Sunday, October 26, 2025

REVIEW: Sonora by Jenni L. Walsh

 

A fantastic historical fiction about one of the original women horse "daredevil" divers in a circus or amusement show.  She answers an ad in her late teens at the urgence of her mother. She goes to see the show and is enamored. Sonora loved horses. Now, she loved horses even more, and her death-defying act bolstered this love. She became a main attraction and loved every minute of it. However, after years of doing the act, she had an accident during a performance. Literally in the blink of an eye, she went blind in an instance. This would crush some but Sonora, but as soon as she was able to get up and "heal," she was back at it. She made a stellar comeback and continued her act while blind. This is not only an interesting story about Sonora Webster but one of endurance, self-sufficiency, independence, and perseverance. She found her calling in life, loved it, and did it on her terms. It's such a great novel. 


Thank you to #NetGalley, Harper Muse Audiobooks, and the author Jenni L. Walsh for a digital (audio) copy of #Sonora exchange for my honest opinion. Sonora will be published on Tuesday, October 28, 2025.

Monday, October 13, 2025

REVIEW: BOOM TOWN by Nic Stone

 


Debut adult thriller from young adult and middle grade author Nic Stone. Boom Town is her first adult novel. 

Boom Town is a fast pace intense urban thriller set in one of Atlant's infamous gentlemens club. We find two employees, Charm a newbie and Lucky, a seasoned [former] headliner have gone missing without a trace. The only person that notices this and how similar the two disappearances are is Lucky's former partner and co- headliner, Lyriq. 

Lyriq is on a mission to find out what happened and where these women are. This thriller is a mix of Player’s Club and P-Valley. It is gritty, raw, sharp, suspenseful and thought provoking. The latter is evident in the novel's social commentary on power, abuse, race, class, misogyny and the lack of attention and resources dedicated to finding missing women and girls.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #SimonSchuster, the author Nic Stone for a digital copy of #BoomTown exchange for my honest opinion. Boom Town will be published tomorrow October 14, 2025.