Month: September 2025

Kate’s Review: “When We Were Monsters”

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

Book: “When We Were Monsters” by Jennifer Niven

Publishing Info: Knopf Books for Young Readers, September 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publisher at ALAAC25

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

Book Description: A simmering psychological thriller about a dead teacher at an elite boarding school, the students who had every reason to want her gone, and the tangled web of rivalry and romance concealing the truth—from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of All the Bright Places.

At an elite boarding school, 8 students are selected for an exclusive program, but only one will walk away with a lifechanging opportunity to realize their creative dreams. 

Effy is piecing together a story about the tragic betrayal that led to her mother’s death. Arlo hopes to publish a novel—but he’s also trying to start a new chapter with Effy after he broke her heart and ghosted 3 years earlier. Everyone has a compelling reason to be there—they all want a big break—but only the most ambitious will prevail as the students are eliminated one by one.

Their mentor is the one and only Meredith Graffam, an enigmatic writer, director and actress, whose unorthodox teaching methods push them past the breaking point. Under Graffam’s tutelage, the students reveal their darkest secrets, take unthinkable risks, and slowly start to turn on one another. But Graffam never expected they would turn on her . . .

Review: Thank you to Knopf Books for Young Readers for giving me an ARC of this novel at ALAAC25!

There were times at ALAAC25 that I would find myself in a line that I hadn’t intended to join. What can I say, I sometimes go full lemming mode and follow the crowd, especially when books are involved. So when I found myself in a signing line to get an ARC of Jennifer Niven’s new book “When We Were Monsters”, I didn’t really have any expectations, I just knew that if others were in line, I should be in line (in my defense in this case, Serena was in line too and I was following her lead). But once I had it in my hands, and read the description, I was pretty interested. Sometimes just jumping in line pays off!

We have two perspectives in this book, both students at the workshop of the mysterious and possibly nefarious Meredith Graffam, famous and notorious author who is running a writing workshop for J-Term at a boarding school wtih a dark history. The first is Effy, a girl who is trying to unpack the trauma of her mother being killed in a drunk driving accident where her father was the drunk driver. The other is Arlo, Effy’s ex who is trying to work through his own trauma where he feels like he is the one at fault, and who also feels bad about hooking up with Effy and then ghosting her. I enjoyed both of their perspectives, as they felt different enough that there was a contrast between the two, but at the same time I liked seeing how each of them approached the unfolding mystery, and also their past and their feelings for each other. I think that I liked Arlo a bit more, as his voice felt a bit more well rounded than Effy, but Niven did both of them justice. And I also enjoyed their romance, call me sappy or whatever. I just enjoyed seeing them reconnect and strengthen a bond between each other.

As for the mystery and thriller aspects of this book, it’s a promising foundation. I love the idea of a sinister authority figure pressuring and manipulating those under their authority, especially seeing how the manipulated players fall into trap after trap and the intensity that comes with it. Meredith Graffam is a pretty well developed antagonist, lording over her eight students who depend on her not only for their potential future dreams as creators and artists, but also as one of the only adults at the program, and pushing them to the limits until they get close to breaking. It has the frog in the boiling water moments, it has gaslighting, it has a lot of tension as things get worse but Effy, Arlo, and the others aren’t certain if they are overreacting. I will say, however, that sometimes the frog in the pot of boiling water felt like it could move a little bit faster. I like a slow burn, but there were times I felt like things were dragging a bit.

As a whole, I enjoyed “When We Were Monsters”. It’s a solid psychological thriller with an enjoyable romance, and it’s a good dark academia read.

Rating 7: I liked the perspectives and I liked the unfolding of the mystery within this thriller, though the slow burn may have been a LITTLE slow at times.

Reader’s Advisory:

“When We Were Monsters” is included on the Goodreads list “2025 Dark Academia Releases”.

Serena’s Review: “The Faerie Morgana”

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

Book: “The Faerie Morgana” b y Louisa Morgan

Publishing Info: Redhook, September 2025

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

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

Book Description: To the other priestesses of the Nine, a powerful council at the Lady’s Temple, Morgana is haughty and arrogant as she performs feats of magic no human should be capable of. Rumors start that she must be a fearsome fae.
 
To King Arthur, Morgana is a trusted and devoted advisor, but his court is wary of her and her prodigious talent at divination. But his wife sees Morgana as a rival and a malevolent witch.
 
To Braithe, Morgana’s faithful acolyte, she is simply the most powerful priestess Camelot has seen.
 
Morgana doesn’t know why she’s so different from everyone else, and she doesn’t much care. But when she aids Arthur to ascend the throne before his time, she sets off a series of events that will change everything Morgana believes about her power.

Review: There are a million and one Arthurian books out there, and yet I always pick up the next one when I see a new title enter the field. This one was particularly interesting with its re-focusing the story on Morgan Le Fay, this time as the priestess Morgana.

And I will say, this is a heavily character-driven story, so you’re investment in not only Morgana but the other characters that surround her will likely heavily influence your enjoyment of this story. Morgana herself could be frustrating for me at times; she seems to start out as incredibly powerful and than simply remains so throughout the story. That being the case, some of her plot felt more like a “day in the life” story than much of an actual character arch.

