We’re officially halfway through the A-Z blog challenge, and today’s post is one of the few (maybe the only?) fantasy books in the Bookbag. Necromancer Awakening by Nat Russo stands out as a fantasy story because of one detail: the protagonist, Nicholas, is a modern-day Texan who was transported to the land of Erindor, which…

Today’s Bookbag title takes us into the world of historical/urban fantasy, one that is inhabited by vampires. (Don’t worry. They don’t sparkle.) Monsters & Angels by Anne Marie Andrus begins in 1935 and stars a young, virginal nurse named Sorcha. Following her mother’s death, she escapes to New Orleans for a job, and there, she…

Today’s Bookbag title is the first book in the Lunar Chronicles series: Cinder by Marissa Meyer. I know, I cheated a little. But C was taken so here we are. The premise of Cinder is brilliant in its simplicity: Take the Cinderella story, put it in futuristic Beijing, and make Cinderella a cyborg. And add…

Today’s Bookbag title, The King of Torts by John Grisham, is a nod to the dozen-or-so Grisham novels I’ve read, more often than not while on vacation. For years, I didn’t leave my house for an extended trip without a Grisham novel in my purse. I lost at least one on a plane and ruined…

Confession: I didn’t have a J book that immediately jumped out at me for the Bookbag. I was considering going with Jurassic Park, but the idea of reviewing a story that everyone knows (either via the book or movie) didn’t seem like that much fun. So I searched the library at the elementary school where…

Our Bookbag title today is from a genre I don’t often read – women’s fiction. I chose to read this one, In the Context of Love by Linda Sienkiewicz, partly because I’ve come to know Linda via the interwebs over the years and partly because it’s been a finalist for several awards (this list comes…

Today’s book is one I read years ago and is one of my favorites: His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik. It’s a historical fantasy story that takes place during the Napoleonic wars and stars an English Captain, but the primary difference between the real deal and this book is in the book, the battling countries…

Today’s review is one I’ve looked forward to writing more than others because it’s unlike anything else I’ve read. Allow me to introduce you to The Gospel According to Satan by Daniel Ferguson. I beta read it in January, and having grown up in an evangelical family, I can safely say this book will ruffle plenty…

Today is the last of three consecutive days of memoir/self-help type books (they coincidentally happened that way). Today’s Bookbag book is The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz and Janet Mills. Like yesterday’s book, it’s a wildly popular best seller (on the NYT bestseller list for over a decade, according to the description on Amazon).…

While I read many indie books, sometimes I indulge in a trendy best-seller if it catches my interest. I mean, it’s popular for a reason, right? Hopefully, that reason is it’s a great read. Now, we all know some duds make it to the top. I’ve put down a handful of acclaimed books for various…