Serena’s Review: “Fallen Beauty”

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Book: “Fallen Beauty” by Astrid Scholte

Publishing Info: Wednesday Books, November 2026

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

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

Book Description:

Review: Here’s another book that really rested on the creativity at the heart of the story to get me through some of the weaker aspects of character building. But it turns out I will tolerate a decent amount recently simply to read a book that has something new to say or some new version of magic other than all of the shadow daddies and stabby heroines we’ve had for the last, oh, several years.

As I said, I struggled with the characters, but the overall concept of the story was fascinating. Our FMC is a painter who can bring things to life through her paintings. At first glance, this seems like a fairly straightforward ability. But the author quickly turns that on its head by introducing a king and queen and court of nobles who have discovered a way to use this talent for diabolical ends. And as this skill seems to be passed down from mother to daughter, we are introduced to our leading lady as she remains stuck in a protected and isolated tower where she has lived ever since her mother was taken away.

I will say, I enjoyed the first few chapters when everything was first introduced. There were quite a few questions about why our main character was stuck in the tower, why she was being given dead things to paint, and, of course, what happened to her mother. Unfortunately, the pacing became a problem as, in the very next series of chapters, almost all of these questions were answered one after another, as if the author had a list before her and was diligently adding check marks. It felt like such a missed opportunity to have these details trickle out more slowly, maintaining the excellent tension that was created in the opening portion.

Where I really struggled was with the characters. The story is told in alternating POVs between the female and male leads. Both had various issues for me. Thorelea had a lot of potential. Here is a young woman who has been thrust out of a life of isolation into a court full of deadly politics and into a position where she is forced to use her newly discovered magical abilities in truly horrifying ways. Beyond that, she is quickly given the information that her beloved mother has died, only a few days before her release. All of this is rich material to work with. But the way she dealt with these questions and life in court didn’t make sense at all. She has lived alone for years, and only had her mother for company before that. Living now outside of her tower and in the midst of other people should be a shattering experience in some ways. But no, she is somehow perfectly capable socially and seems to struggle not at all in any meaningful way from her isolated life before. It was incredibly frustrating.

The MMC was almost worse. Where I found myself frustrated by Thorelea, I did still like her as a character. Kelter was just annoying from the start. I could never put a finger on exactly what sort of character he was supposed to be, and what’s worse, when he did come down firmly into one camp or another, it was often the most unlikable. He spends a hot second being a soldier, and then seems to make that his entire personality, up to the point where he compares his one experience in battle (where he does practically nothing, mind you) to Thorelea’s years of captivity. It was maddening! And he didn’t really improve as the story went.

The writing, overall, was still fairly strong throughout. And I’ll always go back to my appreciation for authors tackling new story inspirations. Here, we have a melding of “Rapunzel” and “Dorian Gray,” and these aspects of the book were by far my favorite parts. I’ll say that if you really enjoy fairytale reimaginings, this one may be worth checking out. But it does have a few weaknesses, all the same.

Rating 7: I really enjoyed the fresh interpretation of “Rapunzel” and “Dorian Gray” that this book introduced! But man, the MMC was a headache at times!

Reader’s Advisory:

“” can be found on these Goodreads lists:

Kate’s Review: “Scaled Vengeance”

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Book: “Scaled Vengeance” by Wendy M. Barnhart

Publishing Info: Camashea Press, November 2026

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ePub from the publicist

Where You Can Get This Book: Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: The justice system failed. She didn’t.

Cassidy Vickers suspected the “Scales Killer” was a woman, and she was right. As a podcast host, serial killers were her obsession. Now working as a feature reporter, those human monsters are part of her past.

Convicted of nine murders, Scales Killer and former influencer, Emerson Kemp, rechristened “Lady Justice,” is weeks away from execution. But brutal abusers are dying again, each marked with Emerson’s signature icon of uneven scales. Is Emerson directing the murders from death row? Cassidy can’t resist searching for the answer.

When Emerson contacts Cassidy during a true crime livestream, Cassidy is further ensnared in the hunt. An outraged public accuses Cassidy of collusion, even murder, threatening Cassidy’s career and fracturing her family. Bodies are dropping, powerful forces are closing in, and the clock is ticking faster toward Emerson’s execution.

Can Cassidy find the truth? Or will darker secrets leave her world in ruin?

Review: Thank you to Books Forward for sending me an ePub of this novel!

The year is starting to wind down and as it gets brisker in the air (it’s way too warm for November here in the Twin Cities, if I’m being honest) I find myself more and more inclined to turn inward and just try and be cozy. And I find thrillers and mysteries to be rather cozy! When “Scaled Vengeance” by Wendy M. Barnhart ended up in the inbox, the comparison to “Dateline” reeled me in pretty quickly. But I was also intrigued by the idea of podcaster Cassidy Vickers exposing a serial killer, only for there to be copycat murders right before said serial killer, Emerson Kemp, is going to be executed. Now THAT sounded interesting, and for the most part it was!

