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

Life House by Pete Townshend, James Harvey, David Hine & Max Prentis

Ngl, reading this felt like what I imagine an acid trip would be like. I guess one good thing about it is that it made me want to listen to more of The Who’s music? Good thing this graphic novel is being released with an accompanying vinyl LP! (Link at the bottom, tho you can …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/01/18/life-house-by-pete-townshend-james-harvey-david-hine-max-prentis/

Guided Tarot Box Set by Stefanie Caponi

One of the silver linings of 2023 being such a garbage year for me emotionally was the fact that it encouraged me to start making better use of my many Tarot decks, not (necessarily) to divine the future — tho my weekly spreads do have the concerning habit of choosing to focus on Arsenal games …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/01/17/guided-tarot-box-set-by-stefanie-caponi/

Children Of The Phoenix Vol. 1: The Eye Of The Storm by Oskar Källner & Karl Johnsson

I went into this thinking, mostly due to the publisher, that it was a graphic novel. I was a bit surprised to open it up and find that, while there are certainly very lovely, impactful illustrations courtesy of Karl Johnsson, this is very much a middle-grade chapter book. That’s not a bad thing at all, …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/01/16/children-of-the-phoenix-vol-1-the-eye-of-the-storm-by-oskar-kallner-karl-johnsson/

The Woman In Me by Britney Spears

Y’all. Y’ALL. I was barely thirty pages into this book and I wanted to take up my sword and shield and fight to the death for Britney. And I know that autobiographies aren’t gospel: they’re always going to tell you only one point of view. But damn, y’all. Even if she was exaggerating (and I’ll …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/01/11/the-woman-in-me-by-britney-spears/

City Of Betrayal by Victoria Thompson

Hunh, this had better not be the last book in the Counterfeit Lady series, as seemed to be hinted at in the afterword. I understand how this seventh volume would be a thematically appropriate story to finish on, but it absolutely lacked the larger part of why so many readers, myself included, have adored these …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/01/10/city-of-betrayal-by-victoria-thompson/

Divine Deco Tarot by Gerta Oparaku Egy

I have been trying really hard not to buy more Tarot decks, but the moment I saw the graceful figures Gerta Oparaku Egy uses on her cards, I knew I had to own this one. This deck was inspired by three disparate influences that resonate deeply with me. The first and most obvious is dance, …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/01/09/divine-deco-tarot-by-gerta-oparaku-egy/

The Case Of The Missing Piece (Bad Machinery #9) by John Allison

(this review was originally written before the turn of the year, so apologies for some end of 2023 recap misery near the bottom there.) As is tradition, I took some time out of my day this past Christmas to sit down and read another installment of my beloved Bad Machinery series by John Allison. I’m …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/01/08/the-case-of-the-missing-piece-bad-machinery-9-by-john-allison/

The Mocktail Club by Derick Santiago

What a perfect time to be able to dive into a gorgeous book of alcohol-free but still very sophisticated beverages for adults! Just in time for Dry January comes a slender but glamorous tome explaining how to create delightfully nonalcoholic twists on several classic drinks recipes, while also introducing new favorites to the home bartender’s …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/01/04/the-mocktail-club-by-derick-santiago/

Looking Back On 2023

Happy New Year, friends and readers! I decided to start this year with a recap post on my very first day back at work, instead of struggle bugging with it for a few days like I have in years past, lol. Part of this may be due to how eager I am for 2024 to …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/01/02/looking-back-on-2023/

Just SNOW Already! by Howard McWilliam

This book is an utter delight! Just SNOW Already! masterfully combines straightforward prose with the slyest, most charming illustrations to tell an entirely different, layered tale of anticipation and of (hopefully) not neglecting all the wonderful things already taking place while you’re waiting for something “better” to happen. Our unnamed protagonist is a young boy …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/12/27/just-snow-already-by-howard-mcwilliam/