ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 2/22/24 ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 2/22/24

Every Gift a Curse

The final installment of the Hidden Gifts trilogy is now my favorite of the series. I know the story needed to end here, but I am sad I can’t spend more time with these characters I have come to love. Caroline O’Donoghue needs to write more YA, please.

ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 2/20/24 ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 2/20/24

Birnam Wood

The contemporary answer to Edward Abbey’s The Monkey Wrench Gang

ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 8/25/23 ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 8/25/23

All’s Well

ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 8/12/23 ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 8/12/23

Porn: An Oral History

ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 8/11/23 ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 8/11/23

The Housekeepers

ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 8/8/23 ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 8/8/23

Hokey Pokey

ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 7/20/23 ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 7/20/23

Atalanta

turned into lions ––> HEA?

ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 6/2/23 ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 6/2/23

The Guest

I would describe The Guest by Emma Cline as atmospheric and quietly upsetting (in a good way).

ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 3/1/23 ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 3/1/23

Pathogenesis

I was lucky enough to get an ARC of Pathogenesis by Jonathan Kennedy through Netgalley. I was very excited to read it and was not disappointed.

ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 2/13/23 ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 2/13/23

No Life for a Lady

Enola Holmes vibes and I’m not mad about it.

ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 2/3/23 ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 2/3/23

Really Good Actually

Really Good Actually is equally funny and heartbreaking. It has the vibe of a modern divorced Bridget Jones of Toronto.

ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 1/30/23 ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 1/30/23

Yellowface

I sped through R. F. Kuang’s catalogue in the year of 2022 (and a few days into 2023) and I have no regrets. I am ready for more of her clever and poignant torture.

ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 1/27/23 ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 1/27/23

An Almond for a Parrot

An absolutely astonishing waste of my time. I had high hopes for An Almond for a Parrot by Wray Delaney. The synopsis had hints of The Crimson Petal and the White, however, it was not to be.

ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 1/21/23 ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 1/21/23

Babel

Babel* by R. F. Kuang is what dark academia *should* be.

I have many opinions about the genre in general and I will need to get a paperback copy of *Babel* so I can liberally annotate the text upon my re-read of it.

ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 1/3/23 ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 1/3/23

The Cloisters

Hays’ writing style flows and successfully builds suspense in this dark academia-adjacent unsettling mystery.

ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 12/20/22 ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 12/20/22

The Weather Woman

The Weather Woman by Sally Gardner falls into one of my favorite sub-genres: early modern creepy fantasy, alongside The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock, The Familiars, and The Miniaturist.

ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 11/21/22 ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 11/21/22

All That’s Left Unsaid

I have been slowly starting to read more books set in Australia, as it seems Australian authors are not well-represented in the bookshelves of British booksellers. All That's Left Unsaid has joined Moonlight and the Pearler's Daughter, Feeling Sorry for Celia, and Three Wishes, as one of my favorite stories set in Australia.

ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 9/28/22 ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 9/28/22

Rule, Nostalgia

I would recommend this book to anyone still struggling to make sense of Brexit or anyone feeling warmth for the Empire.

ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 8/11/22 ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 8/11/22

The Family Remains

The mystery in The Family Remains is a continuation of the events in The Family Upstairs. A murdered woman’s skeleton is found in the Thames; dumped there recently, even though she has been deceased for over two decades.

ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 8/10/22 ShortSkirtsAndSarcasm Caroline 8/10/22

The Halfways

I love a story about family drama, sisters, and intergenerational houses, so The Halfways was a must.