Author: thelibraryladiesmn

Book Club Review: “The Bletchley Riddle”

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

Book: “The Bletchley Riddle” by Ruta Sepetys & Steve Sheinkin

Publishing Info: Viking Books for Young Readers, October 2024

Where Did We Get This Book: The Library!

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

Book Description: Remember, you are bound by the Official Secrets Act…

Summer, 1940. Nineteen-year-old Jakob Novis and his quirky younger sister Lizzie share a love of riddles and puzzles. And now they’re living inside of one. The quarrelsome siblings find themselves amidst one of the greatest secrets of World War II—Britain’s eccentric codebreaking factory at Bletchley Park. As Jakob joins Bletchley’s top minds to crack the Nazi’s Enigma cipher, fourteen-year-old Lizzie embarks on a mission to solve the mysterious disappearance of their mother.

The Battle of Britain rages and Hitler’s invasion creeps closer. And at the same time, baffling messages and codes arrive on their doorstep while a menacing inspector lurks outside the gates of the Bletchley mansion. Are the messages truly for them, or are they a trap? Could the riddles of Enigma and their mother’s disappearance be somehow connected? Jakob and Lizzie must find a way to work together as they race to decipher clues which unravel a shocking puzzle that presents the ultimate challenge: How long must a secret be kept?

Serena’s Thoughts

Other than the fact that this is a middle grade novel (I don’t tend to love reading this genre as an adult, which honestly makes me a bit sad!), this book was right up my alley! I enjoy both historical fiction as well as mysteries, and both are done so well in this story. I was also a big fan of the code-breaking and puzzle aspects. I enjoyed trying to put things together myself, but also was happy to simply follow along with the characters as they pieced it all together and then explained it to me later.

I have a long record on this blog of complaining about poorly executed alternating POVs, but this was a good example of how to do this right. One of my biggest complaints is that authors often have a hard time writing multiple characters in ways that make them feel distinct. This story was well suited for this, however, focusing on a pair of siblings, an older teenage brother and his younger middle grade sister. Between the age and gender differences, they both felt very distinct. It was also great following their different experiences with Bletchley Park and the roles they took on there.

I also thought many of the side characters were very good, and I appreciated the way the authors managed to weave in real-world historical figures throughout the text. It would have been nearly impossible to not include these figures, but there’s always the danger, when writing fiction, that any real-life characters won’t blend well with their fictional counterparts. Not the case here! I think both authors well understood the truth in the saying “a little goes a long way” in this area.

Overall, this was a great middle grade read! Not being a middle grade reader myself, I may not have enjoyed it as much as the target audience, but this would be an easy book to recommend to large swaths of younger readers!

Kate’s Thoughts

I too am not much of a middle grade reader unless the topic is VERY interesting to me, but I have loved basically every book I’ve read by Ruth Sepetys so I had pretty high hopes for this one. Middle grade or not. And I also find books about World War II’s ally home fronts interesting in general, especially for places like Britain that were dealing with the constant fear of invasion. And finally, I had some vague knowledge about Bletchley Park thanks to stories about Alan Turing, as well as the miniseries “The Bletchley Circle”. All of that combined to make this a potentially good match for me, and overall it was.

Now I’m not super good at codes and puzzles, but I really enjoyed the way that the authors not only explained the importance of Bletchley Park and the goals that it had, it also gives really accessible examples of codes and ciphers to contextualize what kind of work they were doing (and how daunting the Enigma Machine was even for the most skilled of code breakers). Similarly to how she writes historical fiction books for teens, Supetys really has a skill for bringing out the most interesting and sometimes complex topics and parsing out that information for her audience, this one being middle grade. I also liked how she not only touched on the British code breakers through Jakob’s work (and the important work of messengers like Lizzie, who could be young teens!), but also the code work that more in the thick of it countries were doing, like Poland.

I also generally enjoyed the sibling relationship between Jakob and Lizzie, who butt heads sometimes but always have each other’s backs even in the most stressful of times. We have not only the stress of being at Bletchley, the stress of being in a place that could be bombed at any time, AND the question of where their espionage adjacent mother is, who disappeared in Poland and who Lizzie is convinced in still alive (while British intelligence is convinced she is a traitor). Watching them not only try to figure out how they can help in any way they can at Bletchley but ALSO try and hold on without knowing where their mother is was at times emotional, and both Sepetys and Sheinkin bring their talents together to create an informative and gripping family story.

I found “The Bletchley Riddle” to be a well done World War II read that history buffs of ANY age may like!

Serena’s Rating 8: A great balance of historical facts and exciting adventure, perfect for any middle grade or young adult readers who are interested in learning more about the lesser-known parts of WWII.

Kate’s Rating 8: An accessible and entertaining historical fiction for kids about code breaking, World War II, and siblings fighting against Nazis and surviving a war in more ways than one.

Book Club Questions

  1. How familiar were you with the history of Bletchley Park before reading this book?
  2. Did the setting of World War II London ring true for you?
  3. We follow the Novis siblings, Lizzie and Jacob, with their voices alternating between chapters. Did you find these two characters voices different enough as you read the book? Did you like one perspective more than another?
  4. What did you think about the friendships in this book?
  5. How did you like the inclusion of real life figures like Alan Turing? Did it feel like it fit, or did it feel distracting?
  6. What were your thoughts on the mystery Willa Novis and her disappearance? What about the code mysteries?

