Month: October 2025

Serena’s Review: “Road of Bones”

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Book: “The Road of Bones” by Demi Winters

Publishing Info: Delacorte Press, November 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley!

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

Book Description: Silla Nordvig is running for her life.

The Queen of Íseldur has sent warriors to bring Silla to Sunnavík, where death awaits her. When her father is killed, his last words set Silla on a perilous travel the treacherous Road of Bones–a thousand-mile stretch haunted by warbands, creatures of darkness, and a mysterious murderer–and go to Kopa, where a shield-house awaits her.

After barely surviving the first stretch of road, a desperate Silla sneaks into a supply wagon belonging to the notorious Bloodaxe Crew. To make it to Kopa, she must win over Axe Eyes, the brooding leader of the Crew, while avoiding the Wolf, his distractingly handsome right-hand man. But the queen’s ruthless assassin has other plans and hunts Silla obsessively.

Will Silla make it safely to Kopa? Or will she fall prey to the perils of the Road of Bones?

Review: I knew very little about this book when I picked it up this month other than the fact that it had been long neglected on my NetGalley backlist and maybe had something to do with Vikings? Turned out, I’d been sitting on a real winner! (The other side of this, of course, is that now I’m committed to a series that is already up to three books and seems to be continuing on!)

There was a lot to like about this one! For one thing, I always appreciate it when I pick up a fantasy romance that is written in third person and not the pervasive first person that has taken over the genre recently. Beyond that, the author included several POVs beyond Silla herself. We get into the heads of two of the men of the Bloodaxe Crew as well as see through the eyes of the ruthless woman hunting her down. This kind of variety not only lessens the weight of the high page count, but through it, the story and world were expanded in a way that pushed the narrative toward an epic-like feel. Always a good thing to see in a fantasy series that is setting out for a long-ish run!

Silla is the main character, however, and I really enjoyed her. There were a few secrets presented early in the story that are, perhaps, a bit predictable if you’re familiar with the conventions of the genre. But as the story doesn’t lean too heavily on these mysteries (or, indeed, even recognize them much as mysteries at all!), I was OK with a few easily anticipated twists. Beyond that, I enjoyed the fact that Silla was a rather unique leading lady, or at least unique to the sort we often see nowadays. She’s not a badass fighter. She’s not overly snarky. Instead, her strength lies in her persistence in the face of terrible odds and her courage when thrown into situations far above her pay grade.

There were also hints that Silla is being set up as the “sunshine” side of a potential “grumpy x sunshine” romance. And that being the case, I appreciated that the “sunniness” wasn’t overdone. She can be optimistic and have moments of pep, but she wasn’t foolish or silly, traits that all too often are mistaken for a “sunny” disposition.

I also enjoyed the other POVs we had. Both men were interesting, though I didn’t love even the bare strokes of a love triangle that was set up. Luckily, that wasn’t overly emphasized, and it ended up going in the direction I expected, which made it much more tolerable in the meantime. I also always love getting to see inside the head of the “villain” of the story and really appreciated that aspect of this book. Beyond adding greater complexity to the stakes, this character’s POV gave us even greater insights into some of the larger political dynamics going on.

For all of that, this is a long book. There was a lot of action in the first third of the book, but things did start to drag a bit toward the middle. This also coincided with some of my least favorite bits with the relationship dynamics between Silla and the two male leads. However, there was still enough going on (and I haven’t even touched on the other crew members of this little gang) that I didn’t get overly bogged down in the slower pacing.

In the end, I really enjoyed this one. All of the “reveals” at the end set up even greater stakes for the books to come, and I’m excited to see where all of our characters go from here!

Rating 8: A great start to a new fantasy series with an excellent cast of characters at its heart!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Road of Bones” can be found on this Goodreads list: Best Paranormal & Fantasy Romances.

Kate’s Review: “King Sorrow”

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Book: “King Sorrow” by Joe Hill

Publishing Info: William Morrow, October 2025

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

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

Book Description: Arthur Oakes is a reader, a dreamer, and a student at Rackham College, Maine, renowned for its frosty winters, exceptional library, and beautiful buildings. But his idyll—and burgeoning romance with Gwen Underfoot—is shattered when a local drug dealer and her partner corner him into one of the worst crimes he can imagine: stealing rare books from the college library.

Trapped and desperate, Arthur turns to his closest friends for comfort and help. Together they dream up a wild, fantastical scheme to free Arthur from the cruel trap in which he finds himself. Wealthy, irrepressible Colin Wren suggests using the unnerving Crane journal (bound in the skin of its author) to summon a dragon to do their bidding. The others—brave, beautiful Alison Shiner; the battling twins Donna and Donovan McBride; and brainy, bold Gwen—don’t hesitate to join Colin in an effort to smash reality and bring a creature of the impossible into our world.

But there’s nothing simple about dealing with dragons, and their pact to save Arthur becomes a terrifying bargain in which the six must choose a new sacrifice for King Sorrow every year—or become his next meal.

Review: Thank you to William Morrow for giving me an ARC of this novel at ALAAC25 and to Joe Hill for signing it!

Ever since I was a kid I have loved dragons. I think it was the dragon in “Sleeping Beauty” that really solidified my hyperfixation at 2 years old, I used to collect dragon figurines, and well into my adulthood I have just loved these creatures. Hell, my absolute devotion to Daenerys Targaryen on “Game of Thrones” even after she did the whole ‘burn King’s Landing to the ground’ thing probably had to do with the fact Targaryens have dragons. And of course “The Hobbit”‘s Smaug has always been a favorite. When I heard that Joe Hill’s newest novel (his first in nearly ten years!) “King Sorrow” had a dragon in it, I was already sold. I mean, it’s one of my favorite authors and one of my favorite magical creatures. And we had waited so long. Let me tell you right now: it was well, WELL worth the wait. And WHAT A DRAGON!

