Month: August 2024

Kate’s Review: “You Will Never Be Me”

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Book: “You Will Never Be Me” by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Publishing Info: Berkley, August 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: When cracks start forming in an influencer’s curated life, she finds out that jealousy is just as viral as a video in this riveting suspense novel by bestselling author Jesse Q. Sutanto.

Influencer Meredith Lee didn’t teach Aspen Palmer how to blossom on social media just to be ditched as soon as Aspen became big. So can anyone really blame Mer for doing a little stalking? Nothing serious, more like Stalking Lite.

Then Mer gets lucky; she finds one of Aspen’s kids’ iPads and swipes it. Now she has access to the family calendar and Aspen’s social media accounts. Would anyone else be able to resist tweaking things a little here and there, showing up in Aspen’s place for meetings with potential sponsors? Mer’s only taking back what she deserves—what should have been hers. 

Meanwhile, Aspen doesn’t understand why her perfectly filtered life is falling apart. Sponsors are dropping her, fellow influencers are ghosting her, and even her own husband seems to find her repulsive. If she doesn’t find out who’s behind everything, she might just lose it all. But what everyone seems to forget is that Aspen didn’t become one of TikTok’s biggest momfluencers by being naive.

When Meredith suddenly goes missing, Aspen’s world is upended and mysterious threats begin to arrive—but she won’t let anything get in the way of her perfect life again.

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

I’m really happy to see that more and more family influencers are getting called out, or at the very least more scrutinized, as of late. I think that the very public fall of Ruby Franke helped with this shift, but it’s been a long time coming. It’s probably not too shocking that as more of this has been in the public eye, more books involving family vloggers and family influencers have been cropping up. And I’ve been reaping the benefits, as this kind of plot is catnip for me. So I was obviously very interested in reading “You Will Never Be Me” by Jesse Q. Sutanto, which involves two mommy influencer frenemies named Mer and Aspen, who used to be tight but had a huge falling out that leads to Mer trying to wreck Aspen’s very curated public image. It all sounds great on paper. Sadly, in execution it didn’t get to the level I was hoping for.

You all know that I always start with the good when it comes to a book that I didn’t really connect with, and this time is no different. And the good is REALLY good and something that I don’t get to say too often: THERE IS A FANTASTIC TWIST THAT I DIDN’T SEE COMING IN THIS BOOK! I feel like so much of the time when I take on a thriller of a certain kind I have to complain about a twist that is either unearned, or thrown in at the last moment for shock value, or was easy to spot a mile away. None of these things happen in the big twist in “You Will Never Be Me”. In fact the moment it was revealed I said to myself ‘wait…. HOLD UP!?’, and jumped back to the beginning of the chapter to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. I’m not going to say anything here details wise, but Sutanto so expertly dropped it in in such an unexpected place and moment with such a subtle set up that I set my Kindle down for a moment just to process what I had just read. And it’s a bit of a one two punch as well, with a couple dimensions to the twist that made it all the more satisfying. This is how it’s done!

But unfortunately, well executed twist or not, there were a number of aspects to this book that didn’t work for me. For one, Mommy Blog and Influencer satire is starting to be seen more in books, with more and more scandals coming out about these kinds of accounts and more people starting to question what this kind of exposure and exploitation does to the children involved. Always pertinent points, and it can be really well done satire as well as social commentary on something that is becoming more and more talked about. But the problem here is that the examples in this are very heavy handed, even if I don’t necessarily disagree with them. One such example that sticks out is Meredith at one point admitting that she had her child via a sperm donor because she knew that the engagement would go up if she shifted from her initial platform into a mommy influencer like Aspen was. Again, I don’t doubt that on some level family influencers do view their children as content and the more content you have the more engagement you have (I think about the family that adopted an autistic boy from China to use it as a story their followers could keep up with, and then ‘rehomed’ him because he was too difficult and burst their perfect family ideal as presented to their followers). But I had a hard time believing that Mer would be so up front and flippant about it, and it just felt like it was just another way to show how awful she was. Which segues into my other gripe fairly well; both Mer and Aspen, the characters whose POVs we follow, are just really unsympathetic characters with not much depth, which makes it very hard to follow them. I am one hundred percent down for having unlikable characters as protagonists, especially in thrillers and ESPECIALLY if they are women (lord knows male characters get more passes in this way). But I want them to be at least interesting and rounded in their villainy. In this book they felt more like caricatures. Aspen had a little more depth as she feels the need to carry the financial burden in her home, especially since one of her children is diabetic, but we only barely scratched the surface with her. Mer felt like a full cartoon villain at times. I think that had there been a bit more exploration and complexity I could have swallowed it better, but as it was, it just didn’t ever click.

“You Will Never Be Me” didn’t quite live up to the high hopes I had for it. It was refreshing having such a stellar twist, but that wasn’t enough to save it.

Rating 5: A fantastic twist that came earlier than anticipated was well done, but it can’t save the facts that all of the characters are terrible and in a fun way and the satire doesn’t have much bite.

Reader’s Advisory:

“You Will Never Be Me” is included on the Goodreads list “Thrillers You Must Read!”.

Joint Review: “The Seventh Veil of Salome”

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Book: “The Seventh Veil of Salome” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Publishing Info: Del Rey, August 2024

Where Did We Get This Book: Kate received an eARC from NetGalley;

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

Book Description: A young woman wins the role of a lifetime in a film about a legendary heroine — but the real drama is behind the scenes in this sumptuous historical epic from the author of Mexican Gothic.

1950s Hollywood: Every actress wants to play Salome, the star-making role in a big-budget movie about the legendary woman whose story has inspired artists since ancient times.