Reader’s Advisory

“The Bletchley Riddle” is included on the Goodreads lists “World War Two England”, and “Books Set in Bletchley Park”.

Next Book Club Pick: “The Hacienda” by Isabel Cañas

Serena’s Review: “Tender Cruelty”

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

Book: “Tender Cruelty” by Katee Robert

Publishing Info: Sourcebooks Casablanca, December 2025

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

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

Book Description: The barrier that’s protected Olympus for generations has fallen. The enemy’s breached the gates and the Thirteen are scrambling to protect themselves, their loved ones, and the city they’ve sworn to protect. At least they would be if they weren’t at each others’ throats instead.

Hera has no intention of letting her husband, Zeus, survive the oncoming storm. But despite the white-hot hatred burning between them, when Hera and Zeus are forced to work together, enmity crystalizes into something brighter. Hotter. Too powerful to deny or destroy.

Hera never bartered on falling in love with the man she married―the man she once swore to kill. But now, standing back-to-back in the ruins of Olympus, she may be forced to admit that she’s been wrong about Zeus all these years…and there may be something about their marriage worth saving if they can survive long enough to turn sworn enemies into something more.

Review: As I mentioned in a fairly recent “Not Just Books” post, I’ve been obsessively playing Hades recently. As such, I’m in deep on tons of Greek mythology and am on a constant lookout for more of the same! That being the case, I was excited to check out the most recent book in the Dark Olympus series. I’m obviously not up to date on the entire series, but as this entry is dealing with Hera, a favorite Olympian of mine, I still wanted to check it out!

So, I’ll admit that this was perhaps not the best one to jump into the series with. For one thing, I didn’t realize it was the second to the last in the series. But as such, a lot of the focus was on the greater political maneuverings of all the various characters as the book set up the conclusion of the series that will come next. I probably wasn’t able to appreciate all of these various plotlines to the same extent that fans of the series will, but I was definitely intrigued by what I did see. I’ll probably go back and read earlier books to get some of the individual stories for characters we see here.

One thing that I can say, even without being current with the greater plot points, was the necessary emphasis on these greater story beats did leave the romance and story between Zeus and Hera feeling distinctly second fiddle at times. There simply wasn’t enough time in the book to feel as if their story was given the proper page length to feel truly fleshed out and resolved by the end.

As for Hera and Zeus, I did enjoy these characters. Again, not having read the earlier books, I can only guess that I might have largely hated Zeus in other books. But having his perspective here did make him a fairly compelling character. And Hera, as expected, was great. As one of the goddesses who I think gets done worst in many stories of Olympians, I was happy to see an intriguing take on the character here.

As for the romance, this wasn’t my favorite. I’ve become increasingly agnostic towards the “enemies to lovers” trope, as I think the romance/romantasy market has been truly saturated by the full takeover of this one style of love story. Like I said earlier, the balance between greater plot and romance felt off, and I think more focus on the emotional transition from enemies to lovers would have improved this for me. Also, subjectively, I just don’t really enjoy smut scenes between characters who are still fully in the “hate” portion of the romance. Truly, the book starts out and the characters are already down and dirty in the first chapter. I’m not sure how consistent this is in the other books, but this veered too close to erotica for my own taste.

Overall, I think that this book will be a hit for fans of the series, but is probably not the best place to jump in (fully my bad!). However, I think the worldbuilding and politics of this world were definitely interesting, and I think I’ll plan on checking out earlier entries in the series to see the buildup to this point!

Rating 7: I’m never going to love a romance that has the “enemies” fully engaged in the smut scenes within the first few pages, well before any sort of “lovers” has been earned, but I think the greater worldbuilding is very intriguing!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Tender Cruelty” can be found on this Goodreads list: [ATY 2026] Part of a Series,

Kate’s Review: “Watch Us Fall”

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

Book: “Watch Us Fall” by Christina Kovac

Publishing Info: Simon & Schuster, December 2025

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

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

Book Description: Lucy and her three best friends share a glamorous but decaying house in the heart of Georgetown. They call themselves “the Sweeties” and live an idyllic post-grad lifestyle complete with exciting jobs, dramatic love lives, and, most importantly, each other.

But when Addie, the group’s queen bee, discovers that her ex-boyfriend Josh has gone missing, the Sweeties’ worlds are turned upside down. In the days leading up to his disappearance, Josh, a star investigative journalist from a prominent political family, was behaving erratically—and Lucy is determined to find out why. All four friends upend their lives to search for him, but detectives begin to suspect that the Sweeties might know more than they’re letting on.

As the investigation unfolds, Lucy’s obsession with the case reaches a boiling point, and with it, her own troubling secrets begin bubbling to the surface of her carefully curated life. A thrilling account of the lies and delusions that lurk beneath cloistered groups of female friends and the sinister realities of celebrity, Watch Us Fall is a gripping mystery and an examination of the things we tell ourselves when we can’t face the truth.

Review: Thank you to Kaye Publicity for sending me an ARC of this novel!

