Author: thelibraryladiesmn

Kate’s Review: “It Was Her House First”

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Book: “It Was Her House First” by Cherie Priest

Publishing Info: Poisoned Pen Press, July 2025

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

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

Book Description: Ronnie doesn’t know it yet, but her fate rests in the hands of the dead. 

Silent film star Venita Rost’s malevolent spirit lurks spider-like in her cliffside mansion, a once-beautiful home that’s claimed countless unlucky souls. And she’s not alone. Snared in her terrible web, Inspector Bartholomew Sloan—her eternal nemesis—watches her wreak havoc in helpless horror, shackled by his own guilt and Venita’s unrelenting wrath.

Now the house has yet another new owner. This time it’s Ronnie Mitchell, a grieving woman who buys the run-down place sight unseen. She arrives armed with an unexpected inheritance, a strong background in renovation, and a blissful ignorance regarding the house’s blood-soaked history. But her arrival has stirred up more than just dust and decay. In the shadows, unseen eyes watch. Then, a man comes knocking. He brings wild stories and a thinly veiled jealousy, as well as a secret connection to the house that can only lead to violence.

Venita’s fury awakens, and a deadly game unfolds.

Caught between a vengeful ghost and a ruthless living threat, Ronnie’s skepticism crumbles. The line between living and dead isn’t as sharp as it seems, and she realizes too late that in Venita’s house, survival might be just an illusion.

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

I’ve read a few titles from the sub-genre so far this year, but MAN I love a haunted house horror story. It’s a gift that keeps on giving for me, as I love ghosts, I love strange occurrences in a new home, and I love the way that horror authors can pull out truly unsettling and scary things from the trope but in so many different ways. I was definitely interested to read “It Was Her House First” by Cherie Priest, because it promised not only a haunted house but also the ghost of Venita, a glamorous Hollywood starlet who now haunts her mansion and brings woe to anyone who moves in. All of this was top notch in theory, and I dove in hoping for a creepy read.

I think that a truly strong haunted house narrative needs to have hauntees that you can engage with and root for, and we definitely got that in protagonist Ronnie. She’s the kind of main character that has some rough edges but still shines brightly, and I found her very enjoyable. Her motivation for buying this house without even seeing it first was believable (she’s mourning, she had an unexpected inheritance, she needs SOMETHING to distract her AND she’s handy!), and seeing her and her friend Katie work through their shared grief of losing Ronnie’s brother to cancer made for bittersweet moments, especially as we learn more about Ronnie’s feelings of guilt. I really liked her, and therefore was invested when this house started messing with her and she started realizing that things weren’t as they seem, whether it was because of strange occurrences in the house or the strange man who has started visiting, claiming a family connection to Bartholomew Sloane, who died on the property. Ronnie having to unravel the history of the home and this man’s motivations were compelling and suspenseful story beats. Especially after she finds the diary of tragic starlet Venita, whose angry spirit is said to haunt the house and bring death to anyone who moves in.

And what of the ghosts themselves? It was a little of a mixed bag. I do think that Venita wasn’t as fury filled as I had hoped she would be, which kind of cut down on the scares. But on the flip side of that, I thought that getting into her thought process through her diary did a good job of peeling back her motivations, and perhaps I didn’t find her as scary as I thought I would because I kind of felt like she was correct and justified about a lot of the things that made her such an angry and unwilling to leave spirit. I did, however, enjoy some of the eerie descriptions of the way that the hauntings would make themselves known, be it furniture moving about or the POV of the other ghost in the home Bartholomew Sloan, who has a connection to Venita and has a lot of guilt associated with that connection as they lead separate afterlives within the halls of the house.

I did enjoy a lot about “It Was Her House First”. It had a pretty stellar main character and some well executed shifts between POVs, and a creepy haunted house with a lot of tragedy attached to it. Ultimately, that’s what I look for in a story like this.

Rating 7: A mysterious haunted house story with an engaging main character bolstered this up, though I admittedly anticipated more scares. But that said, I found “It Was Her House First” enjoyable!

Reader’s Advisory:

“It Was Her House First” is included on the Goodreads list “2025 Horror I Can’t Wait For”.

Book Club Review: “A Master of Djinn”

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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: “A Master of Djinn” by P. Djèli Clark

Publishing Info: Tor Books, May 2021

Where Did I Get This Book: Serena had a copy from ALA years ago!

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

Mix-and-Match Genres: Fantasy and Mystery

Book Description: Cairo, 1912: Though Fatma el-Sha’arawi is the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, she’s certainly not a rookie, especially after preventing the destruction of the universe last summer.

So when someone murders a secret brotherhood dedicated to one of the most famous men in history, al-Jahiz, Agent Fatma is called onto the case. Al-Jahiz transformed the world 50 years ago when he opened up the veil between the magical and mundane realms, before vanishing into the unknown. This murderer claims to be al-Jahiz, returned to condemn the modern age for its social oppressions. His dangerous magical abilities instigate unrest in the streets of Cairo that threaten to spill over onto the global stage.

Alongside her Ministry colleagues and her clever girlfriend Siti, Agent Fatma must unravel the mystery behind this imposter to restore peace to the city -or face the possibility he could be exactly who he seems…

Kate’s Thoughts

I have read P. Djèli Clark before, as I read and really enjoyed his novella “Ring Shout”, mostly because I love how he had a very real and specific time and place of the Jim Crow South and brought in cosmic horror and demons to make for a very fun horror story. So while I was once again the odd one out in book club who doesn’t really vibe with fantasy, I wanted to see what Clark would do with it.

