Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear

 Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire, 160 pages.

Although it can be a hard life, Nadya is content to stay in the Russian orphanage she has lived in since she was born. She's never been bothered by the arm she was born without, but it seems that the well-meaning American couple that adopts her is very concerned about it, and insists on getting her a prosthetic she does not want and didn't ask for. Leaving adopted parents who don't understand or listen to her, she falls through a portal in a turtle pond and into a drowned world of water. This new world, Belyyreka, is a fascinating place made up many layers of different kinds of water, all within a lake the size of a world. Ships dive deep beneath the rivers and giant turtles serve as companions to the people. Nadya is finally home.

This is book 10 in the Wayward Children series, but as a portal world book it could be read as a standalone without any issues. That being said, I'm afraid I wouldn't call this book the strongest in the series. Beyyreka was a very interesting setting, but the very short book spent a lot of time on Earth. Also unfortunately, I found this book a little heavy-handed compared to others in the series, and I feel like there was a lot of looking directly into the camera to deliver social justice messages, rather than integrating them more smoothly. I still enjoyed this book! I find the prose in this series lovely, and there is the normal amount of comfort to be found in a series all about finding a place to belong and be known. I'm just a little disappointed that this one didn't quite reach the heights of previous books in the series. 

The Golden Egg

The Golden Egg by Donna Leon  276 pp.

This is the 22nd book in the Commissario Guido Brunetti series. An apparently deaf and mentally disabled man in Brunetti's own neighborhood of Venice dies from an apparent accidental overdose. Both Guido and and his wife Paola knew him only as the man who did menial work at the local dry cleaners. After the rudimentary investigation into the death, questions arise after the autopsy. Although there is no official investigation into the accidental death, Brunetti discovers that there are no records of the man having ever existed. This prompts his own inquiries into the unusual and awful circumstances of the man's birth, life, and death. Meanwhile Brunetti's unpleasant boss, Vice-Questore Patta, orders him to take care of the matter of illegal land use by a relative of the Mayor. This is handled quickly leaving Brunetti to solve a couple internal problems within the Questura (police headquarters). Patta wants to move his favorite minion, Lt. Scarpa into the office of Signorina Elettra Zorzi, his secretary and displace her to another location in the building, much to her dislike. And there's the matter of Commissario Claudia Grifoni who is finding it difficult to settle into her position as a female officer and a Neopolitan transplanted to Venice. Signorina Elettra is not fond of Grifoni and Brunetti wants them to have a better working relationship. Of course, Brunetti manages to wrap it all up in under 300 pages. 

Mooncakes

 Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu, 255 pages.

This paranormal romance centers on Nova, a hard of hearing witch, and Tam, a nonbinary werewolf. Nova and her grandmothers run a bookshop cafe that also seems to double as a center for magical research. The action starts when Tam comes back to town, chasing a cult who are intent on using their wolf magic for nefarious purposes. Soon they are staying with childhood friend (and crush) Nova, and their bond quickly deepens to romance.

While I did enjoy this comic, it was not at all the fluffy bakery story I was expecting from the cover. It's really more of a mystery/action type story, with the titular mooncakes only being mentioned in passing. Still fun and very sweet, but not quite what I was hoping for.