After a couple years of slow starts to Minnesota winters, we FINALLY got a solid amount of snowfall just in time for Thanksgiving! And it looks like it’s going to be a cold and snowy winter for the foreseeable future. I, for one, am stoked, because I LOVE having snow on the ground for the holiday season. I also love having books to read that match the feel of the winter wonderland that we get for winters in Minnesota, and “Watch Us Fall” by Christina Kovac is a perfect pairing for the weather. Does it have a snowy setting? Yes. Does it have a strange mystery at its heart involving a missing person, a political dynasty, and close roommates who also have secrets? Yes. Does that make something I definitely want to read? Oh yes.

We have two narratives at hand with this mystery: the first is that of Lucy, our first person narrator who is connected to missing person Josh through her roommate/dear friend Addie, and who is trying to piece together what happened after the fact. The second is that of Josh himself, told in a third person narrative in the time leading up to his disappearance, generally starting around the time he began seeing Addie. Sometimes I am a bit hesitant when a story switches between POV styles, but I thought that it worked for the most part in this book, mostly because it helped peel back some layers of the mystery in ways that we couldn’t have if it was just one or the other. Along with that, it is an interesting way to throw in some misdirections and red herrings in ways that kept me on my toes, as I found myself thinking ‘ah, okay, I think I have this figured out’, only to then say ‘no, wait, that’s not it, maybe it’s THIS’. As we make our way to the point where both narratives converge, we have learned a fair amount about both Lucy and Josh that then made for the final push to be suspenseful and gripping.

I think that one criticism I had was that when I read the description it sounded like we were going to have a lot of focus on all of the Sweeties and their friendships as they connected to each other in different ways. But instead of having a number of interesting female friends with differing dynamics, we didn’t really get to see much of Estella and Penelope. Lucy as a character was fine, but at times I found her to be a bit grating, and if we had a bit more from Estella and Penelope to balance it out a bit I think that it would have worked better for me. On top of that, I’m not sure if I felt that some of the final twists and reveals were earned. I found myself a little underwhelmed by aspects of the solution to the mystery as a whole, but that is very possibly a very subjective thing and it may not apply to everyone.

BUT! The winter setting is basically perfect for this time of year. Like I stated above, I love it when winter settles in and the books I pick up match the vibe, and “Watch Us Fall” definitely has that winter mystery vibe! If you have the snow like we do and you like thrillers, consider picking it up!

Rating 7: A suspenseful mystery with generally successful dual narratives (though I wanted more from other characters), “Watch Us Fall” is a perfect winter read for thriller fans.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Watch Us Fall” is included on the Goodreads lists “I Support Women’s Wrongs”, and “Books With Unreliable Narrators”.

Serena’s Review: “The Bookshop Below”

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

Book: “The Bookshop Below” by Georgia Summers

Publishing Info: Redhook, November 2025

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

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

Book Description: If you want a story that will change your life, Chiron’s bookshop is where you go. For those lucky enough to grace its doors, it’s a glimpse into a world of powerful bargains and deadly ink magic.

For Cassandra Fairfax, it’s a reminder of everything she lost, when Chiron kicked her out and all but shuttered the shop. Since then, she’s used her skills in less ethical ways, trading stolen books and magical readings to wealthy playboys and unscrupulous collectors.

Then Chiron dies under mysterious circumstances. And if Cassandra knows anything, it’s this: the bookshop must always have an owner.

But she’s not the only one interested. There’s Lowell Sharpe, a dark-eyed, regrettably handsome bookseller she can’t seem to stop bumping into; rival owners who threaten Cassandra from the shadows; and, of course, Chiron’s murderer, who is still on the loose.

As Cassandra tries to uncover the secrets her mentor left behind, a sinister force threatens to unravel the world of the magical bookshops entirely…

Review: I really enjoyed The City of Stardust when I read it last year. Though, admittedly, as I was reading and now afterwards looking back at it, it was a very strange book compiled of many unique and interesting pieces that may have been excellent on their own, but never quite lined up the way I hoped. However, like I said, overall, I had a positive experience reading it, so I was excited to see the author was coming out with a new book.

Now, looking at this book description, I think I’d generally be really excited. Who doesn’t like magical bookshops? Add some dashes of sinister secrets and powerful hidden figures, and you have a banger on your hands! However, I was also uniquely concerned because much of this sounded like it could fall into the same trap as the first one. Namely, tons of excellent ideas and pieces of a puzzle, but perhaps a rather middling story when put all together. And ultimately, that’s kind of what we got.

Let’s start with what I did enjoy, and that was everything to do with the magical system and world at the heart of the story. While I have quibbles with the way in which much of this information was conveyed (our main character already knew much of it, so the story was always stumbling over itself with what she would know but the audience might not and how to bridge that gap), the magic itself was whimsical and intriguing. The idea that one could buy books to solve problems in life, and the exorbitant prices that those books would cost (many in the unusual, often unnerving, style of bargains found in fairytales, like firstborn children) was incredibly compelling.

However, much of this worldbuilding and magic system was held together with scotch tape and the fairy dust of magical ideas. Sure, much of it sounded good on paper, but put all together, I had a hard time picturing how any of this worked, from the details regarding the actual process of reading a book and having a wish granted (except when it didn’t) to the various players involved and how anyone was fooled by a main character named Cassandra who had a secret identity as a person named…Cass.

