Kate’s Review: “Quaint Folk”

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Book: “Quaint Folk” by Bitterl Karella

Publishing Info: Run For It, October 2026

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publisher at ALAAC26

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: From the outside, it looks like Jessica has the perfect life. She’s a stay-at-home mom, married to a man with a respectable job, raising a son they adore. Her family is as wholesome as all-American pie. But deep down, Jessica knows there’s something wrong with her; she knows she can’t escape her past.When her husband’s job has them move abroad, Jessica thinks this is her chance for a fresh start. On the remote island of Hasenhurst, the modern world can’t get in. The people there grow their own herbs, make their own jam, and mind their own business. They believe in folk tales and the power of dreams. They tell visitors, we’re a quaint, quiet people.The right sort of family would do well here.Jessica is determined to be the right kind of person for a family―and a life―like this. But as she tries to befriend the townsfolk and learn their ways, she soon realizes that beneath the town’s cozy idyll, something sickly-sweet and rotten lays buried …

Review: Thank you to Run For It for providing me with an ARC at ALAAC26!

Sometimes when I’m at ALA’s Annual Conference I stumble upon a book that I have never heard of, but am then incredibly intrigued by when it crosses my path. This year that honor went to “Quaint Folk” by Bitter Karella. I had never heard of it. But when I saw this amazing cover with so many folk horror and “Wicker Man” visuals all with neon coloring, I HAD to have it. May as well be catnip to me! Well, “Quaint Folk” wasn’t a one to one (but queer!) “Wicker Man” homage, but it’s still very much in the tradition of other folk horror classics.

I will admit that the comparisons to “The Wicker Man” really roped me in, but I definitely think the foundation and homage is there (the cover alone with the Green Man imagery REALLY stood out to me). This book is self aware and tongue in cheek with its folk horror elements, and sometimes it felt a little TOO twee for this reader, and some of the folk horrorness of it all got bogged down because of it. But it is clear that Karella loves the folk horror genre, and it all works as a folk horror tale (an outsider family, a seemingly perfect but perhaps sinister community pulling them in). I also enjoyed the framing of each chapter with ‘quotes’ about Hasenhurst, the traditions that are found there (Tigglestide Eve, and the entity Round Robin), which helps slowly set up the reveal and build the tension as the story goes on and Jessica, Sandy, and Greg are becoming more entangled.

But I also liked the way that “Quaint Folk” works in themes of queerness and identity into this book, mostly explored through Jessica herself as well as her nonbinary child Sandy. For Sandy it’s a bit more staightforward, as they are very self assured in their identity and have very supportive parents in Jessica and Greg. Sandy has a harder time fitting in in the new community, though they do make a connection with a girl named Georgette, who hates having to conform to female gender norms and insists that people call her George, even though she is constantly warned that the mysterious Round Robin doesn’t like people moving outside their gender. Not that she cares. I really enjoyed seeing both of these characters exploring their gender expressions, and their interactions are pretty funny with the more subdued Sandy and the WHOLLY unhinged George playing off each other. Jessica’s own journey of identity is a bit more difficult. She has religious trauma from her adolescence, as she had romantic feelings for another girl and her parents were furious. She has since rejected religion, but has still felt a need to conform with a perfect husband and perfect wife role, though when she gets to Havenhurst old temptations start to bubble up. It adds another layer of tension as the story goes on.

“Quaint Folk” is a unique folk horror tale that had themes I wasn’t expecting! While the comparisons to “The Wicker Man” didn’t really ring as true as I had hoped, I still had fun with it.

Rating 7: A witty satire on folk horror that also frames the sub genre through a queer lens, “Quaint Folk” has fun with a long loved trope and brings new perspectives to it.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Quaint Folk” is included in the Goodreads blog post “Peek If You Dare: Our Guide to to New Horror Books Coming This Fall”.

Serena’s Review: “Victorious”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Victorious” by V.E. Schwab

Publishing Info: Tor, October 2018

Where Did I Get this Book: copy from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Eli Ever. Victor Vale.

Two men, first best friends, then mortal enemies, each destined to be the other’s shadow.

One left standing—but the game isn’t over yet

Against all the years—and the odds—a group of allies and archrivals meet on a chessboard set by an opponent they couldn’t have predicted….to see who will be victorious.

Previously Reviewed: “Vicious” and “Vengeful”

Review: As I said, I think there’s definitely been a benefit in reading these books now, almost back to back. I think consuming the trilogy in this way both helped me appreciate the overarching story that Schwab was telling and lessened some of the frustrations that I think fans will have with this last entry.

To speak to the purely positive things first, Schwab continues to be a simply excellent storyteller. This world, the special abilities, the dynamics between the characters—it’s all so creative and interesting. While I didn’t necessarily love having a greater and greater cast of characters to follow and I had mixed feelings about the continued use of time jumps, the story was still incredibly compelling and well-paced throughout. Sometimes the strength of an author’s writing forgives many sins, and I think that was the case here.