He’s beauty and he’s grace…. (source)

Hill takes the reader on an epic dark fantasy/horror journey in “King Sorrow”, following a group of friends who, in hopes of helping group member Arthur in an hour of desperate need (i.e. he is forced to steal books from his employer by a couple of low life drug dealers, or else his imprisoned mother will be hurt or even killed), summon a dragon named King Sorrow from a mystical book (part of the library collection Arthur has been caring for/stealing from) to dispose of his tormentors. The only issue is that King Sorrow will require a human sacrifice every year. The set up is classic fantasy, but the way that Hill approaches it combines coming of age, shifting friendship themes, trauma, connection, changing technology, and a broad scope of decades to create a masterpiece of dark fantasy/horror. We mostly focus on Arthur at first, but we also get the perspectives of the other friends in the group, whether it’s steadfast and empathetic Gwen, the rage filled and snide Donna, her twin Van who is far more lackadaisical but also addiction prone, the sweet but secretive Alison, or the confident and ambitious Colin. Hill takes his time exploring all of the characters, fleshing them out and giving them time to grow, changing motivations, and evolving connections as the power of King Sorrow either overwhelms or corrupts each of them as they all have to pick a sacrifice every year.

I loved the ethical explorations of this book as well, as many of them try to pick their sacrifices based on the potential for reducing harm and death, though more often than not things never quite work out they way they want them to. I loved seeing all of these characters go through their various journeys, especially Gwen and Arthur, and loved seeing some of them shift from well meaning to downright villainous due to the way that this kind of power will corrupt a person. They are such a well rounded group of characters with nuances, intricacies, and flaws, and I enjoyed all of them (even Donna, who basically represents everything I stand against in terms of her values).

And as for the horror and dark fantasy aspects of this book, it’s no shock that Hill nails every single theme and every single plot point. Not only do I love King Sorrow as a snarky and imposing villain (with a dark sense of humor to book), I also loved the other fantastical beats of this book, whether it’s magic books, literal trolls who then turn into Internet trolls, or magical objects like dragon tears. Hill puts a unique spin on the fantasy beats, and I found myself grinning from ear to ear one moment, then feeling my heart race as we jumped to an extended action or horror sequence. There is an entire extended sequence on a plane where a character is hoping to prevent disaster while other passengers are seeing King Sorrow bolting through the air outside their windows, and the intensity of this section was basically hovering around a 10 the entire time. I also just loved King Sorrow himself. At one point he is described to sound like Quint from “Jaws” and my GOD if that isn’t wholly inspired. He’s scary and menacing but also, at times, incredibly hilarious, and it just captures the essence of a smug and cruel dragon in the perfect way. Hill is truly at his best in this book when it comes to how he can meld horror, thriller, and fantasy together, and this truly feels like an opus. I was amazed that a book that is almost one thousand pages doesn’t feel like it has a wasted moment or page. It’s so well conceived and it kept me fully hooked until I turned the last page.

“King Sorrow” is phenomenal. A masterwork from Joe Hill, who already has so many masterworks to his name. I was completely blown away. This will surely be a top three read of the year for me.

And with that, Horrorpalooza 2025 comes to an end on the highest note possible. Thank you all so much for coming along on this horror based journey, and I hope that you all have a happy, safe, and spooky Halloween!!!

Rating 10: Simply brilliant. A masterwork. I absolutely loved every bit of it.

Reader’s Advisory:

“King Sorrow” is included on the Goodreads list “Horror Books 2025”.

Serena’s Review: “The Everlasting”

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

Book: “The Everlasting” by Alix E. Harrow

Publishing Info: Tor Books, October 2025

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

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

Book Description: Sir Una Everlasting was Dominion’s greatest hero: the orphaned girl who became a knight, who died for queen and country. Her legend lives on in songs and stories, in children’s books and recruiting posters―but her life as it truly happened has been forgotten.

Centuries later, Owen Mallory―failed soldier, struggling scholar―falls in love with the tale of Una Everlasting. Her story takes him to war, to the archives―and then into the past itself. Una and Owen are tangled together in time, bound to retell the same story over and over again, no matter what it costs.

But that story always ends the same way. If they want to rewrite Una’s legend―if they want to tell a different story–they’ll have to rewrite history itself.

Review:I got to meet Alix Harrow at ALA, which was incredibly fun all on its own. But as anyone knows who’s been to a convention, much of your time is spent standing in line. That being the case, I got to overhear her conversations with many other readers in the same line as me, and they all went along a similar line: the reader would come up and wax poetic about their love for Starling House and how excited they were for her new books; Alix Harrow would begin to look more and more nervous and then say something like this at the very end, “…well, the next one is a VERY different book, but I hope you like it..!!” I wasn’t too concerned, as I’ve loved everything I’ve read by her so far. But after picking this one up, I can understand why she was concerned. For, readers, this book is written in a combination of first- and second-person perspective! And I loved it!

The really funny thing about this is that right before I started reading this one, I was talking to my husband about how I thought that first person was one of the most difficult perspectives to write from and that I’d only read one book/series EVER that had pulled off second person (N. K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy). And then I picked up this one and had to eat my words! The biggest concern with this sort of thing is that it could come across as a gimmick. But, wisely, Harrow created the perfect story for this format, with the plot and themes of the story directly tied to the reason the story is told the way it is. I don’t want to go into too many spoilers, but not only did these perspectives not distract from the reading experience, they greatly enhanced the emotional impact of what was going on in the story.