So when the film’s mercurial director casts Vera Larios, an unknown Mexican ingenue, in the lead role, she quickly becomes the talk of the town. Vera also becomes an object of envy for Nancy Hartley, a bit player whose career has stalled and who will do anything to win the fame she believes she richly deserves.

Two actresses, both determined to make it to the top in Golden Age Hollywood—a city overflowing with gossip, scandal, and intrigue—make for a sizzling combination.

But this is the tale of three women, for it is also the story of the princess Salome herself, consumed with desire for the fiery prophet who foretells the doom of her stepfather, Herod: a woman torn between the decree of duty and the yearning of her heart.

Before the curtain comes down, there will be tears and tragedy aplenty in this sexy Technicolor saga.

Kate’s Thoughts

I am always game to read a new book by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, as she has truly proven herself to be a literary powerhouse who can easily jump from genre to genre. She has done horror, fantasy, Sci-Fi, romance, thrillers, she really nails every genre she takes on. Because of this I was very excited for “The Seventh Veil of Salome”, as not only was it a historical fiction novel, it also had a focus on 1950s Hollywood and all the glitz, glamor, and tragedy that comes with it. As someone who loves that kind of thing, I went in with very high hopes.

I can safely say that this was a bit of a mixed bag for me in spite of my high hopes. But that has a bit less to do with execution and more to do with my expectations, I am willing to bet. Mostly because I have absolutely no background knowledge of the story of Salome, being someone who grew up with no religion in her life and no experience with even the Biblical epics of Hollywood from this time (no I haven’t seen “The Ten Commandments”, or “Ben-Hur”, or “The Greatest Story Ever Told”, or anything like that). I had never even heard of her until I picked up this book, and I feel like that made the parts of the book that followed her not as interesting as they could have been. I had no way to understand what Moreno-Garcia was doing with her story and how it was subverting or reinterpreting the original story, and I found myself skimming those sections. That said, I REALLY enjoyed the parts of the book that followed Vera Larios, a recently discovered actress from Mexico who is set to play Salome in a 1950s Biblical epic, as Moreno-Garcia really captured the way that Hollywood was such a fantasy, but also cutthroat, racist, and misogynistic, especially in the time of the studios having lots of power and morality codes running amok. Watching Vera rise and fall, due to the nastiness of those surrounding her, was compelling and incredibly engaging.

So while some of “The Seventh Veil of Salome” was a bit lost on me, the Hollywood plot was really well done. Silvia Moreno-Garcia has done it again!

Serena’s Thoughts

In the funny way that these things tend to work, I had the opposite experience of this book while also coming to the same ultimate conclusion! In the end (as you’ll see), I rated this one the same as Kate did, as certain parts worked well for me, but other didn’t as much. The opposite part is that I was much more invested in the Biblical story of Salome than I was in the Hollywood story! Even with a fairly thorough understanding of Bible stories, Salome is not a character who is often explored. She has a throw-away scene that is rarely explored in any depth, which makes her the ideal character for a story such as this that attempts to flesh her out into a more actualized character. I found her entire story fascinating (though I’ll admit that having familiarity with Bible stories and history will likely help readers in this part). I also enjoy historical fiction, so simply genre-wise, this was the part of the story that connected with the type of book I often gravitate towards.

However, the Hollywood story was a bit more of a mixed bag. It seems that Moreno-Garcia is on a bit of a kick with old-time movies as her last book also focused on the history of Mexican cinematography. Unfortunately for me, I’m not really interested in these topics, so they don’t hit as well for me as they do for fans of Hollywood and cinema history. That said, I was pleased to see the return of Moreno-Garcia’s classic POV villain. She excels at writing characters you love-to-hate, and here was another classic example! That said, like Kate with the Salome story, I did find myself skimming through some of the Hollywood story lines.

I think the take-away here is that there is no denying this author’s talent, especially at genre-hopping and taking on obscure stories and points in history. This one is a combination of two very different storylines, so parts may work for certain readers, and other parts for other readers. Or you’ll be that unicorn reader who has been on the look-out for a book that covers lesser-known Bible characters AND Hollywood history!

Kate’s Rating 7: I really enjoyed the Hollywood parts, but the actual story of Salome dragged a bit for me at times. All in all, a solid historical fiction tale from a literary chameleon!

Serena’s Rating 7: On the other hand, I really enjoyed the Bible characters parts, but struggled more with the Hollywood storyline. However, the author remains an incredibly solid writer and I can’t wait to check out her next title!

Reader’s Advisory

“The Seventh Veil of Salome” is included on the Goodreads lists “Best Hollywood and Theatre Fiction”, and “Anticipated Literary Reads for Readers of Color 2024”.

Serena’s Review: “Apprentice to the Villain”

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Book: “Apprentice to the Villain” by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

Publishing Info: Penguin, August 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from a marketer!

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

Book Description: From the creator of the viral TikTok videos about the sunshine assistant to the evil villain and their unexpected romance comes the second book in the hotly-anticipated fantasy romance series.

Review: This one might come a bit as a surprise, as I didn’t review the first book when it came out last summer. But I did read it! I just didn’t have that many thoughts to add to the conversation. I mostly thought it was fine, verging on having a lot of potential with some of the snappier moments of writing. With this in mind, I was excited to check this one out when the marketer contacted me about reading and reviewing the sequel this summer! Let’s dive in!

