Month: January 2024

Serena’s Review: “Somewhere in the Deep”

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Book: “Somewhere in the Deep” by Tanvi Berwah

Publishing Info: Sourcebooks Fire, January 2024

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

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

Book Description: Seventeen-year-old Krescent Dune is buried under the weight of her dead parents’ debt and the ruinous legacy they left behind. The only way she can earn enough money to escape her unforgiving island is by battling monstrous creatures in an underground fighting pit. After a fight goes terribly wrong, she’s banned from the pits. Now hopeless, she is offered a deal: in exchange for the erasure of her debts, she must join and protect a hunting party for a rescue mission deep within the mining caves beneath the island.

Krescent is determined to keep her head down and fulfill her role as the dutiful bodyguard, even though she is trapped underground with her childhood enemy and a company of people who would gladly kill her if they knew who her parents were. As they come across creatures she believed only existed in legends, it becomes clear they are in far more danger than she could have imagined. But someone doesn’t want her to make it out alive. And she’ll have to figure out who before she’s left alone… in the dark.

From the author of Monsters Born and Made comes an action-packed South Asian inspired fantasy that will have your heart racing at every turn.

Review: I immediately clicked to read more about this book when I spotted this cover. It’s so unique and strange! Paired with the title, you get a vague sense of a sea creatures, alien worlds, and a sense of wonder and danger. Which, reading more about it, pairs perfectly with the type of story this proports to be! It’s also very original from the covers you typically see for YA fantasy, so it does a good job of allowing the book to stand out from the crowd right off the bat. But let’s get into the book itself.

So, I did struggle with this book, but it was more on the side of my failing to really connect to or become invested in the story itself. Some of this is surely down to my preferences, and other parts of this can come down to weaker elements in the book. But, that said, there were also a lot of strengths and I do think there are definitely readers out there who will like this book.

For one thing, it is definitely a breath of fresh air in the current YA fantasy environment. As much as I love fairytales and witchy fantasy stories, we’ve seen a good number of them over the last few years. But this book treads new ground feeling slightly sci-fi and slightly post-apocalyptic, all while exploring a very unique world made of an island and its deep, dangerous cavern system. I really enjoyed the creative creatures that populated this world, and the culture and society that had been built up around surviving in this sort of harsh landscape. All of these elements also creates the perfect stage on which to place a fast-moving, action-packed plot. The pacing starts out fasts, keeps going fast, and then wraps up fast.

That said, I struggled to really connect to the story that was being told. It is one of those cases where there is nothing actively wrong that I can point to, either in the style of writing or the characterization, but more a situation where everything felt a bit watered down. Krescent Dune (well, I guess I can point to that character name as highly questionable) is your generic YA heroine: strong, brave, but also conveniently obtuse about the motivations of those she claims to know best (we’ll get to that). The writing, for its part, was also…serviceable? Again, nothing wrong with it, but it also felt incredibly generic, with a limited vocabulary and fairly repetitive approach to sentence structure. Like I said, none of it is bad, but it was also the type of writing that doesn’t necessarily draw you in. It tells the story, but not much else.

I also went in with high hopes for the romance. We’ve seen a good number of enemies-to-lovers romances, and of course I love those as well. But I was excited going into this one with the promise of a friends-to-lovers story (I will say that the book description seems to be intentionally misleading on this point, which I find very annoying, especially as romance tropes/types are very subjective as far as what readers do and don’t enjoy). And while I did still appreciate this change in tone and approach to a love story, I was also fairly frustrated by much of it. Like I hinted at earlier, much of the tension in the romance was centered around Krescent’s inability to see what was right in front of her: Rivan’s feelings for her. Of course, there are ways to make this sort of relationship drama work, but I do think it takes a certain skill to create a love story where you main character has to be oblivious to the motivations of someone she knows well without also coming across as a bit of a dunderhead herself. It also wasn’t helped that much of their relationship was completely dependent on the reader being told that they have had this long-standing friendship, more than showing these moments between them.

So, I don’t really know where to leave things. I think that some readers will enjoy this book for sure, but I also wasn’t blown away by anything it had to offer. If you’re highly anticipating this one, definitely give it a shot. But if you’re on the fence, there might be other ones you want to check out first.

Rating 7: While the author created a unique world and had some interesting creatures, I struggled to stay invested in the story.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Somewhere in the Deep” can be found on this Goodreads list: Can’t Wait Sci-Fi/Fantasy of 2024

Kate’s Review: “Fence: Vol. 3”

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Book: “Fence: Vol. 3” by C.S. Pacat & Johanna the Mad (Ill.)

Publishing Info: BOOM! Box, August 2019

Where Did I Get This Book: The library!

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

Book Description: Scrappy fencer Nicholas Cox comes to the end of his path to prove himself worthy of a father he never knew in the face of surly upperclassmen, nearly impossible odds, and the talent of his rival, sullen fencing prodigy, Seiji Katayama.

Sparks fly white-hot on the pitch as Nicholas and Seiji finally face off once again in the halls of King’s Row. It’s a match that will change King’s Row (and both of them!) forever, and set the stage as the team journeys to face their bitter rivals and prove themselves once and for all. 

The third volume of the breakneck series from writer C.S. Pacat (The Captive Prince) and fan-favorite artist Johanna the Mad comes at you as fast as a parry and hits as hard as a strike.

Review: We have once again jumped back into the high stakes and fast paced world of high school fencing teams with “Fence: Volume 3”. As a former quasi-fencer (I say quasi because I was on the team but didn’t really do anything outside of going to practice) it’s pretty neat and fun to see the sport of fencing being used as a driving force in this series, though I must say that it wasn’t NEARLY this dramatic.

We are finally at the end of the fencing team tryouts, as our final contenders stand tall and have to depend not only on their skills, but sometimes on the mistakes of others to get to the top. I really liked that Pacat made that a bit of a plot point as opposed to just “Nicholas has to beat this this and this opponent”, as it made the stakes feel not only high, but also fairly realistic. I also enjoyed getting into the heads of other characters as their own dreams had the potential to come true or be deferred, whether it’s Nicholas, or Seiji, or even other more supporting characters like Eugene, who has tried out for the team for multiple years but has always JUST missed out. We get to see that all of the characters have their reasons for wanting to make the team, and that most of them have pretty damn good ones so them not making it will be bittersweet regardless. Because of these things it was suspenseful no matter how you slice it, and it felt like a true blue inspirational sports journey. And once we do have the final team of fencers, it sets up the rest of the story as Kings Row has to ready itself to face off against their rivals, with some fencers having more personal reasons than others.