Time travel is another tricky concept to pull off, and I think Harrow does an excellent job exploring different ways to use this device without getting too bogged down in technicalities. Whenever I felt myself getting too caught up on details, I was hit with another massive twist or emotional gut punch, of the sort that I quickly forgot any questions I may have had. By the end, I feel like everything was neatly tied together in a way that left all of my most pressing questions answered.

As for characters, there are three main characters in the book: Owen, the scholar; Una, the knight; and the primary villain. Each of these three was fantastic. We probably spend the most time in Owen’s head, and his story explored themes of courage, heritage, and history. Una, however, was probably my favorite, with her complicated, tragic story that only becomes more so as the book progresses. Her life is tightly bound by duty, loyalty, and sacrifice, and the discovery of a love that doesn’t ask anything of her shakes her world. I don’t want to discuss the villain too much, but there were so many fascinating layers here as well. By the end, I both despised and sympathized with this character, as misled and terrible as they ultimately turned out to be.

This book is a work of art; there’s no other way to say it. It’s like a perfectly tuned machine, with every aspect working together perfectly: theme, format, voice, and characters. While Harrow is correct that this book is very different from Starling House, I think she failed to account for a simple fact: readers will follow a talented author through any narrative device in pursuit of an excellent story. And such was the case here.

Rating 10: Nothing less than a work of art, and The Everlasting is a masterpiece!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Everlasting” can be found on these Goodreads lists: My favorite Medieval Fantasy novels and All the New Fantasy Books Arriving in October 2025.

Kate’s Review: “The Brood”

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Book: “The Brood” by Rebecca Baum

Publishing Info: Thomas & Mercer, October 2025

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

Where You Can Get This Book: Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: A fascinating blend of horror and magical realism, this spine-tingling thriller explores the complex relationship between women, their bodies, and the natural world.

Cutthroat NYC lawyer Mary Whelton just buried her problematic old mentor. But as she leaves the mourners and protesters behind, the press stays hot on her heels. Desperate to escape, she unwittingly barrels deep into a remote forest in upstate New York. Until a collision—with a buzzing, oozing throng of cicadas—stops her dead in her tracks.

She awakens in a crude cabin, held captive by Girl, a simple, hulking woman who mistakes Mary for her derelict mother and obsesses over a mysterious Brood. While tortured echoes from Mary’s past feed her growing sense of fear, it becomes clear that she’s destined to bear an unthinkable role in the cicadas’ cyclical reemergence. But when Girl’s grisly past comes back to haunt them both, Mary is thrust into a violent battle of wills.

Confoundingly creepy and atmospheric, The Brood peels back the hurt and pain of the female experience, laying bare the messy necessity for transformation and growth.

Review: Thank you to Rebecca Baum for sending me an ARC of this novel!

We are starting to wind down our Horrorpalooza celebration, as Halloween is on Friday and October is almost at its end. I’m always sad when it comes time to wrap up this fun review theme, but don’t worry. We still have two more horror focused reviews for the celebration (and obviously there will be more horror reviews from me because that’s my jam all year round). And I am coming in hot with the second to last entry for Horrorpalooza 2025! Rebecca Baum asked me if I’d be interested in reading her body horror novel “The Brood”, and I was admittedly a bit squeamish at the premise. Body horror freaks me out, and parasitic body horror REALLY freaks me out. But the premise caught my attention, and I wanted to take a chance on it because it sounded quite promising. And I’m glad that I did, because I found “The Brood” to be a well done body horror tale. And VERY disgusting.

This was basically my reaction to so much of this book. (source)

The atmosphere and building dread in this book is top notch. Mary is a high powered attorney who has become a bit of a ruthless ‘fixer’, and after a car crash while leaving a funeral in the remote backwoods she is taken captive by a hulking, strange woman who is only known as ‘Girl’. Girl is convinced that Mary is her long lost mother, and keeps her hostage so a cicada swarm she calls ‘The Brood’ can lay eggs and gestate in Mary’s body. SO, first I want to talk about the backwoods horror, as that is a sub-genre I really like. The isolation, the inability to escape, the lurking cave that may or may not have some kind of greater horror that won’t let Mary leave, it’s all creepy and strange and suffocating. Girl is both foreboding but also sympathetic for a litany of reasons, and as she and Mary (more on her in a bit) interact they spar, butt heads, but also kind of learn to understand each other. She’s more than the stereotypes of your typical ‘backwoods malevolent hillbilly’ trope, and I found her to be a scary AND sympathetic foil for Mary.

Okay. The body horror. With parasitic themes. I will come out and say first and foremost that I have a REALLY hard time with this kind of horror sub-genre, and always have. I full we knew going into this book that this was the kind of thing I was signing up for, and I knew that I was going to have a hard time with it. And I did. SO MUCH PUSS!! But I want to talk about why I still enjoyed(?) it, or at least appreciated it, as a person who has such a huge case of the willies with this kind of thing, and that is that this kind of horror story is always going to be reminiscent of losing bodily autonomy, which especially these days is a real life horror that many face (even if it isn’t cicadas taking over the body) and is terribly relevant. The way that Girl prioritizes the cicada clutch growing in Mary’s body and how that in turn leads to some pretty horrifying moments even beyond the body horror bits (case in point with few spoilers, a hunger strike Mary implements that Girl is QUICK to snuff out. I had to pause my reading for a little bit because man, force feeding is SO brutal and Baum really captures it). It’s scary enough thinking about insects growing under your skin. It’s even worse when it mirrors the way that pregnant people who don’t want to be pregnant are sometimes forced to carry a pregnancy no matter the cost to their bodies and minds. Be warned: this book goes hard. It did for me anyway.