And while it didn’t hit the way that “Ring Shout” did, I did appreciate the mystery at hand and the fun takes on djinn mythos. I am someone who has enjoyed djinn and genie mythology in the past, and I definitely liked how Clark took this concept and had fun with putting them into an alternate history of early 20th century Egypt. I am also just someone who likes the idea of an elite investigative group that takes on the supernatural, and watching seasoned agent Fatma delve into a mystery of murder and magic was entertaining, especially as Clark brings in themes of colonialism and imperialism given the setting.

But on the flip side, at the end of the day this is still pretty heavily fantasy, and that’s a genre that doesn’t REALLY hook me as easily. So because of that, I wasn’t as invested as I was with “Ring Shout”, because fantasy just isn’t really my thing. But it is definitely the kind of story that just has the kind of oomph that I could fully recognize why this was a well done fantasy tale. Clark has writing chops that excel across genres. I hope that he comes back to historical horror at some point!

Serena’s Thoughts

Well, it’s no surprise probably that I loved this book! All of the genres involved are right up my alley: fantasy, historical fiction, and a mystery at the heart of it all! It also features an incredible female protagonist who checks off a ton of my preferences as well: smart, action-oriented, and not standing for anyone’s BS.

Beyond the incredible main character and the cast that surrounds her, I really enjoyed the alternate history and world that this book establishes. The introduction of magic has changed the arc of history, with Egypt rising to a new level of prominence on the world stage. But we see that not all has been solved by magic; instead, new and even more complex situations have been created, with world powers vying for control of magic and with fantastical beings who may have their own agendas. However, even with all of these fantasy trappings, the heart of the mystery and the story itself comes down to the very human influences that drive us: distrust of others, cravings for power, and the necessity of overcoming all of these things to create a world where all can thrive.

It’s easy enough to see the bones of the novellas that came before this one, but I think Clark did an excellent job of introducing everything to a new reader as well. If anything, I caught these references to past works and now want to go back and explore the earlier stories as well! In particular, I’d love to go back and read the story where Fatma and Siti first meet!

This is now the second book I’ve read by this author, and I think they both ended up with a 9 rating from me. So I guess I have another must-read author on my list going forward!

Kate’s Rating 7 : While the fantasy genre isn’t really my thing, “A Master of Djinn” was entertaining and a fun exploration of djinn in an alternate history mystery.

Serena’s Rating 9: Full of steampunk vibes and badass female characters, this is an incredible historical fantasy read!

Book Club Questions

  1. What were your thoughts on the setting and time period in this novel?
  2. Did you enjoy the portrayals of the mythological beings in this book? Have you read many books that have creatures like djinn?
  3. Did you like the mystery in this story? Were there any parts of it that you found surprising as it unfolded?
  4. What did you think about the different conflicts between the various groups in the novel as the story was winding down towards the conclusion?
  5. What were your thoughts on the magical systems in this book? Did they feel well explained and explored?
  6. Who would you recommend this book to?

Reader’s Advisory

“A Master of Djinn” is included on these Goodreads lists: Fiction Novels Featuring Djinn/Jinn and Arabian, Egyptian, and Indian Fantasy.

Next Book Club Pick: “Starling House” by Alix Harrow

Serena’s Review: “The Enchanted Greenhouse”

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Book: “The Enchanted Greenhouse” by Sarah Beth Durst

Publishing Info: Bramble, July 2025

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

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

Book Description: Terlu Perna broke the law because she was lonely. She cast a spell and created a magically sentient spider plant. As punishment, she was turned into a wooden statue and tucked away into an alcove in the North Reading Room of the Great Library of Alyssium.

This should have been the end of her story . . . Yet one day, Terlu wakes in the cold of winter on a nearly-deserted island full of hundreds of magical greenhouses. She’s starving and freezing, and the only other human on the island is a grumpy gardener. To her surprise, he offers Terlu a place to sleep, clean clothes, and freshly baked honey cakes—at least until she’s ready to sail home.

But Terlu can’t return home and doesn’t want to—the greenhouses are a dream come true, each more wondrous than the next. When she learns that the magic that sustains them is failing—causing the death of everything within them—Terlu knows she must help. Even if that means breaking the law again.

This time, though, she isn’t alone. Assisted by the gardener and a sentient rose, Terlu must unravel the secrets of a long-dead sorcerer if she wants to save the island—and have a fresh chance at happiness and love.

Previously Reviewed: “The Spellshop”

Review: While I didn’t love “The Spellshop” as much as other readers did, I definitely still wanted to give this sequel a chance. As many of my struggles with the first book came down to my dislike of the main character, I had a lot of hope for this one as it is following a new character; I mean, she’s a librarian, so….. And, as predicted, I did enjoy this book more for this very reason!

Overall, I thought Terlu was a much more interesting and sympathetic character to follow. I enjoyed the set-up, with her having spent the last six years frozen as a statue as punishment for creating a sentient plant. Thus, when she wakes up, she, like the reader, is seeing her world through fresh eyes. Yes, there were times where her internal monologues and reflections became a bit repetitive, and I think the book could have benefitted from some editing down. But, overall, her story was exactly the sort of low stakes cozy experience that readers of this genre are looking for.