I really found myself enjoying Cassidy as a protagonist, especially how we had this focus on her work life, her connection to Emerson (as twisted as it may be), and the tenuous home life that she has with a delightful young son named Joey and a difficult husband named Merrick. I say difficult because he is very much being manipulated and controlled by his overbearing and duplicitous mother, who is incredibly concerned about reputation as the head of a high powered oil company (and who is terribly concerned about Cassidy stepping outside societal expectations). I thought that Cassidy’s need for independence and agency, and the conflict it is creating with her doormat of a husband, was a very engaging subplot, especially since instead of making it very black and white Barnhart instead opts to go in a direction that makes the reader, or at least me, a little more empathetic to everyone involved (and that’s all I will say as to avoid spoilers). I also did find the strange and Hannibal and Clarice-esque banter and back and forth between Emerson and Cassidy to be interesting, as I really do love a story where a detective has to work with a nefarious criminal in order to solve a case, and then has to wonder just how forthright said criminal is being (and if the criminal is also playing mind games). And hey, who doesn’t like a story about abusers and predators being taken out after the justice system doesn’t hold them to account? It’s always cathartic to see this in the books I read.

As a mystery, it was entertaining! I did find myself wondering what was going on and whether or not Cassidy could trust Emerson, and I felt like there were some solid misdirects and some pretty well done reveals. I do have one criticism, but it needs a bit of a caveat. I am not certain if this is a second book in a series, as this has certainly happened to me before where I’ve been offered a book that had previous installments and I’ve wound up a little confused because of the lack of context. I did some digging, and I couldn’t find anything that would suggest that there were previous books about Cassidy and her time as a podcaster that broke open a huge case that led her to her position as a journalist in this book. But if there aren’t any books before this (if there are, disregard!), this did feel a little bit like we were thrown into the middle of a character arc that had some heavy lifting done in previous installments that would have added context to this story. I think that I would have liked to get to know some of the characters better before they hit the ground running.

“Scaled Vengeance” is a fun and well crafted thriller mystery. Cassidy is a fun protagonist and it will surely entertain fans of the genre!

Rating 7: I really liked the parts of the story about Cassidy’s home life and the themes of the mystery, though I felt like we were kind of plopped into what could have been a sequel as opposed to a stand alone.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Scaled Vengeance” is included on the Goodreads list “Fearless Females”.

Serena’s Review: “The Sweetest Fiend”

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Book: “The Sweetest Fiend” by Raven Kennedy

Publishing Info: Avon, September 2026

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

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

Book Description: Our world cracked open like an egg. Power burst out, and with it, nine monstrous Banes ready to destroy everything. The powerful Core fae finally slayed them all, but each Bane left a Plague to punish us.

But that’s not the only thing they left behind.

I’m half Bane, half fae, and wholly hated. Survival means enduring every vicious glare and cursed outbreak. Until one day, a Plague descends upon my city that means certain death.

Then he comes. The Pied Piper.

He rids my city of the Plague, but it comes at a cost. One hundred and thirty people are taken as payment. Including me.

I don’t know what he’s going to do to us, but I know I have to get home. My family’s lives depend on it. But the Piper won’t let me go, and something wicked stirs between us. The sweet scent in my veins beckons him, while the seductive lure of his magic sinks under my skin.

I have to escape before it’s too late. Because if I don’t, it’s not just my heart at risk…

But the entire world.

Review: I love fairytale retellings, but by now, the most popular ones have been done quite a few times. That’s not to say that I won’t definitely read the millionth version of “Beauty and the Beast” the second I get a chance (there may, in fact, be one of those coming in two weeks…), but it’s always fun to find an author tackling a lesser-known story. And what’s a more random choice than the Pied Piper? And then somehow the Pied Piper himself is the romantic love interest?? Bizarre! But this kind of wackiness is just the thing to immediately pique my interest, so here we are!

I also know that this author is fairly popular, but her books are the rare ones where it seems like the story got stronger as it went. And reading this one, I can definitely vouch for that. This is a long book, nearly 500 pages, and the story definitely takes its time getting started. And while I really liked the worldbuilding that was first introduced, I won’t lie, I put down the book quite a few times in that first quarter or so, and it was really only the strength of the writing itself that kept me going.

There were things happening, but even in the midst of events that should have been exciting, it also felt like the entire story was turning into one whole “woe is me/look at me be bullied” sob fest for the main character. I get it, she’s persecuted. But it was just a bit too much for me to handle without it being better balanced alongside any other characteristics on offer. Really, it felt like Esti’s entire personality was “people hate and fear me.” This then led to some frustrating decision-making from her later in the book, too. But by that time, there was enough going on in other aspects of the book that I was able to overlook some of it. But yeah, the main character was definitely not my favorite part about this book.

But let’s get back to what I did like, and that really circled around the creative world and magic. Right from the start, I loved the idea of cycles of plagues that torment these villages. And these aren’t pesky little things; they are all described as incredibly deadly in their own horrifying ways. The moment one is done, another one rolls in, seemingly worse than the last. There were a lot of great moments that focused on the lows that these sorts of life-or-death situations could push society to and what people are willing to tolerate.

I had mixed feelings on the romantic plot itself. Again, we have the confusion of an author seeming to feel like they have to do an “enemies to lovers” story based on the popularity of the trope, but not necessarily knowing how to transition her characters through this arc. We were never given any real character development for why these two drew closer together, other than lustfulness.