But there was also a surprising undercurrent of ache and sorrow when it comes to Mary’s backstory that slowly bubbles up, and concludes in a way that had me crying for the last couple chapters of the book. Mary is a very cold and damaged woman when we meet her, and she doesn’t REALLY soften at all, at least not in expected ways, as the story goes on and she has to endure her kidnapping, torture, and being a reluctant vessel for an insect clutch in her body. She’s done some terrible things in her frenzy to become successful. But at the same time, we learn that she has a deep, deep trauma due to being abandoned to an orphanage as a five year old, and being abused for a lot of her life, and shows how these things affect her path. Baum is sure not to make excuses for the terrible harm she caused at one point. But she does help the reader understand why she did what she did, and it makes it a nuanced take that has a very emotional resolution.

“The Brood” is probably not for the squeamish, but for those who love some disgusting body horror that doesn’t hold back (and does lean way into the metaphors in an effective way), it will be a gross and enjoyable read.

Rating 8: Disgusting and visceral body horror combined with feminist themes of bodily autonomy make for a nasty but relevant read. It also made me cry unexpectedly!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Brood” isn’t on any Goodreads lists as of yet, but it would fit in on “Books with Creepy Crawlers”!

Not Just Books: October 2025

While we do love us some books, believe it not, we do have a life outside of reading. So to highlight our other pop culture interests, on the last Monday of each month, we each will highlight three other “happenings” from the last month. Big events on favorite TV shows, new movies we’ve watched, old movies we’ve “discovered,” etc. Pretty much whatever we found of particular interest outside of the book world during the last month. Share your own favorite things in the comments!

Serena’s Picks

Video Game: “Hades”

I typically gravitate toward RPG video games, but, as I discovered with My Time at Sandrock, if the game is good, I’m up to explore outside that primary genre. I’d heard about this one for a while, but I’ve never really vibed with the rogue-like format. Dying over and over again just clearing the same levels? No thanks! But I saw that Hades II was coming out this fall featuring a female main character, so I thought now was probably the time to check out the first one before just jumping straight to a sequel. And boy, am I glad I did! The voice acting and writing are so good on this one! For a game that seems like it would just be repetitive, there was so much story to explore, especially if you’re a fan of the Greek pantheon. Beyond that, there is a “god mode” that allows you to focus more on the story, which is good for those of us who spent probably 50 runs dying pointlessly. But now that I’m done, on to the sequel!

Apple+ TV Show: “Silo”

I’ve seen this one on Apple+ for a while but never checked it out. I’ll admit, I feel like I’m extra wary of science fiction shows, having seen way too many C-level series in this genre in the past. But this one has really impressed me! The story is super interesting, and they’ve done an excellent job with the production value; everything looks great! I’m into the second season now, and I feel they are managing to strike a nice balance of adding questions and mysteries while also resolving some things as we go. Of course, I’m always worried whether shows like this will stick the landing, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

Video Game: “Cinderella Phenomenon”

More proof that I will play almost any game if the concept is interesting! This is pretty much just a story game, but the main concept was right up my alley! The story follows a “Cinderella”-like character who then must unravel various fairytale curses. As these are all fairytales, the stories all revolve around the different romances one can choose. Each “story” probably takes about an hour to play through, so they’re all very short. But I thought they were all well done and interesting, so this is a fun one to check out if you’re looking to sit back and just read through a story game—especially if you love fairytales like I do!

Kate’s Picks

TV Show: “Law and Order: Criminal Intent”

When I was in high school and college and beyond I really enjoyed “Law and Order: SVU” and the original “Law and Order”, but I never really got into the third series “Law and Order: Criminal Intent”. It may have been the time of the week it was on, or a disinterest in the premise, but I just kind of missed it. But as a lady who has realized she enjoys ‘quirky savant’ investigator stories (looking at you “Monk” and “Psych”), I decided to go back and give it a shot, as I heard that the main detective is very much that. Oh, and also because I am now of the belief that Vincent D’Onofrio as that detective is a goddamn SMOKE SHOW. He plays Bobby Goren, an unconventional NYPD detective who goes head to head with the criminal of the week with his brilliant observational skills and outside the box thinking, all with the help of his partner Eames, and the cases are presented partially through the eyes of the perpetrators as well (I’m mainly sticking to the Goren and Eames years/episodes, but apparently Jeff Goldblum shows up eventually?!). It feels a bit like a Sherlock Holmes kind of vibe with Goren being so odd and brilliant. Is it at times problematic copaganda as only the aughts could provide, oh sure. But man. D’Onofrio. Smoke Show.

Film: “K-Pop Demon Hunters”

Having a kid who is now in Kindergarten means that she hears a lot of pop culture stuff from her classmates. No surprise that she came home one day asking if she could watch “K-Pop Demon Hunters”, as it has become something of a cultural phenomenon. I said we could watch it together, so that if it did seem inappropriate I could just turn it off. But not only did I find it perfectly appropriate for her, I actually really liked it too! I enjoyed all the gals in Huntr/x (Mira is my absolute favorite, while Zoey holds the keys to my kid’s heart), I liked the demon lore, it’s hilarious and heartfelt, and the songs are catchy as hell. It’s also fun singing the songs with my kid in the car while we wait in the drop off line at school. I will be very curious to see if they decide to do a sequel, and what it will look like if they do (okay, more like WHEN they do). I just hope that Derpy Tiger and Sussie the Magpie show up again if/when it happens.