However, I did enjoy many of the other characters. As always, for fans of Arthurian legends, half of the fun in exploring new interpretations of these tales is seeing different versions of these characters come to life. I think most of these are approachable enough to even those with only a passing knowledge of Arthurian legends, but, of course, the more you know, the more you’ll get here. I also really enjoyed a new side character, Braithe. Unlike Morgana, we see more of a transformation in this characters, as she grows from a fairly naive to more confident in herself.

Most of all, I enjoyed the writing. This was a very lyrical, atmospheric style of story. In many ways, this neatly aligns with the character-driven nature of the story, with less emphasis placed on an action-packed plot (indeed, many of these sorts of scenes take place off page) and more focus on quieter reflection. Again, I think this is the sort of stylistic choice that will really work for readers who are a fan of this kind of writing (like me) but perhaps less so for those looking for a more plot-driven story.

Overall, I enjoyed this one! I perhaps would have liked to see more development for Morgana herself, but I appreciated the quieter nature of the story being told. Fans of lyrical writing and Arthurian tales in general should definitely give this one a go!

Rating 8: With a nice mixture of new interpretations and familiar faces, this lyrical take on the Arturian legend will be a hit for many readers!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Faerie Morgana” can be found on this Goodreads list: All the New Fantasy Books Arriving in September 2025.

Kate’s Review: “Fiend”

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

Book: “Fiend” by Alma Katsu

Publishing Info: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, September 2025

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

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

Book Description: Historical horror maven Alma Katsu turns her talents to the modern world for the first time, in this terrifying tale about an all-powerful family with an ancient evil under its thumb.

Imagine if the Sackler family had a demon at their beck and call.

The Berisha family runs one of the largest import-export companies in the world, and they’ve always been lucky. Their rivals suffer strokes. Inconvenient buildings catch on fire. Earthquakes swallow up manufacturing plants, destroying harmful evidence. Things always seem to work outfor the Berishas. They’re blessed.

At least that is what Zef, the patriarch, has always told his three children. And each of them knows their place in the family—Dardan, as the only male heir, must prepare to take over as keeper of the Berisha secrets, Maris’s most powerful contribution, much to her dismay, will be to marry strategically, and Nora’s job, as the youngest, is to just stay out of the way. But when things stop going as planned, and the family blessing starts looking more like a curse, the Berishas begin to splinter, each hatching their own secret scheme. They didn’t get to be one of the richest families in the world without spilling a little blood, but this time, it might be their own.

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

I’ve been a fan of Alma Katsu for a good number of years now, always impressed with her historical fiction novels and how she can take real life events and bring in some strange supernatural elements that send chills down my spine. It has been a few years since she has written a full novel, and imagine my surprise when not only did she have a new novel coming out, it was going to be set in modern times! Unexpected! But reading about “Fiend”, it kind of made sense why she wanted to have it take place in the present, as the themes, although timeless, have an extra oomph in a time where billionaires are taking advantage of other people and causing lots of pain with few consequences (I suppose this also could have been a Gilded Age theme, but oh well). And since it’s Katsu, we gotta have SOMETHING spooky. And in “Fiend”, a greedy corporate family of billionaires have a supernatural presence at their beck and call to fulfill many a whim.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. I am always here for a book about nasty billionaires getting their comeuppance, and the Berisha Family definitely has shades of the Roys in “Succession” meets the Ushers from Mike Flanagan’s “The Fall of the House of Usher”. We have the patriarch Zef, who is trying to figure out who is going to take over once he has passed on, his traditionalist values leaning towards his son Dardan even though middle child Maris is probably the most qualified (with youngest Nora just kind of in the wings doing her own thing). The family is filled with pretty nasty people, but as things start to go awry and Maris is trying her best to right the ship (though little appreciation is thrown her way), the family starts to fracture. And all of the ‘convenient’ ill fortunes thrown at their rivals starts to turn back on themselves. Katsu has written a shorter book her, and while that means it reads fast and the pace is quick, it does mean that we have a LOT of world building to do along with fully exploring a dysfunctional family line that’s falling towards ruin. Plot wise, I kind of wish we had more mythos and building blocks regarding what, exactly, has been helping this family for so many years, especially as the being starts to seemingly go rogue. We do find out, but I wanted more exploration of it.

But as a family drama? I really enjoyed it. We have Kef, who is such a dick who has pigeonholed his kids into roles that they don’t really want while also stoking rivalries that can ebb and flow depending on what each sibling wants. We have Dardan, who knows that the weight of the world is going to be on his shoulders, though he also knows that he probably can’t hack it at the end of the day. We have Maris, who is VERY competent but is a girl, who then takes out her frustrations of those weaker than her. And we have Nora, who is discounted as the youngest and also a girl, but wants to be more than the ruthless Berishas that they have always been. I really liked the family dynamics and seeing all of the siblings try to maneuver through the entire mess as it unfolds. And as I mentioned above multiple times: the horrible billionaires causing pain and misfortune to line their own pockets? That feels rather apt.

