Serena’s Review: “The Tapestry of Fate”

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Book: “The Tapestry of Fate” by Shannon Chakraborty

Publishing Info: Harper Voyager, May 2026

Where Did I Get this Book: from the publisher!

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

Book Description: Amina al-Sirafi thinks she’s struck gold. Tasked with hunting down arcane artifacts for the council of immortal peris, she can savor the occasional rollicking adventure on the high seas with her cherished criminal companions while still returning home to raise her beloved daughter, Marjana. But when Raksh, the spirit of discord with whom she is reluctantly wed, provokes the council’s wrath, Amina is charged with a seemingly impossible quest: steal a spindle capable of rewriting fate from a mysterious sorceress on an island no one can escape.

Forced to leave Marjana—who is increasingly frustrated at being peddled what are clearly lies about her mother’s life and her own past—Amina finds her mission almost immediately thrown into peril. But deadly storms, an erratic poison mistress, and old enemies are the least of her worries. For the peris’ story is unraveling, hinting at a far deadlier game whose rules Amina must swiftly puzzle out. A game that sets her against an adversary more cunning and powerful than she has ever faced.

A game that not everyone on her crew wants her to win.

Review: Insert “old lady Titanic gif” here, or something of that effect! But seriously, it’s felt like forever and a day since the first book in this series came out. I know the author has had a lot going on, so I’m sympathetic. But my greedy, book-loving heart kept obsessively checking the Goodreads page for the last few years, hoping for an update. And at last, here we are. And it was well worth the wait!

The story picks up a few months after the first book, and I’ll say right at the top, this was the most challenging part of this book for me. On one hand, I appreciate that the author just jumped right into the action; and for future readers who pick this one up immediately after the first book, this will work even better. But for the rest of us who are reading this now, after it’s been a few years since the first book, some of this transition was rough. Not only was I trying to piece together my memory of the plot of the first book (some of which is crucial to understanding the main character’s current predicament), but I was also struggling with more simple things, like remembering just who everyone was and what their stories were. Perhaps some sort of prologue or even “cast of characters” supporting materials somewhere in the book would have helped. As it stands, the book does very little to reintroduce you to these characters or the current stakes, so for me at least, it took a bit to feel like I was really caught up with exactly what was going on.

That said, even in the midst of my confusion, this was simply an excellently written book and a fun time to read. Amina is a great narrator with a unique voice who immediately drew me back into the story. And beyond that, the plot doesn’t skimp on the action, starting out with an exciting action scene and then delving quickly into the main plot of the story and the various mini-quests that make up that storyline. It was easy enough to simply let myself get caught up in what was going on on the page and trust that it would all come back to me. If possible, I recommend other readers take the same approach: it will all come to you eventually, just enjoy the ride in the meantime!

I also really liked the central plot of this story and the secondary story that was woven throughout the book in chapters that follow another character. I can’t go into much here without getting into spoilers, but there were some really great themes of motherhood, rage, and the gray line when victimhood can turn into villainy. There were some really touching scenes here that were darker than I expected. But this darkness was always balanced nicely by Amina’s narrative that was so strongly rooted in her core characteristics: her determination, bravery, and loyalty to those she loves.

I also really like the storyline we got between Amina and her friend, a woman who is as distrusting as they come. While I was equal parts frustrated as I was intrigued, this storyline took a close look at the complex nature of friendship, as well as the dark underside of self-sacrifice and atonement.

The core mystery and focus of the adventure of the story was also excellent. The magical components were all so unique and interwoven (ha!) in interesting ways, often taking turns that I hadn’t expected. Again, some of these twists and turns were fairly dark, but some of these heavier moments were as beautiful as they were heart-wrenching.

I will say that the middle portion of the book is where I lost the single point in my rating, dropping it from a 10 to a 9. There was a brief period in the middle of the book where it felt like the plot was spinning its wheels. Most of the major players had been well established, the mystery set up, and then it felt like the story took a few too many turns through Amina’s confusion and frustration before getting moving again. But I’ll also say that this slowdown in the pacing at this point in the story also worked very well, narratively, for Amina’s own experience of her situation.

The book does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, I will say. The main plotline is fully wrapped up, but on the very last page, the author drops a major bombshell into the current situation. That being the case, I can only hope that the next book comes quickly! If you were a fan of the first book, I highly recommend you check this one out! I’m sure it will be a massive hit with all fantasy fans!

Rating 9: Full of swashbuckling adventure and sweeping vistas, “The Tapestry of Fate” will catch you up in its rollicking good time before punching you with an emotional hammer of a mother’s rage. Simply fantastic!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Tapestry of Fate” can be found on these Goodreads lists: All Books with “Tapestry” in the Title and Arabian, Egyptian, and Indian Fantasy.

Kate’s Review: “To The Last Gram”

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Book: “To The Last Gram” by Shreya Davies & Vanessa Wong (Ill.)

Publishing Info: Difference Engine, April 2026

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

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

Book Description: Through her school days, where she must negotiate a precarious balancing act between her culture and fitting in, to her teenage years where appetites must be managed to keep up appearances, to her early adulthood where responsibilities feel overwhelming, Divya journeys from feelings of emptiness to finally finding fulfillment within.

To the Last Gram is an honest and hopeful story of feeling at odds with and finding a home in one’s community, family, and body, and of the yet-unfurling journey to embrace the fullness of life.

Review: Thank you to Difference Engine for sending me an eARC of this graphic novel!