TV Show: “Talamasca: The Secret Order”

I really loved what AMC did with “Interview With the Vampire”, and am sitting on pins and needles to see what they do with Lestat’s story in the upcoming season (being renamed “The Vampire Lestat” after the book it takes inspiration from, SO EXCITED). But while the fandom waits to see Lestat as a preening and dramatic rock star, we have “Talamasca: The Secret Order” to tide us over/being a whole new obsession. The Talamasca has been hinted at in IWTV, and seeing as it’s such an important presence in the Vampire Chronicles and beyond it just makes sense to give this secretive group its own TV series. Guy Anatole is a successful law school graduate who has the world at his feet (as well as some strange other talents), but soon meets a woman who recruits him into the Talamasca, a secretive organization that keeps an eye on all things supernatural. Guy’s mission is to try and uncover a rogue agent who is trying to destroy the Talamasca in its entirety. It’s a little bit “X-Files”, a little bit espionage, and it has serious potential.

Serena’s Review: “Daughter of No Worlds”

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

Book: “Daughter of No Worlds” by Carissa Broadbent

Publishing Info: Bramble, October 2025

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

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

Book Description: Ripped from a forgotten homeland as a child, Tisaanah learned how to survive with nothing but a sharp wit and a touch of magic. But the night she tries to buy her freedom, she barely escapes with her life.

Desperate to save the best friend she left behind, Tisaanah journeys to the Orders, the most powerful organizations of magic Wielders in the world. To join their ranks, she must complete an apprenticeship with Maxantarius Farlione, a handsome and reclusive fire wielder who despises the Orders. The Orders’ intentions are cryptic, and Tisaanah must prove herself under the threat of looming war. But even more dangerous are her growing feelings for Maxantarius. The bloody past he wants to forget may be the key to her future… or the downfall of them both.

Tisaanah will stop at nothing to save those she abandoned. Even if it means gambling in the Orders’ deadly games. Even if it means sacrificing her heart. Even if it means wielding death itself.

Even if it means wielding death itself.

Review: I’d been holding out on reading this one for a while, anticipating the fact that with Broadbent’s increasing popularity, it was only a matter of time before these indie-published books received the trad publishing treatment! And here we are! As I’ve never disliked a book by this author, it was also one of those refreshing experiences where I could start a book with full confidence that, whatever was in store, I had a fun read ahead!

There was a lot to like about this one, but it did highlight something for me about my experience reading this author. I love her romances; they are complicated, developed, and take the time to fully earn the happily-ever-afters we get by the end. That said, while this book has a lovely romance as well, it was further in the background of the main plot of this book than I’ve seen in other books. And my revelation was this: while the love stories are great, the books by this author I’ve loved the most often focus more on the arc of the main character and the world-building/plot elements! Looking back, I think this partly explains why I’ve often enjoyed the first books in her duologies more than the second, where the romance often comes more to the forefront.

I loved the journey our main character takes within this one. Her story is hard, with many of her experiences focusing on incredibly dark subjects. However, this makes her continued drive, determination, and bravery in the face of these struggles all the more compelling. And the book doesn’t handwave away her journey with a quick montage. From little things, like the reality that learning another language would be an impediment when traveling to a new nation and not a skill quickly learned, to the bigger stuff, like hard-learned lessons about revenge, violence, and the costs these things bring about—it was all so carefully done. Tisaanah felt incredibly well-developed, and, by the end, I would be happy to follow her story wherever it may go (and, believe me, there are a variety of options given by the end of the book!).

I also really enjoyed the world-building and magic that was introduced in this book. And man, was there a lot! By the end of this book, we’d traveled quite far—from one nation to another and back again. And throughout, the reader is fed more and more details about this world and its history. There were also a number of mysteries caught up in the magical elements, many of which were only revealed at the very end, leaving plenty of unanswered questions to be dealt with in the next book.

For all of this, I did enjoy the romance as well! This was definitely more of a subplot than readers may have come to expect from Broadbent, but I think it works all the better for it. Tisaanah and Max are both adults who have led lives with complicated histories, so when they meet, their focus is on more than romance. That being the case, their slow, often unwilling, descent into romance was full of tension and sweetness. There are many stumbling blocks now before them, and I’m excited to see where their love story goes from here.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! There was tons of action, and Tisaanah was a fantastic leading character. I enjoyed Max as well, but I’m hoping to see even more of him in future books to more fully explore his own backstory. Fans of Broadbent’s other books will likely love this one too!

Rating 9: Fierce yet tender, Daughter of No Worlds expands the boundaries of what can be done with the genre! Simply fantastic!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Daughter of No Worlds” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Under the Radar Indie Fantasy Romance and Romantasy Who did this to you?

Kate’s Review: “Girl Dinner”

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

Book: “Girl Dinner” by Olivie Blake

Publishing Info: Tor Books, October 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: Every member of The House, the most exclusive sorority on campus, and all its alumni, are beautiful, high-achieving, and universally respected.

After a freshman year she would rather forget, sophomore Nina Kaur knows being one of the chosen few accepted into The House is the first step in her path to the brightest possible future. Once she’s taken into their fold, the House will surely ease her fears of failure and protect her from those who see a young woman on her own as easy prey.

Meanwhile, adjunct professor Dr. Sloane Hartley is struggling to return to work after accepting a demotion to support her partner’s new position at the cutthroat University. After 18 months at home with her newborn daughter, Sloane’s clothes don’t fit right, her girl-dad husband isn’t as present as he thinks he is, and even the few hours a day she’s apart from her child fill her psyche with paralyzing ennui. When invited to be The House’s academic liaison, Sloane enviously drinks in the way the alumnae seem to have it all, achieving a level of collective perfection that Sloane so desperately craves.

As Nina and Sloane each get drawn deeper into the arcane rituals of the sisterhood, they learn that living well comes with bloody costs. And when they are finally invited to the table, they will have to decide just how much they can stomach in the name of solidarity and power.

