Month: March 2025

Serena’s Review: “The Otherwhere Post”

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Book: “The Otherwhere Post” by Emily J. Taylor

Publishing Info: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, February 2025

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

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

Book Description: Seven years ago, Maeve Abenthy lost her world, her father, even her name. Desperate to escape the stain of her father’s crimes, she lives under a fake name, never staying in one place long enough to put down roots.

Then she receives a mysterious letter with four impossible words: Your father was innocent.

To uncover the truth, she poses as an apprentice for the Otherwhere Post, where she’ll be trained in the art of scriptomancy—the dangerous magic that allows couriers to enchant letters and deliver them to other worlds. But looking into her father’s past draws more attention than she’d planned.

Her secretive, infuriatingly handsome mentor knows she’s lying about her identity, and time is running out to convince him to trust her. Worse, she begins to receive threatening letters, warning her to drop her investigation—or else. For Maeve to unravel the mystery of what happened seven years ago, she may have to forfeit her life.

Review: It’s been quite a while since I read Emily J. Taylor’s debut novel, “Hotel Magnifique,” but I do clearly remember liking it. So I was excited to see that she was releasing another YA fantasy novel! And I ended up liking this one even more than the first!

There are many things to praise, but I’ll start with the writing quality and the world-building first of all. Taylor writes in a clear, confident tone that easily draws readers into her fantastical world while also centering us around the characters and their own personal stakes. The serious nature of Maeve’s situation was clearly conveyed, while the transition towards more comedic or romantic moments was smooth and natural.

As for the worldbuilding, any time an author attempts to create a secondary fantasy world, there’s a risk of falling into info-dumping holes or unnatural dialogue used as exposition. Not so here. Instead, we are slowly introduced this world, its history, and its magical systems. The nature of the magic was incredibly interesting, and I enjoyed the way additional layers were papered upon the original concept as the story progressed. Beyond this, the history of this world is incredibly important to the story, and as Maeve is attempting to work through the mystery of her father’s life and death, she begins to uncover truths about her world as well. By the end, the magic system and the world itself have been built up by leaps and bounds from the foundations that the book starts with. And then, the bow on top, these are woven together for some great reveals in the very end.

Of course, none of this would work if Maeve herself hadn’t been an excellent character. From the start, her perspective and motives are clearly established, and as she works through the mysteries before her, she never loses sight of what is most important. Further, due to the secretive nature of her childhood, she’s incredibly distrustful, struggling to open up to others well past the point when others would feel secure. I appreciated that this aspect of her nature was so firmly established, even when it worked against Maeve’s own best interests.

I also really enjoyed the romantic subplot. There was a moment early in the book where I was concerned the book was going to go in one direction (I personally struggle a lot with books that hold on too long to secret identities), but luckily it jagged at the last minute. Even with certain secrets revealed, this was still a slowburn romance as these two slowly began to open up to one another with their own various secrets. They had excellent chemistry with each other throughout, however, which made all of their interactions a pleasure to read.

I ended up loving this book! There were several incredibly fresh fantasy elements included and, best of all, Maeve was written as a fully-fleshed out, complex YA heroine, something that I seem to have a harder and harder time finding recently. If you’re looking for a YA fantasy novel to restore your faith in the genre and that it’s still a good fit for you, than this is definitely one to check out!

Rating 9: Breathtaking in its creativity and incredible character work; I especially enjoyed the fantastic main character and the slowburn romance.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Otherwhere Post” can be found on these Goodreads lists: YA Novels of 2025 and 2025 YA Romantasy Releases.

Ripley’s Reviews: “Purple Noon (Plein soleil)” (1960)

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“Ripley’s Reviews” is an ongoing series where I will review every book in Patricia Highsmith’s “Ripley” Series, as well as multiple screen adaptations of the novels. I will post my reviews on the first Thursday of the month, and delve into the twisted mind of one Tom Ripley and all the various interpretations that he has come to life within. Up next is the second film adaptation of a “Ripley” book I’m covering, the 1960 film “Purple Noon”.

Film: “Purple Noon (Plein soleil)” (1960)

It wasn’t until I started researching the Tom Ripley novels and all of their adaptations that I heard about “Purple Noon”, the 1960 French thriller that was the first Ripley screen adaptation. I am not as familiar with mid 20th century French cinema as a whole, though I’ve seen some classics like “Breathless”, “Hiroshima, Mon Amor”, and “Les Diaboliques”, so this title was brand new to me. But I was absolutely interested to see what a French adaptation of “The Talented Mr. Ripley” would look like. And it wasn’t at all what I expected. But in a mostly positive way. Though there are MANY differences between not only “Purple Noon” and “The Talented Mr. Ripley” the film, but also the book.