A few years ago I decided that I wanted to lose some weight. I’ve always had a tricky relationship with my body, and while I had found myself feeling generally okay for a long time, in the past few years I’ve been more self conscious as having a child, being in my early 40s, and probably being in perimenopause or on the verge of it has made my body change in ways that felt upsetting to me as an elder Millennial who absolutely has self perception issues. So I signed up for a diet plan that touted itself as being flexible, giving you a calorie range to fall into to lose weight but still be able to maintain a healthy caloric intake. Well, me being me decided ‘why not just shave a few hundred calories off of that and never get in the range and always stay below it?! That’s the ticket!’ Spoiler alert: it was not the ticket and I found myself in a bad place mentally and verging on physically, and dropped the program. I came to the conclusion that I’m a little too susceptible to disordered eating and quit while I was ahead. I kept thinking about this moment in time while I was reading “To The Last Gram” by Shreya Davies. Because while I have never found myself dealing with a full blown eating disorder, the fact that it can and does happen doesn’t shock me. I went into this book steeling myself for an emotional story, and it absolutely was.

This is a fictional tale, but one gets the sense that it’s a bit personal as well. We follow Divya, a teenager girl who is trying to fit in at school in a culture that she isn’t familiar with, and who stands out not only due to her skin color but also because of her body size. She’s larger than her peers, she stands out in her gymnastics class, and even her pediatrician says that she’s obese and needs to eat better even though her mother prepares pretty typical homemade meals. As she tries to conform more to the beauty standards her new home finds acceptable, and as she becomes a teenager, she starts greatly restricting her caloric intake, and starts exercising excessively, until she is in full blown anorexia and fully obsessed about her weight. Divya’s story is incredibly emotional at times, but never treads into exploitative or (and I hate to say it in regards to EDs but I can’t think of another word) melodramatic, making it very easy to relate to Divya and to understand how she got to the point where she is alarmingly thin. Davies portrays the obsessiveness in a really well done way, whether it’s Divya shrinking before our eyes during work out montages or the imagery of food looking evil and scary in her mind’s eye. It definitely captures the complicated nature of EDs and how it is also a mental struggle that a person can get caught in.

I also appreciated that this story is fairly realistic and candid about eating disorders and how difficult they can be to work through, and that recovery isn’t always linear. We see the origins of Divya’s anorexia as a way she hopes to fit in and be more well liked, dropping calories and obsessing over exercise, but it isn’t a straight forward ‘she loses weight, develops anorexia, gets help, and lives happily ever after’. If anything it shows that she struggles with her disordered eating and body image on and off, sometimes falling back into anorexia, sometimes being able to stave it off for a bit, but never being fully ‘cured’. I felt like it reflects the reality of eating disorders, and while I’m sure that there are people who feel like they have been able to leave it behind, there are probably others who feel like it’s going to be a constant issue that needs mitigating and attention. I thought that showing this aspect gave the book a nice mix of hope and bittersweetness.

And finally, the artwork by Vanessa Wong worked pretty well for me. It’s a very unique style that I thought at first wouldn’t fit in with the topic, but it became pretty clear that it was going to capture the tone well with the designs and color schemes.

(source: Difference Engine)

“To the Last Gram” is a candid and hopeful graphic novel. It’s an emotional one too, but that makes it all the better.

Rating 8: A thoughtful and bittersweet but hopeful story about disordered eating, a search for belonging, and the non-linear path of healing from an eating disorder.

Reader’s Advisory:

“To the Last Gram” isn’t on any Goodreads lists as of yet, but it would fit in on “Body Image in Graphic Lit”.

Book Club Review: “When the Tides Held the Moon”

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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. Re-visiting some of our past themes, we’re once again pulling random words from a hat and finding a book that matches the prompts. 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!

Book: “When the Tides Held the Moon” by Venessa Vida Kelley

Publishing Info: Erewhon Books, April 2025

Where Did We Get This Book: We own it

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

Prompt Word: Moon

Book Description: In Coney Island, true love rises to the surface. With lush illustrations and buoyant prose, Venessa Vida Kelley forges an unforgettable New York fairytale.

Benigno “Benny” Caldera knows an orphaned Boricua blacksmith in 1910s New York City can’t call himself an artist. But the ironwork tank he creates for famed Coney Island playground, Luna Park, astounds the eccentric sideshow proprietor who commissioned it. He invites Benny to join the show’s eclectic cast and share in their shocking secret: the tank will cage their newest exhibit, a live merman stolen from the salty banks of the East River.

More than a mythic marvel, Benny soon comes to know the merman Río as a kindred spirit, wise and more compassionate than any human he’s ever met. Despite their different worlds, what begins as a friendship of necessity deepens to love, leading Benny’s heart into uncharted waters where he can no longer ignore the agonizing truth of Río’s captivity—and his own.

Releasing Río could mean losing his found family, his new home, and his soulmate forever. Yet Benny’s courageous choice may just reveal a love strong enough to free them both.

Kate’s Thoughts

I’ve been to Coney Island a few times in my life, having strolled on the beach and walked through Luna Park. There’s something special about Coney, and there is something that just feels so profoundly ‘New York City’ about it. When our book club chose “When the Tides Held the Moon” by Venessa Vida Kelley I was already on board because of a queer romance between a blacksmith and a merman, but the 1910s Coney Island setting made it all the more tantalizing. It just feels like a New York story.

I loved so much about this book. The setting is the first thing, as there is such a romantic and fairy tale aspect to 1910s Coney Island, and a circus that is teeming with found family potential. The idea of a ‘freak show’ having people living on the edges of society and finding connection and companionship with one another is always a story that’s going to hit me in the feels, and Kelley adds in the fantasy element of merman Rió and has even more of a punch. I loved the way that Benny finds love and companionship not just with Rió, but also with a group of people who feel Othered in ways that, while not being fully the same, resonate for Benny, who is a fish out of water in his own way thanks to coming to New York from Puerto Rico and dealing with racism and xenophobia. The way that he connects with people who also feel on the outside for various reasons, be it race, sexuality, gender expression, and other things, was a genuinely heartwarming aspect of this book.