Speaking of Cassandra/Cass, I really struggled to connect to her as a main character. At best, I found her very bland. And at worst, I was often frustrated with her decisions and overall level of incompetence. Of course, some of that is built into the premise of the story, with her taking over a run-down bookshop. But it also felt like a bit too much incompetence for my taste. Even the love interest had something to say about her management (or lack thereof!) of all of this. The love story hit in a similar way: I wasn’t actively offended by any of it, but I also really didn’t care that much about anything that was going on between these two.

So, yes, this was a fairly middling experience. I think the author has a vast wealth of creativity and whimsy. However, after two books, there does seem to be a struggle fitting those aspects into what feels like a fully realized world and story. Instead, both books feel peppered with interesting concepts, but left teetering on a structure that barely holds together. Readers who enjoy cozy fantasy are probably the best audience for this book, so if you enjoy whimsy and are happy to go along with fairly loose worldbuilding, this may still be a book worth checking out for you! However, if you didn’t fully connect with this author’s first book, this one had similar weaknesses as that.

Rating 7: Chock full of creativity, however the worldbuilding is severely lacking, leaving me feeling disconnected from much of the story.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Bookshop Below” can be found on this Goodreads list: All the New Fantasy Books Arriving in November 2025

Kate’s Review: “The Telling”

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

Book: “The Telling” by Alexandra Sirowy

Publishing Info: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, August 2016

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC of the re-release from the publicst

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

Book Description: Lana used to know what was real. That was before, when her life was small and quiet. Her golden stepbrother, Ben was alive. She could only dream about bonfiring with the populars. Their wooded island home was idyllic, she could tell truth from lies, and Ben’s childhood stories were firmly in her imagination.

Then came after.

After has Lana boldly kissing her crush, jumping into the water from too high up, living with nerve and mischief. But after also has horrors, deaths that only make sense in fairy tales, and terrors from a past Lana thought long forgotten: love, blood, and murder.

Review: Thank you to Wunderkind PR for sending me an ARC of this novel!

I’m back with another re-release of an Alexandra Sirowy YA thriller/mystery! I reviewed “The Creeping” a couple weeks ago, and found it to be a gritty and interesting read (one that I had actually already read, but the re-read wasn’t hindered by that!). So I couldn’t wait to see what “The Telling” would be like. I knew that it wasn’t a sequel and took place somewhere else that wasn’t Minnesota (this time in Gant, a small island community in Washington State), and was interested to see where the story would take us this time.

As a mystery, it has a solid hook: Lana is still mourning the death of her stepbrother Ben, whose murder was very likely in part due to his ex-girlfriend Maggie. But one summer day while swimming, Lana and her friends discover Maggie’s body at the bottom of a pond, and suddenly everyone, especially Lana, are seen as suspects. This is the kind of thriller trope that I greatly enjoy, and it was fun seeing Lana try to figure out who was behind the murder not only to clear her own name, but also because it could lead her to more answers about Ben’s death, with twists, turns, red herrings, and some reveals that were pretty well done. I will say that one of the biggest reveals I kind of caught onto quickly, but I enjoyed Lana’s journey getting there enough that it wasn’t disappointing or frustrating. I will also say that sometimes this book felt like it could have been parsed down at least a little bit, as at times I did feel like it was dragging and meandering a little. It just could have been tightened a bit.

I mostly liked Lana as a narrator, as she had a pretty good amount of unreliability to her that I always enjoy in a thriller that is trying to keep some things close to the vest. Her despair of losing Ben was believable, though I will admit that sometimes I was wondering what exactly the nature of her despair was, but as more of her past, motivations, and attachments came through it made that much more sense. Slowly learning about her and Ben and the evolution of their connection was a bit of a slow burn, but it definitely kept me interested even when I felt like things could have been sped up a bit. It was actually this aspect of the book that had the most surprises for me, and kept me the most invested.

“The Telling” wasn’t as strong as “The Creeping”, but it’s another pretty solid YA thriller. I’m hoping that with these new editions of both these books we’ll be seeing more from Sirowy, as she tends to delve into darker themes that I have enjoyed.

Rating 7: It was an entertaining mystery and another well plotted thriller from Alexandra Sirowy, though this time I kind of figured out the bit twist prematurely.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Telling” isn’t on any Goodreads lists as of now, but it would fit in on “Teen Screams”.

Highlights: December 2025

Serena’s neighbors have the holiday light show up and running, and now she’s just waiting for the party busses to start rolling through. And Kate is planning for both Christmas and Hanukkah shenanigans for the month. But there are always books to keep us grounded during the nutty holiday times! Here are just some of the books we’re looking forward to this month!

Serena’s Picks

Book: “An Arcane Inheritance” by Kamilah Cole

Publication Date: December 30, 2025

Why I’m Interested: I’m always excited to check out more dark academic fantasy! What’s more, it’s all the more exciting to find an adult book in this genre, and a standalone to boot! It sounds like your fairly standard “girl at school discovers dark secrets and mysterious boy.” But it’s also being compared to “Babel” and “A Deadly Education,” so similarities are just a pro! I have high hopes for this one!