I also continue to enjoy the building friendship between Nicholas and Seiji, who are both determined to be able to face off against Jesse Coste, son of elite fencer Robert Coste. Seiji wants to face him because he’s considered the best, while Nicholas wants to face him because he’s his secret half brother, and while Nicholas grew up in the shadows Jesse has had all the privileges of his father’s legacy. They have a common goal, but it’s one that they both kind of need to fight over, which makes them even MORE rivals than they already are by nature of being competitive fencers in their own right. It is getting a LITTLE redundant seeing them butting heads, but there seems to be a glimmer of them perhaps being able to start working together to build each other up in the face of a common enemy.

Finally, I still like the artwork by Johanna the Mad! The manga inspired design is a nice homage to sports mangas, and I really like the colors, the facial expressions, and the way she designs the actual fencing moments.

(source: BOOM! Studios)

We have our team. They have their goal. We will have to see where their path takes them when facing off with other elite fencers. Next time I’ll take on “Volume 4”!

Rating 7: The tensions continue to be high as the tryouts start to wind down, and the suspense of the final line up makes for an entertaining volume that sets the stage for an interesting story path.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Fence: Vol. 3” is included on the Goodreads lists “Fencing Fiction”, and “Graphic Novels Featuring LGBTIQ Themes”.

Previously Reviewed:

Serena’s Review: “A Fragile Enchantment”

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Book: “A Fragile Enchantment” by Allison Saft

Publishing Info: Wednesday Books, January 2024

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

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

Book Description: Niamh Ó Conchobhair has never let herself long for more. The magic in her blood that lets her stitch emotions and memories into fabric is the same magic that will eventually kill her. Determined to spend the little time she has left guaranteeing a better life for her family, Niamh jumps at the chance to design the wardrobe for a royal wedding in the neighboring kingdom of Avaland.

But Avaland is far from the fairytale that she imagined. While young nobles attend candlelit balls and elegant garden parties, unrest brews amid the working class. The groom himself, Kit Carmine, is prickly, abrasive, and begrudgingly being dragged to the altar as a political pawn. But when Niamh and Kit grow closer, an unlikely friendship blossoms into something more—until an anonymous columnist starts buzzing about their chemistry, promising to leave them alone only if Niamh helps to uncover the royal family’s secrets. The rot at the heart of Avaland runs deep, but exposing it could risk a future she never let herself dream of, and a love she never thought possible.

Transporting readers to a Regency England-inspired fantasy world, A Fragile Enchantment is a sweeping romance threaded with intrigue, unforgettable characters, and a love story for the ages.

Review: I’ve had access to this e-book for a while thanks to the publisher sending me an ARC a few months ago. But there have been many books to read and review between then and now, so it’s been quite the struggle! I really enjoyed Saft’s “A Far Wilder Magic,” and then combine the romantic cover art on this one with a description that includes the phrase “fantasy of manners” and, well, the anticipation has been killing me! But we’re finally to 2024 and now it’s time to dive right in!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, though there were a few odd things about its pacing, especially towards the final quarter of the book. But let’s start with the all of the good stuff. First of all, I love Saft’s style of writing. It’s approachable, engaging, and I very quickly felt attached to the characters and plot. The dialogue was also capable of delivering laughs just as much as conveying the more emotional, romantic scenes. It was a very smooth reading experience, and, like I said, for the first 75% of the story, I was zipping along without a care in the world. I also enjoyed the world-building and magical elements. Nothing was overly complex here, but it also all felt complete enough that I felt solidly placed within the world and understood how the magic worked.

I also really enjoyed the characters. Niamph was a unique leading lady in that she had a powerful magical ability, but also struggled with a degenerative disease that limited her actions. I liked the exploration of how Niamph approached life with an illness that left her unknowing of what time she had left. Throughout the story, we see both the struggles and strengths that this brought to the character. On one hand, we see her rise to grab life by both hands, knowing she must experience what she has been given. But on the other hand, we see her struggle to place the appropriate value on herself and her own desires, all too willing to put others before herself when she sees a limited life span before her.

This theme, the exploration of what is owed to one’s family, is one that carries over to many of the other characters in the story, most notably the romantic interest, the prince himself. Kit is in an arranged marriage, so it is very easy to see how this theme would pair with his story. His struggles with his relationship with his brother, the king, were interesting and dove deeper into this overall theme in ways I was not expecting.

That said, this same theme of familial obligation popped up with yet another character in the final quarter of the story. And it was at this point that I began to feel a bit beaten over the head with it all. At this point in the story, I felt like we’d thoroughly explored the angles of this topic, and, importantly, we see these struggles through the experiences of our two main characters. So when I ran into the exact same theme and talking points showing up for this third, very much side, character, I was a bit exasperated. It felt unnecessary and didn’t add anything to the examination of this theme or to the story progression itself.

I also loved the romance at the heart of the story. In some ways, it progressed a bit quickly, but I was also so invested in Niamph and Kit that I was able to go along with it fairly easy. I don’t think this quite rises to the level of “enemies to lovers,” but they do have a contentions start to their relationship that builds up nicely to the eventual resolution. However, again, what felt like a very organic, natural build to their relationship was interrupted in the last third/quarter of the book in ways that seemed to break the natural pacing. It began to feel choppy and bit all over the place, as if the author had several extra plot beats that she wasn’t sure how to fit in naturally, so it was all just shoved into this final bit of the story.

So, in the end, this was a bit of a broken up reading experience. The first 60-75% of this book was a solid 9-10 rating for me, enjoyment-wise. But then it felt like things fell apart during what should have been the climax of the story. The overall themes of the book began to feel tired and over-used when they were applied to a third, side character, and the romantic tension also felt let down by some odd beats in this last bit. All of that said, I still would recommend this book to romantic fantasy fans, especially those looking for a fantasy of manners story that is low on the spice level.

Rating 8: Sweetly romantic with two compelling leading characters, though the book stumbles in the last bit of the story.

Reader’s Advisory:

“A Fragile Enchantment” can be found on these Goodreads lists: YA Regency Fantasy and Romantasy.

Kate’s Review: “The Night of the Storm”

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Book: “The Night of the Storm” by Nishita Parekh

Publishing Info: Dutton, January 2024

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

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

Book Description: Hurricane Harvey is about to hit Houston. Meanwhile, single mom Jia Shah is already having a rough week: her twelve-year-old son, Ishaan, has just been suspended from school for getting in a fight. Still reeling from the fallout of her divorce—their move to Houston, her family’s disapproval, the struggle to make ends meet on her own—now Jia is worried about Ishaan’s future, too. Will her solo parenting be enough? Doesn’t a boy need a father?