I also really loved the romance between Rió and Benny, with the slow build up of their love story really capturing the tenderness and beauty of their connection. It really reminded me of “The Shape of Water” (and I know that isn’t a unique comparison, but that’s because it’s APT). We see it through both of their eyes to some degree, as while Benny has most of the POV we do get some interspersed chapters of Rió’s thoughts and feelings as well. I liked how they challenged each other and lifted each other up, also connecting because of feeling so alone in the world. It’s the kind of aching romance that will just capture a reader and sweep them away, and it was one of the most effective romances I’ve connected to in recent memory (hilariously enough, another one like this was in “Trad Wife” and it also involved a human and an otherworldly being). Both Benny and Rió bring such passion and joy to the relationship as it unfolds and the circumstances become all the more heightened due to Rió’s captivity and issues that Benny is having with his own role in that. I was fully invested.

I loved “When the Tides Held the Moon”. It’s dreamy and romantic and touching and buoyant. I can’t recommend it enough.

Serena’s Thoughts

While I don’t have as many connections to New York City as Kate (I’ve been once for about 24 hours, much of which was spent bar hopping with my sister because it was pouring rain, the ferry to the Statue of Liberty was closed due to hurricane damage, and we were constantly waiting to meet up with an overly busy friend who was delayed), it’s still a city that has a clear “presence,” for lack of a better word. And this book followed one of my favorite storylines for fantasy fiction, where the author manages to merge the fantastical right alongside the very real, very human world that we know. So on one hand, yes, you have a love story featuring a merman. But you also have a love letter to a very specific time and place, New York City in 1910s. This was especially appealing to me as I also enjoy historical fiction, and this is a time period and location (somehow I don’t read many historical fiction pieces that take place in the U.S.) that I was less familiar with.

The writing was also lovely. I’m a sucker for lyrical, whimsical storytelling and this one had it in spades. The style of writing only accentuated the primary themes of the story, those of love, found family, and what makes up a home. There were many lovely passages that had me stopping to re-read and truly appreciate the author’s skill.

The story is definitely on the slower side, which I think worked well, especially with the emphasis on the atmospheric nature of the storytelling and the slow burn romance that developed between our main characters. But for readers who are looking for a faster pace, this probably isn’t that. I’d also want to note that while “monster romance” is a big subgenre in romantasy currently, this doesn’t really fall into the same category. The love story here was much more intimate in the emotional sense and all the more beautiful for it.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one! I had had it on my TBR for a while now, but hadn’t gotten around to prioritizing it. So yet another win for bookclub!

Kate’s Rating 9: A lovely and deeply romantic story about love, belonging, found family, and connection with a dreamy backdrop of 1910s Coney Island. I loved this book.

Serena’s Rating 9: Atmospheric and lyrical, this is a perfect blending of fantasy, historical fiction, and romance! Sure to be a hit with a variety of readers!

Book Club Questions

  1. What did you think of the time and place setting of this novel? Did you learn anything new about Puerto Rico or New York during this time period?
  2. Benny and Rió come from two different worlds but are drawn to each other. Why do you think that they had such a connection?
  3. Were you invested in the love story between Benny and Rió as the story went on? What other relationships in the book were interesting to you?
  4. Throughout the book we have mostly the POV of Benny, but we sometimes get more dreamy narrations of Rió’s perspectives. Did you like these snippets?
  5. What were your thoughts on the other side characters? Did any stand out to you?
  6. What circus stories from literature or pop culture could be compared to this book? Do you have any favorite circus stories?

Reader’s Advisory

“When the Tides Held the Moon” is included on the Goodreads lists “Best Queer Romantasy Books”, and “Gay Pirates and Sea Creatures”.

Next Book Club Pick: “The Wizard of Earthsea” by Ursula K. Le Guin

Serena’s Review: “Storm Breaker”

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Book: “Storm Breaker” by Nisha J. Tuli

Publishing Info: Entangled: Mayhem Books, May 2026

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

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

Book Description: For nineteen-year-old Poet Graves, New Manhattan has always promised safety―if she obeys. Raised within the ruling Houses and betrothed to a powerful heir, she enters Amery Academy knowing her future has already been decided.

But Amery is nothing like she imagined. Its trials are brutal, its loyalties conditional, and its rules designed to expose weakness. As Poet struggles to survive, she must hide the truth that could get her executed: the storms don’t fear her―they answer back.

When a dangerous outsider from beyond the city walls enters the academy, Poet is drawn to him despite everything she’s been taught to believe. He threatens the life she’s been promised. And choosing him could cost her not just her future, but her freedom.

Review: It’s fun that dystopian novels are having a bit of a resurgence, it seems. Kate, of course, is doing her timely Hunger Games read-through, and there have been several new romance/romantasy dystopian books coming out that I’ve enjoyed reading. Not least of which was Seek the Traitor’s Son by the OG Veronica Roth, which I read and loved recently! That being the case, I was excited to check out another such novel when the publisher approached me about reviewing this book.

So, while this book didn’t blow me away, I will say that it is a dystopian novel that will please those who deeply love dystopian novels. That is, if you’re familiar with the tropes and storylines that come with this sort of book and that’s your jam, well, this one has that all in spades. On the other hand, this isn’t the most original story that’s ever existed, so if you’re looking for a fresh take on the dystopian romance story, this probably isn’t it.

To start with what I liked, I feel like this book was very fast-paced, very readable, and very approachable to readers who aren’t necessarily super familiar with genre conventions. The world-building isn’t super complex, but it’s easy to understand what’s going on here and who the major players are. This, of course, leaves a lot of room in the story for characterization and the romance plotline to take over as the main features. Thus, how well this book works for you will largely come down to how you feel about Poet and the MMC.