I will say, now that I have read this book, I feel that a review for the first book is even less necessary than it was before! In that, many of my opinions from that book transferred over to this one. This was probably most notable in areas that were frustrating in them both, but some of the aspects that I thought were strengths came even more into their own here. For one thing, I think the writing is very fun and engaging. Even when I was perhaps suppressing an eyeroll or two, I was still compulsively reading at break-neck pace! That was true in the first book and was just as true here. In fact, I’d say the writing improved overall. Most notably, perhaps, I think some of the comedy aspects of this one landed better. (Though, I’ve had a rough summer with comedic fantasy novels, so sometimes I worry that I may just be desperately searching for one that works at all!)

However, I still struggled with the characterization of the female main character, Evie. Look, I enjoyed the “grumpy/sunshine” romance trope as much as the next person, but there is a very fine line between writing a “sunshine”/optimistic character and writing one that comes across as a rather air-headed child. And unfortunately, both in the first book and here, that’s the case for Evie. Some of this comes down to word-choice on the author’s part, often using turns of phrases repeatedly, such as “scrunches her nose,” that does nothing to portray Evie as a serious character. When paired with the romantic hero (generally a better written character, especially in this second book), it leads to a bit of an “ick” factor. If we weren’t given an age, Evie could read like a 13-year old girl with the way she is described and her incredible levels of naivete at points. While I think the more plot-focused approach that this book took helped it some in comparison to the first, I still found myself disappointed by this portrayal, and due to this, the romance itself.

All of this said, I know that the first book was wildly popular, and as this one is much of the same, I have no doubt that it, too, will be well-received. If you’re looking for tight plotting or deeper character arcs, I don’t think this series is for you. But if you’re wanting a fast, at times quite fun, ride than you might enjoy this.

Rating 7: If you enjoyed the first book, this one will be for you. But many of my personal struggles there carried over here as well, particularly with regards to the child-like characterization of the heroine.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Assistant to the Villain” can be found on these Goodreads lists: In Her Villain Era and Witchy Fall Vibes

Serena’s Review: “The Coven”

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Book: “The Coven” by Harper L. Woods

Publishing Info: Bramble, August 2024

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

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

Book Description: Raised to be my father’s weapon against the Coven that took away his sister and his birthright, I would do anything to protect my younger brother from suffering the same fate. My duty forces me to the secret town of Crystal Hollow and the prestigious Hollow’s Grove University―where the best and brightest of my kind learn to practice their magic free from human judgment.

There are no whispered words here. No condemnation for the blood that flows through my veins. The only animosity I face comes from the beautiful and infuriating Headmaster, Alaric Grayson Thorne, a man who despises me just as much as I loathe him and everything he stands for.

But that doesn’t mean secrets don’t threaten to tear the school in two. No one talks about the bloody massacre that forced it to close decades prior, only the opportunity it can afford to those fortunate enough to attend.

Because for the first time in fifty years, the Coven will open its wards to the Thirteen.

Thirteen promising students destined to change the world.

If the ghosts of Hollow’s Grove’s victims don’t kill them first.

Review: So, I’ll be honest, I was a bit nervous going into this one, because based on the description alone I was getting strong “Gothikana” vibes. And we all remember how I felt about that… That said, there was a reason I picked that book up in the first place, and it’s the same one that drew my interest in this book: dark academia! I’m also always down for gothic vibes and romance. Though, I’m always a bit concerned when we venture too far into the realm of “student/teacher” type love stories. But let’s see how this one did!

Well, I did struggle a bit with this one, but it was definitely not the complete dumpster fire that was “Gothikana,” so at least we’re moving in the right direction! For one thing, this one was simply better written. The prose flows fairly well and, for the most part, the dialogue feels natural. And since we’re starting with writing, I’ll say that the spicy scenes were on the better side as well. This, of course, is very subjective, but I often find myself cringing during many authors’ approach to intimate scenes, but these seemed to be on the better side, avoiding many of the pitfalls I personally struggle with.

I also enjoyed the start of the book and meeting the main character, Willow. Her magical abilities were interesting and her backstory for why she was coming in to the school late felt like it was leading to a good arc. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the male main character, Gray. Not only does the book lean hard into “insta-love” between these two, but Gray is a fairly unlikable character all around. Now, to be fair, the author did provide a note in the beginning of the book about this character’s villainous tendencies, so I can’t say that I wasn’t warned. At the same time, he’s truly unlikable! There’s a fine line between writing a love interest who falls on the darker side of things, and then writing one who is just a manipulative jerk and a walking red flag. Gray is definitely the latter. So much so that I felt even more attached to Willow purely on a maternal level in that I kept wanting to dive into the book and be like “Girl, no!”

The plot was also all over the place. Things were happening, sure, but at times it felt almost random. Plot points would be introduced, dropped, re-visited and discarded at any given moment. It was incredibly difficult to know what exactly I was meant to be focusing in on at any moment, and this erratic approach to plotting left the pacing very off. I found myself becoming more bored than I should have been, given the amount of action that was taking place. But if all of the plot pieces are as disconnected as these, it’s almost the same as having no plot in the first place.

Overall, this was just an ok read. I’ll probably check out the second one, just because I’m trying to give more authors/series a second chance, but I do have concerns, based on this book. There is potential here, but the balance between the “romance” (insta-love) and the actual plot of the story felt off. I’d say readers who enjoy very villainous, dark romantic leads are the most likely to enjoy this one. But if you’re at all wary on that front, probably best to pass this one up.

Rating 7: There was potential in the main character and some of the fantasy elements, but I hated the male main character way too much to bump this one further up.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Coven” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Best Romantasy Books from Indie Authors in 2023 and Red Flowers – Covers.

Kate’s Review: “Scanlines”

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Book: “Scanlines” by Todd Keisling

Publishing Info: Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing, May 2021

Where Did I Get This Book: I own it.

