It’s February and that means I get to pick books for the book club…whoop!
If you’re in the Fantastic Strangelings Book Club you’ll be getting The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden.
It sounds like horror but really it’s more like historical fiction with a splash of paranormal. During the Great War, a combat nurse searches for her brother, believed dead in the trenches despite eerie signs that suggest otherwise, in this hauntingly beautiful historical novel with a speculative twist.
I loved it and was a little embarrassed at how little I knew about the history of WWI and what it was like in the trenches. When will I get to a point when I read historical fiction and be like, “Oh, I already know all of this”? Does that ever happen? I can’t tell if I’m dumb for not knowing so much or smart for continuing to learn. Maybe both? Let’s say both.
And if you’re in the Nightmares from Nowhere Book Club we’re sending you a book that explores rivalry, sacrifice, uneven power dynamics, ambition, ethics, and feminism in a way that reimagines the first vampire book, Carmilla? It’s a spicy, sapphic, enemies-to-lovers romance with a side of murder called An Education in Malice by S.T.Gibson.
An if you, like me, need more than one book to get you through the month, here are some new February releases I liked.
Bored Gay Werewolf by Tony Santorella – Gritty. Funny. Weird. Like if a gay Fight Club mixed with The Talented Mr. Ripley and picked a fight with Andrew Taint.
I’ll Just Be Five More Minutes: And Other Tales from My ADHD Brain by Emily Farris –True story…I think I was asked to blurb this book and I really liked it but I can’t remember if I blurbed it or not because I have ADHD. So, I guess…relatable?
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett – Part murder mystery…part world-building magical fantasy. All good.
The Book of Love by Kelly Link – This book is long as hell and is about everything and the kitchen sink, but the prose is gorgeous.
House of Last Resort by Christopher Golden – Creepy demons. Italian catacombs. Catholic Church shenanigans.
The Invisible Hotel by Yeji Y. Ham – This is such a strange little book that examines generational trauma in Korea. It’s a very odd exploration on dread, grief and the long-lasting effects of war and fear.
Dear Sister by Michelle Horton – A fascinating memoir by the sister of Nikki Addimando, incarcerated for killing her abuser, about abuse, family and the criminal justice system.
Until next month, happy reading and don’t forget to support your local indie bookshop!
~Jenny
I want to read I’ll Just Be 5 More Minutes because I’ve already read reviews and know it’s going to resonate with me.
And now we know Who Wrote the Book of Love. It was Kelly Link.
If you didn’t know about WWI and trenches and such you are lucky in some ways. The best summary is in John Keegan’s “The Face of Battle” descriptions of Agincourt, Waterloo and the Somme. If you can read about the “pals” battalions in the first Somme and not pretty much loose it you should turn in your membership card to the human race.
I am currently reading Murder your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes. Not scary or paranormal, but clever as hell and largely tongue in cheek. I think you might like it.
You always make my TBR explode, in the best way!
The book is very interesting, both in the love story and the war context. I ordered the book online but have never been to the autograph signing or fan meeting. If anyone has any information, please let me know.
I’m reading The Invisible Hotel. This book reminds me of Japan’s novels.
The beauty of historical fiction is that it’s a kind of time machine, sneaky with its education. You dive into the emotions and drama, and before you know it, you’ve absorbed nuance and context about periods you may never have studied formally.
The way you presented complex information so simply is remarkable.