One of the biggest changes (of many!) is that in “Purple Noon”, Ripley’s object of sexual desire isn’t Dickie (or Philippe in this case), but it’s Marge. While Tom is still very much covetous of Philippe’s wealth and status, not once did I get the sense that he was into his pal, but man oh man was it pretty clear to me that he had the hots for Marge. It’s an interesting change, and one that simultaneously did and didn’t really work for me. I wholly understand that in 1960 the queer subtext was probably going to be left a bit behind, even in a French film, but it was still a little bit jarring to have Tom have his eyes on Marge while Philippe is definitely more a means to an end for funding and status. I kind of wondered why we even had that element when, in the original story, it’s really not at the forefront and one could argue isn’t needed. But it also kind of worked for me because the chemistry between Tom and Marge is there. It probably helps that Alain Delon and Marie Laforêt are both gorgeous and the backdrops were amazing and oof, they just crackled on screen. Which is, again, so strange to say about Tom Ripley given that in my mind he is a gay man. But hey, I’m going to allow it. I quite enjoyed their interactions. And I will say that there is a particular scene that was pretty sexy, even if the time period of the film means we didn’t get to see much.

Look, I get he’s a psychopath, but the CHEMISTRY!!! (source)

But it’s also very different from the book in other ways, including Tom’s plotting of murdering Philippe (in that he plots it at all!), the point in the timeline where our story begins (we start well after Tom has cuddled up with Philippe in Italy), and even how things start to perhaps unravel towards the end. Though all that said a good chunk of it in the middle follows the book pretty well, including the Freddie Miles plot point and some of the cat and mouse games that Tom keeps going as he passes himself off as Philippe. But then it starts to shift off again. I’m a bit conflicted about all of this, in all honesty. On one hand, it feels like there are enough changes that it doesn’t REALLY feel like a well done adaptation of “The Talented Mr. Ripley”, and that the liberties make it weaker. But on the other hand, it is such a well done film on its own standing that I really, really enjoyed it. The cinematography is gorgeous, the acting is really well done, and I was still quite entertained by the story even if I was thinking ‘that’s not quite right’ more often than not. And it also has the appropriate levels of creepy when it comes to Tom, even if he was a bit different from what I was expected and used to.

So is it a faithful adaptation? Not as much as I had expected. But it’s a well done film in its own right. I enjoyed watching “Purple Noon” and fully get why it’s a Criterion Collection member. Up next I’m going to take on “The American Friend”, which is an adaptation of “Ripley’s Game”. With Dennis Hopper as Ripley!

Serena’s Review: “The Trouble with Anna”

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Book: “The Trouble with Anna” by Rachel Griffiths

Publishing Info: Gallery Books, March 2025

Where Did I Get this Book:

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

Book Description: A tart young woman and an arrogant lord collide in this flirty, sexy, and remarkably modern historical romance, perfect for fans of Bridgerton.

Anna didn’t intend to ride in a high-stakes horse race or start up a betting ring. She certainly didn’t mean to find herself in so many darkened corners with Lord Julian Ramsay, quarreling and kissing. But when her grandfather’s strange will stipulates that Anna must marry or she’ll be left broke, there’s nothing she won’t do to win her fight for independence. Even go head-to-head with Lord Ramsay, with her own heart as the prize.

Review: It’s been awhile since I’ve delved back into the historical romance subgenre. It’s one that I have really loved at times and really struggled with at others. But this one also peaked my inner “horse girl” heart, so I thought it would be a great one to check out!

While it didn’t quite hit the way I wanted it to, there were still several strengths to be found. The author’s writing style was very approachable while also (mostly) reading as appropriate to the time period it was describing. While some of the dialogue walked right up to the line of modernity, the story was written in such a way that this sort of casual style of speaking between characters seemed to fit. It was very “Bridgerton” in this way. I often prefer books that adhere a bit more strictly to the language styles of the time, but I felt that this more casual approach worked here.

I also really enjoyed the parts of the book that focused on Anna’s love and deep knowledge of horses. Her character had a few other weak points, but she was at her best in all the scenes that had to do with her management of the horses and stables she’s hoping to protect. One of my favorite scenes was a small moment where Anna correctly comes down hard on Lord Ramsay when he undermines her authority in front of her employees. Again and again, we see that Anna knows what she’s talking about in this area, and Ramsay quickly comes to respect this about her. If things do go a bit in a wild direction as the story continued with this horse plot line, it was still fun enough to keep me reading.