This story picks up immediately after the first book, and the stakes should be incredibly high. However, some of my lower moments in this read did come in this early portion. Yet again, we were given new characters to get to know with their own complicated histories. This, of course, included a new antagonist. It’s tough, because I didn’t actively dislike any of these characters. But given the start of the series (so tightly focused on Eli and Victor) and the explosive conclusion of the second book, it was tough to pick this one up and have that gratification of seeing these two interact again delayed even further. And, like I said, I was only dealing with having had to wait a few weeks between books. Readers who have been on this ride from the beginning might find this continued delay even more frustrating. Of course, once we get closer to the end, we did get some of these scenes that I know readers were craving.

In hindsight, the trilogy seems to be trying to do much more than tell the story of two friends who become bitter rivals. However, it’s a bit of a tough sell at this point. The first book was so solid on its own, and Victor and Eli and their complicated relationship were so firmly placed at the center of the story, that the entire trilogy feels a bit wobbly with this refocus on these newly introduced characters in each book. For better or worse, readers are largely in it for these two characters, so even for me, reading these three books within a few months, it’s been tough to not resent page time that is devoted to any characters other than these two, no matter how interesting they are on their own.

That said, I think the ending of this book and the trilogy as a whole was the natural conclusion of the story. I was also having such a great time in the final third that it helped soothe some of the frustration of the slow start. Readers who have been enjoying the series so far are sure to enjoy this one. If, however, you were hoping for a hard switch back to a closer focus on Eli and Victor here in the final entry, you may be a bit disappointed.

Rating 8: A satisfying conclusion to the trilogy, though I do wish we had gotten to spend more time with Eli and Victor here at the end of it all.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Victorious” can be found on this Goodreads list: Can’t Wait Adult Fantasy & Sci-Fi of 2026

Kate’s Review: “Something Followed Us Home”

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Book: “Something Followed Us Home: Tales of Latiné Horror” by Cynthia Pelayo (Ed.)

Publishing Info: Atria, September 2026

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC at ALAAC26

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Dive into the chilling depths of Latiné horror with Something Followed Us Home, edited by Bram Stoker Award–winner Cynthia Pelayo, a groundbreaking anthology where each story reimagines immigration, colonization, faith, and folklore as the fears we inherit and carry across borders and generations.

Something followed us home. It crawled in with our prayers, slipped into our beds, watched from mirrors, waited in water, and learned our names. In these stories, horror does not announce itself. It possesses, feeds, whispers, and waits.

Gathering chilling work from some of today’s most acclaimed Latiné voices, this anthology moves through haunted households, brutal landscapes, sacred spaces turned dangerous, and bodies claimed by forces both ancient and intimate. The dead murmur behind locked doors. Bones rebuild themselves under merciless suns. Love becomes a doorway for demonic hunger. Prayers summon answers that arrive too late…or too fully. Blood, devotion, and memory intertwine as the past presses back with teeth.

Something Followed Us Home is a landmark anthology of Latiné horror. These stories remind us that the past is never gone, the dead are never silent, and the places we come from will always find their way back to us. Featuring stories Agustina Bazterrica, Ann Dávila Cardinal, Cynthia Pelayo, Isabel Cañas, Gerardo Sámano Córdova, Zoraida Córdova, Mariana Enriquez, Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro, Ananda Lima, Xochitl Gonzalez, Leopoldo Goût, Juan Martinez, Mónica Ojeda, Daniel Jóse Older, Lilliam Rivera, Alex Segura, Diana Rodriguez Wallach

Review: Thank you to Atria for providing me with an ARC of this novel at ALAAC26 and thank you to Cynthia Pelayo for signing it!

One of my favorite moments at ALAAC this past summer was getting to go to a panel that focused on horror and thriller novels, especially because Cynthia Pelayo was one of the speakers AND she was there to promote the short stories collection she edited entitled “Something Followed Us Home: Tales of Latiné Horror”. This book had been on my must read list for a long time, and not only getting a copy but also getting her to sign it (and to tell her how much we like her here on the blog!) was a true joy. I opted to save it for Horrorpalooza, and it was a good call because it is a great horror collection for the spooky season! No surprises here, given that I really enjoy a lot of the authors that contributed.

Like I always do, I will review in detail my three favorite stories from the collection, and then review the collection as a whole.

The Hand That Feeds by Isabel Cañas: We all know how much I love Cañas, and her contribution to the collection was pretty early on and it really sank its claws into me. A she wolf, La Loba, who can transform between human and canid is living her life, until she marries a controlling man who decides to take her wolf skin and therein steal away her powers and agency. This story feels like it’s within the same realm as the story of the selkie, but Cañas brings in some more tension and some gruesome beats to it, making it deeply satisfying.

El Jíbaro de Puerto Rico by Cynthia Pelayo: This is my favorite in the collection, and I was full on weeping by the end. Pelayo is one of my favorite horror authors because she can bring in such bittersweet beauty with incredible beats of frightening prose, and while this one isn’t exactly subtle, I think we can throw subtlety out the window when talking about colonization and the violent suppression of a people. A teenage girl lives with her abuelo outside of San Juan, preparing for a misa and seance with some strangers, all while her family is haunted by violence and despair as the American Government brings more and more force to the island. As I said, this one made me cry, but while it’s upsetting and horrifying it is also raw, dreamy, and beautiful.

We Are Gathered Together by Diana Rodriguez Wallach: There were a few quite humorous stories in this book to balance out some of the horrors, and this one was the last story in the collection and also helped it end on a charmingly funny note. A school community is gathering for the funeral of a fifteen year old girl, though many of them were either wholly removed from her life or downright awful to her. Little do they know that this funeral is inhabited by some things that aren’t quite human… I was cackling at this story, with some fun bitchy antagonists and a fun twist that felt pretty damn cathartic when all was said and done!