For me, however, I thought Poet was a weaker example of a female main character. In many ways, she read as very familiar and very YA, using the worse interpretation of that term. Many YA heroines are excellent, but there is also an unfortunate habit of writing them to be inconsistent, inscrutable, and rather unlikable. And we saw that all here. Poet makes decision after decision that not only makes no sense for her as a character but also makes no sense for pretty much anyone ever. It could be argued that this is part of her growth, but if so, I found it to be an unsatisfying arc. Look, adults continue to learn and grow too. But Poet was learning some pretty basic lessons that had me viewing her as a sixteen-year-old teen (on the young side, even) rather than an adult woman.

The romance was also just OK. It was a hard sell when I was struggling so much already to enjoy Poet, and unfortunately, the MMC didn’t do enough to compensate. I didn’t hate him by any means (which should probably be chalked up to a huge win given how I feel about other MMC characters in romantasies), but he was also just kind of there much of the time.

I know this author is fairly beloved for her YA books, and maybe I’d feel better about her writing if I had started there. Unfortunately, I went into this one with the promise of reading an adult dystopian romance, and with that came different expectations, especially with regards to characterization. Ultimately, it’s hard to read an adult spicy romance novel when the main character feels like she’s 16.

Rating 7: Fans of this author will likely love this. But it read as too YA for what I was expecting going in, especially with regards to the portrayal of the FMC.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Storm Breaker” can be found on these Goodreads lists: YA Dystopian Books With Female Lead and Apocalypses and Dystopias.

Kate’s Review: “Welcome to Hell”

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Book: “Welcome to Hell: From the West Bank to Gaza” by Mohammad Sabaaneh

Publishing Info: Street Noise Books, June 2026

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

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

Book Description: A new graphic novel memoir chronicling the recent horrific days in Palestine, from Mohammad Sabaaneh, the winner of the Palestine Book Award.

This powerful graphic novel sheds light on the reality of life in both the West Bank and Gaza during this terrifying time. Told from the perspective of the author’s brother’s experience in prison and that of those in Gaza struggling to survive displacement, starvation, and attack.

In October of 2023, Sabaaneh went on a tour in Europe to promote his book about life under occupation in Palestine. Whether a Palestinian is inside a detention center or in any city or village, they are all in a big prison. The book ends with one message: ‘we will not leave.’ Upon his return to Palestine, he was trapped within the walls of his home—unable to see his aging parents, or his brother, who was locked away in an Israeli detention center.

So begins this vital story of struggle and survival.

Review: Thank you to Street Noise Books for sending me an eARC of this graphic memoir!

Memoirs are always a bit harder for me to evaluate because I never feel super comfortable critiquing a person’s lived experience, but what I do like to look for his how candid a memoir is and how it makes me feel. And because of this it’s probably not super surprising that many of the books that I’ve read about the Israel/Palestine conflict over the years that have resonated with me have been in graphic memoir or journalism form. Whether it was Joe Saccos’s book “Palestine”, or, interestingly enough, two books by “American Splendor’s Harvey Pekar, “Our Cancer Year” (written with his wife Joyce Brabner) and “Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me” (which was published after his death), I’ve found comics to be the things that have resonated most with this topic. So I was eager to check out “Welcome to Hell” by Mohammad Sabaaneh, expecting it to have a similar impact as the previous ones, and I was mostly right. Perhaps even more as this was written by a man who has been living the current genocide first hand, and speaks the truth that he, his family, and many others are facing at the moment.

“Welcome to Hell” is a short book, but within it’s fewer pages are a lot of gut punches and a lot of truths that are difficult to digest but also important to acknowledge. Sabaaneh is telling two different stories here; the first is that of his brother Thamer, who is a prisoner in an Israeli prison, and the second is that of numerous Palestinian families living in Gaza during the bombings done by Israel after October 7th, 2023. Sabaaneh draws comparisons between the way that his brother has to live in the literal prison, with violence, starvation, torture, and abuse being heaped upon him and his fellow prisoners, and the constant movement, starvation, fear, and violence that civilians living their lives in Gaza have to face, showing that the two realities aren’t terribly different and both are horrific. It’s not a very long graphic memoir, but Sabaaneh doesn’t waste a page and has a lot of important and devastating things to say, and does so effectively. Sabaaneh centers his brother as well as other people, though he does address his own experiences after October 7th and how getting home was perilous and then how restricted he was as well, unable to visit his family for months. It’s a harrowing and incredibly personal story, and it was a difficult read even though it’s absolutely a necessary one, especially as things just keep escalating in the Middle East at the moment and the death toll going up.

The art in this book is so incredibly unique it immediately stood out. It’s very much a cubist style, which makes the Israeli IDF/guards at the prison all the more surrealistic and monstrous, but also finds a way to find the vulnerability of Thamer and others who are being abused and displaced. At first I didn’t really know what I thought of the style (I am not a person who has a lot of knowledge of or connection to the cubist style and its history), but as the story went on and through my various revisits before reviewing it really grew on me. It made some of the violence less graphic, but didn’t take away the emotional impact.

(source: Street Noise Books)

“Welcome to Hell” is a timely and powerful graphic memoir. It’s a difficult read, but one that feels incredibly necessary to understand and reckon with.

Rating 9: A powerful and deeply personal read about the people of Palestine who experience trauma, violence, and displacement at the hands of an oppressive regime and their fight to survive.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Welcome to Hell” isn’t on any Goodreads lists as of yet, but it would fit in on “Palestine Reading List”.

Serena’s Review: “Seek the Traitor’s Son”

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

Book: “Seek the Traitor’s Son” by Veronica Roth

Publishing Info: Tor Books, May 2026

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

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

Book Description: Elegy Ahn did not ask for destiny to find her.