Book: “Tailored Realities” by Brandon Sanderson

Publication Date: December 9, 2025

Why I’m Interested: I mean, he’s a “must read” author for me, so of course I’m going to check this one out! I don’t always love short story collections, but I’ve had some good experiences reading collections from one favorite author, rather than collections of various authors. I think I’ve read a few of the stories included here, all of which I enjoyed, so I’m excited to see what else there is! I haven’t read all of his books at this point (I can’t keep up!), so hopefully I’ll be ok without prior knowledge of some of the worlds touched on in some of these stories.

Book: “Children of Fallen Gods” by Carissa Broadbent

Publication Date: December 9, 2025

Why I’m Interested: I’m so excited for this one! I really loved the first one and can’t wait to see where the story goes here in the second. But, oof! It’s over 600 pages long! On one hand, that means I must plan accordingly when scheduling out my reviews and reading for the next few weeks. But on the other hand, that means all the more page time to enjoy what I’m sure will be a fantastic sequel!

Kate’s Picks

Book: “Dark Sisters” by Kristi DeMeester

Publication Date: December 9, 2025

Why I’m Interested: I have enjoyed previous works by Kristi DeMeester (I have also enjoyed the candles that she makes at her Etsy Shop Scent From Hell!), and of course I had to have her newest horror novel “Dark Sisters” on this list. It sounds a bit like generational trauma metaphor, a bit like feminine rage, and all very spooky. After a descendent summoned a dark entity for protection and strength, the repercussions tumble down through the generations. Sounds a bit witchy too to boot, and a reviewer I enjoy had mentioned something about cults as well? I’m definitely on board.

Book: “Cape Fever” by Nadia Davids

Publication Date: December 9, 2025

Why I’m Interested: I actually hadn’t heard a lot of hype about this one until I stumbled upon it randomly, then it caught my attention a bit. I admittedly probably need to do some more research on it, but the passing info I saw had my interest piqued. In the 1920s in small colonialist town in South Africa a woman named Soraya takes on the job of maid for the oddball Mrs. Hattingh. As she assists her new boss in writing letters, the two women start to develop a strange relationship that teeters towards the unsettling. I like Gothic thrillers and this one is being marketed as such, and the setting of South Africa in the 1920s (and all the warts that comes with such a setting) sounds fascinating and unique.

Book: “Watch Us Fall” by Christina Kovac

Publication Date: December 2, 2025

Why I’m Interested: Sometimes I just want a good soapy mystery, and this one sounds like it’s going to fit the bill to a t. A group of friends are living in a eclectic old house after grad school, enjoying their friendship and their lives. Until one of their boyfriends, who also happens to be an investigative reporter, goes missing. As the friends try to figure out what could have happened to him, they have to contend with secrets and betrayals as well as the police focusing in on their group as suspects themselves. Definitely sounds juicy!

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

Serena’s Review: “A Curious Kind of Magic”

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

Book: “A Curious Kind of Magic” by Mara Rutherford

Publishing Info: Wednesday Books, October 2025

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

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

Book Description: Everyone in Ardmuir knows that Willow Stokes is a charlatan, including Willow herself. Her father’s shoppe hasn’t sold anything magical in decades, and it’s only hanging on by the skin of the fake dragon’s teeth Willow sells as charms, along with “enchanted” ostrich eggs, taxidermied chimeras, and talismans made of fools’ gold.

Until outlander Brianna Hargrave appears and turns Willow’s fakes into exactly what they’re purported to be. But try as Willow might to enlist Bri’s help, she wants nothing to do with Willow and her curiosities.

Because Brianna is harboring a secret of her own: everything she touches turns to magic, and the consequences have chased her all the way to Ardmuir. All she wants to do is find a particular missing grimoire, which contains a spell that can finally put an end to her curse.

Desperate to keep her father’s shoppe, Willow proposes a bargain that could save them both. Together with the frustratingly handsome printer’s assistant, the girls will uncover a plot that goes far deeper than either could have imagined. But when Willow is forced to participate in an ambitious collector’s quest for the rarest magical object in the world-a quest that risks almost-certain death-she learns that not all treasure is for sale, and that true magic is closer than she ever could have imagined.

Review: This is one of those books where I closed the page and my only thought was, “Well, what’s next?” Everything about this one was almost aggressively just okay. Nothing was bad enough that I wanted to get out my laptop right away and start a rant. But nothing was good enough either that I wanted to think much more about the entire experience.

Part of this comes down to the fact that nothing really stands out in this book. It’s set in some nondescript “historical” time period and setting. The magical elements are just your typical fairytale sort of thing where certain people have access to magic and others don’t. And the characters are all fairly familiar archetypes, from the prickly leading lady to the cinnamon roll romantic interest.

None of this is particularly helped by the slow pacing of the story. I’ve struggled with this aspect of Mara Rutherford’s writing in the past, and it was the same situation here. These YA books aren’t particularly long, but given the actual plot and content of the book, like her others, this one felt as if it could be 50 pages shorter at least. Some of this can be explained away by the cozy subgenre, a particular subset of genres that often rely on slower pacing and day-in-the-life motifs. But even within this category, I think this one felt particularly uneven in its pacing and plotting. However, cozy fantasy is often a struggle for me, so bigger fans of the genre may be less bothered by this aspect of the book.