I also think that the love story worked better here. Again, I did have a few quibbles with it (it was a bit too fast burn for my personal taste), but the grumpy/sunshine nature of their relationship worked much better here than it did in the first book (if indeed that was even trying to be a grumpy/sunshine relationship; I’m still not convinced the heroine wasn’t meant to be a better character than how she came across).

I also enjoyed the quirky cast of characters found in the greenhouses. As I was returning to this world, I was better able to turn my brain off a bit as far as the world-building goes, but the entire set up of the new location we explore in this one helped with many of my qualms from the first. Here, I think the whimsical nature of the greenhouses worked in natural-feeling manner and left me with few questions about how this all worked.

I have to say that I struggled with some of the inner narrative word choices at times. I just don’t like modern lingo in books like this, and there were too many instances of a casual “yay!” and such for me to fully settle in to the story. But, again, this is highly subjective, and there were many other parts of the writing that I enjoyed more, particularly some of the descriptions of the world and its magical creatures.

However, in many ways, this book was very familiar. This can be seen as a good or bad thing, depending on how you feel about that first entry. I think there were definite improvements with the main character and with the love story. But many of the beats of the plot felt very familiar, as well as the cozy elements. They were cute and quirky, but just a bit too shallow for me to fully enjoy any of them. That said, I’m not a huge cozy fantasy reader, and given the popularity of the first book, some of my negatives here will be definite positives for others! So, for readers looking for more of the same, this will likely be a hit! And even for those who were a bit on the fence with the first book, this may be worth a read!

Rating 8: Perhaps aggressively cozy at times, but I still enjoyed the love story overall!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Enchanted Greenhouse” is on these Goodreads lists: CozySFF and Heartwarming Books of 2025.

Serena’s Review: “The Jasad Crown”

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Book: “The Jasad Crown” by Sara Hashem

Publishing Info: Orbit, July 2025

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

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

Book Description: Held deep in a mountain refuge, Sylvia has been captured by the Urabi, who believe she can return their homeland to its former power. But after years of denying her legacy and a forbidden alliance with Jasad’s greatest enemy, Sylvia must win the group’s trust while struggling to keep control of both her magic and her mind.

In the rival kingdom, Arin is caught between his father’s desire to put down the brewing rebellion and the sacred edicts he’s sworn to uphold. Arin must find Sylvia before his father’s army, but his search will call into question the very core of Arin’s beliefs about his family and the destruction of Jasad.

War is inevitable and Sylvia cannot abandon her people again. The Urabi plan to raise the Jasadi fortress, and it will either kill Sylvia or destroy the humanity she’s fought so hard to protect. For the first time in her life Sylvia doesn’t just want to survive. She wants to win.
The fugitive queen is ready to come home.

Previously Reviewed: “The Jasad Heir”

Review: I’ve been waiting for so long for this sequel that I had begun to question whether the first book was really as enjoyable as it was. (This is an established coping technique for readers, when we have long waits between books, to prevent the onset of madness due to anticipation!) But the minute I turned the first page on this one, I remembered just how satisfying that first book was. And now, with the duology complete, I can say that the entire experience was all-around excellent!

There’s a lot of great things to talk about with this one, but given the current proliferation of the “enemies to lovers” trope in romantasy, I think this is an area where this book really shines. So much so that I’d almost say this should be required reading for how to correctly write this sort of romantic storyline. There are many ways in which the love story is successful, both in the first book and carried over to this one. The first book is appropriately a slow-burn, with both characters slowly, naturally progressing through their negative associations with the other. As is typical with this sort of plot, that book ends with a bombshell, revealing all of the secrets and lies between them.

The important part is now how this romance is handled in this book. The author does so many things right! For one thing, it’s not as if both characters suddenly, inexplicably, lose all of the friendship, trust, and even love that had built up between them. Yes, obstacles have been introduced, but both are mature characters who, to some extent or another, trust their own original judgement and, frankly, have more important things to worry about than too much ridiculous angst. Sure, these reveals have an impact, but there’s no overly YA “but she betraaaayyyeeed meeee” nonsense where it doesn’t make sense.

Further, and this goes back to work done in the first book, the author created two characters who are fully realized beings on their own, who have built-in personality traits, strengths, and weaknesses, that would independently drive their choices and actions through an enemies-to-lovers romance. For example, Arin has been well-established as a character who is highly strategic and highly invested in understanding everything that goes on around him. Thus, by the time the truth about Sylvia is revealed, his journey towards re-thinking his understanding of his own nation and the history of this world at large is based on his own intrinsic character traits, not just “but I luuuuv her!!” Too often, the entire journey from “enemy” to “lovers” requires one character to simply change who they are or change teams based on almost nothing but their love for the other character. Here, Arin’s journey has practically nothing to do with his feelings for Sylvia, and this makes it all the more realistic and interesting to read! It’s this point, giving characters their own inner motivations for change outside of the love story, that I think is so often missing in these sorts of romances.

Further, Sylvia doesn’t magically transform into the perfect leader of this rebellion. Indeed, she’s pretty terrible at it all the way through the entire book! What’s more, however, the book does an excellent job of portraying the foibles of the rebellion itself! All too often, again, stories like this have a frustrating tendency of dumbing down their political conflicts to the point that you can pretty much guarantee that whatever rebellion group you find will be coded as purely good and righteous at every turn. Here, this group is made up of humans, with their own grievances, misunderstandings, and tendencies towards self-centered motivations. Sylvia’s journey is one of balancing imperfections, both her own as well as the group of displaced Jasadis that she’s trying to lead.