“Fiend” is another enjoyable book from Alma Katsu! I’m so happy she has come back with another novel!

Rating 8: “Fiend” will fill that void that “Succession” left, especially if you wanted the Roys to have a little more supernatural punishment thrown their way.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Fiend” is included on the Goodreads list “Horror to Look Forward To in 2025”.

Diving Into Sub-Genres: Werewolf Horror

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

We each have our own preferred genres of choice. Kate loves horrors and thrillers, really anything that will keep her up at night! And Serena enjoys escaping through hidden doors into realms of magic and adventure. We also read mysteries, historical fiction, graphic novels, etc. etc. And that’s not even counting the multitude of sub-genres contained within each greater genre. In this series, one of us will present a list of our favorites from within a given sub-genre of one of our greater preferred genres.

This past year I read a few werewolf horror novels. As I was reading them it occurred to me that I really haven’t read THAT MANY werewolf books over the years, probably because I’ve always been more of a vampire girl (what can I say? I’m basic). But when it was my turn to take on another sub-genre deep dive, I decided that I should take a look at werewolf horror. Because it’s not really a sub-genre in horror that gets as much attention as other monster tales.

Werewolf and shapeshifter mythology has been around for hundreds and hundreds of years. Whether it’s the story of Romulus and Remus being raised by a she wolf, or medieval trials of supposed werewolves being prosecuted and executed, or pre-Christian belief systems speaking of people who could turn into wolves, the werewolf has been with various cultures since the dawn of modern time. I’m far more familiar with werewolf movies than books, with films like “The Wolfman”, “The Howling”, “An American Werewolf in Paris”, and “Ginger Snaps” all being well loved by the horror movie community. And now I shift my attention to books, to promote the sub-genre of a monster who needs a little bit more attention! Vampires can’t have all the fun.

“The Werewolf of Paris” by Guy Endore

As mentioned above, Guy Endore’s “The Werewolf of Paris” is considered to be the “Dracula” of werewolf novels. It centers on Bertrand Caillet, a soldier during the Franco-Prussian War whose journal is found by a researcher years later, detailing his existence as a werewolf. It details his early life as a werewolf born into a werewolf family, and follows him through his adolescence and into his time in the military, where his violent urges could be used in a more constructive manner… until he is discovered. Told in a similar epistolary style as “Dracula” through journal and confession entries, “The Werewolf of Paris” hasn’t had the same staying power in the mainstream as the Count. But it’s still considered the start of the modern werewolf tale.

“Cycle of the Werewolf” by Stephen King

You know my boy Stephen was going to make this list. His novella “Cycle of the Werewolf” was a short but effective werewolf story about a small town being terrorized over the course of nine months by a mysterious wild animal, and a kid who is trying to solve what is going on. King loves having kid protagonists who are trying to solve a mystery, and he’s quite good at it, and “Cycle of the Werewolf” has Marty at the center, a disabled boy in a wheelchair who is on the hunt for the werewolf over the nine months of murders and fear, trying to figure out who in town has to be the lycanthrope menace. It was adapted into a movie called “Silver Bullet”, starring Corey Haim as Marty (may his memory be a blessing), Megan Follows as his sister (the best Anne Shirley), and Gary Busey as the wild and crazy Uncle Al (uh…. life imitates art I guess?). It’s a quick werewolf read that’s pretty straightforward, and it has the King flavor behind it.

“Mongrels” by Stephen Graham Jones

I love Stephen Graham Jones, and while it wasn’t my first read of his, it was the first one I heard of due to a friend really enjoying it. And Jones has such a unique perspective and voice in his horror stories that it’s no shock that his werewolf tale “Mongrels” is on this list. It follows an Indigenous family of werewolves that have had to stay ahead of their pasts and had to stay incognito as best they can, but the youngest member of the family is about to hit the age where they will be able to tell if he has inherited the wolf aspect of the family line. It’s part werewolf tale, part family drama, part coming of age, and Jones combines the themes to make a heartfelt and eerie tale of family and identity. But he also has some really interesting and sometimes fun werewolf lore, creating a fun mythology in a way that only Jones can.

“Such Sharp Teeth” by Rachel Harrison

I love Rachel Harrison and basically every take on a supernatural foe that she has (look for my review of her latest novel “Play Nice” during Horrorpalooza!), and her werewolf book “Such Sharp Teeth” is so on brand for her feminist and somewhat cozy horror style. “Such Sharp Teeth” follows Rory, a somewhat aimless woman who has reluctantly returned to her hometown to support her pregnant twin sister Scarlett. While there she is attacked by an unknown creature, and then as she approaches the full moon her body goes through some changes. This werewolf story does have the body horror that we come to expect from the sub-genre, but Harrison brings her personal touch to it by also exploring feminine rage, the lack of control over a body going through strange and unhinged changes, and the way that trauma can make a festering monster in all of us that will eventually have to come out.