She is happy with her life as a soldier, defending her small country from the Talusar, a powerful nation who worships a deadly Fever. A fever that blesses half of its victims with mysterious gifts.

But then she’s summoned to hear a prophecy–her, and the most ruthless of Talusar generals, Rava Vidar. Brought face to face, they learn that one of them will lead their people to victory over the other…but they don’t know which. And at the center of both of their fates: a man. A man that, Elegy is told, she will fall in love with.

In just one day, Elegy’s old life–her job, her purpose, and her future–is over. She and Rava are destined to collide, with the fate of their nations hanging in the balance. And when they do, only one will be left standing.

Elegy intends to make sure it’s her.

Review: A book box I’m subscribed to announced that this would be their featured book one month. I, of course, was super excited. I was dismayed to see how many people were skipping it in the comments, however! What’s worse, many of them were referencing being burned by the “Divergent” trilogy all those years ago. And look, I get it. I, too, have been burned by authors and have had a hard time going back. But Veronica Roth has been so solid and so good in the adult fantasy genre over the last years that it’s truly saddening to see how many fantasy readers out there are completely sleeping on her latest books based on a trilogy that came out over a decade ago. So, all of this to say, if you’re one of those reluctant Roth readers, this is your sign to give her another shot because this book was absolutely fantastic!

There is so much to love about this book that it’s hard to figure out where to start. But let’s start with the world-building and genre-blending. It’s truly impressive to really look at the complicated Venn diagram of different types of stories that make up this book. You have science fiction, futuristic dystopia, classic hero’s quest fantasy, romance, and so much more. And all of these elements are seemingly blended together in a way that is seamless and natural.

At its heart, the story revolves around an ongoing war between two factions of the world and their differing views on a deadly virus that has run rampant. For one, this virus is a religious experience and brings with it fantastical powers to those who survive (this is the fantasy side of the novel). The other sees the virus as nothing more than a killer and has done everything they can to protect themselves from exposure, including devoting much time to the progress of science (the science fiction side). So, of course, the story spends a decent amount of time on the conflicting views of these two sides and the very complicated cultures that have sprouted out from this one differing point of view. But what could have been simplistic and moralistic is instead presented carefully and realistically, with both sides being made up of stronger and weaker individuals, just as fallible to human foibles regardless of their own perspective.

However, beyond the exploration of this theme itself, the molding together of science fiction, fantasy, dystopia, and romance leaves the novel in a place where the reader is getting the best of so many worlds. We get the creativity of science fiction, the whimsy of fantasy, the horror of dystopia, and the swooniness of romance all in one book. So when the story isn’t rollicking through exciting action sequences, the romance and character work are right there waiting to pick up the reins. And that’s not even touching on the prophecy that drives the plot or the excellent character arcs that make up the majority of the prose.

The story is broken up between three characters, but there are two that primarily carry the story. Elegy’s story is that of a reluctant hero, someone called upon by a prophecy but who very much doesn’t want to change a life she loves. As the story continues, themes of grief, love, and the burdens of leadership are all central to her arc. Theren, the other main character, was just as compelling. I don’t want to get into much regarding his story as there are some big twists and turns throughout, but suffice it to say, his story explores themes that you typically don’t see touched upon in a character like this, and it was done so, so well. The third POV character, Hela, felt a bit secondary to the other two, but her story also introduces a plotline that feels like it will be the driving force of the story as a whole, so I’m excited to see more from her in the future.

And, of course, I absolutely loved the romance. Elegy and Theren have many obstacles to their relationship, and they’re the sort of obstacles that you don’t often see dealt with in romance novels. These aren’t fluffy “enemies” who instantly fall in lust and that’s that. No, they are both adults who have been through hard things that impact the way they each form connections with others. But for all of the more serious aspects of this relationship, it also had the lovely, swoonworthy moments that one looks for in a romance story.

This book did so many things all at once. What’s more, it did so many things all at once and was excellent at all of them. Looking back at my review, it’s already quite long, and I didn’t even get into any of the sibling or parent relationships that also make up a huge portion of the emotional stakes of the story. Or really how the prophecy works. Or the true interplay of the virus with these societies. Or…or…or. So, I’ll just leave it here: I loved it, I can’t wait for the next one, and genre fiction fans should definitely give it a read!

Rating 10: Truly masterful, Roth tackles deep themes of grief and destiny while also weaving together a lovely romance and packages it all into a futuristic dystopian world stricken by warfare.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Seek the Traitor’s Son” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Epic High Fantasy/Romance/Mythology in 2026 and Dystopias I Would Like To Make An Exception For.

Kate’s Review: “Abyss”

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

Book: “Abyss” by Nicholas Binge

Publishing Info: Tor Nightfire, May 2026

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from NetGalley

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

Book Description: Severance meets Lovecraft in this surreal tale of corporate horror and existential dread.

Joe always had potential, but he doesn’t expect much, and he hopes that his new job as an admin assistant won’t expect much of him. But when he enters the offices of Ponos—a company he’s never heard of and knows nothing about—he discovers that potential is exactly what they want from him.

A feverish dive into the inhumanity of both late-stage capitalism and the crippling anxieties of modern life, Abyss adds a new level of meaning to ‘wage slave’.

Review: Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this novel!

I feel like I’ve been reading a lot of novellas lately, or at least more than usual. Sometimes novellas can worry me in the same way short stories do in that it can be trickier to convey a story with a more limited page count, but it obviously can be done, and I’ve had a pretty good run of novellas as of late. “Abyss” by Nicholas Binge is the most recent one, and I was able to get through it in about a day. Not only because of the length, but how fast paced it flowed as a horror story about not only dimensional monstrosities, but also the monstrosities of corporate culture and late stage capitalistic greed and exploitation.