Lastly, as far as the romance goes, I appreciated that the author didn’t string us a long with the love story! Even given their circumstances, Hashem found creative ways to throw Arin and Sylvia back in each others orbits at regular intervals, beginning fairly early in the book. I always find it incredibly annoying and contrived when authors feel the need to keep their characters apart to drive up “tension,” especially in books that are the last in a series’ run, as this is our last time getting to spend time with these characters. And for pages and pages to be wasted on unearned pining is the peak of annoyance for me.

I also enjoyed the introduction of a few chapters from various side characters’ perspectives. There weren’t tons of these, but through them, we got a better insight into various interested parties, all with their own priorities and motivations. These perspectives helped to further flesh out the world and raise the stakes for the ultimate conflict, one that affected more than just Jasad itself but magic as a whole!

I also really enjoyed the expansion of this world’s magic system and history. The book definitely took some twists and turns that I didn’t see coming, and the answers to many lingering questions were incredibly satisfying. I think the book also wrapped up in an excellent manner. It’s bittersweet, of course, but it also technically checks off the HEA requirements, so never fear!

This book is peak romantasy, as far as I’m concerned. It’s also criminally under-appreciated in a packed genre where, too often, lesser titles rise to the top based on nothing more than #vibes. This is a fantastically written, fully realized and developed, romantasy title that should be used as the gold standard for properly pacing an “enemies to lovers” romance. This is a great read for romantasy and fantasy romance readers alike and I can’t recommend the duology enough!

Rating 10: Great world-building, excellent prose, spot-on dialogue, and a love story that hits all the right notes, this book has it all!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Jasad Crown” is on these Goodreads lists: Arabian, Egyptian, and Indian Fantasy 2 and 2025 Adult Fantasy/Sci-fi/Speculative Releases by BIPOC Authors.

Kate’s Review: “Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes”

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Book: “Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes” by Sandra Jackson-Opoku

Publishing Info: Minotaur Books, July 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 sparkling debut mystery set on the south side of Chicago, featuring the quick-witted, unforgettable Savvy Summers, proprietor of a soul food café.

When Savvy Summers first opened Essie’s soul food café, she never expected her customer-favorite sweet potato pie to become the center of a murder investigation. But when Grandy Jaspers, the 75-year-old neighborhood womanizer, drops dead at table two, she suddenly has more to worry about than just maintaining Essie’s reputation for the finest soul food in the Chicagoland area.

Even as the police deem Grandy’s death an accident, Savvy quickly finds herself—and her beloved café—in the middle of an entire city’s worth of bad press. Desperate to clear her name and keep her business afloat, Savvy and her snooping assistant manager, Penny Lopés, take it upon themselves to find who really killed Grandy.

But with a slimy investor harassing her to sell her name and business, customers avoiding her sweet potato pie like the plague, and her police sergeant ex-husband suddenly back in the picture, will Savvy be able to clear the café’s name and solve Grandy’s murder before it all falls apart?

After all, while Savvy always said her sweet potato pie was to die for, she never meant literally.

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

I am kind of at the point where I am seriously asking myself if I just add the ‘cozy mystery’ sub-genre to my rotation of review topics, because I keep having my attention caught by books that fit that description. I’ve already committed to reading the “Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mysteries”, and when I saw the book “Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes” by Sandra Jackson-Opoku on one of my general NetGalley browses I really wanted to read it. So hey, maybe we are at the start of a new coverage point for me. Because, much like the “Tita Rosie’s Kitchen” series, I could see this one being pretty fun to follow judging from the debut.

The mystery itself is what I usually expect from the cozy mystery sub-genre. It’s easy to follow, has a clear group of suspects who all have pretty believable motives, and it doesn’t go too hard or get too messy when it comes to the casualties that are inevitable. I wasn’t terribly shocked by any of the twists and turns, and didn’t find myself in any particular suspense, but it was palatable and easy to read, and I was definitely entertained as I was going. I wasn’t really surprised by the final reveal, but the journey getting there was a ride I didn’t mind taking.

Because that’s kind of the thing with me and cozy mysteries; I’m not really looking for a plot that keeps me guessing and keeps me on my toes. I’m almost always looking for a cast of characters I like to follow and an enjoyable time and place, and I felt like Jackson-Opoku achieved that in this book. I enjoyed Savvy as our amateur detective, as not only is she a Black woman who owns a soul food restaurant, she is also older than I usually read when I pick up a mystery, being well into middle age. She has seen and experienced things that make her less impetuous and more prudent, and I liked having her perspective and her history in place as we were introduced and as we followed her on her first mystery. I also liked our supporting characters who will surely show up as the books continue, whether it’s her friend/colleague Penny, or her ex-husband Falon (who, it seems to me, may be being set up to be a romantic interest as they are still quite close, and I wouldn’t be mad about it). I also just really enjoyed how Jackson-Opoku brings the Southside of Chicago to life, as I could see the people and see the neighborhoods as she was establishing the time and place.

And of course, the food based elements really spoke to me. It’s always fun having a story based around food, cooking, and the community and culture that comes with it, and it’s even better when it comes with recipes (and this one does!). I just really liked reading about the different foods that Savvy was creating in her restaurant and how it connects her to her family history, loved ones that she has had to say goodbye to, and to the community and culture of Chicago’s Southside and the Black population that calls it home. And I do love some sweet potato pie every now and again. You know, so long as it isn’t poisoned.

“Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes” is a fun and easy going cozy mystery that will surely please those who like the genre.

Rating 7: A solid debut cozy mystery with a fun main character and a cast filled with potential, “Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes” is a promising beginning to a new series.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes” is included on the Goodreads list “Cozy Mysteries Published by African-Americans in Decade: 2020s”.

Serena’s Review: “Soulgazer”

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Book: “Soulgazer” by Maggie Rapier

Publishing Info: Ace, July 2025

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

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

Book Description: Saoirse yearns to be powerless. Cursed from childhood with a volatile magic, she’s managed to imprison it within, living under constant terror that one day it will break free. And it does, changing everything.

Horrified at her loss of control, Saoirse’s parents offer her hand to the cold and ruthless Stone King. Knowing she’ll never survive such a cruel man, Saoirse realizes there is only one path forward…she must break her curse. 

On the eve of her wedding, Saoirse seeks out the legendary Wolf of the Wild—Faolan, a feral, silver-tongued pirate. He swears to help rid her of the deadly magic, if she’ll use it to locate a lost mythical isle first. Crafted by the slaughtered gods, it’s the only land that could absorb her power.

But Saoirse knows better than to trust a pirate’s word. With the wrath of her disgraced father and scorned betrothed chasing them, Saoirse adds one last condition to protect if Faolan wants her on his ship, he’ll have to marry her first.

Review: Ok, I’ll admit it: I was first drawn to this book based purely on the romantic and whimsical nature of the cover art alone. This artist has illustrated a number of fantasy book covers, and I’ve never once not immediately wanted to pick that book up! Doesn’t hurt that this one also promised pirates!

While this book didn’t quite work for me the way I had hope, there were still plenty of strengths to be had. One thing that stood out immediately, both as a pro and a con, was the style of writing. This book leans heavily towards a sort of lyrical, lush style of storytelling. There is a lot of imagery used and many lovely turns of phrase that I couldn’t help but admire. However, conversely, there were times that even as I was wowed by the beauty of the writing, I was left wanting in actually understanding what was meant to be portrayed. At times I found it difficult to place the setting in which the story was taking place, or how the action flowed from one scene to another.

This was particularly challenging at the start of the book, when the reader is plopped down in the middle of a busy scene, full of magic, religion, and political power moves. Even a few chapters in, I still didn’t feel as if I fully grasped the social-political situation of the scene the story was taking place within or the heroine’s magical abilities. That said, as the book continued and the plot focused in on the main characters and the action surrounding them, I had less trouble. Even here, though, there were still times where this focus on beautiful strings of words was prioritized over clarity of description. Ultimately, I think this is a case where the author has a lot of potential, but still needs to grow a bit in her craft.

I did enjoy the romance at the heart of the story for the most part. I didn’t necessarily need as many of the steamy scenes as we got, but the development of the love story on an emotional level was done well. This was largely helped by how well-done the love interest was written. He felt complex, interesting, and well-suited for the sort of romance that was being explored. On the other hand, I found myself struggling a bit more Saoirse. This was unfortunate, because there was a lot I liked about this character.

For one thing, she was very much outside of the typical romantasy heroine mold, being much more reserved, with her journey focusing on her slowly coming out of her shell and escaping the mental and emotional abusive systems that she had been raised within. Even at the end, she was in no way a “girl boss” or “badass” sort of heroine. This was refreshing! However, she was also hard to enjoy at times, being sometimes incredibly naive. There were also several points in which conflict could have been easily handled with simple communication, which made her silence all the more frustrating to follow.

Overall, while this book wasn’t a favorite of mine, I think the author has a lot of potential! There were the bones of a really great story to be found here, and with a bit more polish, I think this book could have been a hit! That said, even as it stands, I think there are a number of readers who will really enjoy this one, especially romantasy fans who are looking for a quieter heroine and a swoon-worthy hero!

Rating 7: While I struggled at times with some of the writing, there is a lot to enjoy in this romantasy story, not least of which is the excellent romantic lead!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Soulgazer” isn’t currently on any Goodreads lists but it should be on Beautiful Covers.

Kate’s Review: “Everyone Is Lying To You”

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Book: “Everyone Is Lying To You” by Jo Piazza

Publishing Info: Dutton, July 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: Lizzie and Bex were best friends in college. After graduation, Bex vanished, leaving Lizzie confused and devastated.

Fifteen years later, Bex is now Rebecca Sommers, a “traditional” Instagram influencer with millions of followers who salivate over her perfect life on her ranch with her five children and handsome husband, Gray. Lizzie is a struggling magazine writer, watching reels while her young children demand her attention.

One night out of the blue, Bex calls Lizzie with a career-making proposition—an exclusive interview with her about her multimillion-dollar business venture and an invitation to MomBomb, the high-profile influencing conference.

At the conference, Bex goes missing and Gray is found brutally murdered on their ranch. Lizzie finds herself plunged into the dark side of the cutthroat world of social media that includes jealousy, sordid affairs, swingers, and backstabbing. She must learn who her old friend has become and who she has double-crossed to try to find her, clear her name, and maybe even save her life.

