River Readers

Muse is trying to live a normal life, but as half-demon half-human, she is Not normal. Her ex-lover, Prince of Hell, may be attempting to assassinate her.
Allthough other reviews are quite positive, I had a difficult time staying with this story - maybe too many betrayals. Because I really like Pippa DaCosta I finished it, but just not as interesting as her other work.

Alice and her mother Ella have been on the run from the "bad luck" that seems to follow them wherever they move to and they move around a lot. Then they get a letter telling them that Alice's grandmother Althea has died. Althea wrote a best-selling book "Tales from the Hinterland", a set of bloody Grimm fairytales, tales forbidden for Alice to read - her Mom won't discuss Althea at all with Alice. Now her mother feels comfortable settling down, and gets married.

Caleb smuggles illegal goods next to his legit goods used as a cover across the 9 Star Systems. Caleb is a cynical, foul-mouthed ass-kicking pilot with lots of recriminations he's buried deep, however he does try to do good by a few people. 1001 is an android or a synth, her assignment is to kill Caleb.

I love Pippa DaCosta's work and am considering purchasing her books, since most libraries don't carry her work (just a few nibbles on Hoopla & Overdrive).

Junger asks why have PTSD steadily risen among soldiers returning from war over the last century, when casualties have declined. He makes a compelling argument that it due to the lack of tribal cohesiveness

Alina thinks she's a recently laid off news reporter trying to get an interview with musical Superstar Reign who is fae. Fae and humans are Not allowed to touch - to protect the humans from becoming bespelled - willing to do anything for the fae they are in love with. Turns out Alina is neither human nor fae, but just an ethereal construct.

Butch Karp has two cases where a particular cop appears to be the perpetrator. Marlene Ciampi's security company does a public offering of stock, and soon she's a millionaire. Their daughter Lucy is doing mission work with the homeless and soon she is at risk when Karp's 2 cases collide. I love the banter between Marlene & Butch - clever dialogue. I wish the female protagonists had more agency, though even Butch gets his life saved by a less than savory character.

Ace Dante tries to hide from the world by vacationing at a beach-lodge (bringing Cat & Shu along). Unfortunately, his enemies find him and drag him back to the Underworld to stand trial for his mother's murder. He gets some surprising help from Cat & Shu (well surprising to Ace, not so much the audience). I'm bummed that the rest of the series is NOT readily available.

Jessica Tran resigns herself to a life without superpowers (unlike her parents and older sister). She gets an internship with the villains of the town and discovers that the heroes and villains are decoys to distract the public from the important things that are going on.

Assistant District Attorney Butch Karp attempts to keep a cold blooded serial killer from escaping trial by claiming incompetent to stand trial. But Butch has the indifferent legal system stacked against him. Some overtones of Joseph Wambaugh's The Choirboys.

When Gia gets dumped in the parking lot before prom, she asks the cute boy waiting in the truck to pose as her college boyfriend. Gia journeys from a shallow popular girl, to someone trying to be better. Smart dialogue, characters you care about, this is one of the few romance novels I've enjoyed. Mediocre writers tell you, good writers show you, and West does a great job showing you her characters.

Ace Dante is hired to investigate the killing of witches - who in the past tried to entrap him to tap his magic. Egyptian god Osiris tries to get Ace to fulfill his side of a past bargain and kill the god Thoth. I love this series, and am sad that I can only access 3 via Hoopla. Will I have to resort to actually purchasing titles?

Several sources list this book as a Western, or Classic Western, I might be more inclined to call it a frontier novel, but I guess the Old West was the frontier. The novel is basically an hommage to frontier women to their strength, their industry, and spirit. The story is comprised of multiple vignettes, told from the nostalgic perspective of Jim Burden. Jim has come to live with his grandparents and meets Antonia and her immigrant family who've just purchased land close to his family.

16 year old Wendy, crashes her car into a lake, and witnesses a boy fly her younger brother Michael away. Adults tell her to grieve over the death of her brother Michael, but she and her other brother John, know better, they say him carried away. People in "real life" start to resemble the cast of Peter Pan. Her therapist Dr Barrie(!) suggests Wendy use a sketch book to draw her feelings. The sketchbook turns into a portal that allows Wendy to reconnect with The Lost Boys.
I loved the bright colors, this is one of the few Graphic Novels that doesn't use sepia tones!

Because Tory doesn't take flak off of customers and has a little temper, she keeps losing jobs as a waitress. She goes to apply in a sketchy neighborhood, and is asked to take the evening shift as a tryout. During this shift she throws a drink at one of the customers who was hassling her, saying "after all this trouble, if you're not going to drink it, you'll wear it". The next day she finds out, she's been serving magicians, who could really make her life miserable.

This collection celebrates women fantasy artists. I am familiar with some of the artists like Kinuko Craft, Ruth Anderson, Anne Yvonne Gilbert, Sulamith Wolfing.
I'm not sure the artists' best works were featured. For example Anne Yvonne Gilbert had a drab vampire scene, when she had so many other delightful pieces(try googling her images). Same thing with Jody A. Lee (who illustrates for Mercedes Lackey). It was quite interesting to see the connection between fantasy literature and fantasy art.