“The Last Werewolf” by Glen Duncan

This is probably one of the more literary books on this list, and I remember when it was a pretty hot commodity at my library, being checked out a lot. I know that it is also a bit of a polarizing read, as some people thought that it was TOO literary. But I think that while we shouldn’t turn our noses up at genre fiction, it’s also cool to see a more literary authors take on more genre associated themes, so I say good on you, “The Last Werewolf”! Jake has been wandering the Earth in solitude for centuries, a werewolf with no pack, no connections, and a terrible affliction that he wishes to be rid of. While he plans his suicide, he suddenly gets pulled into the orbit of a person that he could actually find himself connecting with… Oh, and also a murder. I actually haven’t read this one, but I have read other books by Duncan (using another name) and I’m sure he did a lot of interesting stuff with it!

“The Devourers” by Indra Das

I’m ending the list with what is, to me, the most unique werewolf story on the list, taking from Indian mythology and folklore and creating a historical and present day werewolf story. A modern day college professor named Alok is living in Kolkata, India, and one night he is approached by a strange person who has quite the story to tell, and who is desperate to tell it, cobbled together from ancient parchments, notebooks, and even skins. As Alok hears the tale of a woman who is raped and impregnated by a shapeshifter from another place, and as she searches for answers and for retribution, she finds a world of monsters, shapeshifters, different cultures and societies. Alok takes down the story for the stranger, and learns of things he never thought could be true. It takes from mythologies that many Western readers may not be familiar with, and it’s relentless, gory, and unapologetic with how it tackles werewolves and shifters.

What werewolf books have you enjoyed over the years? Let us know in the comments!

Kate’s Review: “Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests”

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

Book: “Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests” by K.J.Whittle

Publishing Info: Sourcebooks Landmark, September 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: Three courses. Seven guests. One card. It’s a deadly evening they’ll never forget. 

Seven strangers meet for an anonymously hosted dinner party. As the evening winds down, seven cards appear, one in front of each of the guests. On each card is a number – the age at which the guest will die. Spooked but skeptical, the guests disperse into the rainy night with the hope of forgetting the morbid turn of events. 

Two weeks later, one guest is dead. At exactly the age the card predicted. 

More guests begin to die as the years go on, each one dead at the same age as their card. It soon becomes clear that something much more sinister is abound. Now, it’s up to the quickly dwindling group of dinner guests to figure out who (or what) was behind that fateful dinner party all those years ago, before their numbers catch up with them too. 

Told from the perspectives of each of the seven guests, which span from hilarious to hateful, Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests is a spellbinding and mysterious exploration of mortality, begging the how would you live your life if you knew your number was up?

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

Well I was all excited because last week it really felt like Fall had arrived, and then THIS week we were once again in the 80s with sun and humidity. Once we get to mid-September, my attitude turns to Autumn things in all their forms, and that includes looking for books that have a certain feel to them. That can be cozy, or spooky, or an undefinable third thing that has me like ‘yeah, this feels like a Fall book’ as I read. The book “Seen Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests” by K.J. Whittle definitely had that feeling to me as I was reading, as an Agatha Christie-esque whodunnit just feels like Fall.

As a mystery, “Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests” has a pretty standard set up: seven strangers are called to a mysterious dinner party with no obvious host, and at the end of the night they all receive envelopes that tell them at what age they are going to die. For many of them, it’s in the very near future, and when it starts happening they realize that someone, for whatever reason, wants them all dead. Throw in some Seven Deadly Sins themes, and you have a solid premise and a mystery that mostly kept me guessing, or at the very least invested and interested. I liked that we got different perspective points in the book so that we could get clues from different people that added to the whole, and I found myself surprised a few times. I also have always loved a Seven Deadly Sins theme, and liked seeing how various players lined up within that theme. Did I figure some stuff out? Sure. But there were some twists that had me guessing.

The characters run the gamut from complicated but relatable to genuinely frustrating and terrible. They all had their flaws, but some were a bit more well articulated than others. I liked Vivienne, the cold but intrepid and determined journalist who is our main perspective as she tries to figure out what is going on with all of her compatriots dropping dead after the ill fated and mysterious dinner party. She’s not very kind or nice, but I thought that she felt pretty realistic, and has her moments. I also liked how Whittle explores other unlikable characters and gives them SOME humanizing edges, whether it’s the outlandish and somewhat vapid Janet, who has experienced trauma and sadness around her inability to have a baby, or the closeted cop Melvin who pines for his partner in secret but feels guilt with a sick wife at home. There are also interesting plays on people who are full on hypocrites, like the famous Doctor Gordon who preaches stringent and health conscious lifestyles, but is hiding an eating disorder to maintain his own physique. Other characters were kind of bland or two dimensional, but it was the little quirks of these characters that stood out the most as I was reading.

“Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests” is solid and serviceable as a mystery, and it just felt like the perfect Fall read as we head towards a changing of the seasons. Cozy up with some unlikable characters and just have fun with it!

