The Laughing Corpse (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #2) by Laurell K. Hamilton ★★★★★

“I could teach you so much, Anita, so very much.” 

- Señora Salvador 

Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #1) by Laurell K. Hamilton ★★★★★

“You do what we want or I will peel your mind away like the layers of an onion.” 

- Nikolaos

Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente ★★☆☆☆

This book is what comes from combining refined sugar, cocaine, and a word processor. The comma to period ratio was about 100:1. They were frenzied, rabid sentences.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers #1) by Becky Chambers ★★★☆☆

This was the Most Millennial Thing I’ve ever read. A sitcom in space strongly advocating a new normal.

Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson ★★★★☆

"Life is a planetary expression, and can only survive on its home planet."

A cautionary tale, a much needed message... and the wet blanket of science fiction.

What I enjoyed was that Aurora was in no way predictable, that alone kept me reading long into the night. 

Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente ★★★★★

"Everything in this world requires a heart in trade.  There’s no such thing as a good bargain." 

The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente ★★★★★

"I belong in the refrigerator. Because the truth is, I’m just food for a superhero. He’ll eat up my death and get the energy he needs to become a legend."

These are the stories of the dead: women’s voices of the Marvel/DC universe forever silenced, because after all, it was never their story. 

Until now.

Homecoming by Susan Palwick ★★★★☆

Merfolk May needed one last story! Gareth and Peg are small town kids that dream of the sea, so cue the cross dressing and let the adventures begin!

From the Depths and Other Strange Tales of the Sea (British Library Tales of the Weird #1)

No Ships Pass by Lady Eleanor Smith ★★★★½

The intro was correct, this story, written in the early 1930s, could have been the basis for Lost.  Imagine a smaller cast that could not die.  Madness!

Hunting the Merrow (The Merrow Trilogy #2) by Heather Rigney ★★☆☆☆

Gruesome, brutal, and bleak.

Lots of rape and slaughter.

With a hopeless ending. 

Why? Why? Why?!?!