Virginia Black’s No Shelter But the Stars
I’m not really into enemies-to-lovers as a plot, but it kind of works here because these two women are ACTUAL enemies, the only survivors of a spaceship battle, stranded on a fairly inhospitable moon, and they have to work together to survive. I did think this bogged down a bit in the middle, and the political stuff was pretty basic, but it was a solid romance! I’d read more stories set in this world. B+.
Leslye Penelope’s The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass
Interesting novel about a young Black woman whose twin sister disappeared when they were teens—and no one remembers but her. Her sister is even gone from their family photographs, and she lives in a world where her sister never existed. Now it’s a few years later and she’s determined to figure out what happened, with the help of a cute PI. This is all interspersed with transcripts of audio tapes from their father about his experiences as a soldier in Vietnam as well as the missing sister’s old computer diary/messages/emails. It’s pretty clear at a certain point that all this stuff is connected, though I was kind of amazed at the one big reveal (and mildly impatient waiting for another). I also wasn’t expecting this to turn into a Y2K action thriller? It definitely lost me toward the end as things became increasingly bonkers, but a fun concept. B+.
Richard Osman’s We Solve Murders
I probably should have read something Important for book 200, but a) I didn’t remember what number I was on, and b) I wanted to read a fun mystery! The second book in this series just came out, which reminded me I never read the first one. It’s very entertaining with great characters, centering on a woman who works for an elite protection agency (currently guarding an amazing author who’s pissed off a Russian oligarch), when suddenly former clients are getting killed and it’s clear she’s being framed. So she calls in her beloved father in law, a former cop turned PI in a small town in England (the kind of PI who finds lost dogs and checks insurance claims) to help figure out who the real killer is. He’s fine with helping, as long as he gets back in time for pub trivia. Very funny and action-packed, I has a couple quibbles with the end but enjoyed this a lot. A-.
Marissa Lingen’s A Dubious Clamor
What a GREAT book! Sometimes novellas feel rushed or incomplete but this is the perfect length for this story. Which involves a young woman who was once cursed to be a harpy, but the spell was broken and now she helps people with magical problems. When one of her friends comes to her with a magical sword that is trying to control him, she needs all of her friends and allies (and her harpy ex girlfriend) to save the day. Great friendships and family relationships here, and I loved the mentions of Gilbert and Sullivan. I am probably the target audience for a book like this but I ATE IT UP. Definitely will be keeping an eye out for more by Lingen. A.
Elizabeth Vaughan’s Warsong
The last book in this series was kind of a slog. Lots more POV sections should have livened things up, but the villains are especially unpleasant, and the story keeps referring to things I didn’t know about, as though I missed an entire book. (This annoyed me so much that I just stopped typing and spent a bunch of time reading all her other book descriptions and I’m pretty sure I have to read an entire other trilogy to see what I missed—no thanks.) There are also a lot of typos and other errors. I did enjoy all the non-evil characters (especially the middle aged gay exes!) but the pacing for this was just really weird. B.
Elizabeth Vaughan’s WarDance
The romance here is between Simus, the smart and funny Black warrior, here taking on more of a leadership role, and Snowfall, a Black warrior-priestess (the warrior-priests have largely been antagonists to this point, but she’s on board for the changes our characters want to make). The focus here is mainly on all the inter-tribal political stuff (plus some external political stuff AND magical threats as well), which is great, because although I really liked both these characters, I wasn’t super invested in their romance. It really feels like an afterthought, just occasionally awkwardly inserted in. I am looking forward to seeing how everything plays out in the final book! B+.
Elizabeth Vaughan’s Warcry
So it looks like the last three books in this series continue the ongoing storylines but each has a new couple/romance at the center, which is fine, but I was kind of eh about this couple—the former protagonist’s childhood friend (a dude) and the woman warrior who was healed in book one. He wants to be a serious/married couple! Her people rarely do that! Etc. There are a lot of court politics and intrigues though, which I love. There’s an attempted rape, which I could have done without. And there are some hints of mystical happenings that will presumably play a role in later books (and everyone is still trying to get the cute gay couple back together—why don’t THEY get a whole book). B+.
Elizabeth Vaughan’s Warlord
Very entertaining third volume as our protagonist makes it to the center of the nomadic lands and has to prove herself. There is an awesome moment where she has to let various other warlords court her and one is a sexy lesbian—and she is kind of into it! (She’s from a society where queerness is not okay and the nomads have no issues with it, and it’s pretty clear that getting two specific dudes together is going to be a thing in later books and she’s gung-ho about it.) Anyway, very fun. A/A-.
Elizabeth Vaughan’s Warsworn
Interesting second volume of this series as they begin their journey to the Plains, but are waylaid by events beyond their control, exacerbating the inter-tribal tensions. Otherwise it’s mainly all character development, which I enjoy. I was very annoyed about one specific death. I am intrigued to see where things go in volume three. A-/B+.
Elizabeth Vaughan’s Warprize
T. Kingfisher mentioned this book in a recent Reddit AMA, and I do enjoy a fantasy romance that's the start of a six-book series! This involves a woman, the younger half-sister of the (sucky) king--she's trained as a healer and insists on also treating their prisoners of war--and then her brother's forces are defeated and the Warlord they've been fighting demands her as tribute for peace. I loved her learning about their culture/sharing hers, lots of fun characters there, and I like that there are some politics going on (politics/culture clashes are my FAVORITE). I also liked the romance! This is more of a fantasy novel with romance than a romance novel in a fantasy world, which I personally prefer. I did find some of the writing at the beginning to be clunky, and the villain doesn't feel super fleshed out, but I liked this a lot. Looking forward to book two! A-.
Shannon Sanders’ The Great Wherever
I’m not sure if I can describe this in a way that will explain how good it is—it’s the story of a Black woman who’s inherited part of the old family farm in Tennessee, and goes to visit it and meet the other owners, her cousins, and it’s also the story of the family ghosts who live on the farm, and also the story of their whole family. Like a generational drama, but often funny, and narrated by a ghost who died in the Obama years. Really well-paced with its reveals and super moving but also hopeful? Adding this to my list for my book club. A.
John Steinbeck’s East of Eden
I was mildly peer-pressured into reading this because of the upcoming miniseries with Florence Pugh as Cathy—I have read a bunch of Steinbeck, but this one was new to me. It lives up to its reputation as a classic American novel! It was super fascinating and I now want to read a million essays about it—on how it portrays women, on Lee (what an interesting and amazing character, especially as written by a white guy in the 1950s), on all the Cain and Abel stuff, etc. I will gently point out that “timshel” is all wrong, but I did love the image of all the Chinese scholars learning Hebrew to translate that one line. General warning for racist language, including a character who is just called The N-word. Looking forward to seeing Zoe Kazan’s take on all of this.
Lydia Millet’s Fair Ones
Millet’s latest is interesting, sort of two novels in one, each narrated by one of a pair of friends. The first half is narrated by Mara, in the months after the shocking death of the third friend of their trio. And the second half is narrated by Jen, a year or so after that. Great takes on being a forty-something woman, dealing with friends and aging parents and jobs and New York lives, sad and hopeful at the same time. Side note to locals, one secondary character is a UNC professor and the Cradle gets a mention, very random and delightful (it seems Millet went to UNC for undergrad and did a Master’s at Duke). A/A-.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in October.
Naomi Novik's The Golden Enclaves
What a great conclusion to this series! I think I've liked it more on each reread--not that I ever DIDN'T like it, but there is a LOT going on and parts of the end confused me the first time I read it. Also, I was so IMPATIENT to know what was going to happen the first time I read it! It's hard to just enjoy and experience when you're in that mindset. But yet, lots happens, and it ends up being awesome. Now I'm going to reread the Scholomance story in Novik's collection Buried Deep.
Naomi Novik’s The Last Graduate
With a lot of trilogies, the second book feels like a place-holder, just kind of setting the pieces for the grand finale. But Novik was clearly like FUCK THAT, I’m raising the stakes and showing the importance of friendship and community and working together (her shorter fiction also does this very well!). It’s my favorite of the series for sure, it just fills me up with good feelings.
Naomi Novik’s A Deadly Education
I was in one of those moods where I had a ton of new books to read and yet wasn’t in the mood for any of them, which means it’s time to reread a best-beloved book like this one. I just really vibe with an angry and grumpy heroine with a secret soft side learning to make friends and allies and saving the day in her deeply unpleasant magic school. Also, it’s funny as hell. Satisfying every time.
Becky Chambers’ As You Wake, Break the Shell
Chambers’ latest took me a minute to get into— it’s a sci-fi story about two women—one, a botanist, who secretly makes illegal medicine, the other, a pilot for a living spaceship (my fave!!!!) that she has a sort of psychic bond with—who meet and fall in love, which is interspersed with their lives like a decade or so later. And it all felt very JUMPY at first! Just when I would settle into a narrative, we’d suddenly be somewhere else entirely (some of the early chapters are really short). There are also a lot of lengthy discussions of science stuff that had my eyes glazing over a little. BUT there are also so many cool moments and I loved all the characters, and by the end I was super into it. It’s the first in a duology and I hope the second comes out soon!! A-.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in October.
T. Kingfisher’s Daggerbound
Look, sometimes you just need to reread a hilarious fantasy romance full of action and great characters, old friends and new (AMAZING new friends). Truly Kingfisher is firing on all cylinders with this one.
Catherine Newman’s Wreck
I loved Sandwich, but was not super into this follow-up. The narrator is dealing with a medical problem and also thinking too much about the death of a local man who was classmates with her son. There wasn’t as much humor here (obviously) and I really missed it. It’s well-written but I just didn’t vibe with it! B+.