And now their apartment complex is under a mandatory evacuation order. Jia’s sister, Seema, has invited them to hunker down in her fancy house in Sugar Land, and despite Jia’s misgivings—Seema’s husband, Vipul, has been just a little too friendly with her lately—Jia concedes it’s probably the best place to keep Ishaan safe during the hurricane. With Jia’s philandering ex scrutinizing her every move, all too eager to snatch back custody of Ishaan, she can’t afford to make a mistake.

When Vipul’s brother and his wife show up on Seema’s doorstep, too, it’s a recipe for disaster. Grandma, the family matriarch, has never been shy about playing favorites among her sons and their wives. As the storm escalates, tensions rise quickly, and soon someone’s dead. Was it a horrible accident or is there a murderer in their midst?

With no help available until the floodwaters recede in the morning, Jia must protect her son and identify the culprit before she goes down for a crime she didn’t commit—or becomes the next victim. . . .

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

Even though Minnesota has some pretty brutal cold and snow events in the dead of winter, I know that I would prefer this over hurricanes. I know people who have been in pretty intense situations surrounding hurricanes, and have even had relatives flee up to Minnesota to escape danger during particularly bad ones. But I do love the idea of a hurricane being a situational factor in a murder mystery, so when I read the description of “The Night of the Storm” by Nishita Parekh, I knew that I had to read it. I went in with high hopes, wondering how a combustible family and extended family unit would fare coming face to face with a potential murderer during Hurricane Harvey, and while I chugged along through it, it didn’t quite meet said high hopes.

But first the good! One of the most important things about a thriller, for me, is if it keeps me reading and keeps me questioning what is going on, especially if it has some outside the box elements. “The Night of the Storm” is a locked room mystery, but the locked room aspect is the fact that this family is trapped in a house during Hurricane Harvey, and they can’t leave due to the dangers and can’t contact anyone very well due to the power issues and the general chaos during a natural disaster. If you find a creative way to isolate people in a story like this, I am automatically going to have to give it some props. I also liked that in this thriller, a genre that can be pretty white, we have an Asian Indian American family at the heart of it, and how some aspects of the culture Jia and Seema were raised in brings other conflicts that could potentially exacerbate the dangers in the moment (Jia’s divorced status making her seen as less than or unreliable by family, the tension between a judgmental mother in law and her daughter in law, the narrow definitions of what success can look like for sons). It makes for a bit of a fun family drama on top of the very pressing ‘trapped in a hurricane with a murderer’ situation.

That said, I think that a way that this book stumbles is that outside of Jia the other characters weren’t as fleshed out as I would have liked them to be. I like that we got insight into their back stories through Jia’s perspectives, but I would have liked to see more depth to a few of them. As it was, I wasn’t as invested in them as characters, and that makes the stakes not as high as I would like them to be in a thriller. I really liked Jia, and I was worried about her and her son Ishaan (and even on an existential level, as she is in the midst of a divorce from a toxic husband whom she thinks wants to take Ishaan away from her), but as more danger cropped up for everyone I wasn’t super nervous about the outcomes of the actual mystery and more about whether or not Jia would maintain custody of her son after all was said and done. Add into that a thrill ride that doesn’t tread too far from what is usually expected from the genre and familiar tropes that aren’t too unexpected, and it’s solidly okay, but not something that blew me away too much.

“The Night of the Storm” is fine. I am curious to read more thrillers by Nishita Perekh in the future. There is lots of promise that she can wow me down the line from glimmers in this book, even if as a whole it was average.

Rating 6: It’s a perfectly serviceable thriller, but pretty familiar tropes and pretty flat characters make for a generic read.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Night of the Storm” is included on Goodreads list “2024 Mystery Thrillers Crime To Be Excited For”.

Highlights for 2024!

I’m not sure why we haven’t done this before, but better late than never! So here we are with some of our most anticipated reads for 2024!

Serena’s Picks

There are so many great books coming out this year that it was hard to pick! Honestly, this is a fairly random selection of titles from a much longer list, but I wanted to include both books coming out from familiar authors and a few debuts that I have my eyes on. A few honorable mentions that didn’t make the list would include “Wind and Truth” by Brandon Sanderson (the latest in the Stormlight Archives!), “How to Become a Dark Lord and Die Trying” by Django Wexler, “Foul Days” by Genoveva Dimova, and “Wisteria” by Adalyn Grace.

Book: “The Familiar” by Leigh Bardugo

Publication Date: April 9, 2024

Book Description: In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to better the family’s social position.

What begins as simple amusement for the bored nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain’s king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England’s heretic queen—and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king’s favor.

Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the line between magic, science, and fraud is never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition’s wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive—even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santangel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.

Book: “Song of the Six Realms” by Judy I. Lin

Publication Date: April 23, 2024

Book Description: Xue, a talented young musician, has no past and probably no future. Orphaned at a young age, her kindly poet uncle took her in and arranged for an apprenticeship at one of the most esteemed entertainment houses in the kingdom. She doesn’t remember much from before entering the House of Flowing Water, and when her uncle is suddenly killed in a bandit attack, she is devastated to lose her last connection to a life outside of her indenture contract.

With no family and no patron, Xue is facing the possibility of a lifetime of servitude playing the qin for nobles that praise her talent with one breath and sneer at her lowly social status with the next. Then one night she is unexpectedly called to the garden to put on a private performance for the enigmatic Duke Meng. The young man is strangely kind and awkward for nobility, and surprises Xue further with an irresistible offer: serve as a musician in residence at his manor for one year, and he’ll set her free of her indenture.

But the Duke’s motives become increasingly more suspect when he and Xue barely survive an attack by a nightmarish monster, and when he whisks her away to his estate, she discovers he’s not just some country noble: He’s the Duke of Dreams, one of the divine rulers of the Celestial Realm. There she learns the Six Realms are on the brink of disaster, and incursions by demonic beasts are growing more frequent.

The Duke needs Xue’s help to unlock memories from her past that could hold the answers to how to stop the impending war… but first Xue will need to survive being the target of every monster and deity in the Six Realms.

Book: “Mirrored Heavens” by Rebecca Roanhorse

Publication Date: June 4, 2024

Book Description: Serapio, avatar of the Crow God Reborn and the newly crowned Carrion King, rules Tova. But his enemies gather both on distant shores and within his own city as the matrons of the clans scheme to destroy him. And deep in the alleys of the Maw, a new prophecy is whispered, this one from the Coyote God. It promises Serapio certain doom if its terrible dictates are not fulfilled.

