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw, who was a new-to-me author...
Ivereadthis Jr. Edition: 4 Halloween Books to Choose From
As soon as October 1st hit, we were decorating our house orange and black. Not only do we bring out the ghosts and spiderwebs, we focus our reading on Halloween books to get the kids excited (in a sugar-free way) about the coming holiday. Below I summarize the 4 books...
Book Review: Astra by Cedar Bowers
Although it sat on my shelf for a few months, Astra by Cedar Bowers wasn't pushed to the top of my stack until it appeared on the Scotiabank Giller Prize Longlist. I wish my reading wasn't a slave to the prize lists, but I must admit it helps me narrow down my...
Book Review: The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward
I got about halfway through The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward and debated closing the book for good - I just wasn't sure I could handle it anymore. The writing itself was not the problem, it was what the characters were doing to each other, or at...
Book Review: Noopiming, The Cure for White Ladies by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
September 30 is now officially Truth and Reconciliation Day here in Canada. Among other things, it's intended to help bridge the gap between settlers and Indigenous people, recognizing the harm that has been done in the past, and working towards reconciliation in the...
Book Review: My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones
It was only a year ago that I reviewed Stephen Graham Jones' last book, The Only Good Indians, which I really enjoyed, so I jumped at the chance to read his latest release (just in time for the beginning of the spooky season) My Heart is a Chainsaw. Don't like blood...
Book Review of Two Novellas: Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket and Happy Sands by Barb Howard
Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket I've technically read one Lemony Snicket book before; his picture book The Bad Mood and the Stick is a favourite in our house because it's so delightfully odd and the rainbow 'bad mood' is a gorgeous little illustration. I had of...
Book Review: The Listeners by Jordan Tannahill
With so much anger, division, and suspicion flying around these days, a book about cults seems extremely timely. How do people become so entrenched in their individual views, that they begin to isolate themselves from their loved ones? When someone struggles to...