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

Book Description: In 1987, Congressman Benjamin Hardy III died by suicide on live television amidst accusations of political corruption. Years later, rumors of a recording surfaced among VHS trading groups and urban legend chat rooms. Dubbed the “Duncan Tape,” after the deceased cameraman who attempted to sell the video, the rumors allege that anyone who watches the tape is driven to suicide.

Or so the story goes. In truth, no one has ever seen the supposed Duncan Tape, presumably because it doesn’t exist. It’s a ghost story perpetuated on the forums and chat rooms of the internet, another handful of bytes scattered across the Information Superhighway at blistering 56K modem speeds.

For Robby and his friends, an urban legend is the last thing on their minds when a boring Friday night presents a chance to download porn. But the short clip they watch turns out to be something far more graphic and disturbing, and in the coming days, they’ll learn even the most outlandish urban legends possess a shred of truth…

Review: Every once in awhile I decide that I need to do a bit of a ‘Spring cleaning’ on my Kindle, in that I look back at books that I purchased on a whim and then never actually read. It’s such a bad habit of mine, and it’s even worse on the Kindle because since it’s digital I never actually have a physical space that is taken up by said purchase. So a couple weeks ago I was looking at my purchases, and decided it was time to pick a book to read. I opted to go with “Scanlines” by Todd Keisling, in part because it was a novella and therefore a quicker read, but also because I remembered that a lot of horror influencers had raved about it, which led to me purchasing it. I settled in one evening, knowing I would no doubt finish it in one sitting, but I wasn’t really prepared for what I found. But that’s a compliment.

“Scanlines” is a mix of a cursed media horror story with a coming of age tale, short and brutal while also having a certain nostalgic edge to it. We follow Robby, a teenager living in the 1990s in an age of dial up Internet and a lingering naïveté about the world wide web. When Robby and his friends stumble upon the notorious “Duncan Tape”, a video of a U.S. Congressman killing himself on camera and becoming stuff of urban legend (as anyone who watches it will supposedly kill themself), their lives are sent into a tailspin. This alone is already great, I love a cursed media story as it is. But “Scanlines” is incredibly clever in that it takes Internet urban legends, the violence that was so Wild West at the time (Rotten.com anyone?), and the very real suicide video of U.S. Congressman R. Budd Dwyer, and creates something deeply unsettling. And graphic. I mean the cover alone! We watch as these teenagers start to see a dead man everywhere, haunting their every step, and their desperation to solve what he could possibly want as his image follows their every move and makes them more and more desperate. The descriptions of the video, the descriptions of the twisted face, the way that these kids just unravel, it’s all so messed up and scary, and Keisling fits it all into a novella’s length without it feeling lacking or rushed. The scares are tight and relentless, and the imagery got under my skin very effectively.

But what really caught my attention with this novella is how it really captures the nostalgia of the time period. I was a teenager in the late 90s into the early 2000s, and while my Internet connection at home was pretty sparse (AOL hooked up through the home phone for awhile, then we eventually got a separate line but it was still pretty minimal), I do remember stumbling upon things that scandalized me (not the Dwyer tape thank goodness), and how it all felt so novel and like uncharted territory. Keisling has a great author’s note to go along with this book talking about how this story took some inspiration from something that did actually happen to him and his friends back in the day, and that exploration of the friendships between Robby and his friend group and the ways that dynamic functioned and changed after experiencing a shared trauma added a whole other layer to this story, pulling out some nostalgic aspects of teenage friendships as they shift and evolve, especially when life changing things happen. I found it to be moving in spite of the pretty visceral violent moments in this book. It’s a very fascination dichotomy in tone, and I thought it worked really well.

“Scanlines” was an effective horror novella that I shouldn’t have sat on for so long. I will absolutely seen to check out more from work Todd Keisling.

Rating 8: Short and nasty but also a meditative coming of age tale, “Scanlines” is a rough ride, but one that I found myself oddly moved by in a way.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Scanlines” is included on the Goodreads list “Cursed Media”.

Serena’s Review: “Ghostsmith”

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

Book: “Ghostsmith” by Nicki Pau Preto

Publishing Info: Margaret K. McElderry Books, August 2024

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

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

Book Description: In this action-packed finale to the House of the Dead Duology, Wren and her friends put everything they know to the test as they battle the living and the undead to save their world.

Wren is still reeling from the revelation that the mother she thought was dead is actually the Corpse Queen, a ghostsmith with the terrifying power to control the undead. It was Wren’s own mother who created the iron revenants—an army of near unbeatable undead soldiers. When the iron revenants attack, no one in the Dominions will have the strength to stand in their way.

Now Wren, Leo, and Julian find themselves once more in the Breach, this time on the run from Wren’s father, who is determined to secure more power for himself and the House of Bone. The three are desperate to stop the upcoming war, but working together is easier said than done with Julian still furious about Wren double-crossing him. And to make matters worse, Wren is plagued by powerful new abilities that force her to reassess everything she knows about being a bonesmith.

When Wren’s long-lost twin brother shows up and vows to help her destroy the well of magic that feeds the iron revenants, she must decide if trusting him is worth potentially playing right into their mother’s hands.

After all, the dead might be dangerous, but it’s the living who can betray you.

Previously Reviewed: “Bonesmith”

Review: I remember picking up “Bonesmith” last summer with some trepidation. I was mostly reading it because it was an upcoming selection in a book box I subscribe to and wanted to decide whether or not to skip it, as I’d read a book by this author before and not been overly impressed. Well, more fool me, I absolutely loved the first entry in this duology! It had a unique fantasy world, a badass leading character, and a well-paced enemies-to-lovers romance. It also ended on not necessarily a cliffhanger, per see, but with a few major reveals and betrayals shaking things up. So, let’s find out how well the story was wrapped up here in the second book!