Rating 7: A solid whodunnit with an enjoyable take on the Seven Deadly Sins, “Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests” is an entertaining mystery that just feels like an Autumn read.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests” isn’t on many relevant Goodreads lists as of now, but would probably fit in on the shelf “Culinary Mystery Books”.

Serena’s Review: “Song of the Hell Witch”

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

Book: “Song of the Hell Witch” by Taylor Hartley

Publishing Info: Alcove Press, September 2025

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

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

Book Description: Once a vicious street rat, Prudence Merriweather has clawed her way to the top of society and now enjoys newfound power as the Duchess of Talonsbury. All she has to do to protect her fragile position is maintain the act of gentility, make her husband happy—and keep her monstrous magic a secret. 

Puck Reed, the Thief Lord of Talonsbury, once delighted in taking risks and humiliating the social elite at any cost, but now lives a quieter criminal lifestyle. With a daughter of his own to protect, Puck tries to lay low and stay safe for her benefit. His daughter, Bea, suffers from a mysterious illness bent on killing her, and Puck will stop at nothing to find a cure.

When Prudence’s magic betrays her, she has no choice but to flee—and who better to smuggle her out of the city than her childhood best friend and former sweetheart, Puck Reed? With the help of old friends and new allies, they learn about Stormlash, a safe haven miles beyond the city walls where women and their magic can flourish beyond the oppressive eye of Leora’s religious fanatics. Stormlash may also hold the key to curing Bea’s illness. The challenge? Keep her alive long enough to get there. 

With Bea’s illness claiming more of her strength, Puck and Pru must work together to reach Stormlash and, in the process, confront a growing evil threatening to devour the country they call home.

Review: This was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I initially requested it for review because it looked to be offering up something new in the often stagnant-feeling romantasy genre. And in some ways, that was definitely true! For one thing, I really liked the overall world-building and setting of the story. I’m always a sucker for gaslamp fantasy (something we see far too little of) and Victorian settings, and this one really came through in this area. I’ve seen other reviewers liken it to “Carnival Row,” and while I have mixed feelings about that show due to my burning dislike of season 2, I think the vibes between that and this are on point.

I also really liked the general idea behind hell witches, and the exploration of the idea that power can be built from trauma. This added a layer of nuance to what was, at times, a fairly straight-forward commentary on patriarchy and feminism. I won’t say that the book adds any great depth of nuance to these topics, but there were tidbits here and there with this form of magic that kept me interested.

However, I struggled to really connect to the main characters. There wasn’t anything bad about them; indeed, I found each quite enjoyable at times. But they also felt incredibly one dimensional and, while not objectionable, they also weren’t particularly inspirational. For example, the idea of having the romantic hero, Puck, be a father was a fresh take on the typical roles we see in romantasy. But, as the book went on, this fact was mentioned in every other interaction it seemed. It quickly felt like this was the one and only trait that really defined Puck, and thus, as interested as I had been initially by this fresh take, I quickly found myself falling off my investment in this character. Pru followed a similar pattern, where I was most interested in her and her story in the first 25% or so of the book, but as things continued, that initial interest began to wane. This is, of course, the opposite of the ideal trajectory for reader engagement.

Overall, however, I still appreciated the freshness of many aspects of this book, from its setting to some of the choices made with the characters (particularly, Puck’s role as a father). Romantasy readers who are looking for something new should definitely still check this one out. At the very least, I think this author is one to keep an eye on!

Rating 7: While I found myself losing interest in the characters as the story progressed, I loved the worldbuilding and interesting take on magic that the author included.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Song of the Hell Witch” can be found on these Goodreads lists: All the New Horror, Romantasy, and Other SFF Crossover Books Arriving in September 2025

Kate’s Review: “Queer As All Get Out”

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

Book: “Queer As All Get Out: 10 People Who’ve Inspired Me” by Shelby Criswell

Publishing Info: Street Noise Books, October 2021

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

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

Book Description: This graphic novel paints a picture of the lives of 10 specific LGBTQIA people from history, framed by the personal struggles of the author to find acceptance and to carve out a meaningful life as a genderqueer person. Each chapter focuses on a different relatively little-known historical character, presented within the context of the author’s own life. Shelby Criswell’s art is fun and engaging and brings a comic book feel to this enlightening and important subject matter.

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

In honor of Street Noise Books’s 5th Anniversary in publishing, they were kind enough to ask if I would like to help celebrate this achievement with them by highlighting one of their titles from the past five years. I was absolutely into this idea, as I really enjoyed the other works they’ve sent me and because I love the focus on political and social conscious themes. So today I bring you the graphic novel memoir/history book “Queer As All Get Out: 10 People Who’ve Inspired Me” by Shelby Criswell, a book about important queer people in history who have kind of been lost or forgotten to mainstream history as time has gone on. I was very eager to dive into this book, and I was very, very impressed by it.

