Romeo and Juliet with robots.  An at times heartwrenching, bittersweet
and moving tale of a girl and her robot.


When Caterina Novak is just a young girl, her father brings home Finn to be
her tutor.  Finn doesn't eat or feel cold and young Caterina believes he is
a ghost. She soon finds out that Finn is a robot, a one of kind robot who can
feel emotions and even love, that becomes an important part of her life as she
continues to grow up. 


Cat's story was an emotional rollercoaster.  This is a love story with a
sci-fi twist that is set in a post-environmental disaster world.  Cat and
Finn are well-developed characters whose stories take many twists and
turns.  There are also many discussion points brought up about the rights
of artificial intelligence.  The book also moves through a large portion of
time within Cat's life in a smooth way.

This book was received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A hilarious journey with a not-quite dead and not-quite likeable main character.     

We join Marius with his new found partner-in-crime as they are robbing corpses of their riches on a battlefield.  One of the corpses happens to be the fallen King of Scorby, Marius has no trouble robbing the corpse of the King, crown and all. 

Meanwhile, the free dead of the underworld are looking for a King...Marius gets transported the the world of the free dead to rule them; except, he is neither a King nor dead.  For his trickery, the dead take his heartbeat and send him on a quest to find them a King, his newly dead fried Gerd is supposed to accompany him.

Marius' adventure is full of comedy and magic.  Reminding me of a Captain Jack Sparrow character, Marius is a liar, thief, pickpocket and general con artist but I came to feel for him and his journey.  An intriguing and unique plot, great for a Halloween-time read.

I'll look forward to reading the next book with Marius, The Marching Dead.


This book was received as an Advanced Reading Copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

An alternate universe with two countries; one ruled by science (an alternate England, called Anglica) the other ruled by magic and spiritualism (an alternate India called Bharata) are joined by a bridge that traverses the ocean.  The bridge, of course, lets good and bad pass between both countries.

Astoria, a young adult from Anglica wishes to be accepted into scientific circles and crosses the bridge on a quest for a mythical golden lotus in Bharata. Astoria is a wonderful character, who I found very relatable. Her journey is one of adventure and self-discovery that weaves together science and magic wonderfully.


This book was received as an Advanced Reading Copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.