Riley Bauer’s Shut Out
When I saw this romance involved the two goalies, and not the rookie who adopted the fifth kitten, I was more than a little concerned there wouldn’t be a cat! And like, do you think I’m here for the hockey playoffs?? (Actually, hockey is one of the sports I have a mild interest in, I’m from Pittsburgh and got to go to a couple games during the Pens’ peak Stanley Cup years, but watching it and reading about it aren’t the same lol.) BUT DON’T WORRY, there is a cat!!!!! I mean, it’s mostly hockey games and feelings and smutty scenes, but there is a cat. I also kind of expected a reveal that the coach and owner of this new team had deliberately hired all the dudes in hockey who were rumored to be gay bc statistically there are a LOT of queer dudes/couples on this team. Anyway, fun series, I liked all the group chats about cats and book clubs. B+.
Riley Bauer’s Breakaway
This has one of those SEO subtitles that’s like “an age gap romance” which I was like ugh about, but it’s not gross/terrible, they’re hockey teammates, and the age thing doesn’t even come up? Anyway the main character here is Berger, who’s clearly been going through it in the background of the last couple books—because he was in a secret relationship with a teammate on his previous team, and now he’s been traded to this new team, and the distance is not working, especially since Berger is massively depressed. Solid story, could have used a little bit more of the cat. B+.
Riley Bauer’s Tape to Tape
Omg the kitten in this one is an orange girl, and MY orange girl cat is sitting on me and purring as I type this!! The romance here is between the Italian dude on the team and one of the team’s physical therapists—they hook up at a bar before they know they’ll be working together! Classic trope! They also both have adorable and nebby families, which I always enjoy. The PT is a Black man and there is some attention paid to him worrying about having to prove himself in such a white atmosphere and also compromising his job. I liked this one a lot, it was a nice departure from the first two (which obviously I also liked, but they had a lot of similarities). A-.
Riley Bauer’s Face Off
The second book in this gay hockey series involves two teammates who hate each other (or DO they) but have to co-parent a pair of bonded kittens. Lol. The impression I’m getting from these books is that hooking up with a guy makes you better at playing hockey together, bc of vibes or something? I only briefly played team sports and did not hook up with any field hockey teammates, but maybe I’d have been better if I had? 😹 Minor complaints: the inevitable third act drama is annoying; some bits are repetitive and I never remembered which POV was which when that happened so I wasn't sure if they were both noticing the same things or if the author was just recycling sentences about the cats. The inevitable outside friend character isn't developed at all. I liked it anyway!! I’m invested in the cats!! B+.
Riley Bauer's Fresh Ice
I really MEANT to read the latest Catherine Newman novel next, but then Claire Willett on Bluesky was recommending this series of queer hockey romances where each book has a CAT, so obviously that took priority!!! (I haven't read the Heated Rivalry books, but did watch the show, so no idea how these compare.) There's also a whole thing with a hockey team group chat discussing hockey romance books. It's a DELIGHT. I giggled so much reading this. I told my group chat to read it. The cat was great, the hockey dudes were great, it was all great. (Also no idea on the accuracy of the hockey or the sex.) I mean I am a hundred percent reading these for the cats but it was way more readable than it needed to be. A-.
Catherine Newman’s Sandwich
I’ve been meaning to read this forever, and somehow this late summer season felt like a good time, as it’s a story about a (menopausal) woman and her family on vacation on Cape Cod, the same beach house they visit every summer. But it’s also really funny and moving! They’re somehow nothing like and exactly like my family. I’m. It even a mom and I was still like oh wow yes about her motherhood feelings! Also there’s a cat! Newman is really nailing the vibes here. Can’t wait to read the follow-up. A.
HG Parry’s The Witch Below the Dreaming Wood
I’m somewhat lukewarm on Arthurian stories—they’re fine, but there are SO MANY, just not my particular favorite subgenre—but I really enjoy HG Parry, so figured I’d try it. This is an interesting take—the main Arthurian POV is Nimue, here raised by Morgan Le Fay to bring about Merlin’s doom—but this is interspersed with the story of a young librarian sent to catalog the library in an isolated Welsh manor, and to escape the Blitz, because it’s 1941. Also, tons of ppl are having dreams about Arthur—but she’s dreaming of Nimue. This went some cool and unexpected directions, and even when I found the plot a little silly, I enjoyed the writing. I will recommend this to my Arthurian nerd friends! A-.
Alix Harrow’s The Everlasting
Rereading this for book club! Turns out I remembered all the time travel/history stuff and totally forgot all the bits about war. Sorry, book club! I loved this just as much on a reread, and this is one of those books that benefits from rereading because you can see little hints before all the reveals. But it’s also just really moving, and about how hard and necessary it is to fight for a better world.
Kim Fay’s Kate and Frida
The sequel to Love and Saffron is set in the early 90s, and centers on the letters between Frida, the daughter of one of the women from the first book, living in Paris, and Kate, a bookseller in Seattle. It took me a little while to get into this one for some reason but I ended up liking it a lot. I appreciate the message Fay is sending about finding moments of joy even in (especially in) a fucked up world. I also added a ton of books to my to-read list, Kate has cool taste! A-.
Kim Fay’s Love and Saffron
I just discovered this extremely delightful novel has a sequel so obviously I had to reread it! It’s epistolary, letters between two women in the 1960s, exploring new cuisines, sharing about their lives, encouraging and caring for each other. Just really lovely. We need more books about friendship. As a side note, I often see people complain that epistolary novels don't feel like real letters--too much exposition, properly written dialogue, etc--but the letters here do feel like real letters to me (ok, maybe the ones about JFK's assassination feel a little clunky, but maybe in real life they would too?). Anyway, excited to read the 90s-set sequel!
Juliet Marillier’s The Hidden Way
The second book in this duology honestly drags a lot, just lots of plodding around and nothing much happening. There are couple of really nice scenes—I liked Stasya’s storyline a lot and was glad to finally meet Leja and have her as a POV character, and there’s a great bit with monsters in an underground cavern, but generally I wasn’t super into this. I only kept reading to see if I was right about the antagonist’s deal (yes, though it did not entirely make sense/work with the events of book one). I was really looking forward to this, too! A bummer. The very end is pretty cool but eh. B.
Juliet Marillier’s The Amber Owl
This has still not gotten a US release, but I’m rereading it now bc the sequel is out! I liked this just as much as the first time I read it, still a very cool story about a young woman who can talk to animals (and has a shape shifting companion!!) drawn into politics and adventures and a search for a better future! I love the characters here, especially her travel companions. And the animals!!!
Maria Turtschaninoff’s Red Mantle
The second book in this trilogy is a prequel, so I skipped it in favor of reading the one that was new to me! It picks up where the first one left off, and it’s epistolary!, as a young woman from the Abbey returns to her remote village to try and start a school, writing to her friends and mentors as she goes. Really lovely story about making things work, about justice and power, about family and secrets. And some funny parts too. Super satisfying. A.
Maria Turtschaninoff’s Maresi
I first read this like ten years ago and liked it a lot, and realized recently that I never read the third in this series, so figured I could do with a reread! It’s the story of a young novice in a religion that worships the maiden/mother/crone goddess, her life there, her love of learning, plus a new novice fleeing an abusive father, and what happens when men come after her (nothing good). Really great heroine and worldbuilding here. I’m into fantasy religions lately!
Sarah Addison Allen’s Paper Ghosts
I usually enjoy Sarah Addison Allen’s books, but I was pretty lukewarm on this one. It’s about a teen girl in the 70s being raised by her stern grandmother, who rules the town (near Chapel Hill??) with an iron fist thanks to her ability to see ghosts. And it’s also about her own granddaughter and how she tries to avoid making the same mistakes with her, but instead makes new ones. And there are some ghosts hanging out. I mean, it’s fine! Maybe it just needed to be fleshed out more? Or to be less obvious about everything? I was mildly annoyed by it, honestly. B.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on September 1st.
Laura Weymouth’s The Castle & The Cloister
Oh, this is exactly the sort of fantasy I like—lots of political machinations AND cool religions! The main characters are a young mother, a postulant who serves the sun goddess; the Priest of the other religion and brother of the king; and the young queen who is caught between both worlds. Really enjoyable story, great characters, I cannot wait for book two. A/A-.
SM Hallow’s How to Survive This Fairytale
What a great book!! If you like fairytale mashups that take things like the trauma these poor characters face seriously, you gotta read this. The main character is Hansel, but plenty of other stories come into play. And I love the way it’s told. Really lovely. A/A-.
Shannon Hale’s Christmas in Austenland
I am decidedly not a Christmas girlie (I’m Jewish and didn’t grow up doing anything Christmas-y, aside from watching Frosty the Snowman), but I do enjoy the Austenland books and was psyched for a new one! Our protagonist is Kestrel, who had an awful childhood and longs to feel like she belong to a family, and she’s won a trip to The Twelve Days of Christmas at the Austen-themed estate, where she’s psyched to be romanced by various gentlemen—especially after hearing that sometimes the actors fall in love FOR REAL. And that’s when her ex shows up. SUPER cute and funny, and I loved reading about a woman who is sure she’s too much figuring out where she fits in the world. Really fun and satisfying. A/A-.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on September 22nd.
Victoria Goddard’s The River That Ran Away to Paradise
Hooray for a new Victoria Goddard novella! This one is set in her Nine Worlds and the protagonist is the captain of a crew team dealing with a friend’s lack of commitment to practice (she’s also in the school play, playing Pali!). The whole story takes place during a rough practice that soon turns into a rescue mission. Really satisfying story! I was going to say that it’s rare to see teens in this universe (Jemis and his cohort are out of college already) but maybe some of the Red Company characters are teens still? I’ll have to reread and see!