As a history based graphic novel, this is a great read. While I had heard of a few of the people that Criswell highlights, there were so many that I had absolutely no clue existed even though their contributions and achievements are impressive and impactful. They stories are separated into different sections interspersed with Criswell’s own perspectives of being an out queer person (more on that in a bit), and you can tell that there was a lot of research and a lot of care put into telling these peoples stories correctly and respectfully. From people like Magnus Hirshfeld to Nancy Cárdenas to We’wha and more, the contributions range from the arts, medicine, politics, music, science, and it’s so comprehensive without feeling overwhelming or overstuffed. Criswell clearly did their homework and provides great overviews of these important figures in queer/LGBTQIA+ history, but goes even a step further and has an extensive bibliography for readers to do even more delving if they so choose. I learned so much and it was always very accessible and never felt overwhelming with information.

But I also I really enjoyed how Criswell managed to tie their own story as a queer person living in San Antonio into a really well done exploration of queer people in history who have been overlooked for so many years. Representation is so important for people to be able to see themselves in stories and history, and for far too long many marginalized groups didn’t get as many examples of people like them to be able to see and resonate with. Not only do we get these great minibiographies, we also get the story of a queer person who is trying to figure out their own self, and how these people who have been largely ignored or forgotten are being remembered and being inspirational in their journey of self-discovery. It’s a great way to show the importance of representation in a personal way that the reader can see first hand, and I thought it never detracted from the history bits, which was really great to see.

“Queer As All Get Out” is a great history book, and I mean that not only for LGBTQIA+ history, but also just history in general. The research is there, the facts are accessible, and the point is clear. I definitely recommend it.

Rating 9: An illuminating history of queer and trans people who have contributed to culture and society but have been lost to history, “Queer As All Get Out” is a great history book, LGBTQIA+ or otherwise.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Queer As All Get Out” is included on the Goodreads lists “Reading Rainbow – Queer Graphic Novels”, and “Books for Baby Queers”.

Serena’s Review: “A Forgery of Fate”

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

Book: “A Forgery of Fate” by Elizabeth Lim

Publishing Info: Knopf Books for Young Readers, June 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley!

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

Book Description: Truyan Saigas didn’t choose to become a con artist, but after her father is lost at sea, it’s up to her to support her mother and two younger sisters. A gifted art forger, Tru has the unique ability to paint the future, but even such magic is not enough to put her family back together again, or stave off the gangsters demanding payment in blood for her mother’s gambling debts.

Left with few options, Tru agrees to a marriage contract with a mysterious dragon lord. He offers a fresh start for her mother and sisters and elusive answers about her father’s disappearance, but in exchange, she must join him in his desolate undersea palace. And she must assist him in a plot to infiltrate the tyrannical Dragon King’s inner circle, painting a future so treasonous, it could upend both the mortal and immortal realms..

Review: Obviously, I’m probably going to read almost anything that bills itself as a new version of “Beauty and the Beast.” And, while I didn’t fully connect with previous books I’ve read by this author, I still think she has a strong, compelling style to her writing that, at the very least, will be good reading on its own. So reading this book was an odd mixture of expected points of interest and strange disconnects.

First of all, I very much enjoyed the main character. Not only was she an engaging lead, full of spunk, smarts, and a refreshing streak of pragmatism, but her magical abilities tied to painting and prophesy were incredibly interesting. The author wisely crafted this magic system to be just useful enough, often giving Tru (and the reader) glimpses of a future that may end up presenting itself in a completely different manner than how one might at first interpret it.

Beyond Tru’s abilities, I really liked the magic and world-building of this story. Much of these fantasy elements were of the whimsical sort, such that if you perhaps spent too much time trying to picture how any of this worked, it could be frustrating. But if simply accepted and viewed through a lens of wonder, much of it was fantastical and beautiful. Yes, I did get caught up with movement in the underwater scenes more times than I want to admit, but that might just be a “me” issue. Obviously, I also really liked the dragon lore and the way this was tied up in the classic “Beauty and the Beast” tale.

As for characters, I also enjoyed many of the side characters and Tru’s intimate family. Tru’s relationship with her family is strained by the circumstances they find themselves in, but I enjoyed the layers this added to their dynamics, particularly between Tru and her mother. And, of course, I loved Tru’s devotion to her sisters. I was sad when they disappeared for large chunks of the middle of the book, though that’s probably to be expected in a retelling of “Beauty and the Beast.” I also really liked many of the inhabitants of the “castle” that Tru meets and befriends.

Unfortunately, the one real sticking point for me was the romance itself. It started off strong, with a spark-filled first scene, but then things seemed to peter out completely as the story continued. For one thing, they simply didn’t seem to spend enough time together to justify any growing interest, at least on Tru’s part. There was a lot of action, but much of it was spent apart, which then made Tru’s growing interest feel disconnected from anything we’d seen on the page. Even as I was told that the attraction was growing, I never felt it. Beyond this, there was a “twist” that was introduced late in the story that I think only complicated this relationship, and not in a good way.

Overall, I think this was a successful fantasy adventure story, and Tru was a great main character on her own. However, as a “Beauty and the Beast” re-imaging, I think it struggled with a lackluster romance. Fans of this author, however, should definitely still give it a go and I’m still committed to checking out new books by her in the future, as I think her storytelling is only improving over time!

