Jul 31 2026
Hello, dear reader! It is the last day and last Tantalizing Titles column of July, and while the weather has gotten better around these parts, it still feels too hot to do anything but stay indoors and read a good book, like one of these upcoming titles! First up is a guaranteed blockbuster sure to …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/07/31/tantalizing-tales-july-2026-part-five/
Jul 30 2026
The latest installment of the Cranberry Creek Word Search mystery series is another winning combination of cozy mystery and related word search puzzles! Abby Jones is thrilled to be going on a romantic vacation with her boyfriend Nathan and her pampered cat Reggie (short for Sir Reginald.) Sure they aren’t going very far from the …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/07/30/murder-on-vacation-by-rosie-a-point-charles-timmerman/
Jul 29 2026
Contrary to the “editors” stated intentions, I very much enjoyed this book as a celebration of Arsenal and how it intersects with global ideas of Blackness. I think it’s weird to assume that a celebration of the subject would necessarily negate a close examination of it: a concept isn’t a person, and it’s feelings won’t …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/07/29/black-arsenal-edited-by-clive-chijioke-nwonka-matthew-harle/
Jul 28 2026
Comic books, y’all. Ngl, I bailed from being a regular comics reader — I even had a box with a weekly pull list at my local comics store up till that point — around the time of Marvel’s House Of M fiasco in 2005, because I was so tired of reboots (and crossovers, but that’s …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/07/28/absolute-wonder-woman-vol-1-the-last-amazon-by-kelly-thompson-hayden-sherman-mattia-de-iulis-jordie-bellaire/
Jul 27 2026
When I opened the part of the Hugo 2026 voter’s packet for Best Professional Artist, I did not expect to find an entire kid’s book in there! I’m so glad I did tho, as this is a gorgeously illustrated, heartfelt book about grief, culture, and learning to mourn in a healthy way. It’s Dia de …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/07/27/the-invisible-parade-by-leigh-bardugo-john-picacio/
Jul 25 2026
At the beginning of In the Time of Five Pumpkins, Botswana is waiting for the rainy season to begin. The days are hot, the nights do not offer enough relief. People are on edge and prone to be short with each other. That tendency shows up in the novel’s first case, a husband who is …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/07/25/in-the-time-of-five-pumpkins-by-alexander-mccall-smith/
Jul 24 2026
Hello, dear readers! This week we have a whole slew of exciting books to look forward to before and as August begins, and then a title I want to highlight from 2025. First is a book I’m so eager to dive into. The late Victoria Thompson’s legacy lives on through her daughter Ellen, in the …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/07/24/tantalizing-tales-july-2026-part-four/
Jul 23 2026
And with this, I finish reading a very strong novella slate for this year’s Hugo Awards! I actually haven’t read any of the other books in the Sworn Soldier series, a deficit I should rectify but definitely don’t have the time to at present. The Sworn Soldier of the series’ name is Alex Easton, a …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/07/23/what-stalks-the-deep-by-t-kingfisher-2/
Jul 22 2026
I am having a lot of THOUGHTS about this book that have me trying to second guess my younger self, and it is a WEIRD experience. This children’s picture book is about a little mouse who inhabits the Outermost House, a cottage on a section of beach that juts out into the sea, alongside the …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/07/22/the-outermost-mouse-by-lauren-wolk-kristen-adam/
Jul 21 2026
translated from the original Korean by Anton Hur. The only odd thing about this otherwise terrific collection of short stories, to me, is the fact that they led with the two weakest stories in the bunch instead of any of the strongest. Sure there are only seven stories in this collection, and perhaps other folks …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/07/21/if-we-cannot-go-at-the-speed-of-light-by-kim-cho-yeop/
Al Singh
Doug Merrill
Doreen Sheridan
Emily Lauer
John Pitzel
Lars N. Goldschlager
Laura Eilers
Professor X
Robert Maedgen
Sylvere Ap Leanan
The Shire