Piazza’s master storytelling and razor-sharp insight into the world of social media brings us a pulpy, juicy, and cleverly plotted read that will have you guessing all the way through and leave you gasping for more.

Review: Thank you to Dutton for giving me an ARC at ALAAC25!

In recent years we have seen an uptick in ‘tradwife’ content online. For those unaware, tradwife influencers generally create content surrounding traditional family values, homemaking, motherhood, and pushing a conservative (and oftentimes far-right) agenda. It’s interesting seeing it play out as our societal Overton Window in the U.S. has shifted further right, making these influencers centerpieces of aspirational ‘and you can be an ideal traditional housewife and mother too!’ content, even though by being incredibly successful (and certainly monetized) influencers they are already not following the ‘be a submissive homemaker’ ideal they are pushing but being the actual breadwinner who supports their families with their content creation more than many of their husbands do. This kind of stuff fascinates and unsettles me, and when I heard that Jo Piazza had a tradwife centered murder mystery coming out called “Everyone Is Lying To You” I knew that I HAD to read it. And man, it was great.

At the heart of “Everyone Is Lying To You” are two women, who are both wives and mothers and who were best friends in college but lost touch for years. We have Lizzie, a determined journalist who works for a women’s publication, but has been struggling to adjust to working passion and becoming a mother to two children with a newly unemployed husband (who is supportive and great but a little aimless). The other is Rebecca, formerly Bex, who is a very popular family influencer who shows off her perfect marriage on a sprawling ranch while she raises six kids and homesteads with her traditional and conservative husband Gray. Rebecca reaches out to Lizzie promising her a juicy story if she attends the biggest female/family centered influencer convention, and while they are there Bex disappears and Gray is murdered on the ranch. We follow Lizzie’s perspective as she tries to figure out if her friend is a murderer whilst also fending off gossipy and perhaps cutthroat influencers, finding pieces of the puzzle and hoping to clear Bex while also wondering if she is actually a murderer. Piazza has some solid pacing, some really well done reveals and twists, and has so many misdirects and suspects that I really was kept guessing for most of the story. Hell, it was so well done that I didn’t even roll my eyes at any of the more out there reveals, as the story itself was so strong that it was easily forgivable.

The mystery of a murder and tradwife influencers is great, and I was already fully in, but it’s the two women we are following that really made this story a true knockout for me. I found Lizzie to be incredibly relatable, as a woman who never really took to the motherly instincts that we are told we all have, and who feels frazzled and sometimes overwhelmed by her family and the expectations that come with being a mom even if she really really loves every bit of her kids and her husband. But it was Rebecca/Bex that really shined, as we slowly learn her story through her perspective chapters and how she has ended up incredibly famous, while hiding so many of the darker aspects of her life because it would hurt the brand she has built around herself, and because she doesn’t want the world to know what her husband is really like. It was pretty clear to me that a lot of the inspiration for her was from Hannah Neeleman, aka Ballerina Farm (if you want a summary of the really insidious undertones of Hannah and her creepy husband’s vision, Jordan and McKay have a GREAT breakdown as former Mormons who have a lot of insight, or a REALLY deep dive from Fundie Fridays that postulates it’s pure Christian Nationalist propaganda), and Piazza makes Rebecca incredibly easy to root for while also making it hard to know if she could be capable of murder. I loved Rebecca’s chapters and wanted the best for her, even when I didn’t know if she was a killer or not.

In instances like this I’m down to support women’s rights AND wrongs. (source)

And finally, Piazza clearly knows her stuff when it comes to influencers and tradwife Internet/media content, because she knows all the ins, outs, controversies, and hypocrisies and finds ways to showcase them front and center. Whether it’s women who peddle wellness lifestyles while doing not so healthy things off camera, or mommy influencers who hide their nannies from the camera, or women who feel like they have to promote really exploitative things, usually at their children’s expense, for clicks and engagement, this book tackles a LOT and makes it snappy, cutting, and incredibly engaging. It’s such a great deconstruction of all the hypocritical and damaging things that tradwife content promotes as ideal, and I savored every bit of it.

“Everyone Is Lying To You” is a fast and addictive thriller with a bit of satirical bite to it. It’s a surefire winner for summer reading, and I really, really loved it.

Rating 9: I mean this book was basically written for me and all of my special interests and I was totally absorbed by all of it. PERFECT summer reading.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Everyone Is Lying To You” is included on the Goodreads list “Fiction About Influencers”.

Joint Review: “The Bewitching”

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Book: “The Bewitching” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Publishing Info: Del Rey, July 2025

Where Did We Get This Book: eARC from Netgalley!

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

Book Description: “Back then, when I was a young woman, there were still witches”: That was how Nana Alba always began the stories she told her great-granddaughter Minerva—stories that have stayed with Minerva all her life. Perhaps that’s why Minerva has become a graduate student focused on the history of horror literature and is researching the life of Beatrice Tremblay, an obscure author of macabre tales.

In the course of assembling her thesis, Minerva uncovers information that reveals that Tremblay’s most famous novel, The Vanishing, was inspired by a true story: Decades earlier, during the Great Depression, Tremblay attended the same university where Minerva is now studying and became obsessed with her beautiful and otherworldly roommate, who then disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

As Minerva descends ever deeper into Tremblay’s manuscript, she begins to sense that the malign force that stalked Tremblay and the missing girl might still walk the halls of the campus. These disturbing events also echo the stories Nana Alba told about her girlhood in 1900s Mexico, where she had a terrifying encounter with a witch.

