MADreads Reviews

I've loved everything I've read by Ashton and The Fourth Consort doesn't break that pattern.

It was the oysters that first tipped off the Queen.

I was pleasantly surprised when gathering material for this month’s Sweet Anticipation. February tends to have the reputation as a tedious month, something to be borne between the highs of the holidays and the anticipation of springtime. But the memo apparently didn’t make it to publishers, who are releasing an impressive array of titles across all genres, making who would make the cut to this month’s list a tougher call than usual. On to the selections:

A heroine who just wants to read and works in a bookstore? How is that not going to be added to my tbr list? But books that are added to my list are often bumped by the next items added. Thus we have The Bookish Life of Nina Hill added to my list a few years ago and only now, at last, happily read.

Everybody’s talking about borders these days. Whether it’s the US southern border, Ukraine’s boundaries, or seemingly any square inch in the Middle East, it’s in the news. But at least there’s the comfort that borders have been carefully and thoughtfully drawn, and based on logic considering geographical, ethnic and political aspects.

Nope.

After eight years on a prison planet, for a crime they did commit - to be fair, Edie Morikawa, thief and con artist, gets out and is determined to live the straight and narrow life. First challenge? Getting a ship off the planet. And waiting for Edie is Angel Huang. Angel is the person who sold them out and left them to their fate on the icy prison planet. But transportation off the rock aren't plentiful and Edie knows that they can accept the ride and still reject Angel's plan for one more big score.

Every month there are new titles purchased for the Too Good to Miss collections at our libraries. If you're not familiar with TGTM (as we call it here in library-world), it's a special collection of popular books that are truly too good to miss. Some are new and popular titles, others are older titles that might not have had as much media attention as a bestseller or celebrity book club selection but are still great reads that deserve another look.

Neurodiverse thirteen-year-old Frankie has more than her share of challenges. She is learning to cope with multiple issues and manage her impulses. Meanwhile, Frankie’s twin sister, Tess, is handling the challenges of having a neurodiverse sibling.

"To the world, they were a scandal. To each other, an obsession."

That's the first line of the blurb for this epic love story that takes it's inspiration from Wuthering Heights. Here instead of wandering the moors, the lovers glide across the ice in the competitive (some would say cut-throat) world of Olympic-level ice dancing.

I fully admit that a large reason for why I read the book that came before this one, The Spellshop (reviewed here), was because the cover was so gorgeous. This second one, set in this same world, has an equally gorgeous cover, but I can safely say that my choice to read this time was because of the enjoyment I had with the first book. And equally safe to say, I loved this even more than the first.

The six realistic stories in this slim collection follow 10-year-old twins Ash and Mel and their younger brother Calvin. With carefully chosen and decodable words, this is a great option for both beginning readers and emerging readers looking to hone their skills. A list of content words (words that enhance the story but may not yet be decodable by all readers) is included at the beginning, and rich vocabulary words are bolded and defined in the text. And did I mention that the stories are fun and relatable?

The National Book Critics Circle Award has released longlists for its annual awards in the categories of autobiography, biography, criticism, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, as well as for the Gregg Barrios Book in Translation Prize. Below is the nonfiction longlist.

A bit ago I read Emma Southon's A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and loved the deep dive into how murder and assassination were viewed in ancient Rome. Not long after posting that review I heard about another book about ancient roman history. The podcaster mentioned how much they'd enjoyed a biography about Agrippina, a woman who was a descendant of Julius Caesar. She was also a sister, niece, wife, and mother to three other emperors.

Ally Condie had a major hit years ago with her young adult Matched trilogy, and has been a mainstay of the children’s and young adult lists since. The Unwedding marks her adult debut, an entry into the crowded thriller/crime field. Happily, The Unwedding is a winning effort, infusing one of the most traditional of crime sub-genres—the locked room mystery—with a subplot of grief and coping through tremendous loss.

What do you get when you combine a snuggle and a tickle? That’s a snickle! And what do you get when you read Give Me a Snickle! by Alisha Sevigny? Just about the best feeling ever and the cutest board book around! This beautiful book pairs colorful photographs of babies and toddlers being cuddled by their loved ones with silly, rhyming, made-up words that describe different kinds of snuggles. Give Me A Snickle! is gorgeous and fun and captures the joy of snuggling. It is sure to delight little ones, ages 0-3, and their caregivers.

The Wisconsin Book Festival is pretty good at predicting the best books of the year! If you got to see some of these authors during the Fall Celebration or during standalone book events in 2024, maybe you already knew you were in the presence of greatness.

In his history of Chicago in the 19th century Cronon's primary thesis is that rural and urban growth/development go hand in hand with one another. The two worlds are interdependent and rely on one another to continue to exist. And in the case of the rise of Chicago these connections are especially true.

I've been thinking a lot about gratitude and family so I'm really excited to share two new picture books especially for young readers ages 4-8 that combine these concepts to beautifully illustrate one of the oldest and most human arts of all: fixing something precious with the help of someone who loves you.