I did enjoy the love interest, which was a bit shocking since he also had some of the most ridiculous lines ever. I don’t know exactly what it was, but the archetype that he was portraying was the sort I enjoy, and I definitely felt like he was the stronger half of the romantic pairing.

That said, I did feel like the book was overly long. The prose was incredibly strong, the worldbuilding was excellent, and the creative use of the Pied Piper story was on point. But by the second half of the book, we were running into scenes repeating themselves, most notably in Esti’s failed escape attempts. A good editor could have caught this, and I think paring it down by a good 75 pages would have made it a stronger entry altogether.

While I had a few problems here and there, mostly with the length and with the main character, I still really appreciated picking up a romantasy book that felt like it had a few new things to bring to the table. If you’re a fan of retellings, this is probably one to check out!

Rating 8: The main character had a bit of a persecution complex (maybe rightly so, but it still got annoying), but the romantic lead was ridiculous in a way that somehow I loved?? Either way, if you’re looking for an interesting new retelling, this one is a fun entry!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Sweetest Fiend” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Best Novels with “Fiend” in the Title and Non-Fairytale Spicy Retellings.

Kate’s Review: “Papa Drew a Thousand Birds”

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Book: “Papa Drew a Thousand Birds” by Maren Amini & Ahmadjan Amini

Publishing Info: Levine Querido, November 2026

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

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

Book Description: A polyphonous graphic novel memoir from father and daughter about a boy’s flight and return to war-torn Afghanistan—as well as a fresh retelling of the epic Persian poem The Conference of the Birds.

Ahmadjan dreams of becoming an artist, but finds few opportunities in tumultuous Afghanistan. So he leaves … and thus begins a colorful, zigzagging path that is not just a powerful meditation on art, war, and the meaning of life—as well as a stunning collection of a myriad of different illustration forms—but a singular retelling of the legendary Persian epic The Conference of the Birds.

By the end of Papa Drew a Thousand Birds, you realize Ahmadjan and his daughter Maren are telling this story together, and their birds have flown their way into your heart.

Review: Thank you to Levine Querido for sending me an ePub of this graphic novel!

It’s been a bit since I’ve done a graphic memoir (since this past Spring I’m thinking), and when “Papa Drew a Thousand Birds” by Maren Amini and Ahmadjan Amini, a daughter writing duo writing about Ahmadjan’s life as an artist, ended up in my inbox I was incredibly interested to give it a look. I always like graphic memoirs, especially ones that speak to experiences I am not as familiar with, and this one was promising. And I quite enjoyed it!

This is a memoir about Ahmadjan, a man who grew up in Afghanistan and dreamed of being an artist, and who left for Europe in the 1970s in pursuit of his dreams and ambitions. As he hones his craft and creates his art in Germany, he finds himself returning to Afghanistan on and off as his home country goes through many significant changes and moments of upheaval due to instability, encroaching Imperialism, and war. All of this is done with the backdrop of his lifelong project of painting a thousand birds, as well as weaving it along with the epic poem The Conference of Birds, which served as inspiration for his vision. I really enjoyed the way that father and daughter tell his story, addressing the joys of success and creativity as well as the struggles of trying to make it as an artist with not uncommon road blocks, especially as his home country becomes more and more tenuous and fractured with conflict. I also really liked the way that the epic poem’s themes are compared and contrasted with Ahmadjan’s journey of becoming an artist while also having to balance out other aspects of his life and the reality of the world he lives within.

This was also a fascinating and personal story about a man from Afghanistan watching his home change, and a fascinating and informative basic history lesson of a country that is VERY different now than it was when he was growing up. I am not as well versed in the history of Afghanistan (or really any countries from that region of the world), and I thought that the way that we see how it changes and faces lots of difficulties, while also remaining important and precious and complex to the person whose story we are learning, made for a good read. It reminded me a bit of “Persepolis” in that way, as it certainly discusses some of the more well known difficulties, but also wants to show that a country and culture cannot be defined by such things alone.

And since it’s a graphic novel, I gotta mention the art! It took me a little while to get used to aspects of it (it is SO cartoony in a lot of ways), but once I started to adjust, I realized that I really found it charming in its very unique way. The topics in the book can be heavy, but the style makes it so that it doesn’t get overloaded with the weight of it all, while also still remaining respectful and at times introspective (I especially loved seeing the birds artwork as new characters were introduced and they were likened to various birds). It’s a style that definitely stands out.

source: Levine Querido

I enjoyed “Papa Drew a Thousand Birds” and found it to be a unique and moving insight into a man driven by artistry as his country goest through significant changes.

Rating 8: A lovely and moving tale about art, finding yourself, and identity against the backdrop of an ever changing reality, “Papa Drew a Thousand Birds” is a touching graphic memoir.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Papa Drew a Thousand Birds” isn’t on any Goodreads lists as of now, but it would fit in on “Books Set in the -stan Countries”.

Book Club Review: “Forgive Me Not”

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We are part of a group of librarian friends who have had an ongoing book club running for the last several years. Each “season” (we’re nerds) we pick a theme and each of us chooses a book within that theme for us all to read. For this blog, we will post a joint review of each book we read for book club. We’ll also post the next book coming up in book club. So feel free to read along with us or use our book selections and questions in your own book club! This season’s theme is books with specific colored covers where we all drew a color and matched it with a book.