Minerva suspects that the same shadow that darkened the lives of her great-grandmother and Beatrice Tremblay is now threatening her own in 1990s Massachusetts. An academic career can be a punishing pursuit, but it might turn outright deadly when witchcraft is involved.

Kate’s Thoughts

I was very pleased to see that Silvia Moreno-Garcia was finally taking on a witch story. She has done so many other kinds of genres and sub-genres, sometimes in fantasy and horror, and now she has taken her genre hopping to a witchy tale with “The Bewitching”. I love witch stories as we all know, and I was very excited to see what Silvia Moreno-Garcia would do with it.

Overall, I enjoyed this fantasy tale and the three narratives that we followed. In the early 1900s in Mexico we have Alba, a young woman in the countryside whose home seems to be cursed and bewitched, and who is trying to figure out who is doing it, all while contending with her mysterious uncle and a local man that is infatuated with her. After that we go to 1930s New England, where a University student named Beatrice has a deep connection with her roommate who vanishes. And in the 1990s, University student Minerva is researching Beatrice’s writings, and starts to realize that there are similarities between Beatrice’s experiences and the experiences of Minerva’s grandmother Alba. It’s a LOT, but I felt like Moreno-Garcia balanced it well and wove it all together perfectly. She takes her time parsing out how all of these things fit together, but I never felt like it was poorly paced or glossed over as I was reading.

I also enjoyed the magical and witchcrafty elements, combining elements from New England lore along with lore from Mexico, and blending them in ways that show their similarities as well as their differences. This definitely leaves behind any romanticism of witches and witchcraft, with a focus on the scarier elements from a story like this, and I liked that there were some genuinely scary beats. While it’s true that I like romanticized witch stories, this one was a well executed thoroughly creepy take. I’m always up for that.

“The Bewitching” is another great tale from Silvia Moreno-Garcia! If you can’t wait for the Fall for a witch story, definitely seek this one out!

Serena’s Thoughts

It’s probably no surprise at this point, but I really enjoyed this book! Witches are one of those paranormal themes that easily crosses genres between fantasy and horror, so between the subject matter and the author in question, this was a match made in heaven for Kate and I to jointly review!

Sometimes I struggle to fully become invested in stories that follow different characters in different time lines. Too often, one or more feels less fleshed out than another and I feel the urge to speed read sections. While I did have favorites here, however, all three timelines and stories were interesting in their own ways. You know the tragedy that is written on the wall for some of them, but even knowing this, I was drawn in to the details of their individual stories. It’s the kind of horror that hides in plain sight: you know what’s coming, and that makes the building dread all the worse.

Like many of this author’s novels, the story is a slow-burn affair. She takes her time fully setting the stage, between the various time periods, locations, and women involved. That being the case, the pacing is definitely on the slow side. However, the payout for all three times lines all pulls together in the end in a fantastic manner, so it is well worth the wait. And, as I mentioned earlier this slower pacing works well to increased the suspense (another factor that is easy to identify as quintessentially Moreno-Garcia’s style).

Overall, I really enjoyed this read. It was creepy but mostly in a way that I could handle (though one scene was a bit much for me), and I was fully invested in the story by the time we got to the end. Definitely check this one out if you’re looking for an interesting take on witches!

Kate’s Rating 8 : Witchy, suspenseful, and very unnerving, “The Bewitching” is yet another great read from a true master of many trades within the writing craft.

Serena’s Rating 8: As always, Moreno-Garcia delivers with fantastic, multi-generational story of witches and brewing dread.

Reader’s Advisory

“The Bewitching” is included on the Goodreads list 2025 Dark Academia Releases.

Serena’s Review: “Red Tempest Brother”

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Book: “Red Tempest Brother” by H.M. Long

Publishing Info: Titan Books, July 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: NetGalley!

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

Book Description: In the wake of the events of Black Tide Son, Hart flees into pirate-infested waters to shelter on the island where former rogue James Demery and the Fleetbreaker, Anne Firth, now rule.

Reeling from their discoveries about the truths of the Mereish-Aeadine war, Mary and Sam hover on the precipice of a terrible, world-altering choice – they can stay silent and maintain their good names, or they can speak out, and risk igniting total war across the Winter Sea.

Meanwhile, Benedict captains The Red Tempest, a lawless ship of deserters and corrupted mages in search of an Usti spy with incendiary stolen documents. Benedict is determined to make the truth known, consequences be damned.

As rumours spread of a new Ghistwold sprouting in the Mereish South Isles, May and Sam sail once more into intrigue, espionage and an ocean on the brink of exploding into conflict. They must chart a course toward lasting, final peace, at the heart of the age-old battle for power upon the Winter Seas.

Previously Reviewed: “Dark Water Daughter” and “Black Tide Son”

Review: It was such a joy to pick up this book! Not only has this author never led me astray, but it’s always a relief to be able to close the last page of a trilogy and feel like the entire story came together just as it should. Such is the case here!

This book picks up right after the events of the second book, and of course Mary and Sam land themselves smack dab into trouble once again. The stakes of this book were just as high as ever, perhaps even higher as now our characters are not only grappling with their own futures, but the futures of Stormsingers and the Ghist as well.