For the most part, I think this was an incredibly successful conclusion to the story. I had a few niggling qualms here or there, but, overall, the story came together nicely. While the first book did a lot of the heavy lifting with regards to introducing this world and its magic, with the (re)introduction of ghost smiths and ghost magic in the latter half of that story, this book still had a lot of new territory to cover. In particular, I was impressed by how carefully many of the reveals were used throughout the book. As the plot progresses, little bits of lore are dropped in here and there, steadily fleshing out the history and culture of the lost ghost smiths until, by the end, the climax revolves fully around this history and the uses of this style of magic. For the large amount of new information that was necessary to build this ending, I was impressed by how organically this knowledge was fed to the reader. There were no clunky info-dumping sections or dialogue that was obviously just there as exposition. It was very skillfully done.

I also enjoyed the continuation of the darker tone of this duology. There is humor to be found in Wren’s dialogue and inner commentary, but much of the plot is quite serious and dealing with fairly gruesome magic. In this book, this was balanced out by an increased depth of emotion found in the relationships on the page. Not only is there the romance between Wren and Julian, challenged by the betrayals and reveals from the previous book, but the story also tackles many different familial ties as well. Wren’s entire family history is one big knot of tragedy and abuse, but by the middle point of this story, it almost feels like she got the easy side of things! Instead, her newly found brother’s past is littered with even more tragedy and disfunction than Wren herself endured. While Wren’s life was ruled by a distant father figure, her brother has dealt with the abuse found at the hands of a manipulative and selfish mother. We also see their sibling bond explored as the story progresses, adding an interesting new dynamic to Wren’s approach to the problems before her.

I continued to love Wren as a main character, and her growth in this book felt natural and interesting. Her arc was one of coming to turns with her own magic, as well as with the family history that she is only know beginning to understand. However, throughout it all, she maintained her snappy attitude and “barge right through it” mentality to problem solving.

That said, my main point of struggle came down to the other character perspectives, specifically Leo’s and, new to this book, Inara’s. Now, there was nothing actually wrong with either of these character’s stories. And, in fact, I’d say that I really enjoyed Inara as a new voice in the book. But it did feel as if both characters’ stories were simply there to provide a window into action scenes that were taking place in different parts of the world and didn’t serve any actual character purpose on their own. Leo, especially, could have been almost lifted from this entire book with no one the wiser.

I also felt that we had too little time spent between Wren and Julian. On one hand, I understand this, as this book’s driving relationship was much more focused on Wren and her brother. And that story was fantastic! That said, I still felt as if there were only a brief few scenes where these two really even interacted. It was great stuff when they did, but I still wanted more. Perhaps a better balance between some of Leo’s more unnecessary chapters and these scenes between Wren and Julian would have helped round out the story better.

That said, I found this book to be an epic conclusion to the duology! The climax of the story, in particular, was action-packed and thrilling. The story may have suffered a bit from “Return of the King”-style multiple endings by the very finish, but, as I still wanted all of those scenes, I’m not sure what I would have done differently there. If you enjoyed the first book, you can rest assured that the conclusion is well-earned and satisfying!

Rating 8: Bone-chilling at times and full of heart at others, this duology has it all!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Ghostsmith” can be found on this Goodreads list: YA Novels of 2024

Kate’s Review: “Through the Midnight Door”

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

Book: “Through the Midnight Door” by Katrina Monroe

Publishing Info: Poisoned Pen Press, August 2024

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

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

Book Description: As emotional as it is haunting, Through the Midnight Door explores the sometimes-fragile bonds of sisterhood and the way deeply rooted trauma can pass from generation to generation.

The Finch sisters once spent long, hot summers exploring the dozens of abandoned properties littering their dying town―until they found an impossible home with an endless hall of doors…and three keys left waiting for them. Curious, fearless, they stepped inside their chosen rooms, and experienced horrors they never dared speak of again.

Now, years later, youngest sister Claire has been discovered dead in that old, desiccated house. Haunted by their sister’s suicide and the memories of a past they’ve struggled to forget, Meg and Esther find themselves at bitter odds.

As they navigate the tensions of their brittle relationship, they draw unsettling lines between Claire’s death, their own haunted memories, and a long-ago loss no one in their family has ever been able to face.

With the house once again pulling them ever closer, Meg and Esther must find the connection between their sister’s death and the shadow that has chased them across the years…before the darkness claims them, too.

Review: Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for sending me an ARC of this novel!

Given how much I enjoyed Katrina Monroe’s previous novel “Graveyard of Lost Children”, I definitely had any new books that she would be writing on my radar. So obviously when Poisoned Pen Press reached out with “Through the Midnight Door” I was eager to accept and get my hands on it. I always love having an author whose works I can look forward to, and I had pretty high hopes to be freaked out once again while also being put through the emotional ringer.

This was a bit of a tone shift from Monroe’s previous novel, as while that one did feel like a straight up horror story, “Through the Midnight Door” feels a bit more like a dark fantasy with horror elements. But that was fine, because the horror elements were ON POINT, with very creepy visuals being described, a building sense of dread, and a lot of moments that had some solid jump scare moments in book form. I am very freaked out by descriptions of body movements being strange or jerky or things along those lines, and there were a few beats that had me wound up with how Monroe executed this trope. And as a dark fantasy it also worked really well, with weird dreamy aspects (like keys that can appear in the strangest, and sometimes nastiest, ways, or an impossible house with many doors) that pepper throughout the story that makes it feel almost fairy tale-esque. Dark fantasy is absolutely my favorite fantasy sub-genre, and this story definitely has an eerie fantastical air about it. I do wish that it had been a little more scary at times, but hey, that’s a personal preference and probably based on my own expectations.