I’ve never had a corporate job, but from what I’ve heard from my friends who have the metaphors in this book work. (source)

I’ve made mention before that cosmic horror isn’t exactly a sub-genre that I delve into often, but “Abyss”‘s hook was too good to pass up, and as a Lovecraftian kinda tale it is pretty good at hitting the components that are expected. There is a slow building unease as our protagonist Joe starts his new menial job at Ponos, a corporation he isn’t familiar with but will pay the bills. From the jump there are strange things about it, like the complete lack of people outside of a few oddballs he stumbles upon, an over enthusiastic A.I. ‘assistant’ who keeps messaging him in stranger and stranger ways, and the skittishness of his higher up. As the job goes on the tension rises, as the reader follows Joe into creepier and creepier situations until he his fully confronted with a cosmic threat that is not only running this lucrative and powerful company, but is possibly using the blood of the workers to fuel itself. I like the high strangeness of the being and the creepiness of the peons that are trying to please it, with a solid backstory to why it is here contrasted with a stodgy and boring but also threatening corporate setting. I know “Severance” is how people are comparing, but I kept thinking about “Office Space” as a horror story, and that’s a good thing.

The true beating heart of this novella, though, are the satirical elements and messages that Binge puts forth. The main metaphor at hand is that the cosmic being that is being fed at Ponos has been put in place by the wealthy to maintain their power and to suck as much from the workers as possible all in the name of profits, and while that’s certainly a cathartic and relevant bit of satire, it’s kind of an obvious one when it comes to a story like this. For wholly understandable reasons we’ve seen a lot of commentary about the uber wealthy and their money hoarding within horror stories by sacrificing and downplaying the working class, so much so that it’s a little obvious. But there is a whole other point in “Abyss” that is connected to Joe and the story at hand, and that is the concept of the isolation and ennui of modern worker life, especially post pandemic. We live in a time where technology should theoretically make it all the easier to connect thanks to social media and varied means of communication. But Joe’s life is incredibly isolated, as he goes to work, goes home and dicks around online, and that’s about it. He isn’t really in touch with his mother and doesn’t seem to have any in real life friends. One of the main defenses against the horror and ruin at the hands of the cosmic in this is the idea of connection, with tech making it harder to connect under guise of bringing people together. That, to me, was a far more interesting avenue to explore because it felt so emotionally resonant.

“Abyss” is sure to please those who like cosmic horror as well as satirical observances of modern late stage capitalism. It’s a fast read, so consider adding it to your list!

Rating 7: The satire is a little on the nose but the message at the heart resonates. Add in some fun cosmic horror and a nefarious corporate setting and you have an enjoyable horror novella.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Abyss” is included on the Goodreads list “Horror to Look Forward to in 2026”.

Highlights: May 2026

In Minnesota, Spring can be a little bit waxing and waning. It was a little bit of a cooler April, but we have hope that May will bring more Spring-y weather. And we also have Memorial Day weekend to look forward to, as well as our new tradition of book club weekend at Kate’s family cabin in Wisconsin! And with a new month comes a new crop of books we can’t wait to pick up!

Serena’s Picks

Book: “Seek the Traitor’s Son” by Veronica Roth

Publication Date: May 12, 2026

Why I’m Interested: I feel like I’ve had the opposite trajectory with Veronica Roth as many other fantasy readers. Others loved “Divergent” but still seem to be burnt by this author to this day based on the ending of that series (this book was selected by a book box for May and I was surprised by the number of people skipping it based purely on on having read “Divergent” a decade ago and still unwilling to give the author another go, now a decade later). On the other hand, I didn’t love the “Divergent” series and didn’t even finish it. I only later picked up another book by her years later, and that I absolutely loved, to the point that Roth is now an automatic read for me! I’ve had favorites for sure, but over the last three to four years, I can’t think of a single book by her that I haven’t enjoyed. All of this to say, I’m incredibly excited about her latest book, an adult dystopian romance novel that seems to be melding many genres all under one hat. Usually, this would be a cause for concern, but I have a good deal of faith built up in this author, so I’m confident that she will manage it well!

Book: “The Tapestry of Fate” by Shannon Chakraborty

Publication Date: May 12, 2026

Why I’m Interested: I’ve only been obsessively checking the Goodreads page for this book for the last several years! It feels like it’s been forever and a day since the first book in this series came out, and ever since I’ve been desperate to return to this world of pirates and magic! Most especially, I’m excited to yet again follow the tale of Amina, the oh so brave, oh so stubborn, oh so adventurous pirate captain. The story itself sounds like it will be introducing some interesting new magical elements, particularly the magical spindle she’s tasked with retrieving. There are a lot of “Odyssey” vibes coming from this one, and I can’t wait to see what Chakraborty does with it all!

Book: “A Curse of Beasts and Magic”

Publication Date: May 26, 2026

Why I’m Interested: Well, it’s a gender-swapped “Beauty and the Beast” story, so obviously I’m interested! However, it also sounds like this is an urban fantasy, which does make me a bit nervous. While there are urban fantasy stories/authors that I really enjoy, I also find there’s a certain style to the dialogue and inner monologues often found in urban fantasy that I particularly struggle with. It all comes off as either “try hard” or cringe-y. But, like I said, there are urban fantasy books that are also favorites, so I’m crossing my fingers that this will be another one of those!

Kate’s Picks

Book: “Bone of My Bone” by Johanna van Veen

Publication Info: May 26, 2026

Why I’m Interested: I have so enjoyed van Veen’s horror stories because of the unique takes on the genre that bring the reader to unique settings and time periods that aren’t seen as much in the genre. In her newest nove we go back to the 17th century in Germany, with a young nun named Sister Ursula fleeing her convent as war rages around her and into the forest, where she meets a peasant named Elsebeth. And as they try to survive in the woods they find a gilded skull of a Saint. The lore is that if you can bring a saint’s skull back to their body you will get a wish, which is a great motivator to the two women. But Ursula and Elsebeth aren’t the only ones who want the magic of the skull. And to make things worse, the skull itself seems to be talking to them. It sounds dark and weird, and I’m very into the concept.