I also struggled with the characters. The main character is written to be prickly and standoffish, but more often than not, this translated into me simply disliking her much of the time. Much of the spare 50–75 pages worth of content in this book is taken up by Willow’s poor decision-making and insistence on keeping everything and everyone at arm’s length. Bri, perhaps, was a bit better, but again, I never felt like I had enough to really grasp onto her as a unique and interesting character. And Finlay, for his part, was a sweet character, but too often this sweetness took a turn towards bland and left me feeling distinctly underwhelmed.

Perhaps “underwhelmed” is the best description for my feelings for this book. I’ve enjoyed Mara Rutherford’s books in the past, but I think that some of her particular writing foibles (slower and sometimes uneven pacing) were not benefitted by the cozy subgenre. Her previous books had darker themes and elements which I think elevated some of the weaker portions (characterization and pacing). Whereas here, with less plot to speak of, these flaws rose more to the forefront. However, I will say that this may appeal more to general fans of YA cozy fantasy, so if you’re a fan of that subgenre or a big Rutherford fan, this one may still be worth checking out!

Rating 7: Just okay. There was nothing bad about this read, but nothing will really stick with me either, unfortunately.

Reader’s Advisory:

“A Curious Kind of Magic” can be found on these Goodreads lists: YA Cozy Fantasy and Cozy and Cold Weather Reads (YA and Children’s).

Kate’s Review: “The Bone Thief”

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

Book: “The Bone Thief” by Vanessa Lillie

Publishing Info: Berkley, 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: When a Native teenager vanishes from her small town—a place with dark ties to an elite historical society—archaeologist Syd Walker is called to investigate…from bestselling author Vanessa Lillie.

In the hours before dawn at a local summer camp, Bureau of Indian Affairs archaeologist Syd Walker receives an alarming call: newly discovered skeletal remains have been stolen. Not only have bones gone missing, but a Native teen girl has disappeared near the camp, and law enforcement dismisses her family’s fears.

As Syd investigates both crimes, she’s drawn into a world of privileged campers and their wealthy parents—most of them members of the Founders Society, an exclusive club whose members trace their lineage to the first colonists and claim ancestral rights to the land, despite fierce objections from the local tribal community. And it’s not the first time something—or someone—has gone missing from the camp.

The deeper Syd digs, the more she realizes these aren’t isolated incidents. A pattern of disappearances stretches back generations, all leading to the Founders Society’s doorstep. But exposing the truth means confronting not just the town’s most powerful families, but also a legacy of violence that refuses to stay buried.

From the national bestselling author of Blood Sisters (a Washington Post Best Mystery of the Year and Target Book Club pick) comes a new Syd Walker novel that proves the sins of the past are destined to repeat until the truth is finally unearthed.

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

I really enjoyed Vanessa Lillie’s first Syd Walker Mystery “Blood Sisters” when I read it awhile back, having stumbled upon it and taking a chance on it only to be really happy with it. Because of this it’s definitely not shocking that when I saw that Lillie had a new Syd Walker mystery coming out, “The Bone Thief”, I had to request it post haste. I am always hoping to find a new mystery series to follow, and sometimes one good read can be a fluke. I hoped it wasn’t the case for Lillie’s Syd, and boy was I happy to see that Syd is still going strong and bringing compelling and searingly relevant mysteries!

We have two mysteries at work here. The first is the case of some remains of an Indigenous woman and her baby that Syd is involved with as a BIA archaeologist, and how the local historical group The Founders Society wants to have them for clout while the local tribes want to bring them back to the community… only for the remains to disappear. Along with that, a Native teenager named Naomi has gone missing, harkening back to Syd’s previous mystery where she went searching for her missing sister, and also found her childhood friend Luna and Luna’s daughter Gracie on her search (Luna and Gracie have since moved in with Syd and her very pregnant wife Mal, which is causing some friction). I enjoyed both of the mysteries, as I felt that Lillie did a good job of keeping the focus even upon both while also slowly intertwining them, with connections between missing teen Naomi and the Founder’s Society, as well as other mysteries connected to the group over the years. Syd is still a very enjoyable detective, trying to remain true and honest to her own Indigenous heritage while also working for the BIA in a way that she feels can be positive. I felt like there were solid reveals, well done misdirections, and a well placed smattering of clues that all came together for some satisfying conclusions.

But, like so many other books that have such themes, it was the social commentary about the way that Indigenous people in this country are being erased, ignored, oppressed, and victimized, whether it’s during this time period in a pre-Obama United States, or in the many years since the invasion of this country by European colonizers. In this book Syd has found herself not only investigating another missing Indigenous woman case, she is also dealing with the theft and exploitation of Indigenous remains, when the skeletons of an Indigenous woman and her baby are found and the local historical organization The Founders Society wants claim to the bones. Syd has to walk a tenuous line as a BIA archaeologist, as she believes in the education of the masses to the history of Indigenous peoples and how history should, indeed, be accessible to anyone… But she also is fully aware that a predominantly white historical society mainly made up of descendants of colonizers keeping not only artifacts but also remains of Indigenous people is deeply, DEEPLY problematic and unethical. Lillie raises a lot of good questions about not only the way that living Indigenous people are still being wronged in the modern world, but how the long dead continue to be victimized through their remains being disrespected and withheld from tribes in the name of white history. It’s important to keep talking about it, and I appreciated the way that Lillie blended it all together along with the mystery.