As I was reading this, I was getting some serious “The Haunting of Hill House” vibes, the Mike Flanagan miniseries version, as we are not only exploring a literal haunting, but also the ways that our past, our childhood experiences, our family dysfunction, our trauma and grief, can also haunt a person. As we follow Meg and Esther as they are trying to find out what happened to Claire in the present, we also get glimpses into their childhood not only in regards to the impossible house that changed their lives, but also into their relationships with their parents, the losses they suffered, and how their traumas have shaped them as well as how it all shaped Claire. Meg and Esther love each other but are also in constant hurt and wary of each other, and following them as they are trying to confront their past and trying to leave it behind has a pretty solid emotional punch. Monroe has once again effortlessly conveyed the layers and complexity to her characterizations, and I found Meg and Esther to be very realistic and easy to understand, motivation wise.

“Through the Midnight Door” is another heart-rendering spooky tale from Katrina Monroe. Not as scary as I had hoped, but it absolutely hit the right levels of pathos and family angst and healing.

Rating 7: Less frightening than anticipated, but still an emotional gut punch with some creepy moments, “Through the Midnight Door” is a dark fantasy family drama sure to appeal during the upcoming Halloween season.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Through the Midnight Door” is included on the Goodreads list “Can’t Wait Sci-Fi/Fantasy of 2024”.

Book Club Review: “Superman Smashes the Klan”

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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. This June we celebrated our 10 year anniversary of book club. So in celebration of that milestone, we are re-visiting authors we read way back in those first few years of our book club. 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: “Superman Smashes the Klan” by Gene Luen Yang & Gurihiru (Ill.)

Publishing Info: DC Zoom, May 2020

Where Did We Get This Book: Kate owns it; Serena got it from the library!

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

Repeat Author: Gene Luen Yang

Book Description: The year is 1946, and the Lee family has moved from Chinatown to Downtown Metropolis. While Dr. Lee is eager to begin his new position at the Metropolis Health Department, his two kids, Roberta and Tommy, are more excited about being closer to the famous superhero Superman!

Tommy adjusts quickly to the fast pace of their new neighborhood, befriending Jimmy Olsen and joining the club baseball team, while his younger sister Roberta feels out of place when she fails to fit in with the neighborhood kids. She’s awkward, quiet, and self-conscious of how she looks different from the kids around her, so she sticks to watching people instead of talking to them.

While the Lees try to adjust to their new lives, an evil is stirring in Metropolis: the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan targets the Lee family, beginning a string of terrorist attacks. They kidnap Tommy, attack the Daily Planet, and even threaten the local YMCA. But with the help of Roberta’s keen skills of observation, Superman is able to fight the Klan’s terror, while exposing those in power who support them–and Roberta and Superman learn to embrace their own unique features that set them apart.

Kate’s Thoughts

This isn’t the first time I’ve read this book, as I’m sure some of you will remember that I reviewed it a couple years ago (and it even ended up on my Best Of list that year). But I knew that when I was going to select an author to revisit I was going to to Gene Luen Yang, and “Superman Smashes the Klan” just seemed like the correct choice. And my opinion hasn’t changed too much since I first read it. I still really love this graphic novel.

Yang takes a very heavy (but still all too relevant) story about racism and prejudice in America, f0llowing the Lees, a Chinese American who have just moved to a predominantly white neighborhood in Metropolis after living in Chinatown, in the 1940s. As they all have their own strategies (and struggles) in adjusting, it doesn’t help that the Klan of the Fiery Cross (a clear analog to the KKK) has started targeting them. Meanwhile, Superman befriends the Lees, and his still coming to terms with his own identity, as an alien who has tried to pass as human when he is Clark Kent, and who is revered in his Superman identity, though he knows that people could shift on him at the drop of a hat. I loved the comparing and contrasting of the Lees and Superman and their inner conflicts about how to assimilate and how to be ‘ideal’ without being threatening. Yang actually took a previous story from the Superman radio show and expanded it in this story, and he makes it so easily accessible to his target audience, making it very digestable and very relatable and readable. And as I said, the themes in this book of racism and bigotry and Othering are still far too relevant, which makes it all the more necessary reading for kids, and packaged so well with such a fantastic interpretation of a beloved comic character who always symbolizes the very best of us.

“Superman Smashes the Klan” is still a fantastic read. I enjoyed it just as much this time as the first time, and it fostered from great conversations in our book club.

Serena’s Thoughts:

Unlike Kate, I hadn’t read this one before. But like Kate, I am a massive Superman fan, so was excited to check it out! And I can definitely see what all the fuss was about! This was an excellent graphic novel in pretty much every way.

The story manages to take on some very heavy themes (pretty easy to guess which based on the title alone) but does so in a manner that is both approachable to kids and useful to adults. Even more impressive, for covering some difficult topics, the reading experience is still an expression of joy and hope. I think this is incredibly important for any Superman story and was pleased to see how well the overall tone of Superman was captured. This probably shouldn’t be a surprise as I know that the author has written other Superman stories as well.

I particularly enjoyed the exploration of the immigrant experience and how Superman’s own alien origins played into this. As most Superman fans know, the character was originally presented without the ability to fly, only the ability to “jump over tall buildings.” Here, that idea is taken on and presented as Superman’s concerns of expressing his full abilities due to an incident when he was younger in which the people of Smallville reacted with fear to the full range of his “otherness.” It was such an interesting way of tackling not only an interesting fact about the character but of the many challenges of the immigrant experience.

