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. A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan #1) by Arkady Martine — 10 comments
  3. Sweet Tea by Piper Huguley — 7 comments
  4. I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley — 6 comments
  5. Busting Vegas by Ben Mezrich — 5 comments

Author's posts

The Little Wooden Robot And The Log Princess by Tom Gauld

I didn’t even know Tom Gauld had written a children’s book! This is his first of hopefully many, especially given the delightful allusions peppered throughout this volume to the title characters’ adventures while on their epic journey. Once upon a time, a king and queen lived happily but for the fact that they had no …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/04/11/the-little-wooden-robot-and-the-log-princess-by-tom-gauld/

Codex Black Vol 1: A Fire Among Clouds by Camilo Moncada Lozano

with colors by Angel/Michi DeSantiago. This is a really fun graphic novel that I almost bounced off of in the first few pages because it’s so darn dark. And I don’t mean in mood: I mean that it’s so visually murky that my brain was refusing to engage with the images on the page. I’d …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/04/06/codex-black-vol-1-a-fire-among-clouds-by-camilo-moncada-lozano/

The Keep Within by J. L. Worrad

Due to my absolutely bonkers (and entirely self-inflicted) work schedule over at CriminalElement.com, I feel like I’ve had to dial back a lot on my professional obligations w/r/t books over here, but you’d best believe that when the chance to join the book tour for J. L. Worrad’s latest book came up, I jumped on …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/04/03/the-keep-within-by-j-l-worrad/

The Story Of The Saxophone by Lesa Cline-Ransome and James E Ransome

If you think of the saxophone nowadays, you think of jazz musicians, perhaps John Coltrane and Stan Getz if you’re of a certain musical inclination, perhaps Lisa Simpson and Kenny G if your knowledge of the instrument tends more towards mainstream pop culture like my own does. But the saxophone has a long and storied …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/03/29/the-story-of-the-saxophone-by-lesa-cline-ransome-and-james-e-ransome/

OMFG, BEES! by Matt Kracht

with the absolutely delightful subtitle: Bees Are So Amazing and You’re About to Find Out Why. I am 100% the target audience for this humorous non-fiction book extolling the benefits and wonders of bees. Heck, I even wrote a hybrid role-playing/board game, Honey Hex, that benefits the National Wildlife Federation’s efforts to protect pollinators. In …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/03/28/omfg-bees-by-matt-kracht/

Zara’s Rules For Living Your Best Life by Hena Khan

with the most charming of illustrations, as with the other books in the series, by Wastana Haikal. Salam Ramadan, readers! Do I have the perfectly timely OwnVoices read for you, the third and latest in one of my favorite middle grade series. As Zara’s Rules For Living Your Best Life opens, Spring Break is springing! …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/03/23/zaras-rules-for-living-your-best-life-by-hena-khan/

Lilancholy by John Battle

This is a strange, arresting book that one hundred percent works better as a novel(la) than as the lyric game it purports to be. Ostensibly a collection of spells and games created and played by two young girls living within recent memory, the short descriptions take common childhood games of the West and give them …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/03/22/lilancholy-by-john-battle/

Long Goes To Dragon School by Helen H. Wu & Mae Besom

This delightful children’s book tells the tale of a young dragon, Long, going to dragon school for the first time. He’s super excited to be there, until he discovers that all of the other dragons breathe fire. Where he’s from, dragons only breathe water. Worse still, his professor’s assignment is for students to learn to …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/03/21/long-goes-to-dragon-school-by-helen-h-wu-mae-besom/

Recipe For Disaster: 40 Superstar Stories Of Sustenance And Survival by Alison Riley

This collection of essays with recipes is absolutely stunning, both visually and in the impact of the stories. Not all the essays come with recipes, which is why I hesitate to call it a cookbook, and some recipes have definitely been more rigorously tested and precisely presented than others. But overall this is an emotionally …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/03/16/recipe-for-disaster-40-superstar-stories-of-sustenance-and-survival-by-alison-riley/

Biindigen! Amik Says Welcome by Nancy Cooper and Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley

What a delightful picture book introducing Native American words and concepts to readers, young and old! Amik is a young beaver who is excited to host a gathering of her cousins at her river home. Her little sister Nishiime is curious but shy, and vanishes almost as soon as the others begin to arrive. While …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/03/14/biindigen-amik-says-welcome-by-nancy-cooper-and-joshua-mangeshig-pawis-steckley/