Book: “Dead Weight” by Hildur Knútsdóttir

Publication Date: May 26, 2026

Why I’m Interested: I liked the strange dreaminess that was Knútsdóttir’s previous novella, with its mysteries kept close to the vest and a creepy growing dread. Because of that I wanted to read “Dead Weight”, the new novella from the Icelandic author. In “Dead Weight” an unassuming woman named Unnur is living a fairly solitary life until a random black cat wanders into her home. The cat’s owner Ásta comes looking, and the two women start up a friendship. But Ásta is in a, abusive relationship that only seems to be escalating, and both women find themselves in danger. It sounds nerve-wracking and I have high hopes.

Book: “Honey” by Imani Thompson

Publication Date: May 5, 2026

Why I’m Interested: Lord knows I’ve been vibing with the recent spate of ‘good for her’ stories we’ve ben seeing in the past few years, and “Honey” sounds like it’s going to be another interesting entry into the sub-genre. Yrsa is a Ph.D candidate who feels like she’s stagnating, while also dealing with the sexism that can be found in academia. After confronting a professor who had an affair with her friend and stole her work, the man dies due to happenstance… but it makes Yrsa realize that she likes the way the death of a bad man makes her feel. Thus begins a crusade against misogynists with murder and mayhem. It sounds pretty fun!

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

Serena’s Review: “West of Wicked”

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

Book: “West of Wicked” by Nikki St. Crowe

Publishing Info: Bramble, April 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 doesn’t know where she came from. She has only the vaguest memory of her life before landing in the dull, gray world of the vast Kansas prairie.

Then a cyclone rips through the night and carries her, her dog, and the farmhouse somewhere a lot farther than Dorothy imagined. She’s in a strange land that’s apparently cursed, shrouded in shadow. And to get home, Dorothy needs to seek out a wizard, following a treacherous path and watch out for a never-ending list of forest beasts, witches, a cursed mercenary, and perhaps most dangerous of all, the wizard himself.

Nikki St. Crowe vividly reimagines the world of the Wizard of Oz, where the villain gets the girl…and the girl gets the power.

Review: I had heard of this author before because I looked into a “Peter Pan” retelling that she wrote at one point. That one seemed like it was a “reverse harem” romance, so I gave it a pass. But this one sounded like the more straightforward “enemies to lovers” trope, and, combined with my nostalgic love of “Wizard of Oz,” I thought this might be a good entry point to this author.

And, while I didn’t outright love it, I can also see the appeal of this author for sure. Right from the start, she has a very compelling style of storytelling. The pacing is quick, but I never felt like the author was skimping on the characterization or world-building. I had a decent understanding of just who Dorothy was and what was important to her fairly early in the story. As her arc continues, there were added layers given to her motivations and changes in perspective, so I appreciated that growth was there.

I also enjoyed the twists and turns taken with the world of Oz and the original characters. Frankly, this carried much of the book for me, as I was always eager to meet new characters or see new locations and explore the unique take the author was bringing to these classic elements. That said, if you feel at all “precious” about these originals, this book might not be for you. The author plays fast and loose with any original characteristics; I found this fun, but it could also be jarring if you were hoping to find characters that were more in line with their original versions.

Probably not surprising anyone, I mostly had gripes with the romance and the spice. On the spice side, the story starts out with a completely unnecessary erotic scene between the main character and a throwaway character. Now, I know that some readers enjoy spice for spice’s sake. But for me, these kinds of unnecessary spice scenes so early in a book make me feel as if the author thinks that readers are just hornballs who will put down a book if they don’t get a sex scene in the first 25 pages. This scene literally had zero impact on the story and could have been removed with no one the wiser. I wish it had been.

The romance itself was more interesting and developed at a slower pace (this made the initial jump right into a sex scene with the soon-to-be ex all the more weird!). There were also some big twists that came toward the end that I enjoyed. However, as always it seems, the book definitely sets up a secondary romance in the end as well. This is purely a subjective thing, and readers who enjoy love triangles and bait-and-switch romances may enjoy this aspect more.

As it stands, I think I’ll wait and spoil myself on how the entire trilogy ends before committing to reading more of the series, largely due to my feelings regarding the romance. I enjoyed the overall writing and Dorothy as a character, but the romance is a big question mark, and I’ve been burned too many times in the past to blindly keep going.

Rating 7: I liked this interpretation of “The Wizard of Oz” and its classic characters, but the spice and romance raised some big question marks for me personally. Other romance readers who enjoy certain tropes, however, may enjoy it more!

Readers Advisory:

“West of Wicked” can be found on this Goodreads list: April 2026 Most Anticipated Romance Releases.

Fire’s Catching: “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”

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

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.

Book: “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” by Suzanne Collins

Publishing Info: Scholastic Press, May 2020

Where Did I Get This Book: I own it

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

Book Description: Ambition will fuel him.

Competition will drive him.

But power has its price.

It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.

The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined — every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute… and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.

Review: A few years after “The Hunger Games” trilogy wrapped up with “Mockingjay”, the announcement was made that Suzanne Collins was going to write a prequel story. It was a bit vague at first, and I remember the buzz and anticipation that was tittering throughout the fandom. Who could it be about? Maybe Haymitch’s Games? Or maybe it was going to be about Mags? I was thinking it was maybe going to be about my gal Johanna Mason to see how she played everyone to think she was a scaredy cat and then eventually came out on top through brutality and managed expectations. And then it was announced that it was going to be about Coriolanus Snow, the brutal dictator in charge of Panem in the original trilogy. And I remember people being PISSED.