Book: “Forgive-Me-Not” by Mari Costa

Publishing Info: First Second, May 2026

Where Did We Get This Book: from the library!

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

Prompt Color: Green

Book Description: A queer “enemies to lovers” journey of a lost princess and a changeling who was made to take the heir’s place as part of a fey scheme.

Aisling is many things to many people: princess, heir to the throne, teenage daughter of two loving parents… She’s also about to learn a lot more about herself: changeling. Fey creature. Hunted. Feared. Loved?

Forgive-Me-Not is the name given to the true princess — the lost teenage biological daughter to the king and queen, who’s grown up in the chaotic and untrustworthy realm of Faerie. When Forgive-Me-Not breaks into Aisling’s room the night before their 18 th birthday looking for revenge, the two embark on a long and arduous journey. And what starts as a confrontational and adversarial pairing grows into a bond of mutual understanding, friendship, and maybe something more…

Kate’s Thoughts

I am not as familiar with faerie stories and the lore and mythos that tend to go hand in hand with them. I know more about real world lore about faeries and changelings (and how it was probably in part a way to explain autism traits in children!), but haven’t read that much in the fictional and fantasy realms of my reading priorities. But I was definitely intrigued by “Forgive Me Not”, as the concept of a princess actually being a changeling (and not knowing it) and being taken back to the fae world by the ACTUAL STOLEN princess is just super fun. Thanks again, Book Club, for introducing me to a book I probably wouldn’t have read were it not for you!

And overall, it was fine. I’ll start with the good things. I absolutely adored the artwork, finding the character designs as well as the designs of the world, but human and fae alike, to be incredibly charming and quite beautiful at times. I loved the lush colors and the details not only of the up close and obvious people and things in frame, but also those of the backgrounds. It really made the story and characters pop off the page and added to the story. I also really enjoyed the way that Costa made the mythology and backstory of the world not feel overwrought or forced into the narrative through clunky exposition, as having Aisling being thrust into a whole new magical world she has no memory of made for the perfect way to not only get her caught up to speed, but the readers as well. I always appreciate when a story can do this in such an effective way, and it’s especially important to do that in a graphic novel when the images are doing a good chunk of the exposition on top of the words.

But then on the other hand, I did find some of the pacing to be a bit off. This graphic novel is pretty standard length I’d say, not super long but also not terribly short, but it still felt fairly rushed when we were being told the story and going on the journey with Aisling and Forgive-Me-Not. As much as I enjoyed the unfolding of the world and the backstory to the realm, it also felt like we were tearing through it as opposed to just sitting within the narrative. Striking a balance between a well paced and satisfying story and a potentially cumbersome page count that may be needed to get that story in such a visual form can be tricky, and I don’t think that this book really managed.

But I know that there are plenty of fantasy, and certainly YA, readers who would eat this book right up! It’s quick and sweet and really lovely to look at.

Serena’s Thoughts:

This was one of those books where, reading it for book club, I had one primary thought: “Wow, I can really picture the person I’d recommend this to at my library!” That said, it was more the sort of book that I know many others would appreciate more than me, which comes down to my own reading preferences and genre familiarity more than anything.

But one thing I did unquestionably enjoy was the art style. This was a very distinct, approachable art style that was as clear with its storytelling as it was beautiful. I really enjoyed many of the spreads, and the characters, in particular, I think worked very well, with emotive faces and a general appeal.

That said, I think some of the story beats felt a bit too familiar for my taste. This book is setting out with the primary goal to subvert common fantasy tropes. So, of course, if you’re familiar with fantasy tropes, the entire read becomes fairly predictable, with almost every beat landing with more of a thud than a zing. But like I said, for YA readers, this might have a better impact than for me, a poor, jaded elder millennial fantasy reader.

I also wasn’t a huge fan of the romance. I’m pretty picky about “enemies to lovers,” as it is so overrepresented currently, and more often than not, done poorly to boot. Here, it wasn’t necessarily done poorly, but there were a few points of friction for me. First, I think the level of meanness and rudeness that was initially presented was never really dealt with, making it seem as if being treated like this is something that can or should be easily brushed aside. And then from there, things resolved very quickly, and the entire plotline felt more like instalove than anything else.

All of that said, for YA readers who enjoy graphic novels and fantasy stories, I think this is an easy one to recommend!

Kate’s Rating 7: It’s quite pretty to look at and it had a great device to build the world, but as a story itself it was just okay.

Serena’s Rating 7: While I get what it was trying to do, I feel like the subversion of fantasy tropes almost spoiled the storyline more than anything, and the romance didn’t quite work either. That said, the artwork was beautiful and I’m sure there are many readers out there who would like this one!

Book Club Questions

  1. Did anyone have a favorite character or scene in this story?
  2. How familiar are you with fae stories and the tropes and themes associated with them? Did your knowledge level affect your reading experience at all?
  3. How does the art complement the story? Would you have liked this more as a traditional novel versus a graphic novel?
  4. Would you be interested in seeing this same story from another POV, perhaps through the eyes of someone from the fae world?
  5. Would you read another story set in this universe?
  6. Who would you recommend this story to?