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

I didn’t join a sorority when I was at the U of MN. I absolutely knew that wasn’t going to be my scene. I also didn’t know anyone in any sororities, and I think that the only Greek Life gossip I was up to date on while in school was when one of the frats lost their charter and the rumor was that it had to do with bad behavior involving farm animals (I’m sure this wasn’t true, but man was that rumor all OVER campus for a bit). But while this kind of sisterhood wasn’t for me, I don’t really have any super deep thoughts about it, except that it can be a GREAT theme for a thriller or horror about enmeshed sorority sisters doing nefarious things. So of course I was interested in “Girl Dinner” by Olivie Blake. It sounded like feminist rage meets cults meets… UNIQUE culinary tastes.

I bet not! (source)

This is a book that is a combination of horror and satire, and it mostly blends the two genres pretty well in ways that you might expect. We have two women, one college sophomore Nina who wants to become a member of the most coveted sorority on campus, The House, in hopes that the connections will set her up for life. The other is Sloane, an adjunct professor at the same college who is just getting back to work after having her daughter Isla and taking a break (as is expected of a mother), and whose husband Max seems to mean well but is pretty useless when it comes to being a helpful partner. As they both start making connections with The House, they start to really examine the ways that being a woman in society comes with lots of expectations and scrutiny, and feminist rage starts to simmer a bit as they make moves, covet power, and perhaps start finding nourishment from companionship with like minded women… as well as some interesting meals. I really liked the concept of this book, and I always love a weird cannibal horror story that has some metaphors about the cultural zeitgeist. And I mostly liked what this book was doing with its metaphors and waxings about womanhood, the faux feminism of girlbossing, and the paradox of having it all as a woman when men are just assumed that they have it all with less hoops to jump through. Sometimes, however, the metaphor and satire were laid on PRETTY thick. I find that for me less is more when it comes to the satire, as a little less spoon feeding can go a long way for effectiveness in conveying the point.

But for all the moments that I felt like I was having a lot of metaphors explained to me more than they needed to be, everything was more than made up for when things really kicked into gear in the last third of the book. Twists that are out in the open are revealed! We get weird cult like behaviors and ritualistic creepiness! CANNIBALISM! Things are happening at breakneck speed and I was practically swiping at the speed of light to find out what was going on and what was going to happen! I will not spoil anything here, but I can even say that this book had a twist that actually shocked me, came out of nowhere but had a solid foundation, and felt SO earned that I was absolutely thrilled and went back to re-read it all to make sure that it had, indeed, all fallen into place so seamlessly. As you all may know I usually can’t stand a last second twist, but this one? It was great.

“Girl Dinner” is gruesome in your face satire. I found it to be a fun read with a crazy conclusion. Check it out as this Halloween season starts to wane!

Rating 7: At times it feels a bit over-rought in its metaphors, but the ending is so wild but so well earned that it made up for all of it.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Girl Dinner” isn’t on any super specific Goodreads lists, but it would fit in on “Cannibalism Books”.

Serena’s Review: “A Heart So Haunted”

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

Book: “A Heart So Haunted” by Hollie Nelson

Publishing Info: Alcove Press, October 2025

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

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

Book Description: Landry is ready to clean house—not just Harthwait, but the traumatic memories and family entanglements that haunt her. Left reeling from her aunt’s sudden death, Landry knows she has to restore the old house and sell it for much needed cash. Preferably, before autumn arrives. But as renovations begin on Harthwait, she notices some motion sensors activate when no one is home, doors slam shut, and every night, at a quarter after midnight, the disembodied crying begins. Then, when she uncovers a hidden door during the renovations, she dares to open it.

Behind the door is a world of nightmares, some of which are hers, while others belong to a monster—who is trapped inside and desperate to get out. Both haunted by their pasts, Landry makes a deal with the monster, but as they develop feelings for each other, she realizes that the thing that looks like a beast may not be the most beastly thing after all.

This rich and spellbinding tale explores the idea of what we call home and who we call family.

Review: While I’m not as committed to celebrating the Halloween season as Kate, I do try to find a few books that both align with my typical reading genres while also touching on Halloween themes. And this one, with its promise of a haunted house and beastly love interest, felt like it neatly checked that box!

This was one of those cases where I think my expectations (and many other readers’, I suspect) were misaligned in a number of ways. Perhaps I wouldn’t have greatly enjoyed it more had I been more properly prepared for the sort of book I would be reading, but it would have at least been a bit less jarring. And, ultimately, I think the readers who are more likely to enjoy this one would have an easier time finding it.

As it stands, the book description and even the cover, though to a lesser extent, prep the reader for a gothic fantasy story featuring a darker tone that explores not only the romance but the nightmares that surround these two characters. And yes, technically we do get that. But this aligns way closer to the cozy fantasy genre than it does to gothic or horror fantasy. From the very start, the overall voice of the story is lighthearted. Even the “creepy” moments are treated with such a soft hand that I never felt even the teensiest bit of trepidation. And, like I said, there is nothing overtly wrong with this, but it wasn’t what I had been led to expect and it ultimately wasn’t what I wanted.

Perhaps I could have gotten on board more easily with this bait-and-switch of vibes if the story itself had been strong. But boy, did this one drag. I knew we were in trouble when in one of the early chapters, the characters hear a bump in the house… and then proceeded to talk about who should go check it out, whether they should go check it out, jokes about how neither wants to check it out… for pages! Before, you guessed it, finally going and checking it out! By which point, any suspense or tension had been so thoroughly killed that I was bored before we even got into the room in question.