Janice Hallett’s The Silent Appeal
Hallett’s latest returns to the acting troupe from her earlier The Appeal, which I only vaguely remember, so I definitely felt like I was missing some stuff at first. Once again lawyers are reading a bunch of emails and text messages, this time to see if they can figure out why a client may have pleaded guilty to a murder they didn’t commit. Some good twists here and I enjoy the format a lot, though at a certain point I’m was like, who is dead??? (The murder doesn’t happen until very late in the story.) Very entertaining, regardless. A-.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on September 1st.
Sarah Wallace’s The Viscount Says Yes
I was really hoping we’d get some POV from the Viscount in this one, bc he has never felt like a real character to me and so it’s hard to be invested in his romance. It is great to see Pip going through his healing process (after being forced into prostitution by his abusive boyfriend/pimp, dark shit in a cozy series) but Bertie is just a perfect supportive happy rich guy with no nuance. If you’re into that sort of thing, awesome! I thought it was a teensy bit dull. Also like if you are trying to figure out what a magical monocle does, why would you not LOOK THROUGH IT, I thought yall were magical geniuses. It’s all very sweet though. B/B+.
Sarah Wallace’s The Spellmaster of Tutting-on-Cress
FINALLY a book for Gerry (the sister of various other characters, who’s been a big part of all the other books). This one changes format again, lots of POV characters, as basically every character plots to matchmake Gerry with the new young man in town (whose father has died and now he has seven adorable and hilarious siblings and a grieving stepmother in his life), who is very impressed by her career. Very funny and sweet. A-.
Sarah Wallace's Dear Bartleby
This was super sweet!!! No tragic backstories here!!! Just the mildly immature and rascally younger brother coming to stay in the country and learning to be a better person from the example of all the nice people around him. And assisting the Viscount with a magical competition to determine the next Royal Spellcaster--and falling for one of the candidates! All told to his journal, one of my favorite storytelling devices. Very pleasant and engaging. A/A-.
Sarah Wallace’s The Education of Pip
Not sure how to feel about this one! Pip comes up in the previous book—he’s friends with that protagonist—and his backstory is pretty dark—his abusive boyfriend pimped him out against his will—so of course he’s all cower-y when the nice rich people from the previous books adopt him and teach him magic (the viscount seems to be his love interest and even in this queer-normative fantasy world, I have no idea how that’s societally acceptable, not to mention there is a touch of the white knight). It was just a weird vibe for me. Like yeah I want this poor guy to be happy but this is beyond my suspension of disbelief. B/B+. (Gonna keep reading bc it looks like the next one is told as the diary of the troublesome younger brother and I am psyched for it.)
Sarah Wallace's One Good Turn
So the second book in this series is not epistolary (now I wonder if any of the others are) but I enjoyed it regardless! The protagonist is a young woman who was raised as a thief and wants to live an honest life, and ends up taking magic lessons from the Viscount from book one (who expressly stated he loves teaching people magic!). There's not a romance between them, though, which was nice (they're both gay). The focus in this one is really on friendship, which I appreciated. Very cute story, if a bit slight. A-/B+.
Sarah Wallace’s Letters to Half Moon Street
WHO is in the mood for an epistolary novel set in a magical and queer-normative version of Regency England? Me, always. This extremely cute book involves a shy and grumpy younger son being sent to London for business reasons, and he’s corresponding with his sister (who is talented at creating spells!) as he’s taken under the wing of a notorious rake who’s determined to show him the city. I love epistolary stories and this was super adorable!!!! I hope the next book centers his sister! A/A-.
Kate Elliott’s The Labyrinth Gate
I’m still occasionally reading the Elliott books I’ve missed—I think this is actually her first novel, published under the name Alis Rasmussen. It’s a cool take on a portal fantasy, as a newlywed couple find themselves transported to another world by some magical tarot cards. Adventures and archaeological digs and magic ensue! I loved all the characters here and I enjoyed this a lot, though I did side-eye the severe heteronormativity a bit (pregnancies for all!). I would have loved more of the bad-ass Aunt Letty and the court politics, but overall this was very fun. A-.
Sarah Anderson’s Fallow
Yall, I absolutely just read this in one sitting, and I loved it? It’s about a young woman who needs money and ends up taking a job where she’ll be a surrogate for the C-level women of a company (ostensibly for feminism but really so the company can keep the women working). She’s making a ton of money, living in luxury—and then when she’s on her final pregnancy, things go in an unexpected direction. I could quibble about a couple of character decisions but I don’t want to quibble! This book gave me a good and hopeful feeling! A!
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in September.
Patricia Wentworth's Touch and Go
I needed a break from all the post-apocalyptic books I've been reading, so here we are with a classic mystery! I think this was recommended in the New York Times--they've had a couple of classic mystery roundups recently--but I have read and enjoyed some of Wentworth's Miss Silver mysteries, so this seemed like a good bet. It involved a woman who takes a job as governess/companion to a teenage heiress--and then she realizes someone is targeting the girl. Pretty satisfying mystery even though I guessed all of it—Wentworth tells a good story and loves a happy ending. A-.
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Content warning for use of the n-word--did y'all know "eeny meeny" used to be racist????
Audrey Niffenegger's Life Out of Order
Normally I'd reread The Time Traveler's Wife before reading its long-awaited sequel, but I wasn't sure that a book I loved in my early 20s would hold up (and didn't want to find out, lol). I appreciate that Niffenegger is doing something different here and trying to write something relevant to our current times--lots of fascism, AI, and climate change woes--but it didn't always work for me and I wasn't always interested in Alba. I loved the sections about Clare, though, especially when she falls for a cool academic woman! I also appreciated that the author brings in trans and Black characters, though I did think some of their depictions were maybe not great? (Another issue is that while the Henry/Clare relationship is specifically called out as “squicky,” apparently it’s fine for an adult lady time traveler to get with a seventeen year old boy.) Anyway, some highs and lows, definitely an engaging read, new character Oliver is cool, the vision of the future is grim and yet optimistic, I have some lingering questions about the mechanics of everything but maybe sometimes it’s better to just let it be and enjoy it. B+.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on October 6th.
Emily St John Mandel’s Station Eleven
Saving the best for last! (I know she has two other early novels which do share a couple characters per a chart* at the back here, but they can’t top this so maybe I’ll reread them later.) The last time I read this was right after the miniseries came out, and I actually thought it kind of paled in comparison! But I loved it again this time. (The miniseries is great though and I actually might rewatch it!) It’s so funny which parts stick with you from read to read, and how the tv version muddled my memory a bit. But the book once again is all about the connections between people—I love the different ways the author explores this idea. And this is a gentler future than some of the others she’s imagined.
* I want yall to know that while rereading these books, I was taking copious notes on all the overlaps of character/phrase/etc and then discovered this lovely little graphic and was just like metaphorically crumpling up my paper and tossing it away.
Emily St John Mandel’s Sea of Tranquility
I think I liked this more than the first time I read it, partially because I’m all immersed in the Emily St John Mandel Universe, and maybe partially bc it’s less stressful to read a pandemic novel in 2026. This one is more straight up sci-fi (several sections are set in far future moon colonies and there’s a bunch of time travel shenanigans) as a dude in investigating a weird anomaly and the people who encountered it (including some characters from The Glass Hotel). I want to research the inter-connectedness of these novels, though, because there are some interesting small things happening that I think must be deliberate.
Emily St John Mandel’s The Singer’s Gun
This is the other book that the author noted has overlapping characters with Exit Party (major ones this time) but it turns out I’ve never read it before???? I’ve been reading her since the early days so I’m not sure how I missed it. This is one of her earliest novels so it’s missing that sci-fi tinge, and at first I was like, is this a literary novel about a sad Brooklyn dude? But there are other characters keeping things going, plus a crime investigation AND a cat! I am actually not going to talk about the plot or characters because this is totally the backstory for Exit Party! Wild to bring these guys back after almost twenty years! I love the Emily St John Mandel Universe! A-.
Emily St John Mandel’s The Glass Hotel
Well, I’m doing it! I’m rereading all the Emily St John Mandel books to see all the connections! This was a great one to start with because it ends up sort of being all about the connections between people. (Also, the author’s note for Exit Party says there are some shared characters in this one—minor in both books but I do love finding those links.) Anyway, this involves the titular glass hotel, isolated in Canada, some of the people who have worked there, a Ponzi scheme, some of the people ruined by the Ponzi scheme, etc. Like I said, connections. I had remembered this being slow but I really didn’t find it so—it’s super readable, I never wanted to put it down.
Emily St John Mandel’s Exit Party
Mandel’s latest STRESSED ME OUT, but was also beautiful? She’s good at that. We start in Los Angeles 2031, where after a coup and a civil war, the former United States has splintered into a bunch of new countries and republics, controlled by militias. TOO REAL. Our main character is a woman who’s just gotten out of prison, and she and her roommate go to a party—where suddenly two dopplegangers of party guests appear, and their host vanishes. The story moves on from there to cover arms dealers, art heists, and other worlds. It’s totally engrossing, like I gulped this down. There is definitely some overlap with some of the other St John Mandel books and I might do a big reread of her backlist to see all the connections? And hope none of her visions of the future come to pass????? A????
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in September.