“The Bone Thief” is another enjoyable Syd Walker mystery from Vanessa Lillie! I really hope this series continues, it really clicks with me.

Rating 8: Another solid mystery with all too relevant social commentary about the Indigenous experience, “The Bone Thief” is a gripping thriller with a very likable protagonist.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Bone Thief” is included on the Goodreads list “Indigenous Books 2025”.

Serena’s Review: “The Wolf King”

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

Book: “The Wolf King” by Lauren Palphreyman

Publishing Info: Bloom Books, November 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley!

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

Book Description: When a princess is kidnapped by an alpha , war rages between the humans and the wolves. But soon, forbidden attraction starts to grow. . .

Princess Aurora longs to escape the castle and the marriage that has been arranged for her.

But on the night before her wedding, at a dog fight where captured werewolves are made to fight for sport, she spares the life of a young wolf. It puts her on the radar of the powerful alpha who was going to kill him. And it changes everything.

That night, when the alpha escapes, he kidnaps her and takes her to the rugged lands north of the border — where the once warring werewolf clans are beginning to unite. He thinks that she is the key to winning the war against the humans.

Only, as they spend time around one another, forbidden attraction starts to grow. And as Aurora learns that not all wolves are bad, the alpha discovers that she is in danger from both his enemies, and those he once considered friends.

With monsters on both sides, a bloodthirsty war between humans and wolves raging, and undeniable passion growing between them — will their story end in love? Or tragedy?

And will Aurora ever get home?

Does she even want to?

Review: I’m going to be honest, this was a really tough one to think about reviewing. To sum up my experience, for the first third of the book, I was absolutely loving it. The main character was interesting enough, if a bit generic and predictable. But the romantic interest was a breath of fresh air! Funny, friendly, considerate, gasp blonde… I have a very clear memory of thinking, “Finally! A breath of fresh air to the standard romantasy fare, proof that there is more to the world than dark, secretive, shadow daddies!” And then… the shadow daddy entered the scene, and I actually slammed my Kindle down in immediate frustration. Honestly, I would have DNF’d it on the spot if it wasn’t for the fact that this was a NetGalley request, and I wanted to follow through on a review.

Now, to be fair, this is an incredibly subjective reaction per my own preferences—so much so that I’m going to go on a rant about this later in the review. But it’s not fair to review the book purely on the rage this “twist” induced in me as one unique reader. For those who enjoy ACOTAR and the sort of romance that has (unfortunately) taken over the romantasy genre ever since, I think this book will be a great fit. Indeed, I was having enough fun with the readability of the prose itself that even I, hating everything about what’s happening with the love story itself, am considering checking out the next book. So, yes. It’s incredibly readable. The main character is not insufferable. And the primary love interest of this book was a character I enjoyed.

So that’s my fair review of the book. Now on to the rant! There will be spoilers for this book and predictions for the next included, so be warned!

I’ve mentioned this point before, but I think romance is one of the few genres that not only benefits from but should almost require some sort of tags for tropes. It’s just such a subjective thing, and it’s all the more infuriating when a book summary sets the reader up to expect one thing and then delivers something completely different. In this case, we have the Tamlin/Rhysand situation where an entire first book is devoted to one love interest, but a secondary (the true!!!) love interest is introduced toward the middle/end. The expectation is then that something will occur in the second book to either make the original love interest intolerable, dead, or otherwise unavailable so that the true romantic lead can slot in.

And boy, do I hate this! I have a long TBR list—so long that I’m never going to get through it. And what this horrible trope has essentially normalized is taking what should be a passing comment found in many romance novels—“My ex was a jerk”—and turning that line into an entire, freaking, hundreds-of-pages-long book! I’m reading romance, for heaven’s sake! One of the primary conventions is a “happily ever after.” And when I start a book and am given two romantic leads, I think it is fair that I then expect those characters to have that happy ending. But no. Instead, I get an entire book devoted to a character who is going to be, essentially, a throwaway line in the main character’s toxic relationship history. That’s not romance! That’s… I don’t even know what!

And the author herself has pointed out the reason that she—and I imagine other romance authors—does this: it’s to get to the smut scenes sooner. And frankly, I find that kind of demeaning as a romance reader. Look, it’s fair to want to read erotica for the, well, erotica of it all. But that is a genre in itself, and there are plenty of options to be had there. Romance is a love story. Yes, there are steamy sections often, but the love story between two people is the heart of it. That being the case, why am I being given an entire book of smut scenes between the main character and her soon-to-be ex? Just because I, the reader, can’t go twenty pages without a smut scene, according to authors and publishers in romantasy? It’s belittling, is what it is.

Of course, this entire rant is very much just my opinion on this matter. And, of course, it’s completely fine to disagree with me, as I imagine many romantasy readers do. But this gets to my final point about tags. I had to read over a hundred and fifty pages of this book to even get an inkling of the fact that this book was taking on this trope. And I’ve looked ahead at reviews for the next book, and it looks like I’d have to go AN ENTIRE BOOK MORE only to find this all completely confirmed. At that point, as a romance reader, I’d have read two entire books about two characters who aren’t going to have a happily-ever-after. And I just think that’s the sort of thing I should know before opening book one. Heaven forbid I had actually paid money for this, having been given zero reason to expect a bait-and-switch like this.