Taking the collection in as a whole, this was a well done anthology! I liked the variety of authors and their different perspectives, and while I generally enjoyed the horror and dark fantasy tales more than the speculative fiction ones I felt that each story had things that I enjoyed about them. The cultural throughline of various Latiné inspired stories, be it vis a vis history, folklore, horror mythologies, and more really blended together to bring a unique reading experience that I greatly enjoyed. Whether it be about the horrors of colonialism, the realities of living in America during this time period as a Latiné person, or just plain old horror stories from the various parts of the diaspora, it meshes well and I found it very entertaining and creepy at times.

“Something Followed Us Home” definitely lived up to my expectations! If you want some stories that you can tackle one at a time at your own pace, consider giving it a go!

Rating 8: A solid collection of horror, dark fantasy, and speculative fiction tales with Latiné experiences and perspectives at the forefront, “Something Followed Us Home” is must read for this Halloween season.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Something Followed Us Home” is included on the Goodreads list “Horror Books Coming in 2026”.

Highlights: October 2026

Fall is well and truly here and with it Kate’s favorite month on the blog where she explores all things spooky and creepy in preparation of Halloween! Serena quietly tries to slip in some cozy witch romances here or there, but mostly just closes her eyes and pretends it’s still summer. Either way, here are some of the titles we’re looking forward to this month!

Serena’s Picks


Book: “The Sixth Faction” by Veronica Roth

Publication Date: October 6, 2026

Why I’m Interested: This has to be one of the oddest things I’ve ever seen, an author going back and re-imagining her original blockbuster series. But man, I’m here for it. I only read the first book in the “Divergent” series and was honestly not that impressed. It was only later that I rediscovered Veronica Roth, and she’s since become a must-read author for me. So in many ways, I feel like I’m the perfect reader for this book: I don’t have much knowledge of the first series or many expectations to compare it to, but I’m also a huge fan of her books now. I’m so excited to see what this is all about!

Book: “Reap and Sow” by Charlotte B. Plumb

Publication Date: October 6, 2026

Why I’m Interested: Probably mostly the beautiful cover art? But also, I’m always excited to check out a debut author, even if this one sounds a bit familiar overall. A young woman makes a bargain with a demon to save her siblings but, oh no, begins to have feelings! So, this could go either way. It could surprise me greatly and remind me why some of these tropes became popular in the first place. Or….it could continue to prove that the romantasy genre is too bound up in tropes for its own good. I really don’t know which way this will go, but hope live eternal, so here we go!

Book: “The Scarlet Ball” by Nghi Vo

Publication Date: October 6, 2026

Why I’m Interested: Speaking of awesome covers! I’ve read a few novellas by this author and have really enjoyed them. Her fantasy worlds are so creative and unique, and this one sounds like more of the same! Something about demonic husbands set in the Gilded Age in New York City? I mean, that’s ally I really need to know. But again, look at that cover! It looks dark, gothic, and everything I want from historical fantasy!

Kate’s Picks

Book: “Off the Reservation” by Stephen Graham Jones

Publication Date: October 13, 2026

Why I’m Interested: Not only is this a new Stephen Graham Jones horror novel, it is also a follow up to “The Only Good Indians”! I didn’t realize there was going to be a sequel to that book, so it was a fantastic surprise. It follows a group of Indigenous Blackfeet activists who are determined to reclaim and repatriate the remains of a Blackfoot child who died at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. But after they get the bones and start the journey home, strange things begin to happen. Then terrifying things. I imagine that this one will not only be scary, but also deeply emotional considering the subject matter. I can’t wait to check it out.

Book: “What Feeds Below” by Tatiana Schlote-Bonne

Publication Date: October 6, 2026

Why I’m Interested: I really loved Schlote-Bonne’s previous novel “The Mean Ones”, and this one sounds incredibly unique and strange, but in a good way. This one also sounds a bit more dark fantasy than straight up horror, but I’m always down for dark fantasy. A large chasm filled with carnivorous plants and other dangers sits next to a large city, where people have found ways to profit off of the hazards. Two orphan friends Petra and Jade even lead tours down into the Void for adventurous (and rich) tourists. But after Jade gets lost in the lower and more dangerous levels of the Void, Petra is determined to save her, no matter what.

Book: “Savage Lake” by Nick Medina

Publication Date: October 27, 2026

Why I’m Interested: Cabin the woods horror!! I live for that stuff and I don’t feel like I’ve read a lot of it lately! So let’s all thank Nick Medina for bringing it back into my orbit this October! A mother named Nell and teenage son Oscar are returning to the lake house that holds terrible memories for her, hoping that she can fix it up and sell it and be done with it forever. But when the local Tribe, which owns the land, shuts down all of the roads around the lake with no explanation, Nell and Oscar are trapped in the cabin. As time goes on and weird things happen, Oscar also realizes that there is something going on with his mother. This one has LOTS of promise.

What books are you looking forward to reading this month? Let us know in the comments!