Meanwhile, Xiala is thrust back amongst her people as war comes first to the island of Teek. With their way of life and their magic under threat, she is their last best hope. But the sea won’t talk to her the way it used to, and doubts riddle her mind. She will have to sacrifice the things that matter most to unleash her powers and become the queen they were promised.

And in the far northern wastelands, Naranpa, avatar of the Sun God, seeks a way to save Tova from the visions of fire that engulf her dreams. But another presence has begun stalking her nightmares, and the Jaguar God is on the hunt.

Book: “The Night Ends with Fire” by K. X. Song

Publication Date: July 2, 2024

Book Description: The Three Kingdoms are at war, but Meilin’s father refuses to answer the imperial draft. Trapped by his opium addiction, he plans to sell Meilin for her dowry. But when Meilin discovers her husband-to-be is another violent, ill-tempered man, she realizes that nothing will change for her unless she takes matters into her own hands.

The very next day, she disguises herself as a boy and enlists in her father’s place.

In the army, Meilin’s relentless hard work brings her recognition, friendship—and a growing closeness with Sky, a prince turned training partner. But has she simply exchanged one prison for another? As her kingdom barrels toward destruction, Meilin begins to have visions of a sea dragon spirit that offers her true power and freedom, but with a deadly price.

With the future of the Three Kingdoms hanging in the balance, Meilin will need to decide whom to trust—Sky, who inspires her loyalty and love; the sea dragon spirit, who has his own murky agenda; or an infuriating enemy prince who makes her question everything she once knew—about her kingdom and about her own heart.

Book: “The Wild Huntress” by Emily Loyd-Jones

Publication Date: October 8, 2024

Book Description: Every five years, two kingdoms take part in a Wild Hunt. Joining is a bloody risk and even the most qualified hunters can suffer the deadliest fates. Still, hundreds gamble their lives to participate—all vying for the Hunt’s life-changing prize: a magical wish granted by the Otherking.

BRANWEN possesses a gift no other human has: the ability to see and slay monsters. She’s desperate to cure her mother’s sickness, and the Wild Hunt is her only option.

GWYDION is the least impressive of his magically-talented family, but with his ability to control plants and his sleight of hand, he’ll do whatever it takes to keep his cruel older brother from becoming a tyrant.

PRYDERI is prince-born and monster-raised. Deep down, the royal crown doesn’t interest him—all he wants is to know is where he belongs.

If they band together against the monstrous creatures within the woods, they have a chance to win. But, then again, nothing is guaranteed when all is fair in love and the Hunt.

Kate’s Picks

A full year means that there are a LOT of books to choose from, and while I do tend to stick to my general genres of horror, thriller, mystery, non fiction, and the graphic novel format, I DO spread my wings across multiple genres that don’t always get covered here. So, for my Picks of 2024 List, I’m going to pick titles that I am very excited for, but won’t necessarily be highlighted on the blog! But as for books that will make the blog, I will say that I am VERY much looking forward to “I Was A Teenage Slasher” by Stephen Graham Jones, “Horror Movie” by Paul Tremblay, “Immortal Pleasures” by V. Castro, and “So Thirsty” by Rachel Harrison!

Book: “Not In Love” by Ali Hazelwood

Publication Date: June 11, 2024

Book Description: Rue Siebert might not have it all, but she has enough: a few friends she can always count on, the financial stability she yearned for as a kid, and a successful career as a biotech engineer at Kline, one of the most promising start-ups in the field of food science. Her world is stable, pleasant, and hard-fought. Until a hostile takeover and its offensively attractive front man threatens to bring it all crumbling down.

Eli Killgore and his business partners want Kline, period. Eli has his own reasons for pushing this deal through—and he’s a man who gets what he wants. With one burning exception: Rue. The woman he can’t stop thinking about. The woman who’s off-limits to him.

Torn between loyalty and an undeniable attraction, Rue and Eli throw caution out the lab and the boardroom windows. Their affair is secret, no-strings-attached, and has a built-in deadline: the day one of their companies will prevail. But the heart is risky business—one that plays for keeps.

Book: “The House of Hidden Meanings” by RuPaul

Publication Date: March 6, 2024

Book Description: From international drag superstar and pop culture icon RuPaul, comes his most revealing and personal work to date—a brutally honest, surprisingly poignant, and deeply intimate memoir of growing up Black, poor, and queer in a broken home to discovering the power of performance, found family, and self-acceptance.

A profound introspection of his life, relationships, and identity,  The House of Hidden Meanings  is a self-portrait of the legendary icon on the road to global fame and changing the way the world thinks about drag. Central to RuPaul’s success has been his chameleonic adaptability. From drag icon to powerhouse producer of one of the world’s largest television franchises, RuPaul’s ever-shifting nature has always been part of his brand as both supermodel and supermogul.

Yet that adaptability has made him enigmatic to the public. In this memoir, his most intimate and detailed book yet, RuPaul makes himself truly known. Stripping away all artifice, RuPaul recounts the story of his life with breathtaking clarity and tenderness, bringing his signature wisdom and wit to his own biography. From his early years growing up as a queer Black kid in San Diego navigating complex relationships with his absent father and temperamental mother, to forging an identity in the punk and drag scenes of Atlanta and New York, to finding enduring love with his husband Georges LeBar and self-acceptance in sobriety, RuPaul excavates his own biography, uncovering new truths and insights in his personal history.

Here in RuPaul’s singular and extraordinary story is a manual for living—a personal philosophy that testifies to the value of chosen family, the importance of harnessing what makes you different, and the transformational power of facing yourself fearlessly. If we’re all born naked and the rest is drag, then this is RuPaul totally out of drag. This is RuPaul stripped bare. 

Book: “A Well Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy” by Tia Levings

Publication Date: August 6, 2024

Book Description: “Today it hit me when he hit me, blood shaking in my brain. Maybe there wasn’t a savior coming. Maybe it was up to me to save me.”

Recruited into the fundamentalist Quiverfull movement as a young wife, Tia Levings learned that being a good Christian meant following a list of additional life principles—a series of secret, special rules to obey. Being a godly and submissive wife in Christian Patriarchy included strict discipline, isolation, and an alternative lifestyle that appeared wholesome to outsiders. Women were to be silent, “keepers of the home.”