I also very much appreciated the historical aspects of the story, especially author’s note at the end that went into more details about the origins of the story itself. This is a great read for any Superman fan and well worth a read!

Kate’s Rating 9: Still a great read and still all too relevant, “Superman Smashes the Klan” is a fantastic piece of historical fiction and a wonderful look at the immigrant experience in the face of prejudice, whether you are from Earth or Krypton.

Serena’s Rating 8: Tackling tough topics while maintaining the sense of hope in humankind that is so crucial to the Superman mythos.

Book Club Questions

  1. What did you think of the story of the Lee Family and how it brings together a story of culture, assimilation, racism, and identity?
  2. Were you familiar with some of the timelines described in this book in regards to the KKK in this country’s history? Did any of these revelations surprise you?
  3. What were your thoughts on the comparison and contrast between Superman’s experience as an Other and that of the Lee family?
  4. Did you enjoy how Yang incorporated Superman’s original leaping powers into this story, as well as other powers that evolved over time?
  5. What were your thoughts on the reveal of the identity behind the Grand Mogul? What do you think Yang was trying to say with that twist?
  6. Let’s talk about the different kinds of racism and bigotry in this book, from out and out Klansmen to more ‘acceptable’ and covert forms of racism (i.e. Chuck’s mom, even Mr. Lee’s prejudice against Black people). Thoughts on that?
  7. Who would you recommend this book to? How would you use it as a connector to today’s social issues?

Reader’s Advisory

“Superman Smashes the Klan” is included on the Goodreads lists “Superheroes, Comics, and Social Justice”, and “Best of Superman”.

Next Book Club Pick: “Summer Days and Summer Nights” by Stephanie Perkins (Ed.)

Serena’s Review: “A Sorceress Comes to Call”

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Book: “A Sorceress Comes to Call” by T. Kingfisher

Publishing Info: Tor, August 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley!

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

Book Description: Cordelia knows her mother is unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms, and her mother doesn’t allow Cordelia to have a single friend—unless you count Falada, her mother’s beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him. But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren’t sorcerers.

After a suspicious death in their small town, Cordelia’s mother insists they leave in the middle of the night, riding away on Falada’s sturdy back, leaving behind all Cordelia has ever known. They arrive at the remote country manor of a wealthy older man, the Squire, and his unwed sister, Hester. Cordelia’s mother intends to lure the Squire into marriage, and Cordelia knows this can only be bad news for the bumbling gentleman and his kind, intelligent sister.

Hester sees the way Cordelia shrinks away from her mother, how the young girl sits eerily still at dinner every night. Hester knows that to save her brother from bewitchment and to rescue the terrified Cordelia, she will have to face down a wicked witch of the worst kind.

Review: I can’t emphasize enough just how much self-control it has taken to diligently get through my June and July books before reading this one. Thanks to NetGalley/Edelweiss/publishers, I have the opportunity to read these books sometimes months in advance, and man is it tempting to skip right to my most-anticipated titles! But, at last, here we are! Another T. Kingfisher book to review!

It’s hard for me to say which type of Kingfisher book I like best. I’ve love all of the original fantasy books that she’s written that exist within one world (there are several different series and a few stand-alones all in this same world). I’ve enjoyed her horror stories, several of which Kate and I have joint reviewed on the blog. And then, of course, I’ve gobbled up her fairy-tale re-imagings. This book is one of the latter, this time seeing Kingfisher tackle a loose re-telling of “The Goose Girl.”

Honestly, I’m not as familiar with this fairtyale as I am with others, but in some ways that may have worked in my favor. Not only did I not have expectations about which story beats needed to be hit when, but I was also better able to flow with the shifts in focus that Kingfisher took in the story. That said, there are elements that she takes from the original and twists in very…um…disturbing ways! If you’re familiar with the original story, you’ll remember that the talking horse companion ends up meeting a fairly grisly fate. Kingfisher saw that version of the story and decided to raise the creepiness factor to about an 11! (Another side note: I love reading her author note’s at the end because they are often just as entertaining as the book itself. This time it was particularly funny because as I read this book, I found myself getting stuck on the thought that this author sure does write a lot of creepy horses. And then low and behold, in her author’s note she goes “You may be wondering just what my problem with horses is…” Why, yes, I was! I won’t spoil the explanation, but it’s as amusing as everything else from her!)

One of the things that most impresses me about Kingfisher’s work is the manner in which she balances many different tones all in one, fairly contained book. In this story, we not only have the trappings of a re-told fairytale, but we have comedy, we have tragedy, we have romance, and we have a healthy dose of horror. And none of these elements over shine the others! I will say, the horror aspects stand out particularly well in this one. Not only with the aforementioned horse, but also with the sorceress herself and her disturbing powers. Up to the very end, I was on the edge of my seat worrying how our characters were going to get out of this situation!

I also loved all of the characters. And again, I’m impressed by how Kingfisher works against stereotypes in this area. I personally often struggle with child/middle school aged main characters, but Cordelia was a fantastic lead character. She was believably written for her age while also serving an important role within the story. It’s all too easy to have young characters in books like this who are either side-lined because there is nothing for them to contribute, or are written in a way that makes them come off as a person much older than they are. Not so here!