Reader’s Advisory

“Forgive-Me-Not” is included on these Goodreads lists: YA Graphic Novels of 2026 and 2026 Queer SFF.

Next Book Club Pick: “Operation Bounce House” by Matt Dinniman

Serena’s Review: “East of Envy”

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

Book: “East of Envy” by Nikki St. Crowe

Publishing Info: Bramble, November 2026

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

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

Book Description: Dorothy Gale has been betrayed by the Wizard of Oz; he used her, broke her, and left her stranded in a strange land.

Now she’s forced to team up with the last person she should the Tin Woodman. He’s a heartless mercenary with an axe to grind and nothing left to lose. Because the Wizard didn’t just steal his heart, he took Tin’s little brother, Gabriel, too.

Everything about Tin is dangerous, and the closer Dorothy gets, the harder it is to tell what scares her more―his blade, or the fire he ignites within her.

But defeating the Wizard won’t be easy. His magic hums beneath every brick and coils through every whisper, until you’re walking in circles on the Yellow Brick Road. He has all of Oz under his spell and more power than anyone. Or does he?

Dorothy is more than she seems, and the longer she’s in Oz, the more she remembers. Things about her past, about what she is, and about the magic awakening inside her.

Review: Well, here I am, back with a series I wasn’t sure about continuing. However, when the publisher sent me an unprompted ARC, I was reminded about the parts I did enjoy from the first book, namely the action and adventure all set within a new version of Oz. The romance was…less appealing. But the author is clearly a talented writer, and I did want to return to this version of Oz, so with a bit of wariness, I dove back in.

Let’s just say my feelings for this one are almost an exact mimic of my feelings towards the first book. The strengths are still clearly the strengths, and my frustrations with its weaknesses are unchanged. Like the first book, I most enjoyed this one when the focus remained on the action and adventure and the various Oz-related elements that were thrown in. The author has a unique version of familiar characters and events, and I was having the best time with the book during the moments where these aspects of the book were at the forefront.

Honestly, the plot itself was pretty great! And as I read, I kept circling back to the thought that this would have been so much better had the romance been left out entirely or backburnered to an extreme subplot. As it stands, whenever the romance came to the forefront, that’s when I caught myself rolling my eyes.

And really, I think “romance” might not even be the right word for it! There is very little actual romance here. Instead, the book is almost entirely focused on pure, unadulterated lust. And look, while that’s not really my thing as far as romance novels go, it can have its place in fiction. However, the author would make extremely odd choices about when these lustful thoughts would emerge! Seriously, the characters would be in the middle of life-and-death situations, and our main FMC would suddenly go on a mental tangent about her horniness for either of the MMCs. It was distracting at best and at worst lowered my appreciation for the FMC’s ability to properly prioritize things in dire situations.

Luckily, the story introduced more POV characters, and this helped with my frustration with Dorothy. Through these new characters, we got some useful world-building and backstory that helped recontextualize some of the events from the first book.

In the end, that thought I referenced earlier, the wish that the romance had been completely left out, was where I came down when I finished this book. I know the author is a romance author, so that’s not really a realistic expectation of her work. But it was frustrating how much I could be enjoying the actual deeper plot moments only to be thrown back out of the book by Dorothy’s fairly juvenile fantasies about blow jobs. That said, if you enjoyed the first book, this will definitely be one to check out. And if you can deal with a hefty helping of instalust and lustiness in general, it may still be worth a read just for the moments of brilliance in this interpretation of Oz.

Rating 7: I loved returning to this version of Oz and some of its classic characters, but man, Dorothy needed to get a handle on herself! There’s a time and place for sexual fantasies, but in the middle of dire situations is not it!

Readers Advisory:

“East of Envy” can be found on this Goodreads list: Retellings of The Wizard of Oz

Fire’s Catching: “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” (2023)

It’s been eighteen years since Suzanne Collins wrote “The Hunger Games”, the smash hit literary sensation that continues to feel relevant and capture the attention of readers. This ongoing series will be a review series of both the Suzanne Collins books, as well as the film adaptations of the novels. I will post my review on the last Thursday of the month as we revisit the totalitarian world of Panem and the hope of the Mockingjay.

Film: ” The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”

Now that Horrorpalooza is over I am picking up my “Fire’s Catching” series where we left off, diving into the first non-Katniss centered film “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”. This is, assuming all goes well at the end of the month, the only “Hunger Games” film I didn’t see in theaters, as my husband and I just didn’t get to it that year with the holidays and all that. But we did watch it eventually (I think for my birthday the next year?), and revisiting it for this series was enjoyable, even if this one is pretty dark and an overall bummer due to how it all ends.

I love the aesthetic of this one, as the set, costume, and character design feels retro compared to the previous films, looking very late 1940s to 1950s but if the 1940s and 1950s were in Panem and all that would entail (the post-WW2 vibes in the fashion were perfect). We also see the technology and how retro that is as well. It’s such a cool design choice, and it makes it feel like a previous time and a society in recovery post-war. The Capitol isn’t nearly as flashy, and while there are still bright colors in the styles there is also a veneer of grime and grit as the Capitol is still in economic recovery. As for 12, I loved the splashes of color that Lucy Gray and the other Covey have, and I loved seeing the familiar places like the meadow and the woods and the town square, seeing how it changes but still maintains some consistency. One design qualm: Jessup’s bat bite that causes the rabies is, to me, WAY too big. I think that maybe I’ll just tell myself it’s the infection angle that makes it huge but that’s why you REALLY need to take any kind of bat encounter seriously, as their teeth are so small you wouldn’t even necessarily notice a bite. That’s your public health PSA! Don’t touch wild bats!