Marian Keyes’ My Favorite Mistake
Christina loved this, and I EXPECTED to love it, but I had some issues with the romance—namely, I didn’t buy the love interest. He’s a character in a couple of the other books but he and Anna have been secretly pining for one another for decades? What? I get that a lot of it happened in between books (and we have the usual dramatic reveals) but even as I enjoyed the writing, a part of me was like nahhhhh. I mean this was fine, I love all the characters in the Walsh books, I love the sister relationships, but I side-eyed this romance a bit. A-.
Marian Keyes' Again, Rachel
Turns out I also missed a new book in the Walsh series about Rachel, but she's such a big part of Anna's book that I didn't need to reread hers. There's a big time jump here, like ten or twelve years, and Rachel is back in Ireland, divorced, and working as a counselor at the recovery center she attended. Not to mention dealing with a fair amount of grief and denial. And that's when her ex comes to town for a funeral. The whole time I'm like "work it out you crazy kids [middle aged people]!!!" There is also a lot of great stuff with the addicts that Rachel works with. This isn't one of the funnier books in this series, but it's very moving and satisfying. A.
Marian Keyes' Anybody Out There
I somehow missed that there were a couple new books in Keyes' Walsh Family series, and Christina highly recommended the new one about Anna, so of course I wanted to reread the first book about Anna, forgetting how absolutely heartbreaking it is. She's dealing with major grief and pain after an accident while also balancing her job in PR for a cosmetics brand and shenanigans with her family and friends. Plus hilarious emails from various relatives back in Ireland. Really funny at times and so sad at others. I don't know anyone who does it like Keyes.
Seanan McGuire’s A Divided Duty
The twentieth (!!!) book in the Toby Daye series takes a break from the world-upending of the last few books to focus on the mystery of who kidnapped one of Toby’s band of teens, and how to rescue her. Satisfying all around and I enjoy how Toby is learning to use more aspects of her powers. The novella in this one involves squire Quentin dealing with emotional trauma from the whole parallel world thing from a few books ago. Good stuff with the sea witch in both stories, she might be my favorite character these days. A/A-.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in September.
Claudia Gray’s The Late Mrs Willoughby
I do wonder how this is on ongoing series—like wouldn’t you run out of Austen characters to kill off at a certain point? Anyway, this one involves the characters from Sense and Sensibility, there’s another death, Darcy jr and Girl Tilney are visiting for various reasons and start trying to solve things again. I like both these characters a lot, but I think this series is one that benefits from being read in between other things, and not all in a row (or maybe I was just a little bored after correctly calling the killer and waiting for ages for the reveal). I was also annoyed about romantic miscommunications but that can partially be chalked up to the time period. This was fine but I’m definitely taking a break for something else. B+.
Claudia Gray's The Murder of Mr Wickham
All right, trying out some Jane Austen fanfic here, lol. (There has been a lot of Pride and Prejudice discussion on Bluesky recently, and these were recommended--and I have enjoyed books by Gray before.) I can't tell if the audience for these is die-hard Austenites (who probably don't want fanfic!) or more casual fans like me, though it definitely assumes a lot of knowledge of her less-popular works that I only vaguely remember. Anyway, everyone is married blah blah, there's a house party at Emma's with all the main couples and some of their kids, and Darcy Jr and the daughter of the main character from Northanger Abbey have to solve a murder! I actually love murder mysteries set at British house parties, so ok! The victim is, of course, Mr Wickham, who seems to have invented Ponzi schemes and shows up unannounced for a spot of blackmail—and many of the guests have reason to hate him. Solid mystery, and I liked the main characters a lot (Darcy Jr seems to be on the autism spectrum). The solution is a little eh but I don’t think there was a way to make this really work. Entertaining anyway, I’ll definitely be picking up book 2. A-.
T.Kingfisher’s Nine Goblins
Turns out I’d never read this one, which was a nice surprise! Nothing better than a new book by a beloved author! This is a very funny and light story (except for the scary bits lol) about a goblin troop who get sucked into a magical mystery, and the kindly elf, a veterinarian, they encounter. Lots of good stuff involving a teddy bear, a kitten, and occasional creepy magic. The usual good Kingfisher stuff! A/A-.
TB Markinson and Miranda MacLeod’s Book Lovers
Ok, I am totally the target audience for a book where a Jane Austen nerd in Bath for a Jane Austen festival befriends a waitress and ends up doing the whole festival with her, since her boyfriend bailed. And then they TRADE KINDLES (romantic or terrifying??) to explore Austen vs contemporary genre fiction (my complaint here is that the book says they text about their reading, but never shows any of that! I want to know what books they read and what they say about them! If this book is called Book Lovers I want book talk!!). Anyway, the waitress is a lesbian and is totally falling for the (presumably straight) Austen nerd. I was super into this at first (lots of online posting!), but the second half dragged and annoyed me. I didn’t really feel like the Austen nerd figuring out her feelings worked (this book was all telling, not showing—same reason I was mad about the lack of specific book talk). The ending is pure wish fulfillment but it doesn’t feel earned. I’m disappointed, this had such potential and didn’t end up working for me at all. B.
Lucy Foley’s Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel
Normally I eschew modern writers pairing up with the estates of long-dead writers to resurrect beloved characters, but I am a sucker for Miss Marple, so figured I’d try this. Murder at an isolated luxury hotel in the Alps in 1950 (where Miss Marple is hanging out with her friend from The Body in the Library), war secrets, affairs, lost treasure, etc. Honestly a solid mystery—it dragged a bit in the second half but then picked back up—but it doesn’t at all feel like an Agatha Christie story to me. It didn’t feel like Miss Marple. A fun read though! A-.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in September.
Naomi Salman’s Nothing But the Rain
I’m always looking for more novels that are epistolary/told as diaries, and this novella was a doozy. It’s told by a 63 year old woman, a doctor, trapped in a town where the rain erases your memories—and it’s almost always raining. Honestly haunting! I’ll be thinking about this one for a while and will definitely check out whatever Salman writes next. A/A-.
Rachel Runya Katz’s Whenever You’re Ready
I’m here for a romance novel featuring queer ladies on a tour of southern Jewish history (weirdly the second book I’ve read this summer featuring the RDU airport)! The story here is about two best friends who have been in love with each other forever, and now they’re taking a trip they planned with their third best friend, who died of cancer three years earlier (also the one has a twin brother and a dog along on the trip). So lots of interesting (and upsetting) Jewish and southern history and cool ladies pining for each other, what’s not to love? This is interspersed with flashbacks to their friendships with each other and their lost friend. Really sweet and enjoyable. A-.
Suzanne Collins’ Mockingjay
I wasn’t actually planning on rereading this one after I reread the first two and was mildly annoyed by Katniss’ POV (and also the whole rebellion thing seen through her eyes makes very little sense), plus I wasn’t really up for the whole Peeta being tortured thing. But I couldn’t stop thinking about all of it! And this was amazingly even grimmer than I remembered! And also doesn’t really make a ton of sense if you think too hard. But it’s nice to read about authoritarian regimes being dismantled.
Seanan McGuire’s Velveteen vs The Consequences of Her Actions
I do enjoy the ongoing adventures of Velveteen! These books are long and I was a little burned out by the end of this one, but still, lots of cool stories and characters to enjoy! A-.
Seanan McGuire’s Velveteen vs The Early Adventures
I have actually read these stories—about a woman with the power to bring toys to life who left her superhero world behind and is trying to just make a living, until she ends up drawn back into corporate superhero mishegas—before, when they were first collected, but a NEW collection is out, so obviously I had to refresh myself! I always enjoy McGuire’s writing, but yall know I’m a comic book nerd so I love seeing her playing in this setting (she invents so many cool characters!). Really a fun read and I’m psyched to dive into the new one! A/A-.
Claire Keegan’s Foster
Lovely short novel about a little Irish girl who’s sent to live with relatives for the summer because her mother is pregnant again and has too many kids to look after. Not much happens but it is just suffused with good feeling. A/A-.
Suzanne Collins’ Catching Fire
Ok, this one does not really hold up that well! Knowing more backstory on these characters (and the great performers like Jeffrey Wright in the movie) helps, but this plot is all over the place. Having Katniss be so clueless is ok the first time you read it, as you’re caught up in all the twists as you discover them, but on this read I was just like, this is not working for me! I also hate the love triangle stuff but I’m pretty sure I hated that on previous reads too.
Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games
This was very interesting to reread in light of Sunrise on the Reaping—little things like Haymitch calling Katniss sweetheart are suddenly resonant. I will say this does feel more YA-y than Sunrise, not just because of the love triangle stuff, but the narrative voice. Not a complaint, this holds up very well! I’m looking forward to the sequel now that we’ve gotten backstories on some of those characters.
Suzanne Collin’s’ Sunrise on the Reaping
Finally getting around to reading the Hunger Games prequel about Haymitch! (A local teen has assured me I can skip the one about Snow, which I have very little interest in.) This turned out to be a perfect read for the Fourth of July, not just thematically, but because it turns out the reaping takes place on that very day. Super compelling and heartbreaking, I cried at least three times. And now I guess I will reread the original trilogy? Good vacation reading? A.
Alexis Hall’s Father Material
Super cute and bittersweet conclusion to this series, where our dudes adopt a dog, foster a teen, throw a horrible dinner party, and run a music festival for beetles. Good stuff. Hall is great with feelings and messiness and love, very satisfying all around. A/A-.
Alexis Hall’s Husband Material
I had been warned that this wasn’t as awesome as the first one, but I really enjoy the narrative voice here so still liked it a lot. I’m just not personally interested in wedding-related angst. Again, really fun side characters, lots of humor and feelings, just a plot that I was a little meh about. Still very fun though. A-.