Serena’s Review: “Winterveil”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Winterveil” by Ava Reid

Publishing Info: HarperCollins, September 2026

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: There is no application process for Valeran Academy, but it boasts the brightest – and precociously criminal – students in the nation.

A disgraced politician from a powerful American dynasty.

A coldly brilliant strategist who will sacrifice anything to win.

A former pageant queen with a talent that could change the world.

A prodigious female soldier with an enigmatic past – and a dangerous secret.

With eerie war simulations, cutthroat competitions and foreboding new technology, Valeran trains its students to be elite assets in a Cold War that has dragged on for nearly a century. But as a sinister conspiracy takes shape and these four are drawn together for a mysterious mission, their loyalties are tested, their convictions shaken and they all begin to are they ushering in a new era of freedom, or tyranny?

Review: I don’t know if there’s another author who I have a more complicated relationship with as a reader than Ava Reid. On one hand, when I enjoy her books, they are absolute favorites, of the sort that I will rave about to whomever gives me an opportunity. But on the other hand, when her books don’t work, I find myself not only struggling to finish them but sometimes actively repulsed by some of the story beats. Part of this last point is on me, as I should just expect certain themes to always show up in her work. And yet, I do think it’s also a mark against some of these titles, as it begs belief that every single story needs some of the sexual darkness that pervades Reid’s work.

Let’s start with what I did like, which was the bare-bones concept of the story. Reid often writes straight fantasy, and this was more of a sci-fi/dystopian-type thriller. There were some interesting concepts introduced with AI and virtual reality and the ways these tools would be used to train teens. At the very least, it was fun to follow students in a school where their training was focused on more than simply bashing each other with swords, as much as I do love a good battle school fantasy novel.

But, as the story continued, I kept having to actively refocus myself on the action, because if I ever stopped and thought too hard about how any of this worked or whether it even made sense for the stated purpose, my brain would start hurting. At one point, a character describes something as “like magic,” and this unwittingly pointed to the entire problem. This wasn’t a fantasy story, and things should be understandable beyond some woo-woo, handwaving “like magic” explanation when things get complicated.

Things really fell apart, however, when it came to the characters and the sexualization explored here. Look, I’m not a prude or anything, but this book is marketed as YA. That doesn’t mean that there can be no sexual content, but I do think it puts a greater onus on the author to handle these topics responsibly. And what we had here was the exact opposite of that.

Firstly, the main female love interest was repeatedly being described as ugly throughout the book. It’s totally fine to not have a hottie as the main character, and there are ways to represent an average girl in this situation in a healthy way. But over and over, this girl’s looks were harped upon in a way that seemed to emphasize the fact that she was the love interest despite her looks.

Secondly, Julian’s inner thoughts were so off-putting that I really struggled to enjoy him. Again, there is a way to represent teenage boys and the different ways they can think about sexuality from girls, but Julian’s inner thoughts were so gross that it was so far and away from this as to be laughable. The use of sexual assault paired with his inner thoughts was really upsetting at times.

There were also several interactions between adults and students that were incredibly creepy and icky. And look, none of these things on their own would necessarily be deal breakers, but it did add up to feeling like quite a lot of darker sexual themes throughout the book. And unfortunately, this does seem to be a trend with Reid’s books. I don’t know what is going on in the background, but there seems to be some inability to resist using sexual assault or darker sexual themes/thoughts in a way that feels exploitative, like it’s all there for shock value and nothing else. When every book I pick up by her includes these themes, it starts to feel a bit weird.

So yes, I struggled to enjoy this book. The general concept was interesting, but there wasn’t enough structure for how things worked to not leave me with constant questions. Beyond that, I was increasingly uncomfortable with the incredibly unhealthy depictions of sexuality and physical appearances, and the use of sexual assault throughout the book. With an adult novel, I may have given some of this more of a pass. But as a YA book, I think this presents these themes in incredibly poor ways, which is a disservice to the teen readers who could pick it up. I guess I would recommend this to Reid fanatics who enjoy all of her books. But if you’re like me and have found yourself bouncing off some of her titles, this might be another one in the “pass” column.

Rating 5: I just don’t think this book did enough to justify its use of dark sexual themes, and instead set up some truly unhealthy dynamics between characters.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Winterveil” can be found on these Goodreads lists: September 2026 Most Anticipated Romance Releases

Kate’s Review: “The Sisters of Crimson House”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “The Sisters of Crimson House” by Melissa Anderson Sweazy

Publishing Info: Sourcebooks Landmark, September 2026

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publisher

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Every house has its secrets.

Charley Bryde is miserable in a house filled with magic. The only woman in a long line of famous psychics to not inherit the family gift, she spends her days inside Crimson House, the coveted family mansion in Memphis, Tennessee, living in the shadows of her talented older sister, Miranda. But when a shocking tragedy scatters the Brydes across the globe, Charley is forced to grow up on her own, and fast. As the money runs dry and Charley’s ownership of Crimson House is put at risk, she’s left with no other option; turn the manor into a haunted attraction and start representing the family brand with lies, cons, and expertly read tarot cards to make ends meet.

When a skeptic starts targeting Charley for the fraud that she is, she’ll stop at nothing to save the family legacy. But the skeptics’ arrival cracks something open in Charley that the Brydes wanted to remain buried. Deep. And when Miranda shows up unannounced after eight years away, the two will come to realize that Crimson House, and their own family, hold secrets even the greatest psychics couldn’t foresee. Secrets that will threaten to destroy them.

