![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
128. A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher. 5. Adorable tale of a young wizard whose only talent is bringing baked goods to life...when magic suddenly becomes outlawed.
129. Fortunately, The Milk by Neil Gaiman. 3.5. Charming but semi-forgettable storybook about time travel, dinosaurs, aliens, and the difficulties in retrieving milk for breakfast. (Apparently I'd read it before? But do not remember.)
130. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarity. 5. A surprising balance of tension and humor, this murder mystery includes everything that was terrible about being the parent of a kindergartner. Well, everything plus murder.
131. A Hatful of Sky by Terry Pratchett. 5. Come for Feegle shenanigans, stay for a deep understanding of friendship, respect, and the darkness in our own hearts.
132. Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett. 3. Going back in Pratchett's back catalogue emphasizes his growth as a writer. This Macbeth parody is fun, but kind of shallow.
133. Pyramids by Terry Pratchett. 3. Early Pratchett is still fun, but lacks the heart of the later work. Also, man does the cover of my edition age poorly. Wow.
134. Geekarella by Ashley Poston. 3.5. Cute retelling of Cinderella, where the ball in question is a cosplay contest at a thinly veiled Dragoncon.
135. The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty. 5. Vivid worldbuilding based off Arabic and Indian traditions we haven't seen enough of in fantasy. Fantastically dense politics and cool magic. Will need to hunt down the sequels.
136. The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston. 4. Prince and the Pauper, featuring a serious actress trapped in a blockbuster role and a the fan trying to save her character.
137. Bookish and the Beast by Ashley Poston. 4. The problem with Beauty and the Beast retellings is balancing the beast role, so he's appropriately horrible but still redeemable. Poston manages her bratty actor well, so he deserves the heroine by the end. Also, the deep love of books works particularly well for this fannish spin.
138. Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett. 4.5. I feel like this is where Pratchett starts to really come into his own. The Rincewind and early Witches books are fun but fluff - the Watch is where Pratchett moves from parody to satire.
139. The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand. 4.5. This not-quite-a-romance spin on Christmas Carol features a Scrooge who fails to reform...and when she dies is stuck being Ghost of Christmas Past for other Scrooges.
140. Situation Normal by Leonard Richardson. 4. Hitchhiker's Guide with Catch-22 levels of cynicism. Interstellar war in which there is no noble side, and everyone bumbles along. If you liked Richardson's first book, you'll like this humor...but don't expect the same sweet ending. (Disclaimer - I was a beta reader for this book.)
129. Fortunately, The Milk by Neil Gaiman. 3.5. Charming but semi-forgettable storybook about time travel, dinosaurs, aliens, and the difficulties in retrieving milk for breakfast. (Apparently I'd read it before? But do not remember.)
130. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarity. 5. A surprising balance of tension and humor, this murder mystery includes everything that was terrible about being the parent of a kindergartner. Well, everything plus murder.
131. A Hatful of Sky by Terry Pratchett. 5. Come for Feegle shenanigans, stay for a deep understanding of friendship, respect, and the darkness in our own hearts.
132. Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett. 3. Going back in Pratchett's back catalogue emphasizes his growth as a writer. This Macbeth parody is fun, but kind of shallow.
133. Pyramids by Terry Pratchett. 3. Early Pratchett is still fun, but lacks the heart of the later work. Also, man does the cover of my edition age poorly. Wow.
134. Geekarella by Ashley Poston. 3.5. Cute retelling of Cinderella, where the ball in question is a cosplay contest at a thinly veiled Dragoncon.
135. The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty. 5. Vivid worldbuilding based off Arabic and Indian traditions we haven't seen enough of in fantasy. Fantastically dense politics and cool magic. Will need to hunt down the sequels.
136. The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston. 4. Prince and the Pauper, featuring a serious actress trapped in a blockbuster role and a the fan trying to save her character.
137. Bookish and the Beast by Ashley Poston. 4. The problem with Beauty and the Beast retellings is balancing the beast role, so he's appropriately horrible but still redeemable. Poston manages her bratty actor well, so he deserves the heroine by the end. Also, the deep love of books works particularly well for this fannish spin.
138. Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett. 4.5. I feel like this is where Pratchett starts to really come into his own. The Rincewind and early Witches books are fun but fluff - the Watch is where Pratchett moves from parody to satire.
139. The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand. 4.5. This not-quite-a-romance spin on Christmas Carol features a Scrooge who fails to reform...and when she dies is stuck being Ghost of Christmas Past for other Scrooges.
140. Situation Normal by Leonard Richardson. 4. Hitchhiker's Guide with Catch-22 levels of cynicism. Interstellar war in which there is no noble side, and everyone bumbles along. If you liked Richardson's first book, you'll like this humor...but don't expect the same sweet ending. (Disclaimer - I was a beta reader for this book.)