Tia knew that to their neighbors her family was strange, but she also couldn’t risk exposing their secret lifestyle to police, doctors, teachers, or anyone outside of their church. Christians were called in scripture to be “in the world, not of it.” So, she hid in plain sight as years of abuse and pain followed. When Tia realized she was the only one who could protect her children from becoming the next generation of patriarchal men and submissive women, she began to resist and question how they lived. But in the patriarchy, a woman with opinions is in danger, and eventually, Tia faced an urgent and extreme stay and face dire consequences, or flee with her children.

Told in a beautiful, honest, and sometimes harrowing voice, A Well-Trained Wife is an unforgettable and timely memoir about a woman’s race to save herself and her family and details the ways that extreme views can manifest in a marriage.

Book: “Wandering Stars” by Tommy Orange

Publication Date: February 27, 2024

Book Description: The eagerly awaited follow-up to Pulitzer Prize-finalist Tommy Orange’s breakout best seller There There —winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award, the John Leonard Prize, the American Book Award, and one of the New York Times 10 Best Books of 2018— Wandering Stars traces the legacies of the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School through to the shattering aftermath of Orvil Red Feather’s shooting in There There.

Colorado, 1864. Star, a young survivor of the Sand Creek Massacre, is brought to the Fort Marion Prison Castle, where he is forced to learn English and practice Christianity by Richard Henry Pratt, an evangelical prison guard who will go on to found the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, an institution dedicated to the eradication of Native history, culture, and identity. A generation later, Star’s son, Charles, is sent to the school, where he is brutalized by the man who was once his father’s jailer. Under Pratt’s harsh treatment, Charles clings to moments he shares with a young fellow student, Opal Viola, as the two envision a future away from the institutional violence that follows their bloodlines.

Oakland, 2018. Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield is barely holding her family together after the shooting that nearly took the life of her nephew Orvil. From the moment he awakens in his hospital bed, Orvil begins compulsively googling school shootings on YouTube. He also becomes emotionally reliant on the prescription medications meant to ease his physical trauma. His younger brother, Lony, suffering from PTSD, is struggling to make sense of the carnage he witnessed at the shooting by secretly cutting himself and enacting blood rituals that he hopes will connect him to his Cheyenne heritage. Opal is equally adrift, experimenting with Ceremony and peyote, searching for a way to heal her wounded family.

Extending his constellation of narratives into the past and future, Tommy Orange once again delivers a story that is by turns shattering and wondrous, a book piercing in its poetry, sorrow, and rage—a masterful follow-up to his already-classic first novel, and a devastating indictment of America’s war on its own people.

Book: “The Palace of Eros” by Caro de Robertis

Publication Date: August 13, 2024

Book Description: Young, headstrong Psyche has captured the eyes of every suitor in town and far beyond with her tempestuous beauty, which has made her irresistible as a woman yet undesirable as a wife. Secretly, she longs for a life away from the expectations and demands of men. When her father realizes that the future of his family and town will be forever cursed unless he appeases an enraged Aphrodite, he follows the orders of the Oracle, tying Psyche to a rock to be ravaged by a monstrous husband. And yet a monster never arrives.

When Eros, nonbinary deity of desire, sees Psyche, she cannot fulfill her promise to her mother Aphrodite to destroy the mortal young woman. Instead, Eros devises a plan to sweep Psyche away to an idyllic palace, hidden from the prying eyes of Aphrodite, Zeus, and the outside world. There, against the dire dictates of Olympus, Eros and Psyche fall in love. Each night, Eros visits Psyche under the cover of impenetrable darkness, where they both experience untold passion and love. But each morning, Eros flies away before light comes to break the spell of the palace that keeps them safe.

Before long, Psyche’s nights spent in pleasure turn to days filled with doubts, as she grapples with the cost of secrecy and the complexities of freedom and desire. Restless and spurred by her sisters to reveal Eros’s true nature, she breaks her trust and forces a reckoning that tests them both—and transforms the very heavens.

Told in bold and sparkling prose, The Palace of Eros transports us to a magical world imbued by divine forces as well as everyday realities, where palaces glitter with magic even as ordinary people fight for freedom in a society that fears the unknown.

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

Serena’s Review: “The Invocations”

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Book: “The Invocations” by Krystal Sutherland

Publishing Info: Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Books, January 2024

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

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

Book Description: Zara Jones believes in magic because the alternative is too painful to bear—that her sister was murdered by a serial killer and there is precisely nothing she can do to change it. If there’s anything Zara cannot stand it’s feeling powerless, so she decides she will do whatever it takes—even if that means partaking in the occult—to bring her sister back from the dead.

Jude Wolf might be the daughter of a billionaire, but she is also undeniably cursed. After a deal with a demon went horribly wrong, her soul is now slowly turning necrotic. Flowers and insects die in her wake and monstrous things come to taunt her at night. If Jude can’t find the right someone to fix her mistake, she fears she’ll die very soon.

Enter Emer Bryne: the solution to both Zara’s and Jude’s predicaments. The daughter of a witch, Emer sells spells to women in desperate situations willing to sacrifice a part of their soul in exchange for a bit of power, a bit of magic to change their lives. But Emer has a dark past all her own—and as her former clients are murdered one-by-one, she knows it’s followed her all the way to London.

As Zara and Jude enter Emer’s orbit, they’ll have to team up to stop the killer—before they each end up next on his list.

Review: I haven’t read anything else by Krystal Sutherland, but I was familiar with the name when I was approached about reviewing her latest book. Mostly, I have vague memories of a YA dark fantasy that she released a few years ago that had a creepy but compelling cover. This one, too, follows in that line where, at first glance, it seems normal enough. But then you look closer…yep, creepy! I was also drawn in by the promise of witches and a mystery centered around tracking down a serial killer.

Unfortunately, this book didn’t quite hit the way I wanted it to. However, in this case, I do think a lot of it comes down to many of these tropes and beats simply not being to my taste. But let’s start with the good! Like I said, I was drawn in by the witches and the murder mystery, and from a distant perspective, I think both of these things were interesting. I liked the idea that in this world magic was only something that came to women. Through this lens, the book then had a lot to say about feminism and the ways that women experience society. I haven’t watched the “Barbie” movie yet… *ducks*…but I would bet that this has very similar vibes. That said, I also felt that some of the messaging was a bit heavy-handed at times. There were moments where it almost had an “after school special” feeling to it….”See?? The patriarchy!!” I found myself wishing for a bit more subtly on that front.

I also liked the serial killer aspect of the story. This book was definitely a lot darker than I was expecting, and I appreciated how much it committed to its themes, really diving into some of the body horror moments. Fans of dark fantasy and horror will likely appreciate the fact that the book doesn’t shy away from these more gruesome scenes.