I also liked the original set up between Anna and Lord Ramsay, with the use of the inheritance being tied to their marriage for reasons that neither of them understand. Unfortunately, the way that this romance played out was one of my primary struggle points (not a great thing for a romance novel!). Here, we had a good example of how hot/cold romances can go wrong. First, these two are written as uninterested in or intimidated by one another. Than they quickly fall into lust and spend several on and off page moments making out about it. Then of course there are troubles. Then more making out. Than a big rift. And of course, ultimately, the happily ever after.

Some of this is to be expected from romance (the equation with the 75% of the way through conflict before the happily every after is almost a given at this point). But I was particularly not sold on how quickly they went from strangers to making out early in the book. And, strangely, it was mostly make out scenes all around, many simply being referenced as having happened off page. Now, I don’t love books that are taken over by spice scenes typically and I definitely don’t need an incredible amount of focus on this. But this read as strangely PG, almost? Something just felt off here.

Overall, I thought this was a fun enough read, though it seemed to struggle the most in its depiction of the central couple’s romantic arc. The writing was compelling and fun, so I was able to whip through it quickly, so I think it will appeal to many readers. Especially those who are looking for less spicy options!

Rating 7: I enjoyed Anna herself quite a bit and her commitment to her horses and estate, however I struggled more with the romance, which is never great in, you know, a romance novel.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Trouble with Anna” isn’t currently on any Goodreads lists, but it should be on Must Love Horses.

Kate’s Review: “The Undoing of Violet Claybourne”

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Book: “The Undoing of Violet Claybourne” by Emily Critchley

Publishing Info: Sourcebooks Landmark, March 2025

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: 1938. Gillian Larkin is used to going unnoticed, until she is sent away to school and befriended by her roommate, the vibrant and spirited Violet Claybourne. As the Christmas holidays approach, Gilly can’t believe her luck when Violet invites her to spend them at her home, the crumbling Thornleigh Hall.

At Thornleigh, Gilly is dazzled by the family’s faded grandeur, and above all by Violet’s beguiling older sisters who seem to accept her as one of their own. But following a terrible accident in the house’s grounds, Gilly begins to realise the Claybourne sisters aren’t quite what she thought they were. And if she’s to survive in their world, she may have to become just like them . . .

A captivating novel of family secrets, desperate ambition and deepest betrayal, set against the winter of 1938, The Undoing of Violet Claybourne is the irresistible new mystery from the acclaimed author of One Puzzling Afternoon.

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

Back when “Downton Abbey” was all the rage I would text with my Mom about the goings on, and would occasionally go to my parents house to watch with her. We both really enjoyed it for the most part (I will admit I found later seasons to be less compelling), but my father ALWAYS hated it and would let us know how much he hated it if I was over for an episode. There was one night Dad LOST IT about the romanticization of the crumbling aristocracy blinded by privilege tramping all over the common people with no remorse after one of the Crawleys did something really callous and pretty wretched to people who worked for them, only for it to be glossed over by the show.

You’d had thought this farm boy from Iowa was a regular Enjolras from LES MIS. (source)

So that leads me to “The Undoing of Violet Claybourne” by Emily Critchley. Which pretty much puts these kinds of themes front and center as an aristocratic family clinging to power in the years leading up to WWII brings a newcomer into the fold and corrupts her with their privileged and damaging ways. I just kept thinking about my Dad’s rants as I read this book. Though admittedly, the Crawleys, for all their flaws, didn’t commit and cover up a murder…

As a historical fiction story with some thriller elements, I found “The Undoing of Violet Claybourne” to be rather tense, even if it was less about a ‘whodunnit’ and more about ‘are these spoiled rich brats going to get away with this?!’. I won’t say what ‘this’ is, as you will appreciate it more if it’s a shock, but I was definitely on pins and needles to see if the Claybourne sisters Emmeline and Laura were going to keep up their lies, with unwitting but ultimately complicit Gillian, our narrator, being slowly eaten by guilt. Especially when her complicity not only brings pain to the people at the heart of the tragedy, but also ropes Violet, her friend and the reason she was brought to this upper class home in the first place, into the web. I could see various puzzle pieces falling into place, but the absolute horror of it, knowing it was coming like a speeding train about to derail, made me SO ANXIOUS. Critchley brings in some solid shocks and twists with these various unravellings, and it was quite the ride that had me tied up in knots.