They make some changes from book to screen, which isn’t surprising, and for the most part I didn’t mind them too much. Some of the deaths in the arena differ from the book, and we definitely condense down Snow’s time in District 12 as a Peacekeeper to cut down for time. I think that the two that stood out as a bit more significant in this film were the following: the first was how the movie decided to make Coriolanus’s father’s death during the war be explicitly by a District 12 rebel. Honestly, it’s a little on the nose. We know this guy has a beef with Katniss in the original trilogy and of course he’s bitter about Lucy Gray running off, but yeah, sure let’s make sure someone from 12 killed his Dad too. Again, on the nose. The other one is that in the book Snow is pretty disdainful of Sejanus and has nothing but contempt for him, whereas in the film I KIND of get the sense that Coriolanus does warm up to Sejanus a bit, and they do work together when they are mentors and BOTH decide to try and get the tributes fed while they are being held at the zoo (in the book it’s all Sejanus if I recall correctly and Snow only gets on board because he wants the credit). I don’t mind this change too much, Coriolanus can still be a villainous trash bag while also wanting to make sure his tribute is well fed for the Games.

And since we are jumping waaaaay back in time we have a whole new cast! These films continue to be incredibly impressive with casting. The obvious two to first talk about are Tom Blyth as Coriolanus and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird. Blyth is perhaps too vulnerable as Coriolanus at times, as since we don’t really get the inside monologue that the book gives us we have to rely on mannerisms and how the actor interprets the character and one could argue that perhaps he is a little too ambiguous in his morality, at least at first. I don’t personally care too much if Snow comes off a bit more vulnerable because we KNOW he’s a shithead, and I do like seeing the in your face traumas that he experienced as a child (I completely forgot about the opening scene where the child aged Coriolanus and Tigris see a man cutting limbs off a body for cannibalistic purposes, good GRAVY) because trauma will absolutely fuck a person up (especially when being influenced by a manipulative psychopath like Dr. Gaul…. more on HER in a bit). But I understand how people took umbrage with this portrayal. Rachel Zegler is great as Lucy Gray, as not only does she have the compelling voice (because obviously), she also has the charm and dynamic personality down pat, as well as the calculated cunning. As for other stand outs, I just ADORED Hunter Schafer as Tigris, and she is a great foil to Coriolanus because she is such a great reminder that Tigris ALSO experienced the same traumas that Coriolanus did at not much an older age, but isn’t poisoned by resentment and rage and maintains kindness and optimism as well as the tenacity to survive and keep her loved ones safe, fed, and cared for. And I mean, Viola Davis as Gaul? UNHINGED PERFECTION. She may chew on the scenery a bit but I don’t even care because Gaul is the other villain in this story and she needs to be terrifying and manipulative as shit since she is the one who REALLY sets Snow on his final path to power with her influence and philosophy. And finally, I also enjoyed Peter Dinklage as the broken Dean Casca, who feels such despair and regret about creating the Games he self medicates all the live long day. Oh, and Jason Schwartzman as Lucky Flickerman? A true hoot. “Get me a drink, get me a drink right now” has become one of my vocal stims.

“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is another successful adaptation of a “Hunger Games” book. Similarly to the books it’s probably my least favorite adaptation, but it’s still a solid and enjoyable watch. And up next is the final film in the series as of now, “Sunrise on the Reaping”, which comes out the week before Thanksgiving and I will almost certainly be seeing for my birthday with my husband! What a, uh, FUN birthday film? That said it means, like this month, I will be reviewing that the first Thursday of December to give myself time to see it.

Serena’s Review: “Mooncursed”

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Book: “Mooncursed” by Holly Renee

Publishing Info: Sourcebooks Casablanca, November 2026

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

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

Book Description: A cursed sea king, a stolen bride, and a fate meant for another.

They say madness dwells in the ocean’s depths…and in the eyes of the Drowned King. Cursed to take a human bride and break her mind the moment she sees his face, the Drowned King spends his life in torment, watching. Waiting.

Lou was never meant to be chosen. Branded from birth as a saltwitch, she has always been seen as the cursed shadow of her moonblessed twin. Now, veiled and bound in marriage to a man she must never see, she’s thrust into a life of ancient gods and unraveling fate…and unspeakable desire.

Yet even as fear becomes tangled with a perilous longing for the Drowned King’s heated touch, the truth of her choosing looms over her like a siren’s song. It rages louder with every breath she takes as whispers travel through the rumblings of war, of ancient goddesses awakening, of a queen with saltwater on her lips who will change everything.