I will admit that as someone who always thinks that fandoms do the absolute most sometimes, I was pretty amused by the tantrums people were throwing. (source)

I wasn’t as put off by the concept. It did take me some time to read the book initially, but I did enjoy it, and re-reading it this year made me appreciate it even more. Because once again, Suzanne Collins knows EXACTLY WHAT SHE IS DOING.

So I will say right off the bat that this is probably my least favorite of the “Hunger Games” books, but that isn’t because it’s a bad book. I still really like this book. But there is a big narrative shift from the original trilogy to follow Katniss Everdeen and all of her innermost thoughts to Coriolanus Snow as a teenager and all of his innermost thoughts. But it’s still a very well written book that only expands more of the lore of Panem and builds the world even more in a way that makes it all the more intriguing. When we follow Coriolanus as he mentors Lucy Gray Baird from District 12 in the 10th Hunger Games, we get to see Panem in a transition period. It’s post-War/Rebellion, and the Capitol is still in shambles (which means you know the districts are having a rougher time as a whole). The Games right now aren’t the big entertainment event that they are when Katniss is reaped; if anything they are kind of run down and gritty. I really loved seeing the huge difference between the two time frames, and it goes to show just how much Snow influenced the Games and how much inspiration he took from his mentee Lucy Gray. Because Lucy Gray is the first one to weaponize her personality to be likable and to make it a bit of a spectacle with her singing and performance to make people root for her. If Coriolanus is a grating narrator (as he is supposed to be), Lucy Gray is a shining light of a character who has moxie and a drive to survive at all costs, even if it means cuddling up with Coriolanus (though I do believe that she DID care for him at one point, even if it wasn’t at the level of obsession and possession that he saw her at; notice I say obsession and possession as opposed to love). I also really liked seeing Lucy Gray’s Covey community, as by the time we get to the original trilogy in the timeline The Covey, a group that was trapped in District 12 after the rebellion after years of being nomadic, have all but disappeared, at least culturally. Seeing how Panem has changed between this book and the original trilogy is jarring but also so, so interesting.

I also liked getting some insight into the Capitol side of things in this book, be it with Coriolanus and his fellow students at The Academy being recruited to mentor the Tributes for the games, or the faculty indoctrinating them and manipulating their every move. We spend so much time in the Districts in the “Hunger Games” trilogy and only see the opulent and decadent Capitol in very specific instances, and in “Ballad” we see a Capitol that is grimy and, as I said, in transition, but it still has the superiority complex and the hints of totalitarianism that is still in shaky stages and is only waiting for a truly ruthless leader to bring it to its full horrific potential. It’s also interesting seeing the politics and ideologies of how the Capitol views the Districts at this point, still dehumanizing them but in a far more overt way at this point, like the Tributes being held in literal zoo cages. Or the way fellow students and Coriolanus look at Sejanus Plinth, who grew up in District 2 and whose family became wealthy and was able to essentially able to buy its way into the Capitol through loyalty and money, but is still looked down upon by others and feels like he is in an identity crisis. There are so many layers here and I greatly appreciated seeing this side of Panem, if only to get context.

Now, I may be treading into some kind of controversial territory here, but I kind of want to address one of the biggest hang ups people have about this book. There were a lot of people I saw, be it in my own life or online, who were very put off by the idea of this book following something of an origin story for President Snow. I had a few people say ‘I am not interested in getting a villain origin story that humanizes PRESIDENT SNOW’, and I mean, hey, that’s a valid worry about the book because there have been some stories where a clearly bad or villainous person gets some kind of redemption arc because of a sad backstory. But I never really had the fear that Collins was going to do that with Snow, as I know that she isn’t going to be an apologist for a fascist dictator just based on the original trilogy. Yes, Coriolanus Snow grew up during a time or war that left his life in shambles, even if his family was on the ‘winning’ side. He and his cousin Tigris are living with their completely indoctrinated grandmother in abject poverty, and while he comes from a prestigious family with name recognition (especially at the school he is attending), he has a huge victim complex because he isn’t living the life he was promised as a Snow. And that victim complex simmers as resentment, then turns into ambition, then turns into a thirst for power at any cost which turns into violence. I have always said that Collins’s “Hunger Games” stories always, ALWAYS have something to say, and the clear message of “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is about the way that young men can be radicalized by fascist ideology in times of instability within their lives, and while she explains it, she never excuses it with young Coriolanus, especially since we get into his head so deeply and he is just awful. This came out in 2020 when we had been seeing the starts of the Manosphere, and white male grievances were motivating a lot of young white men to embrace far right values, and unfortunately it has only gotten worse since then. So while I understand people not wanting to read about Coriolanus Snow as anything but an irredeemable villain, I also think that turning away from uncomfortable truths about radicalization of people like him in real life just helps the problem grow and grow. Collins doesn’t excuse his actions throughout the book, which are reprehensible even before he becomes president. But to dismiss this kind of exploration as being apologia for his actions is missing the point Collins is trying to make.

So while “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is probably my least favorite of the books about Panem, I still really enjoy it whether it’s the new lore and expanded world building of Panem, how it has changed over time and how the Games themselves have changed, and how it explores the dangers of radicalization through one of the biggest monsters in the series. Suzanne Collins does not miss. Next up I take on the next prequel book and the final book in the series “Sunrise on the Reaping”. Haymitch’s moment is upon us.

Rating 8: While it’s probably the weakest of the books for me, I still find it to be compelling and complex with a lot of relevant things to say. Also, I love seeing the huge differences in Panem between Katniss’s time and Snow’s time as a mentor.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is included on the Goodreads list “YA Dystopia Novels”.