But what I really enjoyed about this book was the way that Critchley portrays her characters. You have Gillian, who was so eager to be accepted by posh and charismatic Laura and Emmeline that she threw her actual friend Violet to the side, only to end up in a murder cover up. You have Laura and Emmeline, scheming sisters that flaunt their privilege but are also in different ways constrained by it, and therefore make reckless and cruel decisions. And you have Violet, the most tragic of the characters, who is thrown to the side by her family due to her ‘peculiarities’ (it’s highly implied that she is OCD and perhaps neurodivergent in other ways), and then thrown aside by Gillian in favor of her callous and careless older sisters. The Claybournes are cold and callous, and they are exactly the bleak reality that “Downton Abbey” never really allowed their beloved Crowleys to transform into: the dying aristocracy in England before WWII that was gilded, nasty, and unfeeling. It adds to the overall unease.

“The Undoing of Violet Claybourne” is tense and upsetting, a well done historical thriller with some truly deplorable characters who have some interesting baggage. Prepare to be unnerved!

Rating 7: A tense mystery with some misbehaving elites at the helm, “The Undoing of Violet Claybourne” is a twisty ride with some good surprises against a historical backdrop of the unfeeling aristocracy in pre-WWII England.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Undoing of Violet Claybourne” is included on the Goodreads list “The [descriptive word] of [first-name] [last-name]”.

Highlights: March 2025

March is always a bit of a mixed bag here in Minnesota. We get the teasing of a faux Spring that makes us think that Spring is here, only to dump more snow and cold on us. But hey, lambs and lions aside, we both have some book titles we are quite looking forward to this month!

Serena’s Picks

Book: “The Trouble with Anna” by Rachel Griffiths

Publication Date: March 4, 2025

Why I’m Interested: It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a historical romance novel! I’ve read a few here and there, but for whatever reason, haven’t gotten around to posting full reviews. Well, I received an ARC of this one, so I’m excited to dive back into this genre! Plus, the hook of the story revolves around Anna, a young woman with a distinct knowledge of horses who sets out to save her estate and stables after her grandfather passes away. And, of course, may find love along the way!

Book: “Slaying the Vampire Conqueror” by Carissa Broadbent

Publication Date: March 25, 2025

Why I’m Interested: Bramble is really messing up my plans to draw out the process of reading Carissa Broadbent’s back catalog! They keep releasing her books one after another! So, obviously, here I am again. While I’ve enjoyed all of books, I will say I’m especially looking forward to this one as its the first stand-alone I’ve read by her (not including the novella). It’s always nice to have a contained story, and after the cliffhanger at the end of her most recent book, I feel like she owes me an HEA right now, in the meantime! This one also introduces a new god/religious order to this word. Who wants to bet that it’s extremely messed up??

Book: “Faithbreaker” by Hannah Kaner

Publication Date: March 13, 2025

Why I’m Interested: While the second book was a bit of a let down from the highs of the first, I have endless hope for this one, especially because our main trio have been reunited at last! There were a few side plots that seemed to wander a bit astray as well in the previous book, but it also ended with a bang, setting up the greater conflict to be tackled here. Beyond that, I’m simple excited to get to spend more time with Kissen; she’s such an excellent main character!

Kate’s Picks

Book: “Vanishing Daughters” by Cynthia Pelayo

Publication Date: March 11, 2025

Why I’m Interested: I really love Cynthia Pelayo and have loved her for a long while, so obviously I am excited for her newest horror story with a Chicago based flair. A woman named Briar has been haunted in multiple ways since the death of her mother, whether it’s bad dreams, strange happenings in her home, or the heavy weight of grief. While Briar tries to cope, a serial killer is murdering women all over Chicago. When a mysterious person reaches out to Briar as she does her own investigating, she starts to realize that maybe there’s a connection between her personal demons and a very real monster lurking in the shadows. Pelayo always has creepy but absolutely gorgeous horror stories, so this has been a highly anticipated read for me this year.