This poor pacing continued throughout the story and really was my primary problem with it. Very little truly happens. And I mean, very little. Instead, pages and pages are devoted to the smallest of interactions and depictions of mundane scenes. This could easily have been edited down to a shorter novel or perhaps even a novella. And I’d argue it would have been stronger for it!

I also never felt invested in these characters. There were, perhaps, smidgens of interest to be found in the predicament of the MMC, but even that wasn’t enough to really hold my interest. And I will say that the romance itself was one of the stronger elements. However, there were also numerous side characters who felt so pointless that it almost boggled the mind. (One of these side characters was the other half of that early, pointless scene I described above, which didn’t endear me to him.)

Overall, this was a bit of a disappointment. I think the author has potential, and I did enjoy the romance. But the story felt bloated with unnecessary characters and drawn-out scenes that severely hampered the pacing and plotting of the main story itself. I will say, cozy fantasy readers who enjoy slower-paced books still might enjoy this one!

Rating 6: Bogged down by unnecessary side characters and drawn-out scenes, this one failed to capture my interest, ultimately.

Reader’s Advisory:

“A Heart So Haunted” isn’t currently on any Goodreads lists, but it should be on Gimme a Beast.

Kate’s Review: “Road Trip With a Vampire”

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Book: “Road Trip With a Vampire” by Jenna Levine

Publishing Info: Berkley, 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: A vampire who can’t remember his past and a witch with secrets of her own hit the road in this zany, cross-country romantic comedy from beloved author Jenna Levine.

Reformed bad witch Grizelda “Zelda” Watson had hoped to never see another vampire again when she slipped away to sunny California for a fresh start. She’d grown tired of them and their nonsense ages ago. But when a vampire with amnesia unexpectedly shows up on her doorstep with a letter from her old friend Reggie, and asks for her help, she can’t say no. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Peter Elliott is tall and gorgeous, looks great in yoga shorts, and has the kind of dark hair and surly expression Zelda’s been a sucker for for hundreds of years.

Peter isn’t completely harmless—he is fanged, after all—but he’s harmless enough, and soon becomes the only person in Zelda’s new life who knows the truth about what she is. If she can help him decipher the cryptic notes in his journal, the only clues to his lost memories, she might as well try before sending him on his way.

But when an alarming message from Peter’s past coincides with a clear sign that Zelda can’t keep running from her own, they embark on a cross-country road trip for answers—only to find what they’re looking for in each other.

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

I had high hopes after “My Vampire Plus One” that the next book in the series by Jenna Levine would focus on the witch Zelda that had been hinted at in the story of Reggie and Amelia. I love vampires, but I may love witches more, and the thought of a bad girl witch turned yoga enthusiast having her time to shine absolutely tickled me. And when I saw that “Road Trip With a Vampire”, the third (and final! SOBS FOREVER!) book in Levine’s Vampire series was focusing on that very topic, I was stoked as hell. And then it was going to be a road trip romance?! SURELY THERE WOULD ONLY BE ONE BED AT THE INEVITABLE HOTEL!!!! I was eager to leap into the book, and my high hopes were pretty well met. Finally a witch was having her time to shine!

Romance novels can be hit or miss for me, and sometimes the tropes that are chosen can be tricky if they feel like they are a bit too well worn or overused in a genre. I know that some people have a pretty hard time with amnesia plot lines, and I also know that witch stuff can sometimes feel twee. But Levine’s characters of Zelda and Peter are both very likable, and I enjoyed learning their back stories through flashbacks, found media (like newspaper clippings about Zelda’s many many antics over the years, sometimes with my beloved Reggie), and their slow melding of storylines through these devices. It made for the tropes that could feel repetitive or cliché easier to swallow.

As for chemistry, I don’t think that it was AS strong as the first two books, but that being said I was ultimately rooting for them to figure it out, even if the conflict that almost always has to happen to tear the couple apart until an inevitable happily ever after was a little shakier this time around. Hell, even the reconciliation aspects felt a bit stalled, and dragged a fair amount to the point I was like ‘okay you two let’s just get it together’. BUT, ultimately I did like them and it was kind of fun having the romance be between a witch and a vampire this time around instead of another vampire and human angle. And the steamy and sexy scenes were pretty good, so that made up for any lagging that was happening in the last fourth of the book (not just sexy blood play, but sexy magic play as well!!!).

We also got to get a bit more outside of the vampire lore from the first two books and had some additional witchcraft world building! I enjoyed seeing Zelda go from her morally grey past as Grizelda, whose mischievousness went a little too far and became a wake up call, to Zelda, a more zen and compassionate yoga instructor who is just trying to make good as best she can. I liked the magic parts, and how she would have to use it in various situations, even when it wasn’t exactly voluntary. Heck, I even would have loved more of it!

I’m sad that this series is ending, but I think that it ends on a pretty good note, wrap up wise. I will be very curious to see what Jenna Levine does next, and definitely think that if you are looking for a charming autumn romance read with a little bit of spooky this is a fun book to pick up.

Rating 8: Another fun and steamy paranormal romance from Jenna Levine, rounding out her vampire romance series and ending it on a cute note.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Road Trip With a Vampire” is included on the Goodreads lists “A Dash of Spice: Autumn Romance Reads”, and “Witchy Fall Vibes”.

Book Club Review: “Someplace Generous”

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We are part of a group of librarian friends who have had an ongoing book club running for the last several years. Each “season” (we’re nerds) we pick a theme and each of us chooses a book within that theme for us all to read. Re-visiting some of our past themes, we’re once again pulling 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: “Someplace Generous: A Romance Anthology” edited by Elaina Ellis and Amber Flame

Publishing Info: Generous Press, May 2024

Where Did We Get This Book: the library!