Review: I’m not too proud to admit that I was definitely drawn in by the cover art on this one. I’m fairly picky about characters on covers, but something about the composition of this one seems to work for me. I’ll also admit that based on the title, I was perhaps under the impression that this was a werewolf story of some sort. Oops! That said, while I had a mixed experience with this book, I did enjoy the main fantasy setup and the ocean magic that was central to it all.

On that note, let’s start with what I did like. Once I settled into the type of fantasy story that was on offer, I did enjoy the general setup. The first chapter, especially, was lovely, detailing the conflict between gods that led to the current challenges faced by humanity. This is kind of an aside, but there does seem to be this odd trend where the sort of introductory chapter we get at the start of a novel is written in the lovely style of prose that feels very fairytale-like. But then, when the story switches to the main text, the style switches to a much more simplistic (and less interesting) style. I always find it to be quite disappointing, as if the author has pulled some sort of bait and switch on me stylistically.

That aside, though, I did enjoy the magic of this world. Not only was this background history interesting, but when the story gave itself time to breathe and focus in on the ocean, the threat of madness, and all of the rest, I really enjoyed how it was all woven together. That said, I don’t feel like enough time was really given to this portion of the plot.

Indeed, I’m not sure I can say that enough time was given to almost any portion of the plot, which is kind of a novel problem to have! Typically, a book overplays one side of things and underplays another, but here, the story seemed to get trapped in a cycle of events that repeated over and over again. And this cycle diligently ate up the page count without ever offering anything new, either to characterization, the story, or to the developing romance.

To the first point, basic facts seemed to be missing. I read an ARC, so maybe this will be added later or I could have missed it completely, but I don’t believe we are ever told the ages of our main characters. Of course, exact ages aren’t a requirement, but I wasn’t even sure what ballpark I was supposed to be operating within. Are these upper teens, like 18–20-year-old new adults? Late twenties? What?

The story also felt very repetitive. This cycle of events did include action, but as it was so often the same conflict and resolution, ultimately, the repetition of these scenes didn’t do anything to advance the overall story. I never came out of one of these scenes feeling like anything new had really been added to the equation.

And the romance struggled in much the same way. By the time these two came together, I think they had had maybe three or four scenes/interactions together. Total. And many of these interactions also felt very cyclical, with similar emotional beats being trodden in each repeated scene. So when the romantic climax comes, it in no way feels earned or like the characters would have had any time to develop these deeper feelings that are now being alluded to.

Overall, there was potential here. The writing was fairly solid throughout, and I think the general setup had a lot of potential. However, something didn’t work with the way things were pieced together. It feels suspiciously like the author had a good world idea and some general characters in mind, but then simply didn’t have enough of a plot to tie it all together into an actual story. All of this said, if you enjoy ocean magic and a familiar-feeling romance, this might still be worth checking out. I just wish there had been a bit more to it.

Rating 7: The vibes are strong, but the actual plot was a bit thin on the ground.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Mooncursed” can be found on these Goodreads lists: romantasy books that have to do with the oceans and starry night romantasy.

Kate’s Review: “Monster in the Mirror”

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Book: “Monster in the Mirror” by Janasha Prabhu

Publishing Info: Sourcebooks Landmark, October 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: Her uncle was a serial killer. The town whispers, could she be a killer too?

On the night Jiah Rai was found cradling her girlfriend Georgia’s dead body at the bottom of Wailing Cliff, everyone suspected her. There wasn’t enough evidence to charge her, but the town refuses to forget. Murder must run in the family. Jiah’s uncle was a convicted serial killer, and while he died behind bars, his legacy lives on in Jiah and her sister. It doesn’t matter that they’ve lived in Dumont their whole lives—they have never fit into the insular white community, and perhaps they never will.

But legacy isn’t done with Jiah just yet. A few years later, a threat from Georgia’s brother threatens to crumble the shaky peace Jiah has rebuilt. Desperate to feel safe again, Jiah decides to take matters into her own hands and seeks support from her best friend, Estrella. After all, Estrella has been there for Jiah ever since they met after Georgia’s death. But when Estrella never shows up to a dinner party, a series of texts lead Jiah to the beach below, where she finds a body positioned exactly how her uncle displayed his victims over a decade ago. The killer mocks Jiah, hinting they know about her secrets, too. But is Jiah really the monster Dumont thinks she is? As Jiah hunts the killer, she begins to realize she might be unable to save the next victim…and that she may not want to.

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

We have exited Horrorpalooza and are now into my birthday month of November! I feel like I tend to start playing catch up with the other genres that I review on the blog whenever November rolls around after my full month of horror reads, and I am jumping to a thriller! “Monster in the Mirror” by Janasha Prabhu felt like a nice way to get back into other genres, as I love a small town mystery, I love familial trauma stories, and I love the idea of perhaps a serial killer back to torment a person who thought they had escaped them in the past. I was hoping with all the really fun tid bits about the plot I would really enjoy this one, but unfortunately it was a bit more a mixed bag.