Alexis Hall’s Boyfriend Material
Somehow I’d never read this before, even though many of my friends love it, and I liked it a lot! Fake dating is not a favorite trope of mine but it worked well here, as the messy son of a rock star has to find a respectable boyfriend to be seen with or risk losing his job, and only one friend of a friend will suit. The dudes were cute together and realistically messed up, in really enjoyed the protagonist’s work colleagues and his French mom (I did think his friend group was underdeveloped but there’s already a lot going on in this book). And it was all very engaging, I read this just about in one sitting. I’m kind of glad I never read this before, because now I get to read a whole trilogy! A/A-.
Julia Seales’ A Most Agreeable Murder
This is a firmly tongue-in-cheek historical mystery, full of Austen references, involving a young woman who is obsessed with true crime (and a handsome detective with a newspaper column). When a very eligible bachelor (Mr Croaksworth) is murdered at a ball (at Stabmort Manor), she has to figure out who did it—while still being a proper lady. Luckily the detective’s disgraced former partner is on hand! Also, her youngest sister is definitely a werewolf, if you suspected this book is a little bit silly. I liked this a lot, and will probably read the sequel at some point, but I need a break first. 😹 A-/B+.
Victoria Goddard’s Urbanite
I’m glad Goddard is writing again and I’ll read pretty much everything she does! This novella is a bit of a departure, since it’s not set in her Nine Worlds, but instead a magical version of Toronto. The main character is having a terrible day when she’s hired by two sorcerers to perform a task! Very entertaining story but I did wish there were more—maybe someday! A-.
Kate Elliott's The Law of Becoming
Elliott has a lot to balance in this final volume of the Jaran series--the whole rebelling against alien overlords thing has been simmering on the back-burner for the last couple books, and that comes into play, plus all the on-planet politics and battles we're invested in. Plus there's a whole thing with two sects of a religion that each think the other are heretics. But actually it’s pretty clear she meant to write at least one more book in this series—this does wrap up a lot of plot lines but it does feel like there’s so much more to tell! So obviously I loved this but am bummed it doesn’t seem like any more will be coming (since these came out over twenty years ago). Or maybe I’m just bummed that I can’t spend more time with these characters (even the minor ones get some awesome moments in this one, I especially would love to know what happens next with Sonia and the ke). A.
Kate Elliott’s His Conquering Sword
I LOVE THIS SERIES!!!! Not much else to say about the third volume in an awesome epic sci-fi/fantasy series, just lots of friendship and love and acting and battles and different cultures starting to mix and some very funny parts and some very sad parts and so many characters to root for. Seriously, this series is now a fave. A.
Kate Elliott’s An Earthly Crown
Elliott shakes things up in book two of the Jaran series by adding a bunch of new POVs and greatly expanding what’s going on, with politics and culture clashes and war and a troupe of Shakespearean actors all playing a part. I’m super into this series!!! Note that some of the culture clashes involve one group being totally cool with queerness and the other more of a don’t ask, don’t tell situation, so there are more openly queer characters but also some homophobia. Still, for a book written in the 90s, it’s pretty awesome. A.
Kate Elliott's Jaran
The SHEER DELIGHT of stumbling onto a series by an author you like that you somehow didn't know about, and it's everything you like in a series, and you can just SINK INTO IT! This is the start of a sci-fi series in which a young woman, whose brother is an important dude in the galaxy, isn't sure she's capable of being his heir--and then she stumbles onto political shenanigans on another planet involving their alien overlords. A planet her brother is supposed to control, in order to let the indigenous people thrive and not be taken over by all the STUFF in the galaxy (though he is absolutely and hilariously trickling in books on like Newtonian physics to their university). Anyway, she gets adopted by a group of nomads and I LOVE THEM, this is such good world-building, adventures and politics and romance ensue! A!
Meg Charlton’s Voyagers
Really interesting novel about a dude who, when he was six, disappeared with his friend, and when they returned, they told a story that seemed like an alien abduction, and became somewhat famous as a result. Now he’s an adult, living under a different name, working as a lawyer, when the whole world starts getting a signal from space. Is this contact? This is all interspersed with flashbacks to his childhood and his friendship, and how they eventually became estranged, as well as pieces involving their imaginary alien friend. The writing is super engaging, I really loved reading this! A/A-.
Madeleine Gray’s Chosen Family
Honestly I wish this had a better title, it’s so generic when this book is SO GOOD and funny and heartbreaking and super queer! It centers on a woman, Eve, whose partner Nell has left her and their child and cut contact completely, and flashes back to how they met as twelve-year-olds, became best friends, and everything along the way. Just really engaging writing full of messy (VERY) queer people, I resented having to put this down to go to sleep last night. A/A-.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on July 14th.
Grace Curtis’ Heaven’s Graveyard
I was psyched already for a new Grace Curtis novel, but then it turns out this is a sort of companion to her book Idolfire! See, the protagonist here is an archivist who’s determined to prove her favorite legendary heroine was a real person—but also, that heroine is one of the two main characters of Idolfire. I haven’t seen this mentioned in any of the marketing, I’m guessing because this works perfectly fine as a standalone? But I love connections like that! I seriously like sat straight up when I realized! This did feel a lot darker though (I don’t remember any animal sacrifices in the previous book), which wasn’t my fave. Anyway, our historian also has to solve the murder of her mentor—with her ex girlfriend’s help, of course—plus there’s a whole impending war she’s been ignoring. The second half is super entertaining and action-packed, really fun. Another great one from Curtis! A/A-.
T. Kingfisher’s The Wonder Engine
Satisfying follow-up to Clockwork Boys, as our merry band (well, band) tries to unravel the mustiness of the Clocktaurs. This is a very fun read, though perhaps not as well-developed as some of her more recent works. I’m not gonna complain about a fun read though.
T. Kingfisher’s Clockwork Boys
Reading Daggerbound made me want to reread this duology, since both feature Learned Edmund! I forgot how good this is—lots of action and dark humor as our little band (featuring three criminals—a formerly demon-possessed paladin, an assassin, and the lady forger leading them all—plus an earnest and super sexist young scholar) goes on a suicide mission to investigate some mysterious war machines. And have some supernatural adventures along the way! Fun stuff!!!
Nina LaCour’s Meet Me in the Garden
I’ve loved all of LaCour’s novels, but this one really feels different, more ambitious (is this her first adult novel? I know it’s all marketing categories). It’s the story of a (deeply closeted) Creole woman and her family from 1944 through the 1960s, as they move from New Orleans to Los Angeles and raise their children. Just a really beautiful story about art and various kinds of love and families and friends and making a life. Maybe some bits were a little on the nose but I loved this. A.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on August 4th.
Sarah Orne Jewett’s A Country Doctor
This classic novel (originally published in 1884) is getting reissued in August, and I’ve never read it, and the premise sounded interesting, so here we are. It involves a country doctor who takes a young girl in as his ward, and she grows up to want to be a doctor too, but much of society is skeptical of a lady doctor. I see why this is a classic! A little too much Christianity for my personal taste but a really well-written story.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This edition will be released in August.
Jaleigh Johnson’s The Reimagining of Thornwood House
Do you want to read a cozy fantasy novel? This is the quintessential example of a cozy fantasy novel circa 2026. Our protagonist is a land witch who takes a job as a caretaker of a magical sentient house, only the house has kicked out all its previous possible caretakers. And if the house doesn’t let her stay, she won’t be able to finalize the adoption of her daughter! Plus there’s a magical mystery to untangle! Luckily there are quirky townsfolk and a handy neighbor (the requisite love interest) on hand to help. I’m not trying to sound facetious. I liked the house and the relationship with the daughter. But a lot of this, especially the romance, felt very rote, and it really dragged for a lot of the story. I was pretty over it by the end. But if you want more cozy fantasy to read, this exists! B.
Camille Perri’s Social Animals
OBVIOUSLY I one hundred percent read this because of the cover, but it turned out to be a great story too! It involves a PI who’s hired to find out if a woman is cheating on her husband—and she has to adopt a dog and befriend her at the dog park to find out! But then it turns out someone ELSE at the dog park is ALSO watching this woman. But despite how that sounds, it’s not a thriller, it’s a really nice story about these three women and their adorable and goofy dogs (aside from the horrible husband). Sidebar to locals: an RDU airport hotel plays a role, lol. I really liked this—perfect summer read. A/A-.
Mollyhall Seeley’s We Hexed the Moon
I admit to being mildly distracted while reading this, trying to figure out if it was set in Hilton Head (verdict: yes). Anyway, it’s about four girls and their friendship and what happens when they drunkenly do a ritual involving the moon…and then the moon disappears from the sky and turns up to mess with them—and tells them she won’t return to the sky so they had better find a replacement. I liked everything with the girls and their friendship, but the way the moon replacement stuff played out was kind of silly? I’m not sure how else it could have gone, though, and I don’t want to be spoilery with my specific issues. Interesting read for sure. A-/B+.
Ursula Vernon’s Castle Hangnail
Sometimes you just wanna reread a book where a twelve year old girl tries to con her way into becoming the Wicked Witch running a castle, in a castle that desperately needs a new master. I never see this one talked about when people talk about Ursula Vernon’s books—maybe because it’s not under the T.Kingfisher name? I think it’s just as good as her other middle grade books and super satisfying and funny.
Alexandra McCollum’s Into the Midnight Wood
Look, I love a grumpy/sunshine pairing, but this grumpy guy—our only POV character—is legit an asshole, mostly to his love interest, for WAY too long. It was really upsetting to read!!! He takes the other guy’s sunshine-ness away!!! Ok, the premise here is two guys who are roommates in a world with a vague fantasy tinge, and the POV guy can’t stand his adorable quirky roommate, except obviously they secretly love each other. But like, he is so cruel for 75 percent of the book. And then there’s a late miscommunication, my least favorite thing in a romance novel. I don’t know why I kept reading this, except I liked the writing style? I liked the magical bits that kept creeping into the contemporary romance? But I was so mad at this dude!!!! B.