Review: Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for sending me an ARC of this novel!

Gather round everyone, for it is October 1st, and that means that not only is my very favorite month of the year, but that it is time for my annual Horrorpalooza celebration! For those unaware, during the entire month of October and in honor of my favorite holiday, Halloween, I will be reviewing horror and horror adjacent books, saving all other genres for after the holiday has passed. It’s always a fun endeavor for the Season of the Witch, and it’s fun to start things off with a bit of a bang. And therefore I am starting with Melissa Anderson Sweazy’s horror novel “The Sisters of Crimson House”! A Southern Gothic horror/family drama about a family of psychics, the one without any powers, and a reunion between estranged sisters who need to come together to save their loved ones and their legacy against a malicious entity. Like I said, starting off with a bang.

I love stories about psychics and I love family dramas, so there is a lot to like about “The Sisters of Crimson House”. I enjoyed the idea of a faux psychic who comes from an actual line of psychics having to hold a run down house together after tragedy has pulled the family apart. Charley feels a bit like Mirabel in “Encanto”, if Mirabel decided to pull cons on tourists by doing cold readings and tarot cards under guise of her very truly psychic family lineage that she herself never grew into. When actual psychic/sister Miranda returns after running away after their parents deaths (and most of the rest of the family has scattered to the wind), a malicious presence starts to threaten the estranged sisters, and they have to put aside their differences to try and save each other and the Bryde family legacy. I liked the psychic elements of this book, and how Charley is doing her best while powerless, though she too is starting to see things as an entity grows stronger and stronger. Is it particularly scary? I didn’t think it was, though I did like the world building and the magic system at hand. The vibe is also SO Southern Gothic, with family conflicts, a heady Memphis setting, and ghosts galore.

But it’s the relationship between Charley and Miranda as well as the other family members that really bolsters this story. We see their story through both the past and the present, seeing the Bryde women at their most powerful and sought after, as well as seeing Charley as she tries to keep the house and her life afloat after they have lost almost everything and she is the only one left, and has turned to faux psychic readings and parlor tricks to keep the lights on. When the gifted Miranda returns, resentments, secrets, and trauma brim up and the two sisters have to work together through all of the baggage in hopes of saving their home and their legacy (as well as themselves). There is a clear tension between the two, with Charley resentful that Miranda was so loved and then ditched out leaving her to pick up the pieces, while Miranda seems resentful of her gifts that made her a golden child, and they have to overcome their mutual frustrations with each other. It’s a sister story at the heart of it, and found that to be the strongest piece of it. I really liked Charley and found her to be very easy to root for and connect with, and while I didn’t really like Miranda as much I definitely understood her. They were well developed and had clear motivations. I also enjoyed thorn in the side skeptic Sy, who has a bone to pick with the family that may go beyond wanting to expose frauds, but who also has some interesting chemistry with Charley. Can you tell I really liked Charley?

“The Sisters of Crimson House” might not have been as spooky as I had hoped for, but it is still a great way to kick off Horrorpalooza because of the very human aspects of the story of two sisters finding each other again. With some spooky psychic energy to boot!

Rating 7: A sister story with psychic powers, a Southern Gothic flair, and a few menacing spirits, “The Sisters of Crimson House” is perfect for the start of Halloween Season!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Sisters of Crimson House” is included in the Goodreads article “A Coven of Beloved, New, and Upcoming Witch Books”.

Kiss of the Black Flame

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Kiss of the Black Flame” by Helen Scheuerer

Publishing Info: Atria Books, September 2026

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Saige Grayson has always believed stories could heal—even when her own body refuses to. As the most promising bookbinder in the capital, she’s learned to work through chronic pain and crushing debt, restoring other people’s treasures while trying not to fall apart herself. But when the man she owes decides her rare talent is worth more than her payments, Saige is traded to the Azkari—an immortal race forged by the gods for war—and imprisoned in their ancient stronghold.

Her only chance of survival lies with Archer, a fallen Azkari general imprisoned beside her —cursed, dangerous, and impossible to ignore. He offers her a way out, and in return, Saige must help him retrieve and restore an ancient book. But the book is made of living magic, powerful enough to stop a great evil—or unleash it. And as Saige works with Archer, the tome begins to awaken something dark and dangerous—both in the realm and within her.

As their enemies close in and buried memories resurface, Saige and Archer must decide what they’re willing to their freedom, their fragile trust…or the spark that could ignite the world.

Review: This was a frustrating read. At times, I was really clicking with the general style of writing, the concepts being introduced for this world, and the broad strokes of the characters we were following. But as the story continued, I was equally often thrown out of my reading experience with eye-roll-inducing instalove and weaker world-building moments.

Let’s start with what I did like. First off, the introduction of this world and its characters was very strong, as was the writing in general. I was intrigued by the greater stakes at the heart of the plot, but I also enjoyed the smaller moments, especially early in the story between the FMC and her friends. The idea of a bookbinder as a main character was also incredibly endearing.

