Doreen Sheridan

Professional book critic, amateur cellist, full-time polymath. Occasional game designer, perpetual game enthusiast. Mom of 3. Arsenal till I die. I like a good story. My other mystery reviews can be found here: https://www.criminalelement.com/author/dvaleris/

Most commented posts

  1. Deathless (Leningrad Diptych #1) by Catherynne M. Valente — 12 comments
  2. Sweet Tea by Piper Huguley — 7 comments
  3. I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley — 6 comments
  4. A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan #1) by Arkady Martine — 6 comments
  5. Busting Vegas by Ben Mezrich — 5 comments

Author's posts

The Mermaid, the Witch, And The Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

I honestly think it does a great disservice to this book to consider/market it as YA. For starters, I very nearly bounced off it in the first few pages when a main character, who we’re clearly meant to feel sympathy for, brutally kills an unarmed man. Had I gone in thinking this was a regular …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/12/02/the-mermaid-the-witch-and-the-sea-by-maggie-tokuda-hall/

The Math Kids: An Incorrect Solution (The Math Kids #5) by David Cole

with illustrations by Shannon O’Toole. The Math Kids are starting fifth grade in a pretty glum mood. Not only are they not all in the same class any longer, but the boys, Justin and Jordan, have been stuck with a teacher known as Miller the Killer, who has no love for math and barely teaches …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/12/01/the-math-kids-an-incorrect-solution-the-math-kids-5-by-david-cole/

Madly Marvelous: The Costumes Of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel by Donna Zakowska

The Marvelous Mrs Maisel has long been on the list of shows I’d watch if I had more time in my life, so I was immensely grateful to receive this book so I could make the time to watch at least the pilot episode. Even as someone unfamiliar with the show, I’ve long been a …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/11/30/madly-marvelous-the-costumes-of-the-marvelous-mrs-maisel-by-donna-zakowska/

From Page To Screen: Dune by Frank Herbert

I’ve read Frank Herbert’s Dune once, when I was 8 and it was the only other English-language book in my grandparents’ house, after Robert Louis Stevenson’s far more age-appropriate Kidnapped. Dune left an indelible mark: I thought in terms of worm sign and the Weirding Way for years, even as I knew uneasily that there …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/11/29/from-page-to-screen-dune-by-frank-herbert/

The Last Jews Of Penang by Zayn Gregory & Arif Rafhan

Hey, everyone, my very talented friend Arif Rafhan has illustrated a(nother) terrific book! The Last Jews Of Penang is a slight volume suitable for all ages, that highlights a little known corner of Malaysian and Jewish history. A small but thriving Jewish settlement existed on the island of Penang for well over a century, building …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/11/24/the-last-jews-of-penang-by-zayn-gregory-arif-rafhan/

The Bird: The Great Age Of Avian Illustration by Philip Kennedy

So for real, I spent every few pages of this gorgeous, luxe volume either exclaiming or sighing, “So beautiful!” I hardly expected anything less from a book billing (ha) itself as a retrospective of the golden age of avian illustration, but I honestly did not expect a volume so hefty and extraordinary, and for only …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/11/23/the-bird-the-great-age-of-avian-illustration-by-philip-kennedy/

Gigantic by Ashley Stokes

The blurb makes you think this is going to be a comedy, and perhaps for some it is. But it reminded me very much of my first pro theater production, a play with what I thought was a bleak if occasionally funny script, set in a series of airport waiting areas. We performed it to …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/11/22/gigantic-by-ashley-stokes/

Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi

Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi

I don’t remember the last time a novella, oh heck, any book, has been so strong and thoughtful before totally collapsing for me in the last two pages. “Riot Baby” is not a directive, as I’d mistakenly believed: it’s a nickname. Kev is born during the L.A. riots that blaze in the aftermath of the …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/11/19/riot-baby-by-tochi-onyebuchi/

Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark

I don’t think I’ve yet met a premise of P. Djèlí Clark’s that I haven’t loved! Ring Shout posits the idea that the Ku Klux Klan are made up of both your regular hate-filled Klansmen and demonic Ku Klux entities from another realm masquerading as human. Not everyone can see these Ku Klux in their …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/11/18/ring-shout-by-p-djeli-clark-2/

Finna (LitenVerse #1) by Nino Cipri

Finna by Nino Cipri

Like, I knew this was a portal fantasy of two exes navigating the multiverse that opens up in an IKEA-style store, but the blurb and the cover especially did not prepare me for the excellent hijinks that ensued! I’m also a bit ashamed to admit that I really want to go visit IKEA again after …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/11/17/finna-litenverse-1-by-nino-cipri/