23:100 Ghost*Spider, Vol. 2: Party People by Seanan McGuire

 On Earth-65, Jonny and Sue Storm were online influencers when they suddenly disappeared and now 5 years have passed and they have mysteriously returned home claiming no memory of what happened to them during that time but now with superpowers. Meanwhile, Gwen is continuing to try and balance living and crime-fighting in her native dimension of Earth-65 while going to college on Earth-616. When Sue and Jonny offer a team-up with Ghost-Spider in Earth-65, she's happy to no longer be the only superhero in the are and hopeful that together, they can help her rep. Unfortunately, nothing is ever that easy or simple.

Fun series and I hope Seanan is able to keep writing this!

Page count: 112p/6,145p ytd/353,535p lifetime

22:100 Binti Trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor

I first read the standalone novella, Binti, back in 2018.  Here are my thoughts at that time:

The Himba people have never left their homeland, much less traveled to the stars, but Binti has been accepted to go to the Oomza University which is offworld.  She knows she cannot tell her family, they will never approve, so she sneaks away one night to board the ship that will take her. 

She is other to everyone.  No one is familiar with the Himba people as they remain isolated and do not travel but Binti hopes that those traveling to the University will learn to treat her as an equal.  On the trip, things are going well and she is even starting to make some friends until the ship is attacked by the Meduse.

Earth and the Meduse have been at war for a long time and this is just the latest strike.  Now the Meduse have killed everyone on board except for Binti for there is something about her that is different.  Now she has the chance to try and be a bridge between the Meduse and Oomza University in order to bring peace. 

This was truly a remarkably crafted tale.  At less than 100p long, it was tightly woven with amazingly detailed characters and universe.  Ms. Okorafor is an incredibly talented wordsmith and worldbuilder and I can't wait to read more of her work.

I had no idea what the rest of the series would be about but was hoping it would follow Binti at the University.  It instead brings her back to her village as a broker of the peace talks between the Meduse and humans. Unfortunately there is much fear and Binti has now become too alien after her fusing with the Meduse to be easily accepted by the people she grew up with. Now she must learn her full past, the story of the stone she brought with her on the ship to Oomza University, and the history of the war with the Meduse if there is to be any hope of peace between the worlds.

I will admit to being a bit disappointed at first that this was not the story I was hoping to get (but very thankful that in the Kindle version of the trilogy there was a short story of University days). I did find it a bit harder to get into the rest of the series as a result as I also found the pacing to be a bit slower but the story did pull me in with the masterful writing and intriguing characters. I am definitely a fan of Ms. Okorafor and will be continuing to work my way through her body of work.

Page count: 368p/6,033p ytd/353,423p lifetime 

21:100 This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone

 Two factions fighting across time, trying to nudge the time line this way and that in order to adjust it in their sides favor so they can win the real war. Two sides, each with their own agents that follow the orders from above to give their side the best chance. Two sides, each with an agent in possession of a secret.

The note was left on a battlefield, one of many throughout the time line, as a taunt. But it didn't stop there. One note, left to one agent of the opposing side. A response. And another. Up and down the time line, each finding new and more innovative ways to slip messages to the other. No names, never that, but knowledge of how the other thinks and moves used to ping the consciousness to the message written and wanting to be found. It started with that taunt but how can you know someone that well, for so long, without it becoming more. Respect turns to admiration turns to an intimacy. If they are discovered it would mean death, to fraternize with the enemy so, but the reward of the next missive is worth the risk.

It took me a bit to really get into this one and the writing style but once I did, I found it a fabulous read. Well constructed with beautiful prose.

Page count: 209p/5,665p ytd/353,055p lifetime

20:100 In the Shadow of Spindrift House by Mira Grant

 Harlowe Upton-Jones has been living with her paternal grandparents after her parents were killed under strange circumstances. That she grew up to become part of a new "Mystery Gang" with her friends as teenage sleuths really isn't surprising. But now they have graduated high school and the rest of the gang is looking at college and careers and things are falling apart. So Harlowe finds one last case for them to go out on a bang with, that of the Spindrift House. There are many interested parties trying to figure out who legally owns the house and if they can spend a week there and figure it out, the payoff will be worth it.  Unfortunately, the house has its own residents who might welcome Harlowe but not her friends.

Elder gods and haunted house and mystery gang...oh my! Fun horror story set in a Lovecraftian world but definitely not for the faint of heart.

Page count: 197p/5,456p ytd/352,846p lifetime

19:100 Last Strand by Jennifer Estep

Mason Mitchell is the head of the Circle, the super secret group that has been pulling the strings of Ashland's criminal underground for ages, and also Gin's uncle, the twin brother of her father. He has never let family get in his way, obviously since he had Gin's family murdered although she and her sister Bria managed to get away, has a plan to tear down the Pork Pit while making himself tons of money, and holds some serious grudges against Fletcher and Gin. With Fletcher gone, Gin is the one who must deal with his wrath but not alone as he will target her friends to get under her skin.

Gin has to stop him and keep her friends safe, as always.

I've enjoyed the series and find the world interesting with it's use of elemental magic. Never count Gin out but this feels like a good spot for things to end. We've gotten Gin's backstory, she has killed the ghosts from her past, and it's a good time for her to hopefully be able to rest. While Ms. Estep hasn't said that the series is officially over, the last few books were self-published and she has been moving forward with other series while saying that Gin's story is told "for now" but she is wanting to do the occasional short story highlighting some of the other characters which I will be looking forward to. 

Page count: 368p/5,59p ytd/352,649p lifetime

18:100 Wild Sign by Patricia Briggs

 The residents of a mountain town in the wilds of California all disappear and then the FBI come to Charles and Anna for assistance as the land is owned by the Pack. What the FBI doesn't know, Bran tells them, is that the land was purchased because that is where Leah was found and they were certain that something powerful and evil lives around there, something that knows about werewolves.

So with that warning, Anna and Charles head out West to try and discover what happened to the people and possibly figure out how to cleanse the land. Unfortunately, the big bad is awake, hungry, and searching for a mate.

We get to find out a lot more about Leah's backstory and her relationship with the Marrock which is great but it's a very dark book with a lot of awful stuff going (CW: mind-control, rape, harm to children). It gets intense but Ms. Briggs does an admirable job of handling the hard stuff while not allowing it to slide full-on into the darkness and despair and having it serve the story rather than be just for gratuitous shock value. 

This book was a bit slow to start and there were some pieces that didn't quite work for me so well but it's a solid addition to the series.

Page count: 358p/4,891p ytd/352,281p lifetime