Unfortunately, it quickly became clear that these broad-stroke introductions of the world, the magic, and, to some extent, the characters were all that the story was going to have on offer. This was especially egregious with the world-building and the overall stakes. There is a “villain,” yes, but they are absent for large chunks of the story. In theory, there were things happening, but the reader was never given enough information to really feel any sense of urgency or weight to the action happening on the page. As the story continued, I was increasingly lost behind an ever-growing pile of questions about how any of this worked. There were small contradictions sprinkled throughout the entire read, made all the worse by glaring plot holes and conveniences that popped up with increasing frequency.

The romance itself was also incredibly frustrating. The MMC literally gets one glance of her and then is obsessed for years. And then she, likewise, seems to fall in lust within hours of meeting him. Things don’t improve from there. The relationship between them lacked any chemistry, and I struggled to believe that either of these characters could possibly enjoy the other. He was rude and insufferable. And she was a 35-year-old woman who threw tantrums with the best of her teenage non-peers.

However, like I said in the beginning, the actual writing itself, on a line basis, was very strong. I do think the pacing struggled in the middle, and the plotting also was a bit starved. But I would still be interested in checking out another book by this author, simply on the strength of the prose itself. That being the case, I do think there are plenty of readers who will connect with this one more than I did. Romantasy readers in general will likely be pleased, but be warned that “slow burn” this is not.

Rating 7: While the writing itself was strong, the world-building was lacking and the main characters suffered from a pretty bad case of instalove.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Kiss of the Black Flame” can be found on this Goodreads list: We Fire the Darkness And Flame At Night.

Kate’s Review: “Trad Wife”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Trad Wife” by Sarah Langan

Publishing Info: Atria Books, September 2026

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publisher

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: From the three-time Bram Stoker Award–winning author of Good Neighbors comes a chilling tale of a journalist’s descent into horror as she uncovers the dark secrets behind a trad wife influencer, blending suspense with a critique of modern femininity and the manipulative forces of social media.

Every day, millions watch Mia Wright, the “trad wife” queen, on her idyllic 300-acre farm. With her handsome husband, seven perfect children, and a life of from-scratch meals and pastoral bliss, she’s an icon of modern femininity. But behind every perfect image is a secret. And in this case, the secret is a horror.

Desperate to save her tarnished career, journalist Jenny Kaplan arrives at Black Swan Farm to profile Mia. Jenny is ready to write a scathing exposé, determined to expose the deception behind Mia’s curated life. But soon, Jenny has more to contend with than staged videos and picture-perfect poses. There’s something wrong at the farmhouse. Something slithers through Jenny’s dreams, and at night, the children sing strange nursery rhymes.

She’s losing time. She’s losing her hair. She starts to worry that she’s losing her mind.

There is a horror at the heart of Black Swan, and it’s waiting just for Jenny. Trad Wife will make you question what’s real and what’s just a perfectly curated deception…

Review: Thank you to Atria for sending me an ARC of this novel!

2026 has been a stand out year for trad wife thrillers and horror. The books “Trad Wife” by Saratoga Schaefer and “Yesteryear” by Caro Claire Burke were both reviewed by me on the blog, and even though now some of the most visible trad wife influencers like Hannah Neeleman and Nara Smith are insisting that they AREN’T trying to promote a trad wife lifestyle (I scoff at this recent walking back from these women because you ABSOLUTELY WERE, I SAW THOSE VIDEOS!) it’s still a popular topic (and there will be more in the next couple of months). And the newest horror novel with a trad wife theme is “Trad Wife” by Sarah Langan, which is my third trad wife horror/thriller book I’ve read this year. And it is also the darkest one yet.

As a horror novel, “Trad Wife” has beats that I would expect from the set up. We have Jenny, a floundering journalist who is desperate to get a big story to save her career, who gets an invite from Mia Wright, a well known and well loved trad wife influencer, to write a large profile piece on her life on her property Black Swan Farm. Since this could be a lifeline, she agrees to meet with her, even though she doesn’t agree with her submissive wife and God first lifestyle she’s peddling to millions of followers. Jenny and Mia meet, and Jenny can tell that SOMETHING is off due to the way Mia behaves and the weird quirks in her videos, but agrees to stay the week to get the ins and outs of Black Swam Farm. As the week goes on, Jenny loses time, loses her hair, and has weird dreams and visions of a creeping doom. The dread takes its time, as Jenny sees more strange things, and learns more about the community and the connection to a string of murders of women that happened centuries before. Langan drops hints throughout the narrative and as things get stranger and stranger for Jenny, the tension tightens and tightens until it lets go in a crazy manner at the end. It’s mostly satisfying, though it will probably be pretty bleak for a lot of readers if they are expecting something more akin to “Yesteryear”.