However, I found myself struggling to remain invested in the story. While the action does pick up in the last 100 pages of the book, that’s always a bit too little, too late for my overall reading experience. I found myself setting the book down too often and having to force myself to continue reading. There wasn’t anything objectively wrong with the writing, but it didn’t grab me. It felt a bit to formulaic and simplistic at times to really give the book much of a unique tone. It wasn’t helped that it was written in present tense, a style that I always struggle to enjoy. That said, readers who are not bothered by this approach to writing may not come away feeling the same way.

Similarly, because the writing was on the more simple side, I struggled to truly connect to any of our three characters, as their chapters had a bad tendency of beginning to read the same as one another. I liked the idea of all three characters, I just didn’t end up really loving any of the actual characters themselves.

Overall, this was a bit of a middling read for me, but much of this came down to some of my own preferences on writing styles and the way larger themes are handled. I do think that it will connect for YA readers who are looking for a good, creepy witchy book, however, and if you’re a fan of the author, I’m sure this will be a hit!

Rating 7: Appropriately creepy and witchy, but I was distracted by what felt like heavy-handedness with the overall message.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Invocations” can be found on this and other similar Goodreads lists: YA Novels of 2024

Serena’s Review: “Unbound”

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Book: “Unbound” by Christy Healy

Publishing Info: Blackstone Publishing, January 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: NetGalley!

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

Book Description: Rozlyn Ó Conchúir is used to waiting—waiting for the king, her father, to relent and allow her to leave the solitude of her tower; waiting for the dreaded and mysterious Beast of Connacht to at last be defeated; waiting for the arrival of the man destined to win her heart and break the terrible curse placed on her and her land. So, when she meets Jamie—a charming and compelling suitor—she allows herself to hope that her days of solitude and patience are at long last over.

But as she finds her trust betrayed and with newer, more sinister threats arising, Rozlyn learns that some curses are better left unbroken …

For fans of Hannah Whitten and Rebecca Ross, Unbound is a gender bent re-imagining of the classic tale of a monstrous beast and the beauty determined to tame it, set against the lush backdrop of Irish mythology and folklore.

Review: I’m not really sure which came first: my love of Irish folklore fantasy or my love of Juliet Mariller’s books. I suspect the latter likely lead to the former. Either way, through no real study on my part, I’ve become fairly familiar with Irish mythology, legends, and folk tales/characters, so whenever I spot a book purporting to be about these topics, I’m always eager to check it out and see how it compares to the other stories I’ve read. But, while I’m a big fan of both Hannah Whitten and Rebecca Ross, I sure do wish that Marillier would get her due for books like this! While I can see the similarities to those authors, Marillier’s works are a perfect read-alike to this author’s style and general concept. Plus, she’s a very under-the-radar author who I just wish more fantasy readers were aware of, so I’ll do my part and plug her here now!

I will say, subjectively, I very much enjoyed this one from start to finish; that said, objectively there are some quibbles to be found with parts of it. The style of the writing (very lyrical and fairytale-feeling) is just the sort I enjoy, with sweeping prose and beautiful turns of phrase. Like the best fairytales, the style could take on the tone of a how one might imagine a storyteller presenting the fable to an audience around a fire at night.

However, on the other side of this, there were many blatantly anachronistic aspects to the writing and world-building. These are always tough things to point out about historical fantasy books like this, because if you wanted to, almost every book in the subgenre likely strays outside of the strict boundaries of historical accuracy. Plus, one can always say it’s fantasy, so are there really any historical rules to be applied here and isn’t this just nit-picking? Healy writes in her author’s note that she was conscious of these anachronisms and left them in intentionally, using pretty much this exact reasoning about fantasy. But, on the other hand, she chose to seemingly set this in the “real world” and even included the exact year before each chapter (needed for plotting reasons that we’ll talk about next) which firmly and repeatedly sets it in the reader’s mind that this is in fact taking place at a specific point in history.

I wish, instead, that she had simply created a new world and year system. Really, no great world-building or changes would have needed to be made. Just come up with the name of a fantasy world, make an obviously different calendar system, and ta da! Many of these anachronisms go away! As it stands, many of them will only really be noticeable to those who know a lot about the time period and the import histories of things like chocolate. But others, like the repeated use of the word “okay” in dialogue, really do stand out as distracting.

The inclusion of the years at the start of each chapter heading are very important however, whether using a fictitious calendar system or not, as the story is told in a very non-linear fashion with many jumps forward and backward in time. Now, I’m on record through my various reviews as enjoying this sort of fragmented story-telling. I enjoy meeting characters who clearly have a long, complicated history with one another and then jumping around through their stories to slowly piece together how they came to be in this state. I think, when done right, it can create some excellent stakes to the plot right from the start. But it also requires the reader to trust that the author will bring answers eventually and be patient with not understanding exactly why characters say and do what they do currently. So, for some readers, this may be a challenging read, as the story does very much jump around in time between the current situation, the past, and then, even more strange, a several-centuries-long jump that comes about halfway through the book. Even for me, this half-way-through jump and the introduction of new characters was a big ask on the author’s part. It all ties together nicely, but I think some readers might struggle to stick it through.

I also do not like the fact that this book has been marketed as a gender-swapped “Beauty and the Beast.” If you squint, yes, you can see how the promoters got there, but there are really no elements of the actual plot of that tale to be found in this book. It’s more, we seem to have come to the point where anytime there is ever a vaguely (reallllly vague sometimes) monstrous character and a love story, marketers can’t help but shout “Beauty and the Beast re-telling!” at the top of their voices, forgetting that a “re-telling” implies that the story itself should be similar to the original fairytale. It’s misleading to readers to call books like this re-tellings and more likely to result in disappointed readers leaving negative reviews and thus out-pacing any gains that had been hoped for in using this fairytale as a lure in the first place! It’s even more frustrating in this case because there are actual Irish folklore characters that are obviously the inspiration for much of this book.

So it’s tough to sum this all up. I did enjoy this book, overall. I think the writing was fairly high for a debut novel, and I’m especially looking forward to any future books by the author when, perhaps, some of my quibbles will be improved upon. I think there were a few stylistic choices that a good editor could help with. And then, as far as the plotting, I do think it will be challenging to some readers, but it worked for me, so it’s something to keep in mind going in, whether or not this will work for you!

Rating 7: Overall, a very solid debut book, though I do wish some work around had been used for the anachronism, either changing the world itself or editing out some of them.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Unbound” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Fairy Tales for Grown Children and Fantasy Romance.