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

Mix-and-Match Genres: Romance and Short Stories

Book Description: In these pages, desire is centered and explored through queer, trans, Black, AAPI, Latinx, Jewish, disabled, and neurodivergent lenses, and the ages of authors and characters span generations.

The brilliant authors herein have spun lush, poetic tales featuring characters and perspectives historically excluded from romance narratives. Through a variety of styles, lengths, and subgenres–ranging from flash-fiction to short stories, speculative to satire to romcom–there is something here for every kind of reader.

Two Modern Orthodox Jewish women cross a magical threshold on the holiday of Shavuot. A Chinese American grandmother in a nursing home plays matchmaker, just in time for the Lunar New Year. A nonbinary sexworker with psychic abilities helps an older woman connect with her long-lost lover. Two disabled young adults find new levels of intimacy as they work to overcome shame. An enslaved couple jumps the broom and can see the future, which is freedom.

The lovers in Someplace Generous–whether they are sapphic vampires or undercover super-heroes, teenagers, or middle-aged mamas–choose each other, and along the way, they choose themselves, too.

Featuring twenty-two stories by twenty-two authors, Someplace Generous presents voices largely new to the genre of romance-fiction, each bringing a fresh take on what it means to tell a love story.

Kate’s Thoughts

I’ve had a generally okay run of short stories and anthology collections in recent years, so much so that I am not nearly as hesitant to pick them up as I had been in the past. And when book club picked “Someplace Generous” for a romance short stories collection I was actually kind of optimistic. I really liked the idea of a romance short stories collection that had a focus on diverse and own voices reads, as for so long romance was a genre that could have fairly narrow focuses when it came to story and characters (many genres really). So I was hopeful! Unfortunately, this one was disappointing.

There were a couple stories that I did like! I especially liked “How To Open A Door” by Sammy Taub, which centers on a gamer dealing with PTSD after a not so specified ‘incident’ who finds connections online through RPGs. She eventually connects with Hax, a fellow gamer, and they start to build a romantic bond. This one was sweet and I liked the progression of their relationship. Another standout was “Runner” by Rachel McKibbons, in which a woman obsessed and hyperfocused on true crime (specifically women disappearing) starts up an interaction with a stranger. There was just something really intimate to me about this story, and I found it to be soft and quietly bittersweet. There were a couple others that worked for me too, like a story about a seance with a psychic sex worker and a grieving widow, and a forbidden romance between two Orthodox Jewish women.

But there are a LOT of stories in this collection, and a lot of them didn’t connect with me at all. I think that one problem was that there were a lot of entries of ‘flash fiction’, which makes for VERY short stories with little time with the characters. This can be done successfully for sure, but it’s hard to pull off and in many cases the authors didn’t pull it off here. And even some of the longer stories felt half thought out and not really well explored, and I found my thoughts wandering while I was listening more than I was hoping for.

It’s a really good concept and an important imprint to be sure, but “Someplace Generous” was overall a miss of a short stories collection in my opinion.

Serena’s Thoughts

I second everything Kate said. Similar to her experience, I’ve had some recent successes with short story collections, which have shifted my generally pessimistic views more toward the positive. Plus, who doesn’t want more romance in the world? But this was a definite example of ambition outpacing talent, perhaps both on the editing and the writing side.

Like Kate said, there were certainly some standout pieces that I did enjoy (often these ended up being the longer ones, which speaks to an important point about the balancing act that must be struck in word count when writing a short story). The handful that I enjoyed were better able to capture a true sense of character—a necessity, particularly in the romance genre, as the characters and the relationships between them usually make up the majority of whatever plot there is.

However, the vast majority of these simply didn’t work for me. Many of them felt like ideas instead of actual stories. Kate mentioned the “flash fiction” entries, and these ones were true sticking points for me as well. I’ve only ever seen “flash fiction” work in fanfiction, and that comes down to the crucial point that readers go into the story already knowing everything there is to know about the world, characters, and their relationships. Here, we were given single-page-length stories where I was left feeling as if I’d read the writing prompt handed out to students at a college writing seminar instead of an actual story.

Beyond that, several of the stories simply didn’t have anything to say and weren’t very well written. I understand that the editors set out a bit of a tightrope before themselves: with a title like Something Generous, the concept of telling prospective authors to go back to the drawing board or simply, “No, we won’t be including that story,” has to be incredibly difficult. But, as they say, that’s why the editors get paid the big bucks (I know they don’t! And editors are criminally underpaid, but my point stands that the role comes with a lot of responsibility, and some of that is making the tough choices and having to deliver unwelcome news). All in all, this collection would have been better served had the number of stories been substantially cut down, allowing the gems to truly shine.

Kate’s Rating 5 : I love the concept and a couple of the stories did work for me, but too much flash fiction, and too many half baked stories made for an overall weaker collection.

Serena’s Rating 5: The only thing I really liked about this was the idea behind it, unfortunately, and the collection as a whole would have been better served with more judicious selection.

Book Club Questions

  1. What was your favorite story in this collection?
  2. What other kinds of themed story collections have you read over the years? Do you prefer a theme, or do you like a collection by a single author more?
  3. Are you familiar with the story telling structure of flash fiction, which is used a fair amount in this novel? What were your thoughts on it in this collection of short stories?
  4. Were you familiar with any of the authors in this book? Do you think you would read more stories by any of them?
  5. Who would you recommend this book to?

Reader’s Advisory

“Someplace Generous” isn’t on any Goodreads lists yet, but it should be on Romance Anthologies/Collections.

Next Book Club Pick: “My Best Friend’s Exorcism” by Grady Hendrix