But it is Jenny that really made this one stand out for me. In the aforementioned books I referenced in this review, the perspectives are from that of the trad wives themselves. But in this one we are following Jenny, a journalist who wrote a break out personal piece that made her a target for right wing violent misogynists, and who is flailing to find her feet again as the publication she writes for starts to crumble and want to cut her to try and appease angry right wingers and mens activists. Jenny is a very complicated and compelling character to follow, as she clearly carries a lot of trauma with her from multiple angles, struggling to keep her job and struggling to keep her life together. Whether it’s being parentified by a negligent mother in her childhood, having to play as on demand support system for the younger sister she raised (with little appreciation or understanding from said sister), or living with a man who became unstable and abusive during a mental health crisis which led to the end of their relationship, she’s been through it. And in a way, she is the exact audience that influencers like Mia hope to rope in because of the idealized life that is being pedaled, if only you submit to God and husband and patriarchy. For someone like Jenny, whose trauma has made her anxious about child rearing and family life, she is both someone you would think would be a terrible choice to do a retrospective on someone like Mia due to her incredibly different ideals and values, and yet a woman like her (who is ambitious, who rejects gender roles of being a mother and submissive wife) would almost be an exotic bird to cage for a far right movement and to use as an example. As Jenny is pulled more into the web of Mia and the forces behind her power, the more horrifying things get because we SEE her being taken in by a being that tries to convince its victims that this situation is, in fact, empowering, when it’s not. And if that doesn’t just sum up the veneer of the trad wife movement, I don’t know what does. It’s difficult and dark and it is incredibly unnerving, and it is a great metaphor for the insidiousness of the trad wife movement and who is pushing it.

On the whole I enjoyed “Trad Wife”! The trad wife themes continue on and they continue to be fresh and interesting in this novel.

Rating 8: The darkest trad wife themed horror/thriller book I’ve read yet, with a slow burn of dread and a searing point to make.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Trad Wife” is included on the Goodreads list “Tradwife Thrillers”.

Not Just Books: September 2026

While we do love us some books, believe it not, we do have a life outside of reading. So to highlight our other pop culture interests, on the last Monday of each month, we each will highlight three other “happenings” from the last month. Big events on favorite TV shows, new movies we’ve watched, old movies we’ve “discovered,” etc. Pretty much whatever we found of particular interest outside of the book world during the last month. Share your own favorite things in the comments!

Serena’s Picks

Video Game: “Ledgerbound”

This is a visual novel, tactical RPG, dating sim full of crude humor and ridiculous companions. It also features a story of a found family of insurance adjusters…I mean, heroes…going on crazy adventures. It sounds like a mess, but I absolutely loved it. The humor will definitely be the make it or break it feature for most players, as the story was the clear priority for the devs. But for such a small, Indie endeavor, I was blown away by the quality of the writing and the voice acting. I also found the brief battle sequences surprisingly challenging at times. It’s hard to even know who to recommend this game to, because it’s so unique. But it was such a fun time that I’m tempted to just say that if any of these elements sound remotely interesting, definitely give it a shot with the demo and see if it clicks! Currently, it seems criminally under appreciated, so I’m making it my personal mission to inform as many people as I can. You’re welcome.

Movie: “The Odyssey”

I have a bit of a hit-and-miss relationship with Christopher Nolan. I’ve really enjoyed some of his movies, but the Batman trilogy, especially the last one, drove me up a wall. “Inception” was great, but don’t get me started on “Tenet.” (My husband has re-watched that last one a few times in some odd effort to convince himself it’s good.) That said, when Nolan is restrained by source material, I think he is often better, and such was the case here. Whatever else you can say about the guy, he knows how to make a movie that is worth the ticket price at the theatre, which is a tough sell nowadays. This was a spectacle in pretty much every way, from sound design, to visuals, to the outstanding performances. It seems like everyone has seen it, but if you haven’t, and it’s still in a theater near you, I think this is one of those movies that really does justify itself as far as making a trip to the cinema goes.

Video Game: “Star Wars: Zero Company”

This is another video game that is out of my usual norms. While I’ve enjoyed other turn based games (coughBG3cough), I haven’t played many true tactics games. But when this one dropped, several of the reviewers I followed all raved about it. Between that and the high production value of the cut scenes I was seeing, I thought I’d give it a go. And it’s been a ton of fun! It’s taken a bit to settle in to the game play, but the story itself immediately sold me on the game. There’s something about the atmosphere of the game, from the voice acting, to the music, to the writing, that immediately draws you in. If you enjoy tactics games at all, I definitely recommend this one!

Kate’s Picks

TV Show: “Psych”

I watched “Psych” YEARS ago when it was on, and I did a rewatch probably ten years ago. It’s not a new show to me. But when Tim Curry died and my heart was absolutely broken I started looking into anything I could watch in tribute. I wanted to save “Rocky Horror” for that weekend at midnight and decided to watch the episode of “Psych” where he played a Simon Cowell-esque reality TV judge. And that led me to start an entire rewatch of “Psych” in the coming weeks because I had forgotten how damn funny it was. It follows Shawn and Gus, two best friends who run a private detective agency where Shawn pretends to be psychic, but is actually just incredibly perceptive and solves crimes that way. It is very 2010s in its humor and sensibilities, but James Roday Rodriguez and Dulé Hill have perfect chemistry as the sardonic Shawn and the neurotic Gus. It’s been fun rewatching a show that is quite humorous and low stakes.

Podcast: “Asking Autistics”

This month signaled the end of a months long process of me getting evaluated for autism, and I wasn’t totally surprised when the results came back as ‘yeah, you totally are’ after a few years of wondering/seeing similar things in my daughter that I see in myself. After getting diagnosed (and also learning that I was NOT ACTUALLY ADHD like I had been told when I was a teenager; THAT was a mindfuck) I decided to look into, what else, a podcast to try and learn more! And I found one that was not only by two autistic people, but two women who are more than happy to discuss their experiences. “Asking Autistics” is hosted by Lindsey and Rebecca, and they talk about being autistic in their day to day lives and what that looks like for them, as well as other topics and how it relates to their autism. They have guests, they have anecdotes, and I’ve found it interesting and a good starting off point while I kind of parse all this out in my own life.

