Gill McKnight

I had no idea what to expect from this book. Halfway through, I realized I had very little idea what was going on in the story but I didn't care because it was such fun! This is a book that defies categorization. Science fiction? Well, yes, sure. Alternate history? Got that too. Steampunk? Oh, yes.

The nearest thing I can compare this book to is an episode of Doctor Who. There was so much timey whimeyness going on that the Doctor would have felt right at home.

I mean, there are giant space show more squid. And Roman centurions battling to take over the galaxy. And time traveling lesbians. And a tea cult. And gladiatorial games. (Did I mention the giant space squid?) I literally cannot describe the plot adequately because it is all over the place and yet works perfectly. Everything fits together very well, and while I wasn't sure where McKnight was going at the 50% mark, by the 75% mark, everything was clear (sort of) and I was eagerly speeding toward the finish.

I'm really looking forward to the second book. I've already rec'ed the hell out of this book to folks.

Review copy courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley. show less

Exactly as much fun as you'd expect it to be based on the premise. A murder mystery; all the charm of the 1920's England setting without the usual focus on straight white men; spotlight on women, people of colour, queer people and members of the working class ... what's not to love?

I was kind of expecting Jones and Lady Margo to be an item, but that turned out not to be the case. Which isn't a complaint! Their friendship and the mutual respect they share is lovely, and I can ship them show more whether it's canon or not - like with Jeeves and Wooster (whom these ladies remind me of quite a bit).

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review) show less

I thought that this was a delightfully different sort of lesbian romance novel. On one hand it was the story of Jesse, a young woman from the US and Norrie, who's from Ireland. They're soulmates, or they should be, but then quite an oopsie happens and a person who's called the Soul Selector suddenly has to figure out what to do about it or fix it, and somehow get the two soulmates back together. But, it also has a second story with different layers to it. There might be another soulmate show more wandering around the world. Who is it, not to mention is there really one are big questions in the book. There's also the question of, why is Aphrodite being so obstructionist and is Zeus going to wind up screwing everything up?

I've read a lot of books with Greek gods in them, and this one was definitely the most unique of those. I started off a little annoyed with the character of Death, but, as everyone's journey progressed I found myself liking the character more and more until he wound up my favorite character by the end of the book.

It was a fun read and as I've said, definitely the most unique lesbian romance novel I've read this year.

I got this advanced galley through Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books. show less

A hotshot programmer gets kicked out of her job after she turns in a highly profitable piece of software. In revenge, she kidnaps her 'Big Boss' girlfriend (or so she thinks), to demand ransom. However, nothing is at it seems. Deceptions, betrayals, double-crosses in every chapter. Billed a romantic comedy, this lives up to it perfectly. And there is the requisite angst as well. Gill Mcknigt is one versatile author. In the hands of a lesser author, this would have disintegrated into farce. show more But she manages to keep things real enough that everything seems plausible rather than fantastical. This is by far my favorite book from her. show less