Kate’s Review: “Hanging the Devil”

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Book: “Hanging the Devil” by Tim Maleeny

Publishing Info: Poisoned Pen Press, November 2023

Where Did I Get This Book: I received a finished copy from the publisher.

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

Book Description: It was supposed to be a simple steal the paintings, leave the forgeries… When a helicopter crashes through the skylight of the Asian Art Museum, an audacious heist turns into a tragedy. The only witness to the crash is eleven-year-old Grace, who watches in horror as her uncle is killed and a priceless statue stolen by two men and a―ghost? At least that’s how the eerie, smoke-like figure with parchment skin and floating hair appears to Grace. Scared almost to death, she flees into the night and seeks refuge in the back alleys of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Grace is found by Sally Mei, self-appointed guardian of Chinatown. While Sally trains Grace in basic survival skills, her erstwhile partner Cape Weathers, private detective and public nuisance, searches for the mysterious crew behind the robbery before they strike the museum a second time. As the clock winds down, Cape enlists aid from some unlikely allies to lay a trap for a ghost who has no intention of being caught―nor of leaving any witnesses alive to tell the tale.

Review: Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and Wunderkind PR for sending me a print copy of this novel!

While I tend to branch out quite a bit in the horror genre into many a sub genre, when it comes to Thrillers I really tend to stick to a couple, rarely deviating. I love psychological thrillers, procedurals, and historical thrillers (and both of those sub genres have many branches), but rarely do I stray out from those. But sometimes I like to take a chance, and when I was approached with “Hanging the Devil” by Tim Maleeny, an action thriller with a heist theme at its center, I decided to give it a go. I like trying new things, and since it’s a new year I thought that it could be a good time to work on that, reading wise. It’s always a risk, and it wasn’t one that completely paid off in this case.

But first the good, and that probably applies to a LOT of people who could be a potential audience for it. The heist storyline, the international intrigue, and the cast of characters is the perfect combination for one of those 2000s and 2010s USA shows like “Burn Notice”, “Psych”, and “Monk”. Whether it’s sarcastic PI Cape Weathers or badass fighter Sally or precocious Grace, the characters are fun and fizzy and have the exact kind of jaunty chemistry that makes for a jovial cast. The action is very visual in the descriptions, and I had no problem visualizing it as I was reading it, from foot chases to fights to the helicopter crash from the jump. I also enjoyed the discussion of the ethics of art and museums and how collections came to be, and who has the rights to have the pieces and whether these pieces should be returned to their countries of origin. Repatriation of art has been a more discussed topic in recent years, and as someone who used to work in museums (one of which did have some discussion about repatriation regarding parts of its collection) it’s always gratifying to see themes like these discussed in places that I don’t expect it as much. It’s also important to note that this is the fifth book in an ongoing series, but Maleeny does a good enough job with the characters and the need to know information that I didn’t feel terribly lost even without the context of four prior outings with plot and character development.

But I think that at the end of the day, “Hanging the Devil” was a mismatched reading choice for me because I still just can’t quite get on board with heist stories. It’s a thriller sub genre that does very little for me, and while the focus was on the people who were trying to solve who was behind the heist and not the heist itself, it still felt within that kind of tale, and that, overall, doesn’t connect with me. I’m always trying to retry sub genres or story types that don’t suit me just in case something clicks, and enough about “Hanging the Devil” clicked that I found it entertaining (again, the similarities to the aforementioned TV shows really helped because I loved those kinds of shows back in the day). I think that fans of action packed thrillers dealing with underworld mayhem and daring do would probably like this book (and the rest of the series), so while it didn’t hit every mark I had hoped it would, it will probably hit them for fans of the sub genre and its conventions.

“Hanging the Devil” is entertaining and fast paced, an action thriller with humor and heart. If you consider yourself a fan of heist stories and the dramedies of the USA Network, it could be a fun read this winter!

Rating 6: It’s an entertaining romp that would work SUPER well on the screen, but overall the sub genre isn’t really the kind of thriller I connect with.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Hanging the Devil” isn’t included on any Goodreads lists as of yet, but it would fit in on “Thievery Tales”.

Serena’s Review: “Gothikana”

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Book: “Gothikana” by RuNyx

Publishing Info: Bramble, January 2024

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

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

Book Description: An unusual girl. An enigmatic man. An ancient castle. What could go wrong?

An outcast her entire life, Corvina Clemm is left adrift after losing her mother. When she receives the admission letter from the mysterious University of Verenmore, she accepts it as a sign from the universe. The last thing she expects though is an old, secluded castle on top of a mountain riddled with secrets, deceit, and death.

An enigma his entire life, Vad Deverell likes being a closed book but knowing exactly everything that happens in the university. A part-time professor working on his thesis, Vad has been around long enough to know the dangers the castle possesses. And he knows the moment his path crosses with Corvina, she’s dangerous to everything that he is.

They shouldn’t have caught each other’s eye. They cannot be. But a chill-inducing century-old mystery forces them to collide. People have disappeared every five years over the past century, Corvina is getting clues to unraveling it all, and Vad needs to keep an eye on her.

And so begins a tale of the mysterious, the morbid, the macabre, and a deep love that blossoms in the unlikeliest of places.

Review: I was eager to check out this book when I saw it was slated for publication from Tor this winter. For one thing, it was hugely popular as a self-published titled, and I always love to see indie authors picked up by large publishing companies. Second, Tor has had a great track record this last year for putting out some really great SFF books. I’ve reviewed a ton of them and almost all of them have been positive reviews. Third, the description for this book likens it to “Beauty and the Beast.” I’m a simple person: if you tell me a fantasy story is inspired by “Beauty and the Beast,” I’ll probably read it. So, where did all of this lead me? Well, unfortunately, to a pretty steep disappointment.

I do try to start with the positives, but unfortunately, I really don’t have a lot. Really, the best I can say is that the overall concept was creative. I was drawn in by the book description, and I think if the execution had been up to snuff, than it would have been enjoyable read. Also, a lot of people do like this book. I can’t say I understand why, but they do. So clearly there’s some positive appeal for readers here that I’m not seeing, and if you’re interested in this book, there are a whole lot of people out there who would say go for it!