Film: “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma”

We all know that I’m a huge slasher film fan! I have an especially special place in my heart for both the “Friday the 13th” franchise and the cult classic “Sleepaway Camp”, both taking place at summer camps and being gore fests that left their marks on the slasher genre (for better or worse, depending on perspective). Clearly this meant that I was VERY interested in seeing Jane Schoenbrun’s new surrealistic horror film “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma”. In “Miasma”, a young up and coming queer director has been hired to reboot the infamous “Camp Miasma” slasher series (considered a classic but deeply problematic as time has gone on), and seeks out the original ‘final girl’ actress to the first film who has become a recluse. But the film’s slasher, Little Death, may not be so grounded in fiction. This film is not only a fantastic love letter to 80s slasher films (with SO MANY Easter eggs across the entire genre), it also deconstructs some of the more problematic beats of the genre when it comes to sexuality and gender (especially the transphobic undercurrents of “Sleepaway Camp”, a film that I love but definitely doesn’t age well in regards to Angela’s gender dynamics). Gillian Anderson as final girl Billy Presley is engaging and mysterious and a delight, while Hannah Einbinder as director Kris brings earnestness and awkwardness to the perfect degree. I found it enjoyable and strange and very, very fun.

Serena’s Review: “Vengeful”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Vengeful” by V.E. Schwab

Publishing Info: Tor, September 2018

Where Did I Get this Book: copy from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Magneto and Professor X. Superman and Lex Luthor. Victor Vale and Eli Ever. Sydney and Serena Clarke. Great partnerships, now soured on the vine.

But Marcella Riggins needs no one. Flush from her brush with death, she’s finally gained the control she’s always sought—and will use her new-found power to bring the city of Merit to its knees. She’ll do whatever it takes, collecting her own sidekicks, and leveraging the two most infamous EOs, Victor Vale and Eli Ever, against each other.

With Marcella’s rise, new enmities create opportunity–and the stage of Merit City will once again be set for a final, terrible reckoning.

Previously Reviewed: “Vicious”

Review: It’s an interesting experience reading this series for the first time as I am. That is, when the first book came out, people rightly assumed it was a stand-alone. And then many years later, here comes this book and it’s unclear whether it’s just a sequel or carrying over to a third book? Me, now reading the trilogy with the knowledge that it will be a completed trilogy here soon, I’m having perhaps a different reading experience than others. That said, while I think I would have been more frustrated by this book had I read it back when it came out and without the knowledge that there would be a third, I still found this book to be suffering from a rather stifling case of “second book syndrome.”

To start with what continues to work: the general vibe of this world and the new powers/abilities that were introduced. Like the first book, I still am very much enjoying the “dark superheroes” vibe that is going on. In many ways, this is just more of the same: more cool powers and more darkness. I did have a few questions about how certain characters’ abilities worked, but this was definitely one of those books where the general atmosphere was more important than the detailed ins and outs of how the magic system works. That being the case, I was fine treating the fantasy elements as a more “soft magic” system.

That said, when I say this book is more of the same as the first book, I mean that in every way, because in this book we all got even more characters and even more time jumps. Some of these worked ok, but I also think that the story, both in pacing and in overall theme, began to become muddled by the inclusion of all of this “more.” While a few of the new characters were interesting, I felt like it came at the expense of some of our existing characters. People who had been represented as complex and multifaceted began to resemble cardboard cutouts more and more.

One of the strengths of the first book was the interesting exploration of what it means to be a “villain” and the complicated layer of greyness that can be found therein. Here we were given a new character who I think was meant to further expand on this point, but instead, simply fell flat and almost reinforced the more black-and-white nature of the question. I feel like Marcella was supposed to represent some sort of deep thought exercise on misogyny, women, and power. But I don’t think this was successful at all. Marcella was just a villain, pretty much full stop. So any waxing poetic she did on this subject was always seen through the lens of a character who was a pretty clear villain, regardless of her gender, thus watering down any greater commentary on powerful women that was trying to be made.

I also think the overall pacing was harmed by all the constant time jumps and the increased number of cast members whom I was expected to keep track of. I simply began to not care about some of them and feel frustrated by the limited time I got to spend with those I did still have interest in. Beyond this, this book felt a bit directionless with regards to its overall theme. There were some good lines sprinkled throughout, but by the time I got to the end of the book, it failed to come together into a greater point overall. Given the strength of the message in the first book, this was all the more disappointing.

Now knowing that this is a middle book in a trilogy, it’s very easy to see “middle book syndrome” all over this one. Schwab is still a talented author, so I didn’t have a bad time with this book by any means. But had I read this one when it came out, I may have found myself wishing that “Vicious” had remained a stand-alone. We’ll just have to wait and see how the third book ties everything up to see which side I end up falling on for the trilogy as a whole.

Rating 7: A bit of a letdown from the strength of the first book. I still enjoy Schwab’s writing, but this book seemed to muddy the waters of this world and story more than it edified them.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Vengeful” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Can’t Wait Books of 2018 and Villain Protagonist.