2026 book 186

 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. 

2026 book 185

 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.

2026 book 184

 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+.  

2026 book 183

 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+.

2026 book 182

 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+.

2026 book 181

 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-.

2026 book 180

 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+.

2026 book 179

 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-.

2026 book 178

 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.

2026 book 177

 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-.

2026 book 176

 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.

2026 book 175

 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-.

2026 book 174

 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!

2026 book 173

 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.

2026 book 172

 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!!!

2026 book 171

 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.

2026 book 170

 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!  

2026 book 169

 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.

2026 book 168

 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-.

2026 book 167

 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-.

2026 book 166

 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.