But I loved Hester most of all, the 50-year old woman who first suspects that there is something strange about Cordelia and her beautiful mother. This was perhaps less of a surprise, as I’ve now read several older women characters written by this author and they have all been fantastic! I also very much enjoyed the love story here, though it was definitely a sub plot to the challenge of the dealing with Cordelia’s mother. That said, while I loved the romance, this is also where the book fell from a 10 to a 9. Throughout the book, we get great insight into Hester’s mindset and the mental challenges she’s faced with aging and her perception of herself as a romantic partner. This was all excellent and incredibly relatable. But as the story continued, I never felt like this was truly resolved. The romantic interest is never brought into what Hester is thinking, and as this has impacted their decades-long one-and-off relationship, it really felt like he deserved to understand what was going on here. We didn’t need to have a “Hallmark moment” type scene, but some sort of resolution on this front would have really tied it together.

So, no surprise here, I loved this book! I’ve had my pre-order in for months now, and I as justified as ever in continuing to buy her books the second they come available! Fans of fairytale re-tellings should definitely check this one out, as well as any/all Kingfisher fans out there!

Rating 9: Truly a master storyteller! Kingfisher makes the process of jumping from genre to genre look easy!

Reader’s Advisory:

“A Sorceress Comes to Call” can be found on these Goodreads lists: My favorite Fairytale Fantasy novels. and The Goose Girl Retellings.

Kate’s Review: “Welcome to St. Hell”


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Book: “Welcome to St. Hell: My Trans Teen Misadventure” by Lewis Hancox

Publishing Info: Graphix, June 2022

Where Did I Get This Book: I own it.

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

Book Description: A groundbreaking memoir about being a trans teen, in the vein of FUN HOME and FLAMER… and at the same time entirely its own.

Lewis has a few things to say to his younger teen self. He knows she hates her body. He knows she’s confused about who to snog. He knows she’s really a he and will ultimately realize this… but she’s going to go through a whole lot of mess (some of it funny, some of it not funny at all) to get to that point. Lewis is trying to tell her this… but she’s refusing to listen.

In WELCOME TO ST. HELL, author-illustrator Lewis Hancox takes readers on the hilarious, heartbreaking, and healing path he took to make it past trauma, confusion, hurt, and dubious fashion choices in order to become the man he was meant to be. It’s a remarkable, groundbreaking graphic memoir from an unmistakably bold new voice in comics.

Review: I remember that last year at some point I found myself in St. Paul all by my lonesome, and I decided to check out my favorite Twin Cities book store The Red Balloon Bookshop. It focuses on children’s and young adult literature, though you can find adult lit there too. I like supporting them as much as I can, and decided to treat myself to a spontaneous book purchase. Since I’m not a spontaneous person this kind of winging it can stress me out, but pretty quickly I saw “Welcome to St. Hell: My Trans Teen Misadventure” by Lewis Hancox. I had not heard of it but decided this was the spontaneous purchase! And then I let it sit on my shelf for awhile, as I tend to do sometimes. But then I decided to pick it up on a whim, and once I started, I was kicking myself for waiting for so long.

This is a pretty straight forward story, following Lewis Hancox as he tells us his experience of being a trans teenager before coming out and fully realizing his gender identity, starting as a tween in 1999 and going through the beginning of his transition years later. I didn’t know what to expect about this book, but what I found was a very personal and in a lot of ways very hopeful and optimistic story as Lewis, then known as Lois, slowly realizes his transness. The device used is having present day Lewis visiting and dipping in on past Lois, explaining the context of what he was going through at the time and assuring Lois that things will ultimately be alright. It’s a fast read, and I found it very readable and basically devoured it in one evening. It’s not all optimism and joy, as Hancox did have some struggles with dysphoria and an eating disorder during the times he was really trying to make his body disappear, but I appreciated that we also get to see the close friendships he had at the time, as well as his at times stumbling but ultimately accepting family as he explores and reveals his identity. It’s made clear that in his case Hancox always knew that he wasn’t a girl, even if he couldn’t really untangle those feelings for awhile, and seeing that journey on the page, with a lot of supportive people around him, is such an important story, especially for trans teens who may be looking for assurances or a mirror into their own experiences. It’s also a great example of showing how Hancox had not only a loving and in place support system (many of whom are still in his life today), but also how once he DOES get the gender affirming care he needs its a game changer. Again, Hancox is honest about some of the harder things that he had to go through to get there, but there is so much hope and joy in this memoir that it feels like an important read as well as an enjoyable one.

This was also an incredibly funny memoir at times, as Hancox has such a wry sense of humor and can find the funny bits in his experiences as he figured out his true self. There were so many moments that had me chuckling out loud as he either has a sarcastic quip, or how he presents his mother at times, or even just the really relatable teenage moments of awkwardness and insecurity (assuredly magnified in his case has he wasn’t out as trans yet, and in many ways hadn’t really figured it out yet). There was one particular panel involving over-plucked and a bit too high eyebrows that were SO OF THE TIME it was absolutely hysterical to see. Even though Hancox isn’t at all afraid to be honest about some of the real struggles during this time, the tone is always held afloat because of this engaging sense of humor.

And finally, the art. I wasn’t sure WHAT I thought about the art at first, but as the story went on its simplicity really added to the story because it made it so that the story itself was at the forefront. By the end of it I really liked the artwork.

(source: Graphix)

“Welcome to St. Hell” is a great memoir that is so important for this moment where trans people are being targeted and Othered. It’s a well done story with a lot of heart, but it also shows just how crucial acceptance and gender affirming care can be for trans youth, while also being super relatable. I quite enjoyed this one.

Rating 8: A personal, candid, and at times deeply humorous account on being able to live your truth and the journey along the way, “Welcome to St. Hell” is a must read graphic memoir.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Welcome to St. Hell” is included on the Goodreads lists “LGBT!+ Comics and Graphic Novels”, and “Books for Baby Queers”.