Katherine Addison’s The Goblin Emperor
I was talking about Addison’s books on Bluesky this week, which of course made me want to reread this! Why aren’t there more books like this, full of political intrigues but also full of kindness?! If you haven’t read this book (and you should!), it’s the story of a young man, raised in isolation, who suddenly becomes emperor after his father and older brothers are all killed. Lots of mysteries and plots to unravel, but also lots of new friends and allies to make. Just really interesting world building, wonderful characters, and a satisfying story all around. One of my faves.
Rebecca Thorne's Moss'd in Space
I read and liked Thorne's first couple of Tomes and Tea fozy fantasy novels, but haven't kept up with her more recent stuff--clearly I need to catch up! This was a very fun cozy fantasy involving a woman who's determined to go to another planet to save her sister's life, and buys the only spaceship she can afford--which is run by a colony of sentient moss with abandonment issues. Fun adventures and new friends ensue! Looking forward to book 2. A-.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on June 30th.
Ann Patchett’s Whistler
I always love Ann Patchett’s books, and maybe this is recency bias, but I think this might be her most beautiful novel. It centers on a woman who’s visiting the Met with her husband when they run into a man who was briefly her stepfather, and the two reforge their relationship while uncovering pieces of the past they never knew. Just a lovely story and full of grace. Cannot recommend this enough and my book club will be discussing it in July! A.
Shauna Lawless’ The Children of Gods and Fighting Men
I said recently that I am always looking for more books with political intrigue, and this definitely fit the bill! It’s set in Ireland in the 900s and there are Irish people, Vikings, early Christians, pagans, and a lot of people straight out of folklore. The two protagonists are both women from long-lived people, one up to her ears in political machinations on behalf of her son (and saving herself from various dangers); the other, a healer, afraid of mortal men but forced to spy on them. I liked this a lot, but it was very slow at times. I do want to read more of this series, but I have too many other books on my kindle right now! A-.
Rainbow Rowell’s Cherry Baby
Reread for book club! I still think it was a missed opportunity that Rowell didn’t get one of the comic book artists she knows to draw some of the webcomics since most of the plot involves a woman who has separated from her husband, who is famous for drawing comics based on their life (and writing a movie based on same). I thought some of the issues I had the first time I read this would be assuaged on a reread, but that wasn't entirely the case! I still love it, though, bc Rowell writes such wonderful characters. As another fat lady with an eccentric wardrobe, Cherry is such a fave.
Stephanie Burgis’ A Honeymoon of Grave Consequence
Another very entertaining story, but this one was longer which made it better—more room to breathe. Lots of fun new characters as our protagonist and her vampire husband head to the Black Forest to do some supernatural research, and get caught up in more shenanigans. There’s also a cute lesbian side romance! What’s not to like! Excited for book three (out in October). A-.
Stephanie Burgis’ A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience
Super cute novella about an academic and a vampire tricked/forced into marriage, who have to work together to figure out why (and fall for each other along the way). This absolutely could have been longer, nothing feels rushed but there’s really not much character (or romantic) development. But sometimes you just want to read something quick and fun. B+.
Natalie Adler’s Waiting on a Friend
Sometimes I complain about how sick I am of New York novels, but I am HERE for this gritty 1980s queer New York novel! Our main character is a Jewish lesbian who can see ghosts, whose gay best friend has just died of AIDS, but his ghost has not appeared. And she’s dealing with grief and friends and romance and also there’s a company that is basically like an evil ghostbusters running around and helping to gentrify Manhattan. I’m not trying to make it sound wacky, it’s all really sad and beautiful. Really satisfying ending, too. I’ll be thinking about this one. A.
Rainbow Rowell's Julia at the Drive-In
Normally I don't blog about short stories, but a) it's Rainbow Rowell! and b) I got an ARC from Netgalley so like, there's an obligation there, lol. Anyway, this is a very cute story involving very cute teens at a drive-in! If you like Rainbow Rowell (and I clearly do), you will like this!!
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on June 23.
Emma Garman’s The Kindness of Strangers
This mystery is set in a boarding house in England in the early 1950s, and everyone has secrets—and that’s before they conspire to cover up a murder! That’s not a spoiler—that happens first thing, and then the story flashes back to the lead up to the death, interspersed with bits of the investigation. Parts of this were surprising, parts were predictable, and I had mixed feelings on the ending(s). But I really did enjoy all the characters! I look forward to whatever Garman does next. B+.
Cat Sebastian’s Hither Page
I was having one of those moods where I’d get twenty percent into a book and then totally lose interest, so I decided to try and reread this instead. Still an entertaining mystery/queer romance set in a small town in England just after WWII, where the local doctor and a spy try and solve a murder. I love all the side characters in this one! It’s a little simpler than some of Sebastian’s more recent stuff but still a good read.
Cat Sebastian's After Hours at Dooryard Books
This was one of my favorite books of last year, and when I saw people talking about it on Bluesky and also couldn't get into anything I was trying, I knew it was time for a reread! Just as charming and like, fulfilling, as the first time I read it. 🩷
Natalie Zina Walschots' Villain
The sequel to Hench is very clearly the second book in a trilogy (or series?). Some great moments, some terrifying moments, but I wasn’t as into it as the first one. Like I finished it and felt pretty bummed out! I will still read whatever Walschots writes and hope for the next book soon! B+.
Natalie Zina Walschots' Hench
Rereading this bc the sequel came out!! I remembered that I liked this but the only detail that really stuck with me was the body horror stuff near the end, but really everything else is so funny and sad and good and action-packed. Perfect narrative voice. If you haven’t read this, it’s about a woman who’s a temp, doing data entry for villains, when she’s badly injured by a superhero. And then starts doing the math on how much damage superheroes actually cause. And this starts a whole villainous journey. Really engaging, I’m so excited to see what comes next.
Juliet Marillier’s Heart’s Blood
I was trying to figure out if Mariller’s new book had a US release date (no) and realized I’d never read this one by her! It’s a Beauty and the Beast retelling, about a young woman on the run from abusive relatives who takes a job as a scribe at a cursed castle. It’s all steeped in Irish folklore and super atmospheric, but super dark at times too. I was into it at first but it dragged in the middle, even with the threat of a Norman invasion. There is just a lot of talk about HOPE lol. I did like that the heroine has to sort out her own past issues and enjoyed that whole section a lot, and really liked how things wrapped up. A-/B+.
CJ Cherryh’s The Pride of Chanur
Really fun sci-fi adventure about the captain of a crew of feline aliens from a matriarchal society who inadvertently rescue a human and set off a diplomatic incident. I like stories with politics and diplomacy and loved the main character here (and was also interested in the translation/communication aspects). Action-packed and great characters. I do want to read more with the characters but the description of book two has me like 🤷🏻♀️ so we’ll see. A/A-.
Sarah Rees Brennan's All Hail Chaos
So I liked, but didn't love, the first book in this series--I think the concept of isekai stresses me out and the protagonist DEFINITELY was stressing me out! But I was all in from page one of this one! All the characters are in more interesting positions and it is laugh out loud funny at parts (I loved all the pop culture references). I did grow impatient with Rae occasionally but Emer and the Golden Cobra/Marius were always awesome, and Rae got some great moments in the second half. Cannot wait for book three. A/A-.
Susan Juby’s Contemplation of a Crime
Another really fun read!! In this one, our Buddhist butler accompanies her billionaire boss (but he’s like, a kind and self-aware billionaire) to a retreat his son is running, to help a group of people with political differences learn to get along, except things do not go according to plan and everyone has to band together to save the day! All the butler pals are back and there are even more dogs in this one! I love this series, I hope more are on the way. A/A-.
Susan Juby’s A Meditation on Murder
The second Helen Thorpe mystery finds our Buddhist butler dispatched to try and sort out a wealthy young wannabe influencer, who is unaware she’s being targeted for internet drama. Lots of good dogs and horses in this one! Great characters again—I was glad that Nigel popped back up—and though the mystery’s conclusion was over the top, I still liked this a lot. Can’t wait to read book three (and then be bereft while waiting for more). A:A-.
Susan Juby’s Mindful of Murder
Absolutely delightful and slyly funny mystery involving a butler, a former Buddhist nun, who is tasked with determining who will inherit her mentor’s upscale yoga retreat … and also reluctantly solving her mentor’s murder with the help of her two best friends from butler school and some other characters (emphasis on CHARACTER lol). I definitely cackled more than a few times, loved the narrative voices here. It also goes pretty deep on Buddhism to good effect! The mystery ends up being solid, too—a very fun read and I’m psyched for book 2. A.
Marta Randall’s The River South
The sequel to Mapping Winter primarily focuses on the teen daughter of the first book’s protagonist, though there are also some POV characters from the first book. I really loved all the characters and their journeys, and this ended in a fairly satisfying way. I do think it needed one more pass with a proofreader or editor—there are some typos and a few awkward bits (or maybe one character is supposed to be perving on a fourteen year old? No thanks). Otherwise a very cool read. A/A-.
Marta Randall’s Mapping Winter
I no longer remember why or when I bought this book or what made me pick it up now, but it was great! Lots of court politics and castle life from the POV of a woman who serves a corrupt, dying lord, and is desperate to escape the court and go off and map unknown places. She’s surly as fuck and also adopts a little boy along the way, it’s a reverse Pedro Pascal situation. Really interesting world-building and a narrative it’s easy to sink into. I’m gonna start the sequel immediately. A.