For me, however, right away I knew there would be problems with the writing. I read an ARC version of this book, so I can’t confirm for a fact that some of my complaints won’t have been corrected in finalized versions, but I’m doubtful. Usually, the kinds of changes you’ll see between ARCs and finished versions are last minute spelling or punctuation problems, like a dropped period or something. But here, the writing failures were way beyond this. Honestly, I was a bit shocked. In many ways it read like a bad stereotype of what self-published books can be: clunky writing, odd word choices, lack of useful descriptions (we got enough superficial stuff about fashion to last a life time) leaving the reader stranded in a wasteland. The sentences structure would be fragmented on one page, and then fall into run-on sentences on the next. Honestly, within the first few chapters, the number of times I had to stop and re-read a sentence to try to understand what was being said was shocking. It was the kind of reading experience where I was spending more time mentally re-writing and re-structuring sentences than I did absorbing that actual story.

Moving beyond the actual functionality of the writing, the style itself was also frustrating. This is a perfect example of writing that simply tells you what you’re meant to feel and see, rather than making any sort of effort to lead readers along in an organic, “showing” manner. This style didn’t help the fact that this book very much felt like it was all vibes and no actual world-building. Whenever I stopped and tried to think about how some of the fantasy elements worked, I became frustrated. I kept waiting for some sort of resolution or explanation for various plot elements that were introduced, but by the end, it became clear that tight structure and plot was not the priority. Instead of addressing the various mysteries that are brought up, the book ends with a sputter…something something magic…something something the mountain itself! If the answer to your numerous mysteries in a FANTASY NOVEL is “whelp, magic” than you didn’t have any mysteries to begin with and what story are you even trying to tell here?

I also very much struggled with the romance. I didn’t care for either character, our leading lady or Vad (the name alone!). At best, it was under-developed and I couldn’t understand why either character was interested in the other. At worst, it wasn’t helped by dialogue that had me experiencing indirect embarrassment for the characters. This also had a hirer level of spice than I was anticipating, which isn’t necessarily the book’s fault. But what I’m coming to understand about myself as a romance reader and my approach to spice levels is that it has much less to do with how spicy the book is, and much more to do with the overall approach to these scenes. There are certain descriptive words that I just don’t like in my romance scenes. And there’s a very fine line where these sorts of scenes can stray into the corny, and the minute that happens, the romance is drained and it all gets a bit of an “ick” sheen. Again, this is going to be very subjective from one reader to another. But all of the problems I had with the writing in general just compounded the problems I had with the romance aspects.

Overall, I can’t recommend this book. The romance aspects are subjective, for sure, and some readers might like these sorts of spicy scenes. But the writing was actually just bad, and there’s no two ways about it. Romantasy is having a big moment currently, which means that readers can hold their books to higher standards than this one had to offer, I’m sorry to say.

Rating 5: Honestly, if I hadn’t requested an ARC, thus feeling more obligated to give it a full review, I would have DNF’d this within the first 25%, the writing was that bad.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Gothikana” isn’t on any Goodreads lists, but it should be on Popular Gothic Fantasy Books.

Kate’s Review: “The Nigerwife”

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

Book: “The Nigerwife” by Vanessa Walters

Publishing Info: Atria Books, May 2023

Where Did I Get This Book: The library!

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

Book Description: This twisty and electrifying debut novel about a young woman who goes missing in Lagos, Nigeria, and her estranged auntie who will stop at nothing to find the truth is perfect for fans of My Sister, the Serial Killer and The Last Thing He Told Me.

Nicole Oruwari has the perfect life: a handsome husband, a palatial house in the heart of glittering Lagos, Nigeria, and a glamorous group of friends. She left gloomy London and a dark family past behind for sunny, moneyed Lagos, becoming part of the Nigerwives—a community of foreign women married to wealthy Nigerian men.

But when Nicole disappears without a trace after a boat trip, the cracks in her so-called perfect life start to show. As the investigation turns up nothing but dead ends, her Auntie Claudine decides to take matters into her own hands. Armed with only a cell phone and a plane ticket to Nigeria, she digs into her niece’s life and uncovers a hidden side filled with dark secrets, isolation, and even violence. But the more she discovers about her niece, the more Claudine’s own buried history threatens to come to light.

An inventively told and keenly observant thriller where nothing is as it seems, The Nigerwife is a razor-sharp look at the bonds of family, the echoing consequences of secrets, and whether we can ever truly outrun our past.

Review: “The Nigerwife” by Jessica Walters is a thriller that had been on my list for awhile, but the wait at the library was long. Then when it finally did come in, my stack was so high that I had to send it back and re-request it as there was no way I could get to it. But once it did come back, I was pretty eager to check it out, as the cover and the description definitely made it sound like my kind of thriller, as well as one that had a setting I am not as familiar with. And overall, it was a pretty good reading experience.

There are a lot of things that I really enjoyed about this book. The narrative structure is one of those things, as we follow two perspectives, in two different moments in time. The first of the perspectives is that of Claudine, an English woman who has come to Lagos to search for her missing niece Nicole, who married into a wealthy Nigerian family and seemed to have it all. The other is of Rachel, in the weeks leading up to her disappearance, and seeing what her life was ACTUALLY like behind the veneer of perfection and wealth. Through both of these women we see the social structures, both of England AND Nigeria, and how they, in their own ways, keep women under the thumbs of violent patriarchy and misogyny. The mystery of what happened to Nicole slowly unfolds in her timeline, with a building suspense and dread as she finds herself more and more trapped due to her complicated marriage and some of the choices she makes when trying to push back against it, while in Claudine’s timeline we see just how precarious Nicole’s situation was from the outside. I liked seeing the perspectives of them both and how they had different clues to give the reader.

But unfortunately, after a really interesting dual perspective mystery with slowly peeled back layers and a nice bit of ambiguity along with closure, we had one of those ever-loathed moments where a last final reveal completely derailed my experience of reading this book. I’m not going to spoil anything here, but it’s one of those things that maybe works for some people, but REALLY didn’t work for me, as I didn’t understand what the point of it was. Why did this need to be tacked on in the last two pages? And it also left little explanation as to how we got from point A to point B, and since it was a literal ‘last pages’ twist there was no room to explore and expand upon it. I really hate it when stories do this unless you have REALLY set something up and earned this kind of narrative choice. Unfortunately I didn’t feel like “The Nigerwife did that.

So once again we get a thriller that goes off course due to a strange last moment choice, but up until then I really enjoyed the layers and ruminations of “The Nigerwife”. I will definitely be seeing what other mysteries and thrillers Vanessa Walters brings us in the future.

Rating 7: A complex and layered thriller that has a lot of interesting beats and details, though a strange and abrupt ending left a weird taste in my mouth.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Nigerwife” is included on the Goodreads list “Good Morning America Book Club List”.