So, yes. Ultimately, I think this author has a compelling style, and I was completely on board for the situation that I was originally sold: Outlander but with werewolves. Unfortunately, that is not at all what we got (Jamie Fraser would never end up being the probably toxic ex). All of this said, if you enjoy the old Tamlin/Rhysand switcheroo, this book is definitely for you! However, if you don’t enjoy this trope, definitely steer away.

Rating 7/4: On its own merits, this is the score I’d give it. Based on my own preferences, this is probably around a 4 due to the sheer gall of writing an entire book about an FMC and her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend and calling it romance.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Wolf King” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Only one horse scenes in romantasy and Historical Fiction/Fantasy with Werewolves.

Kate’s Review: “Sisters in the Wind”

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

Book: “Sisters in the Wind” by Angeline Boulley

Publishing Info: Henry Holt & Co., 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: From the instant New York Times bestselling author of Firekeeper’s Daughter and Warrior Girl Unearthed comes a daring new mystery about a foster teen claiming her heritage on her own terms.

Ever since Lucy Smith’s father died five years ago, “home” has been more of an idea than a place. She knows being on the run is better than anything waiting for her as a “ward of the state.” But when the sharp-eyed and kind Mr. Jameson with an interest in her case comes looking for her, Lucy wonders if hiding from her past will ever truly keep her safe.

Five years in the foster system has taught her to be cautious and smart. But she wants to believe Mr. Jameson and his “friend-not-friend,” a tall and fierce-looking woman who say they want to look after her.

They also tell Lucy the truth her father hid from her: She is Ojibwe; she has – had – a sister, and more siblings; a grandmother who’d look after her and a home where she would be loved.

But Lucy is being followed. The past has destroyed any chance of normal she has had, and now the secrets she’s hiding will swallow her whole and take away the future she always dreamed of.

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

I was so elated when I saw that Angeline Boulley had a new YA novel coming out this year! I saw a big poster for it at ALAAC25 and it made my day (sadly I wasn’t able to attend her talk this year, but if she comes back she will get priority). I finally sat down to read “Sisters in the Wind” a few months later, and I went in with very high hopes. I’ve so enjoyed her other YA thrillers, and I was hoping for another winner. And I got it.

Like Boulley’s other YA novels, “Sisters in the Wind” tackles some pretty heavy societal issues to go along with the thriller and mystery elements in this story. In this book, the mystery is less about her main character, Lucy, solving a whodunnit, and more about the reader starting to untangle Lucy’s secrets and her difficult and traumatic past as a foster child who has been dealing with the foster care system since her father’s death. To make matters for difficult, her identity as an Indigenous person (as her mother was Indigenous and her father left her mother and took Lucy with him when she was a baby) has been suppressed her entire life, which cuts her off not only from her culture but from a family that is shocked to find her once they finally do. Boulley is so good at presenting difficult topics about racism and oppression of Indigenous people in this country to her audience, dismantling dark histories and white supremacy and showing how it reverberates and harms people. The big topic in this book is the Indian Child Welfare Act and how Lucy’s situation was lost through the cracks, and also puts a focus on the foster system and how corrupt and traumatic it can be. We don’t know what exactly happened to Lucy when the story starts, just that she’s on the run and someone wants to kill her, but as we go through her history we find a girl failed by so many finding her way back to a community that was taken from her. I know that some people have said that they found this endless tragedy to be unrealistic, but I don’t agree because Lucy’s story isn’t exactly unique to real world experiences, whether it’s racism, sexual abuse, coercion and manipulation, or even human trafficking. It’s a hard read, but it’s, sadly, still relevant.

We also have a welcome return to Sugar Island and familiar faces, characters, and the return of one who was missing in “Warrior Girl Unearthed”. In the timeline “Sisters in the Wind” takes place after “Firekeeper’s Daughter”, but before “Warrior Girl Unearthed”, and we find Lucy meeting a Daunis who exists between the scrappy teen in the first book and the grounded and nurturing mentor in the second book. I really enjoyed how Boulley gave us some more insight into Daunis and her trajectory, including more insight into her relationship with Jamie from the first novel, and I thought that she worked it in better in this one than the previous one. But I also appreciated that the presence of Daunis and Jamie and their connection to Lucy didn’t overshadow Lucy’s story or characterization, and if anything it made her family connections and her journey to the home she never knew feel all the more poignant and powerful. It also filled in some gaps and questions that were in place once we got to “Warrior Girl Unearthed” regarding how some of these characters got to the point they were at in the time jump, some of it incredibly satisfying, some of it devastating (but still satisfying? Just trust me). I really hope we get more stories from Sugar Island and the characters who live in the pages of these books.

“Sisters in the Wind” is another impactful and emotional thriller from Angeline Boulley. It had me running a full gamut of feelings, with difficult subject matter but an ever present thread of hope and love moving throughout the narrative. Good golly I love these books.

Rating 9: Another emotional and important book about Indigenous life in America from Angeline Boulley, with a compelling mystery, familiar faces, and some moments of heartbreak, hope, and coming home.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Sisters in the Wind” is included on the Goodreads lists “Native American Lit”, and “ATY 2026: Indigenous Character or Author”.