Tansy Rayner Robert’s Curse of Bronze
Super cute supernatural mystery involving a woman who inherits the family home after her curse breaker aunt is turned into a bronze statue, and she has to figure out who did it, with the help of all sorts of people (a lion librarian, a sort of vampire, a talking teapot, some werewolves, etc). I do think this would have been stronger if it was longer, but I liked it a lot and will be reading volume two when it comes out next month. B+.
Fonda Lee’s The Last Contract of Isako
Lee’s latest is a sci-fi story where a middle-aged woman, a high level operative, has to take One Last Job. The book really harps on her age, like she thinks about her knees, menopause, and/or aging multiple times a chapter. It’s so weird that I actually assumed Lee was in her 20s or something but I looked her up and she’s my age!! Girl! Anyway this was fine, some good twists and lots of great action scenes, but a lot of it draaaaaaaagggggged, like this could have been twenty percent shorter. I was super impatient by the end. B.
Tamora Pierce’s The Realms of the Gods
This was fine. I love Daine as a character but, as expected, was not on board with the romance (he’s twice her age and has been her teacher since she was thirteen and she’s only sixteen now). I also don’t know if it was necessary to the plot—they could have just been together in the later series and it would have been fine!!! I also wasn’t super into the plot of this one, which didn’t help. Lots of cool gods and goddesses and creatures though. B/B+.
Tamora Pierce’s Emperor Mage
The third book in the Immortals series finds Daine et al in another country, trying to negotiate peace with the titular emperor mage who’s been causing problems the last couple books. Lots more awesome animal friends, and we get to see more of the gods in this one too—I am always partial to a pantheon meddling just a bit in human affairs. The ending set piece is a CORKER of an action scene, I want to a scream about it but spoilers. Not sure there has ever been a better fantasy action scene tbh. A/A-.
Tamora Pierce’s Wolf-Speaker
Ok, I’m officially into this series, I think! Events unfold here after a pack of wolves that Daine is friends with ask for help dealing with some local miners who are ruining their environment! But it ends up being much bigger than just miners. Sooo many good animal friends in this one, obviously I was partial to the squirrel and the cats but A+ animals and magical people (and regular people—I hope we see Maura again) all around. Very satisfying. A/A-.
Tamora Pierce’s Wild Magic
I’ve never read this Tamora Pierce series before, bc I accidentally read the next series (Protector of the Small) before it, and knew the little girl main character grows up to marry her teacher (gross). But I wanted to read a book with ANIMAL FRIENDS so tried to put that out of my mind. And it’s a good read! Lots of action and fun and friends of all kinds. It made me want to read all the Tortall books in chronological order, but also I want to keep going with this series so that’ll be a future project. A-.
Amy Coombe’s Stay for a Spell
Very funny, cute, sweet fantasy romance about a younger princess who’s the one who has to travel all over, visiting towns and going to events and kissing babies—until she’s cursed to be unable to leave a local bookshop. She is legit psyched about this, as I think many of us would be. With the help of a surly teen and a hot pirate, she’s gonna make this shop awesome! If only her parents would stop sending princes to kiss her in an effort to break the curse. Lol. This was extremely delightful!!!! I hope this author writes a million more books! A/A-.
KJ Charles’ All of Us Murderers
Rereading this for book club (finished with 15 minutes to spare lol), it remains a delightful confection of mysterious gothic tropes and a sweet queer romance. Here is my original review!
Tamora Pierce’s Lady Knight
Very satisfying conclusion to the Protector of the Small series—battles and rescue missions and friends and hope galore! Just what I needed right now.
Tamora Pierce’s Squire
More of the delightful same in book three of the Protector of the Small series. So many good animal friends! So many good people friends! So many cool ladies! And some good dudes too. Really satisfying.
Tamora Pierce's Page
The second book in the Protector of the Small series follows Kel through the next few years of her training, lots of learning and leading and beating up jerks. Just a really enjoyable and well-paced story, this series is totally suiting my current mood.
Tamora Pierce’s First Test
Sometimes you just want to reread a series about a little girl who wants to train to be a knight and will try super hard and fight against bullies and befriend birds. Fight the power, Kel!
Meg Elison’s Foundling Fathers
Elison’s satirical novella is the perfect read for the year 2026. It involves a group of wealthy right-wingers who have cloned four of the founding fathers (Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, and Adams) and raised them in isolation, pretending it’s the 1700s. And then Teen Franklin finds an iPhone in the privy. Very quick and entertaining read. I really liked how it wrapped up, too. A/A-.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in June.
Ursula LeGuin’s Gifts
I remembered really liking this the first time I read it, but found it a little stressful this time! I was planning on rereading the whole trilogy but think I’m not actually in the mood for YA right now. Click the link to read my original review!
Francis Spufford’s Nonesuch
I do like books involving WWII, magic, time travel, and a solid romance (Connie Willis 4-eva) so this was definitely up my alley, involving a secretary in the finance sector in London (she’s super smart and wants to be a stockbroker but SEXISM) getting entangled in a mystical mystery after seducing a BBC nerd. But like, literary and serious (there are some funny parts though). I was into this! Like I love this heroine!!! And then it broke my heart and said TO BE CONTINUED, like are you KIDDING me?! I guess my desperation for a sequel makes it an A?
Naomi Kritzer’s Obstetrix
Y’all, I just read this all in one sitting and it was so tense and good and TENSE. It involves an obstetrician, infamous after being put on trial for performing an abortion in North Dakota (this is apparently a “near future” sci-fi novel, but it feels just like real life tbh), who is kidnapped by an evangelical Christian cult to take care of all their pregnant women. I mean this was basically a horror novel for me, except that Kritzer tends toward the optimistic, so I tried not to get too freaked out. The end is a bit anticlimactic, but I liked it anyway. I’ll read everything Kritzer writes. A/A-.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in June.
Lois McMaster Bujold’s Darksight Dare
Yay for a new Penric and Desdemona novella! Though really the main characters are a blind young army officer hoping for Penric’s help, and a dying hedge witch with a demon. Just another really enjoyable and kind outing in this series, and I especially enjoyed the demon’s POV. A/A-.
KJ Charles’ An Unsuitable Heir
Pretty solid wrap up to this trilogy—once again I have a slightly hard time suspending my disbelief on the romance bc although I love the characters and love them together, I just can’t deal with people professing their love after literally two weeks. One of the characters is nonbinary (not expressed in those terms, of course) which was cool. I can’t decide how I feel about the resolution of the mystery, but I liked all the other bits of the wrap-up. Fun series! A-.
KJ Charles’ An Unnatural Vice
The second book in the Sins of the Cities books involves one of the friends from the first book, a journalist, and the spiritualist who he basically thinks is a hot fraud with legs for days (actually he’s more interested in his eyes but I do like to throw in the occasional pop culture reference). Anyway, they have to team up to deal with stuff from the first book (I do appreciate that this seems to be a legit trilogy) and angrily hook up. I was a little less into the romance in this one, but the overarching mystery is pretty intriguing. A-.
KJ Charles' An Unseen Attraction
KJ Charles has a huge backlist I haven't read yet, and I was in the mood for a queer romance and/or a mystery, so here we are! One of the dudes is a taxidermist and I could have done with WAY FEWER in-depth descriptions of his art (I've been a vegetarian for 35 years lol, these images felt like a horror movie). The other dude runs a boarding house where the taxidermist lives and is adorable and awkward. Then another boarder is murdered, someone sets fire to the taxidermist's shop, like WHAT is going on, can we figure it out and also make out a bunch, adorably. I loved everything about this that didn’t involve dead animals! A/A-.
Mary Soon Lee's The Sign of the Dragon
I've heard so many good things about this book, and it lived up to the hype! I'd put off reading it because it's a fantasy novel told in poetry, which isn't a form I read much, but it works really well here (I also think it took me a little longer to read because I wasn't as able to race through it--I had to pay closer attention than I normally might). Anyway, it's the story of a young king in an Asian-inspired land, a kind young man determined to be a good king. Lots of POV sections from the people around him as well, particularly his guards. Really moving, the final confrontation didn’t totally work for me but I really loved how this all came together. A/A-.
Caro Claire Burke’s Yesteryear
Y’all, I do NOT know how to feel about this book! It’s very well-written! Banger of an ending! But I felt like the reveal, when it came, was kind of cheap? If you don’t know, this novel is about a smug Christian tradwife influencer, who suddenly finds herself trapped in an actual pioneer version of her life. Even though she’s rigid and unlikable, it’s compelling! But I have some real mixed feelings! I dunno, A-?
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The more I think about this book and its twist, the more annoyed I get--downgrading this to a B.
Lois McMaster Bujold's The Paladin of Souls
In the sequel to The Curse of Chalion, the focus is on forty-year-old Ista, who decides to take a pilgrimage basically just to get out of the house where she spent years confined. But soon the gods are using her to unravel a couple of magical mysteries, with lots of adventure and a little romance along the way. Another very satisfying story, and I love Ista as a heroine. Some great humor in this one too. So good.
Lois McMaster Bujold’s The Curse of Chalion
I think I love this book more every time I read it! It’s just the perfect blend of political intrigue and gods and people doing their best to make the world better. Just perfectly plotted with beautiful characters. I don’t even mind the age gap romance (which isn’t a /huge/ part of the plot). What a satisfying story.