Book: “The Haunting of Room 904” by Erika T. Wurth

Publication Date: March 18, 2025

Why I’m Interested: This was one of my overall picks for 2025 on our Highlights for the Year list, and we are now in the publication month for this new ghost story from Erika T. Wurth. Olivia is a reluctant medium who never even had the gift until her sister Naiche, who was a medium herself, passed away. Now Olivia is seeing ghosts wherever she goes, and has managed to turn this into a successful ghost hunting business. Her most recent case brings her to a hotel with a notorious room where multiple people have died. As Olivia investigates she finds unexpected connections to her own life. I loved Wurth’s previous novel “White Horse” so this has been on my radar for awhile.

Book: “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” by Stephen Graham Jones

Publication Date: March 18, 2025

Why I’m Interested: HOORAY, a new Stephen Graham Jones horror story! And this time he’s taking on VAMPIRES!!! In this epistolary horror novel we find the diary of a Lutheran pastor who, during the early 20th Century, interviews and records the life, experiences, and confession of a man named Good Stab, who has been living in and around the Black Foot reservation in the area. The confession is strange and otherworldly, and tells of many horrors, supernatural and human alike. Another most anticipated read of 2025 for me!

Serena’s Review: “The Blood Orchid”

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Book: “The Blood Orchid” by Kylie Lee Baker

Publishing Info: HarperCollins, October 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: from the library!

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

Book Description: Since Zilan entered the world of royal alchemists, she has learned that alchemy comes at a price. She has lost loved ones in her search for broader justice against the evil Empress and all she wants now is to find some way to bring them back. Resurrection is her specialty, after all.

In search of the myth of Penglai Island, where it’s rumored life can be fully restored, Zilan starts a new adventure. But when old threats come back to haunt her and the path to Penglai Island means facing down unpredictable, sometimes dangerous, alchemists, she wonders just how high of a price she may be willing to pay.

Previously Reviewed: “The Blood Alchemist”

Review: It’s always nice to jump quickly from a first book in a duology straight into the second. And it was especially useful here, as “The Blood Alchemist” set up a fairly intricate world and complex magical system. Further, this book picks up directly after the events of the first, so I benefited from having those plot lines firmly in my head when I started up this one.

This book is largely made of up a quest by our main characters in search of the mythical Penglai Island, a place so powerful they hope it will solve the ongoing threat of the Empress. Through these explorations, the lore of this world was greatly expanded upon, introducing powerful new uses for alchemy, some to detrimental effect. We also got to spend more time in the limbo-esque afterlife, with Zilan desperately trying to cling to those she loves, both in the land of the living and the dead.

The pacing was quite action-packed, moving quickly from one dangerous alchemist to another. I really enjoyed these little side quests that were sprinkled throughout to tie together the larger quest. However, from a broader view, there were a few of these that felt rather convenient. Penglai Island has been lost (or rumored to not exist at all) for ages, and yet Zilan and co. seem to almost stumble into the answers they need by chance. As I was having so much fun with the story, this didn’t bother me overly much. But the convenience of some of these plotlines was a bit too obvious to completely ignore.

I also really enjoyed the characters, once again. Zilan, of course, was as excellent as always. However, if you had asked which characters I had least interest in spending prolonged time with in this book, I would have answered with her brother and her bully rival from alchemy classes. And well, what do you know? Those two end up being her primary travelling companions and each brought excellent flavor to the story! Through Wenshu, the author continued her excellent exploration of the complicated nature between siblings. Here, Wenshu and Zilan must deal with the repercussions of her choice at the end of the last book; that is, her decision to save Wenshu instead of Hong. A simple choice that reveals numerous insecurities and challenges on both sides. We also see a redemption arc for Zheng, the character I never knew I needed more of! In a surprising turn, this is the character that added the necessary comic relief to a book that, at times, could have been too tragic and dark.

Unfortunately, while the focus on Wenshu and Sheng was an unexpected high point, we didn’t see much of Hong in this book. On one hand, that makes sense. The guy is dead, after all. We get a few scenes sprinkled throughout as Zilan works to keep her hold on his spirit until she can revive him, but I still ended up missing the lovely dynamic we had between these two in the first book. By the end, I was happy with the way things resolved, but I do wish we had gotten a bit more here.

Overall, this was an excellent conclusion to the duology. The overall conflict was wrapped up in a truly creative and unique way, and one that felt earned with various pieces of the foundation being carefully laid here and in the previous book. If you’re looking for a well-written, well-rounded, unique YA fantasy duology, I highly recommend this one!

Rating 8: Expanded world-building, excellent side characters, and a satisfying conclusion! My romance-loving heart felt a bit deprived on the Hong front, but otherwise, this was a great read!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Blood Orchid” can be found on this Goodreads list: Best books of October, 2024