A Rover’s Story – A Blast(off)

My local bookstore’s summer reading challenge included the prompt “a YA or middle-grade book with a robot,” and I felt utterly lost. The owner—and the person who created the SFF-themed challenge—suggested A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga. I love space exploration as much as the next basic dude, so I queued the book on Spotify…

Bad Doings And Big Ideas – Mostly The Former

Bill Willingham, best known as the creator of Fables, collects odds and ends from his career as a comic book writer and artist in Bad Doings & Big Ideas. The beefy tome curates non-Fables tales, including some that never garnered much readership in their initial runs. The result should have been a delightful collection of…

Quill To Live Crossword 10: We Get Around

Ten whole crossword puzzles! What an arbitrary milestone! Let's get solvin', because this week's puzzle is already in motion. QTL Crossword: We Get Around Puzzle Spoilers Below! Which would you rather try—riding a dragon or riding a flying broomstick? If you picked broomstick, what is wrong with you? For more puzzles, subscribe to my newsletter,…

Skeleton Crew – Good Bones

My quest to read through the Stephen King catalogue continues! My most recent trip to the King well took me to the murky waters of Skeleton Crew, a short story collection full of various horrors, creepy locales, and people who turn out to be more monstrous than actual monsters. The collection includes a novella, tons…

Quill To Live Crossword 9: Who’s On FIrst?

Welcome, folks, to our ninth QTL crossword! That's a fitting milestone for this puzzle. If I told you why, the whole thing would be spoiled! Get solvin' to unravel the (admittedly tiny) mystery! QTL Crossword: Who's On First? Puzzle Spoilers Below! The inspiration for this puzzle was a conversation with a friend. She asked if…

Bury Our Bones In The Midnight Soil – It’s Got Fangs

V.E. Schwab, we meet again! My first-ever QTL review covered Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic. The intervening years have not seen us cross paths until now. A book club friend selected Bury Our Bones In The Midnight Soil, marking my return to the author’s pantheon. It was a nice return full of pleasant thoughts…

Quill To Live Crossword 8: The Gentlemen!

Howdy, everyone! We're back with QTL's eighth crossword! IT's a nod to one of our long-time site favorites. Solve away! QTL Crossword: The Gentlemen! Puzzle Spoilers Below! Nothing like cramming a super lengthy answer into a vertical grid! It seems only fitting for the larger-than-life presence of Locke Lamora and his Gentlemen Bastards. For more…