Clare Ashton’s The Goodmans
So the premise of this romance novel is that lesbian doctor Abby has been in love with her best friend Jude (also a doctor) since college, and also has basically been adopted by Jude’s family, which is great except that Jude’s mom is all “I wish Abby would find a nice man to settle down with bc it’s dangerous to be a lesbian, ps I’m not homophobic bc my pansexual son is fine and he can take care of himself” and maybe there’s some backstory there??? Anyway, Jude figures out that Abby has feelings for her and begins to reciprocate, and it turns out this is a relationship plot I’m not super into personally. I was more interested in the mom’s plotline (but probably missed some of the nuances, since this takes place in England and I don’t know their politics really). I did lose interest a bit when you see how everything is going to end up, like wrap it up already. B/B+.
Emma Straub’s American Fantasy
Straub’s latest involves a BOY BAND CRUISE and is very fun! There are three POV characters—a woman who runs the events/manages the talent, whose girlfriend has just left her; one of the boy band-ers, who doesn’t want to be there but his older brother is also in the band and it’s complicated; and a recently divorced woman who was supposed to do the cruise with her superfan sister, but her sister broke her leg, and she’s just like ok well, let’s see what happens! I actually thought the boy bad dude was the best-developed character but all had their moments! Very entertaining book but I still would not go on a cruise no matter how much I liked a band, lol. Honestly, this wasn’t my favorite of Straub’s, but it’s still an Emma Straub book and worth your time. Perfect spring/summer book. A/A-.
Melissa Albert’s The Children
So this book is about a woman who wrote a bestselling series of fantasy books based on her children, then tragically died before the series was finished. Now adult, her daughter is basically the spokesperson for the books and hasn’t seen her reclusive artist brother in years, and is about to publish a pretty whitewashed memoir about her childhood. But at the same time, it’s a creepy gothic fairy tale of a book! At first I had mixed feelings about how the story went, but actually I think it all fit together very well in the end. I do feel vaguely haunted by it though. A/A-.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on June 2nd.
T. Kingfisher’s Daggerbound
Do I… have a new favorite T. Kingfisher book??? Y’allllllllllll. The sequel to Swordheart involves the second magical sword, which has trapped The Dervish, a restless and handsome gay guy, inside it, and he has been THROUGH some shit. And that’s when Learned Edmund (from the Clocktaur Wars books!!!!!) becomes his wielder! And love interest!! There is also a new gnole pal, an amazing and adorable new friend who is a DELIGHT, some old friends, and all sorts of adventures along the way. Just hilarious and sweet but action-packed too. Fingers crossed book three is on the way. A.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in August.
T. Kingfisher’s Swordheart
Rereading this because I have an ARC of the sequel, and tomorrow is my birthday, and I am treating myself to a highly anticipated book! Also because this is one of my favorite Kingfisher books! I think it’s her only romance that doesn’t have a grisly subplot, though there are horrible relations and creepy religious sects and a magical wood full of horrifying creatures. Lol. Never mind. But I do love the romance, between a widow whose in-laws are trying to steal her inheritance, and a warrior trapped in a magical sword. Great characters and the side characters (a gnole named Brindle and Zane, a very cool lawyer/priest of the White Rat) are also amazing. Just really a fun book.
Jaclyn Moriarty’s Time Travel for Beginners
I’ve loved all of Moriarty’s books across genres and audiences, but was very psyched to see she has another adult novel coming out. And this one involves a woman who gets a job at a Time Travel Agency??? Amazing!!! Really there are three POV characters, whose lives all intersect in interesting ways, dealing with grief and loss and parenting teen girls. Lots of humor, which Moriarty excels at, and lots of feelings, another thing she aces. Just a beautiful book. I almost want to start it over again immediately just so I don’t have to let it go. A.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in August.
Suzanne Palmer’s Ode to the Half-Broken
Yalllllllll, this was SO GOOD, like place those preorders and library holds now bc you are gonna want to read this. Our main character is a former war robot in a near future post-apocalypse who has been living in isolation (studying insects!) for twenty years… until someone steals his leg. Soon the robot is out in the world investigating hints of trouble forming, with the help of a bionic dog and some other new friends along the way. This is interspersed with flashbacks to a scientist who is working on AI and robots, but whose company is very interested in defense contracts. I love robots with feelings and this one is one of the greats! Lots of action and mysterious stuff and friendships!! Fans of Becky Chambers and Martha Wells, get on this! A.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in May.
Amy Spalding’s In Her Spotlight
This was a very cute lesbian romance involving a woman who’s famous for being in superhero movies, and she’s taken a role in a play to try and pivot her career. But when the director is fired for being a creep, and the replacement director is a woman whose heart she broke years ago, what will happen! I did like this a lot, though all of the third act conflict is super contrived and annoying. There is a great pug, at least! This is the fourth book in a series but aside from one very minor character who I’m guessing is the protagonist of one of the other books, it works fine as a standalone. I might try one of the others, as I enjoy reading about both Hollywood and lesbians. Lol. A-.
Laurie Frankel’s Enormous Wings
I’ve really enjoyed the books I’ve read by Frankel, and I was into this one at first—a seventy-seven year old Jewish woman’s children move her into a retirement community—the same one where her ex husband lives—where she makes friends and falls for her neighbor. But then she discovers she’s pregnant! And because she lives in Texas in our current times, it’s all very fraught. I loved the protagonist and her relationships with her children and grandchildren, and I did like the end a lot, but I had mixed feelings about how the political message was conveyed. It was all too satirical or something. Frankel does family stuff so well, but this didn’t entirely work for me. B+.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on May 5th.
Portia Elan’s Homebound
What a beautiful story. It’s set in three different times, with three different protagonists (all are Jewish women)—one in 1983, a college student whose uncle has just died of AIDS; one in the near future, a scientist working to restore ecosystems; and one in the far future, who captains a rundown ship and takes on some unusual passengers to pay a debt. All are compelling on their own, but once they start to come together… chef’s kiss. I was pretty teary by the end, but in a sort of nice way? The main message here is the importance of community and I’m here for it. Highly recommend. A.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on May 5th.
Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club
Reread for book club, and I’d forgotten how much I like this book! Really solid mysteries and great characters, lots of time developing everyone and a good mix of narrative voices. This did kick off a wave of wacky/cozy British mysteries but I don’t think any others have grabbed me like this. Now I wish the Netflix movie had been a miniseries to see it justice.
Ann Leckie’s Radiant Star
Interesting new novel set in the world of the Imperial Raadch, focusing on a small and isolated planet rife with religious squabbles and politics. The narrative voice is sort of a dryly funny academic type, which I enjoyed. There are a lot of different characters, so I will say there isn’t a lot of /momentum/ in the story. But it all comes together in a cool way. I don’t think this will be as popular as some of Leckie’s other works, but I liked it. A-.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in May.
Rachel Neumeier’s Bereket
I DO love the books in the Tuyo-verse! This one features a secondary character from Rihasi, the titular Bereket, a clever mercenary. The other POV character is an Ugaro warrior from a tribe that hates the Lau (this is related to the events of Nikoles but the book works fine as a standalone). Anyway, both are involved in the same complicated story from different angles (false accusations, people on the run, unraveling mysteries, etc) and it’s interesting as a reader to see the pieces come together until both stories meet up. I was slightly more partial to the Ugaro POV, I just like their community a lot. The Bereket half had some pacing that didn’t always work for me, but there were also a lot of sort of heists that were very fun? Anyway, another very satisfying story, and I was especially intrigued by the way religion and the gods came into play. Truly some cool world building. A/A-.
Rachel Neumeier's Rihasi
The latest book in the Tuyo-verse is out soon, and I believe it's a prequel involving a character from this book, which was a perfect excuse to reread it! It's one of my faves in this world, involving a woman on the run, determined to bring her corrupt and powerful family to justice, accompanied by a mercenary as her bodyguard. Also, they gradually fall for each other because they are both highly competent and decent people who respect each other!!! Romantic!!!! Just a super satisfying story with an end that makes me tear up.
AG Slatter’s The Crimson Road
I hadn’t read this one before—it just came out last year—but I’m glad I reread the others first! I’d say all the others work fine as standalones, but this revisits characters from The Path of Thorns, All the Mumuring Bones, and The Briar Book of the Dead, so definitely read those first to avoid spoilers! Anyway, this one invokes a woman whose father raised her to be a fighter and a killer—so she can stop a prophecy and save the world from the Leech Lords (vampires!). Very cool and occasionally creepy! I really recommend all of Slatter’s Sourdough books if you like dark fairy tales and stories about stories. A/A-.
AG Slatter’s All the Murmuring Bones
This novel by Slatter involves the last daughter of a formerly powerful and wealthy family, who long ago made a bargain with the merfolk, but haven’t kept their end of the deal, leading to failing fortunes. I do really enjoy this one, but there’s a lot going on and the pacing doesn’t totally work for me. I do love the protagonist and think this wraps up in a satisfying way though!
AG Slatter’s The Path of Thorns
I do love how all of these books involve stories and storytelling! (Actually, some of the stories here involve stuff from Of Sorrow and Such but also A Forest Darkly, which came out later—it’s cool to see the seeds and connections.) The plot involves a woman who takes a job as a governess at an isolated manor—but she has her own reasons for being there. This story has major gothic vibes mixed with dark witchy magic. And yet it’s also got a lot of caring and kindness in it. Great stuff.
AG Slatter’s The Briar Book of the Dead
I’m really enjoying reading/rereading all the Sourdough books together! This one features some descendants of characters from Of Sorrow and Such—a family of witches who basically run a small town. The protagonist is a young woman who doesn’t have any powers, but of course as this trope always goes, discovers she actually does have an unusual power. There are also some mysterious elements with missing townspeople and a new priest. Really great characters, as usual, and very satisfying wrap up.