But first the good! I thought that the themes of having to exist in a predominantly white, Christian small town as a POC (who is also queer) were pretty well fleshed out and made the story that much more interesting as Jiah has to contend with rumors and speculation based on her identity. The way that everyone looks at her with suspicion was laid out in the narrative background even before her on again off again girlfriend Georgia was killed in an accident on the side of a cliff, with references to people trying to pressure her to join the church, rude comments being made in school about the food she brings from home, or comments about her father and his relationship with her white mother. The constant Othering that Jiah has to contend with even before the story starts for the reader added a lot of well done context and depth. I also liked how Jiah herself has a lot of issues that make her into a, frankly, rather messy main character, but in a way that feels completely understandable. She is complicated and messed up and fairly unlikable, but I liked that because women characters SHOULD get to be unlikable, dammit! So Jiah was also something I enjoyed about this book.

But I struggled with the way that the mystery played out. There is so much potential with this plot, I really had high hopes because of all of the aspects that involve a serial killer, a dead lover, new suspicions and murders happening, all of that really checks so many boxes for me. But I felt that the pacing was a bit off, and I had already figured out some of the reveals long before the actual twists were explained. This doesn’t usually bother me if the journey getting there is fulfilling, but while I enjoyed certain aspects of this book, the suspense didn’t really reach the levels I had hoped for and the mystery didn’t keep my attention as well as I would have liked. I enjoyed the concept, and I would definitely seek out future works by Prabhu because there is, like I said, such potential there. But the execution of the main suspense elements of this thriller never quite got off the ground.

So “Monster in the Mirror” had things I liked and things I didn’t, but I would say that if you are curious to check it out, definitely do so.

Rating 7: I liked the themes of small town closed mindedness and the main character was the kind of messy that I appreciate, but the mystery itself wasn’t as engaging as I had hoped.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Monster in the Mirror” is included on the Goodreads post “Upcoming Mysteries and Thrillers Readers Can’t Wait to Read”.

Highlights: November 2026

Alas, the clocks have changed and it’s starting to get dark up here in the north. This is the one time where the idea of early Christmas decorating might have something to it: getting more twinkle lights out on these dark streets could definitely liven things up! But cozy weather is always great for new books, so here are some we’re looking forward to this month!

Serena’s Picks

Book: “The Wolves of War” by John Gwynne

Publication Date: November 3, 2026

Why I’m Interested: It’s been a while since I’ve read a good, old school-feeling fantasy novel, and I know that John Gwynne has some highly praised works in his catalog. So the start of a new series by him seems like a great place to see what all the hype is about! This one sounds especially intriguing as it follows a father whose main concern is his family, especially is daughter who has been trapped in her body since birth. But she dreams of wolves, and lately these dreams seem to have greater import than ever. The cover is also fantastic on this one!

Book: “Murder at Enscombe Park” by Vanessa Kelly

Publication Date: November 24, 2026

Why I’m Interested: It’s been great fun having two Jane Austen mystery series to follow during the last several years. Emma has been a great amateur sleuth, and it’s always fun to see what shenanigans she’s going to get up to in each new entry. Here, I’m especially excited because Emma and company are travelling outside of Highbury for the first time, and the series is pulling in the Churchills, Frank and Jane, who were central to the original novel. Frank Churchill is also one of the few Austen men who straddles the line between heroic and villainous. By the end of “Emma,” readers are left to make their own judgements about him, largely. What will Kelly do with him here?

Book: “Mooncursed” by Holly Renee

Publication Date: November 3, 2026

Why I’m Interested: I maaaay have thought this was a werewolf novel when I first picked up the ARC that the publisher sent me. But really, with at tile like that and the moon so prominently displayed in the background, who could blame me? Instead, the book seems to be much more focused on the sea and a long-running feud between celestial beings? Throw in an ancient curse of madness, an arranged marriage, and ocean magic, and I’m definitely intrigued!

Kate’s Picks

Book: “Milkteeth” by Caitlin Starling

Publication Date: November 10, 2026

Why I’m Interested: I love vampire horror, I’m always extra freaked by body horror, and if you make that body horror tied into motherhood and pregnancy it’s going to be all the more distressing. Enter “Milkteeth”! Because apparently lady vampires also have to deal with the unfair and exhausting expectations of motherhood! I love the idea of a vampire being run ragged by raising fledglings, and then seeking out answers after a third one actually physically transforms her. Vampires generally don’t make great parents in horror stories, but this one sounds like it could be an interesting take on the mental load of motherhood but through a vampire’s eyes.

Book: “Pinfeathers” by Christina Henry

Publication Date: November 17, 2026

Why I’m Interested: I was very impressed with Henry’s last horror novel so I wanted to read this one almost the moment I heard of it. And it is another body horror book with motherhood themes, as it turns out! A mother named Nora is concerned about the fact that her baby is starting to grow feathers. While her husband wants to have the baby checked and examined, Nora would rather keep it hidden, as she worries about what would happen if people discovered this weird anomaly. I have a few theories about what the metaphors could possibly pertain to, but I definitely want to check it out and see what’s actually going on.

Book: “Until The Last Light Goes Out” by Courtney Gould

Publication Date: November 10, 2026

Why I’m Interested: And we round out the picks with something completely different! We trade in parental body horror themes for a good old fashioned slasher horror tale! And this one has some interesting themes of generational trauma to boot, when a bunch of kids of survivors of an infamous massacre go to the place of their parents’ trauma, at an abandoned resort in search of a missing person. Courtney Gould has some good horror tales under her belt, and this one sounds like it could be a lot of wicked fun!

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