Rating 8: A whimsical, fantasy adventure, though a bit lacking in the love story itself.

Reader’s Advisory:

“A Forgery of Fate” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Fantasy and Favorite Retellings.

Kate’s Review: “The Long Walk”

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

Book: “The Long Walk” by Stephen King (writing as Richard Bachman)

Publishing Info: Signet Books, July 1979

Where Did I Get This Book: I own it.

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

Book Description: Against the wishes of his mother, sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty is about to compete in the annual grueling match of stamina and wits known as The Long Walk. One hundred boys must keep a steady pace of four miles per hour without ever stopping… with the winner being awarded “The Prize”—anything he wants for the rest of his life. But, as part of this national tournament that sweeps through a dystopian America year after year, there are some harsh rules that Garraty and ninety-nine others must adhere to in order to beat out the rest. There is no finish line—the winner is the last man standing. Contestants cannot receive any outside aid whatsoever. Slow down under the speed limit and you’re given a warning. Three warnings and you’re out of the game—permanently…

Review: I first read “The Long Walk”, one of Stephen King’s ‘Bachman Books’, in 2015, just a couple of months before we started the blog. So about ten years ago! It had be recommended to me by one of my very closest coworkers at the library I was working at at the time, and I was absolutely enthralled with it. It instantly skyrocketed up to my top 3 Stephen King books (with “The Stand” and “Carrie” along with it). When I saw that they were going to make a movie based on this book I was excited, but nervous. Then I saw the trailer, and was like “I NEEEEEED TO SEEEEEE IT!!!” Serena and I are actually planning on going at some point, and I have plans to see it with other people too. And the time is almost upon us, as the movie comes out this Friday. So I thought that it would be the perfect time for a reread and to finally review it on this blog, since it JUST missed out. And wow. It hit even harder this time around.

Actual footage of me reeling on the couch while reading as the kittens come to see what’s happening…. (source)

I’ve always said that when King was writing as Bachman he felt no need to be hopeful or optimistic. Most of King’s books have some kind of hints at hope even in all the darkness (there ARE exceptions; “Pet Sematary”, “Cujo”, “Carrie” all come to mind), but when he wrote as Bachman he was just fine being a huge bummer. “The Long Walk” basically keeps up with that pattern, as a group of teenage boys participate in an unending walk in hopes of being the last man standing to receive a prize to make their lives better. After all, in “The Long Walk” America has been taken over by cruel authoritarian fascists who value control and violence to maintain it (ughhhhh), and the televised Long Walk competition is entertainment built from children being killed if they stop walking at the speeds they are supposed to be at. Our protagonist is Ray Garraty, who joined like all others thinking that walking at 5 miles per hour is easy and that the money will be his, but as the walk keeps going he and his companions start to break down as they are all picked off one by one (and let me tell you, when I was originally reading this I tried to walk as long as I could at 5mph while on a treadmill at the gym. It was NOT EASY). Garraty and other contestants, like the steadfast and snarky McVries, the antagonistic and crude Barkovitch, and the mysterious Stebbins, enter in and out of each other’s orbits as their companions are killed, they become physically exhausted, and their mental faculties start to break down. It’s tense, it’s awful, and it is relentless. I know that King has said he originally wrote this book when he was in college, when boys he knew were being drafted and sent to Vietnam, and the hopelessness and bleakness definitely harkens to the idea of young men and boys being sent into a meat grinder for a country’s own devices. But as someone who now has a kid of her own this book hit THAT MUCH HARDER, with these children sobbing, screaming, or in some cases dying slowly and painfully before actually being shot for losing (one character contracts pneumonia while walking, and my God it was harrowing as he slips further and further into illness with no ways to rest and heal). There was one moment with a character screaming about his feet for prolonged moments where I couldn’t go any further for a bit. I just had to put it down. It’s an effective and dark dystopian nightmare.

BUT. There are also moments of intimacy and camaraderie between some of the characters, specifically Garraty and McVries, that show that even in the darkest and most terrible times and experiences, if you can find someone, or a community, to hold onto, there will always be bits of hope. The relationship between Garraty and McVries was so, so lovely, as while it has its ups and downs as the contest goes on and their stress, exhaustion, and fear kick in, you can tell that they both have a connection that keeps each other going. There has long been queer subtext speculated about these characters, which is definitely a fair way to interpret it, but what I loved about their friendship is that it’s another example of one of my favorite relationship portrayals: when two people connect to each other and get each other on a level that transcends platonic and romantic and is a whole other thing that isn’t quite definable. It makes them that much more touching and intimate, and that much more tragic as the story goes on. This book isn’t optimistic or hopeful as a whole, but these bits as these boys keep each other going DO have small bright spots in a sea of despair. And it’s a reminder of how important that can be.

“The Long Walk” is still one of my favorite Stephen King novels. It’ll wreck you if you let it. But it’s so, so good.

Rating 10: This is still one of my favorite Stephen King books. Devastating, tense, and bleak, but so incredibly emotional with glimmers of intimacy and camaraderie.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Long Walk” is included on the Goodreads lists “Dystopia!”, and “Games of Death”.

Book Club Review: “Redshirts”

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

We are part of a group of librarian friends who have had an ongoing book club running for the last several years. Each “season” (we’re nerds) we pick a theme and each of us chooses a book within that theme for us all to read. Re-visiting some of our past themes, we’re once again pulling genres from a hatch and matching them together in one book. 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: “Redshirts” by John Scalzi

Publishing Info: Tor Books, June 2012

Where Did We Get This Book: Kate owns it;

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

Mix-and-Match Genres: Science Fiction and Humor

Book Description: Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting, and Andrew is thrilled all the more to be assigned to the ship’s Xenobiology laboratory.

Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to pick up on the fact that:
(1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces
(2) the ship’s captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations
(3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.

Not surprisingly, a great deal of energy below decks is expended on avoiding, at all costs, being assigned to an Away Mission. Then Andrew stumbles on information that completely transforms his and his colleagues’ understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is…and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives.

Kate’s Thoughts

I’m the one who pulled the two genres for this book, and while my immediate reaction was ‘oh no Science Fiction?!’, my second reaction was ‘oh that’s easy, I’ll pick “Redshirts”!’ When thinking of these two genres combined it was an easy conclusion, as it’s been touted as one of the funniest Sci-Fi novels of the past couple of decades. While I hadn’t read it, my husband has a copy (signed by John Scalzi, no less, with a very hilarious inscription), so it just seemed like a good excuse to pick up the book he had been so keen on ten years ago. Plus, I love “Star Trek”. It seemed like a no brainer.

And for the most part I enjoyed it! It is definitely very funny with its tongue planted firmly in cheek, and it was so fun seeing the references and winks about not only “Star Trek” but also cruddy cable or syndicated Sci-Fi shows that tried to desperately to be it. I enjoyed the hilarious ways that Dahl and the other more ‘expendable’ crew members would be put in ludicrous situations with ludicrous outcomes, and enjoyed the parodying of the more ‘important’ crew members and how absolutely insufferable they are with their plot armor. But what I really enjoyed about this book was when our ‘space crew’ came to the real world to confront their makers, as not only did it feel like a cute reference to “Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home” (my very FAVORITE “Trek” film), but it also turns into an interesting rumination on the way that characters can feel like they come to life and go their own way beyond their creators controls. And I also really liked the three separate codas at the end, each representing the first, second, and third person perspectives, and how they managed to add to the story but didn’t feel superfluous in spite of the fact they were kind of tangental.

“Redshirts” was fun!! I’m glad that I finally picked it up.

Serena’s Thoughts

I was super excited when Kate picked this book! It’s been on my TBR list for forever, but for whatever reason, I’d never gotten around to it. And I really have no excuse; not only do I enjoy science fiction in general, but I also really love “Star Trek.” And boy did this book not disappoint!

While I think many of the sci-fi tropes being touched on would be easily recognizable to most general fans, this is definitely one of those parodies that is better appreciated the more knowledge of “Star Trek” you have. On top of the titular commentary of the “redshirts” who were only ever there to die terribly while the main cast sailed through the plot, there were also so many fun little references scattered throughout. And, like Kate referenced, it was particularly fun having the main plot call back to “Voyage Home,” one of the most popular of the films.

The humor and parody is central to the plot, and this was both a good thing and a bad thing. It was laugh-out-loud funny consistently throughout, but if you go in looking for much of the deeper commentary or more layered dynamics often found in science fiction, you won’t really find that here. I enjoyed the characters and the story itself, but, other than the comedy itself, nothing was particularly memorable. But I think for a book like this, that works fine! This is a fairly straight-forward story focused on sending up a beloved science fiction franchise, with all the love and ridicule it can muster!

Kate’s Rating 8: A fun and funny send up and love letter to “Star Trek” and campy Sci-Fi TV, as well as an interesting exploration of art and creation.

Serena’s Rating 8: A rollicking good time that will be especially gratifying for all of the “Ster Trek” fans out there!

Book Club Questions

  1. This book has been referred to as post-modern Science Fiction as well as meta fiction Science Fiction. Have you read any meta books before, Sci-Fi or otherwise?
  2. This book takes a lot of inspiration (and is a lovely send up of) “Star Trek”. If you have watched “Star Trek” did you enjoy this book? If not, did it still work for you even without the frame of reference?
  3. The original title of this book was “Redshirts: A Book With Three Codas”. Which of the three codas was your favorite?
  4. What do you think this book was saying about fate and free will?
  5. What do you think that John Scalzi as a writer was trying to convey about writing as an art form?
  6. One of the biggest praises of this book is the humor. What moment stood out as funniest to you?

Reader’s Advisory

“Redshirts” is included on the Goodreads lists “Best Comedic Science Fiction Books”, and “Humorous Space Opera”.

Next Book Club Pick: “Someplace Generous: An Inclusive Romance Anthology” by Elaina Ellis (Ed.) & Amber Flame (Ed.)