Throughout the series to this point, there has been a strong focus on freedom (a perennial topic for pirate stories, it seems), and we’ve seen the ways that groups of people and beings have been harnessed and their powers used for others’ purposes. And from the start of this one, we see how fragile Mary’s own situation is, even with Sam and their crew behind her. I really enjoyed the way this book continued these stories, particularly the expansion of how the magical beings of this world are understood. Looking back at the trilogy as a whole, it feels like layers were carefully peeled back from one book to the next to finally land us on this conclusion where we finally get a more complete understanding and see how everything weaves together.

I also continued to love Mary and Sam’s story. As much of the journey of their romance had been completed in the first two books, this one was more focused on them working together to make a future for themselves where they can thrive. I loved the balance between the subplot of their continued love story (blessedly free of unnecessary drama or angst!) and the larger focus on the action-packed plot, with each of them getting strong arcs both separately and together.

This book also introduced chapters from Benedict’s perspective. I wasn’t quite sure how to feel about these at the start. Hong is an excellent character writer, and Benedict is an interesting character, but I also have a strong memory of his actions from the first two books, many of which were pretty close to unforgivable. But I think his arc was explored in a fantastic way, these things considered. He doesn’t do an about-face; instead, his story is given plenty of time to fully explore the slow evolution if his feelings and his realization of the choices and future that lies before him, depending on what he does now. He is the embodiment of a true morally grey leading character. You’ll definitely hate him at times, and even by the end, he is very much still a work-in-progress type of person.

I also really enjoyed the expansions we see in the world-building. The story takes us south, introducing new factions and locations, all vying for different things and often violently clashing with one another. Further, we get a host of new magical beings, most of which are horrifying to varying degrees, per the usual of this world, it seems. Again, the word that comes to mind is “balance.” This book manages to equally divide its attention and time between large-scale political/national conflicts, swashbuckling adventuring, and new fantasy creatures and elements. All while firmly holding true to the main trio of characters at the heart of the story.

This was a fantastic conclusion to a fantastic trilogy. It’s also criminally under the radar as far as I can tell, and all epic fantasy readers should immediately check it out!

Rating 9: A perfect landing on a fantastic trilogy; this is a must-read for all epic fantasy fans!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Red Tempest Brother” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Can’t Wait Sci-Fi/Fantasy of 2025 and End of Series in 2025.

Serena’s Review: “The Nightshade God”

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Book: “The Nightshade God” by Hannah Whitten

Publishing Info: Orbit, July 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher

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

Book Description: Lore has failed. She couldn’t save King Bastian from the rotten god speaking voices in his mind. She couldn’t save her allies from being scattered across the continent—their own lesser gods whispering to them in their dreams. She couldn’t save her beautiful, corrupt city from the dark power beneath the catacombs. And she couldn’t save herself.

Banished to the Burnt Isles, Lore must use every skill she earned on the streets of Dellaire to survive the prison colony and figure out a way to defeat the power that’s captured everything and everyone she holds dear. When a surprise ally joins her on the Burnt Isles she realizes the way forward may lie on the island itself. Somehow, her friends must help her collect the far-scattered pieces of the broken Fount—the source of all the god’s powers—and bring them back together on the Burnt Isles, returning all magic to its source and destroying, once and for all, the gods corrupting the land.

But as Lore gets closer to her goal, her magic grows stronger… and to a woman who’s always had to fight for survival, that kind of power may be hard to give up.

Previously Reviewed: “The Foxglove King” and “The Hemlock Queen”

Review: Well, this was a bit of a let down. It’s always disappointing to see a series take a downward trend, especially when you look back at a high point at the start. The first book introduced a compelling cast of characters, a well-thought out, complex world, and a hidden history with promises of many exciting reveals to come. The second book languished a bit with “middle book syndrome,” little plot actually took place and several of the characters seemed to stall out in their progression (I also began to see the writing on the wall of a romantic arc I was less interested in). And here we are with the third.

To start with what I did like. I continue to enjoy Whitten’s style of writing. She has a way of drawing me in, even when I’m struggling to enjoy the relationships being portrayed or there isn’t necessarily a lot of plot to speak of. In less capable hands, that second book could have really gone another direction. Here, too, she takes the risky choice of swinging the focus away from our main three characters and back towards the gods they have come to embody. Now, I didn’t love this choice, but her writing is of such a high quality that I still pushed through what might otherwise have been a DNF from me.

But that urge to DNF was there, especially when I got to the middle section of the book and realized that I was halfway through the conclusion to a trilogy about three main characters and I had spent most of my time focusing on three OTHER characters (the gods in the past) and my main trio weren’t even together on page. Bizarrely, this book read almost like another middle book, where the author introduces a bunch of new characters and keeps the main group apart, with the expectation that this will all pay off in the end.

But this is the end! I get that the three gods are reflections of Lore, Bastian and Gabe. But no matter how closely they resemble those characters or their relationships mirror those of our main trio, they are still, demonstratively, not those characters. That being the case, I was frustrated with how much of the story focused on the interplay between these gods and their histories. Further, unlike an actual middle book, this one was our last chance to see our main trio together, so to spend so much of the story with them separated was truly unfortunate. For her part, Lore remains a good character on her own. But the dynamics between the characters is really what helps Bastian and Gabe to shine, so by distancing them all from one another, there was a decline in overall character quality to be found.

Lastly, I didn’t enjoy the romance. This is a completely subjective take, and I know many readers’ primary interest was in the throuple at the heart of the story. And, stepping back from my own preferences, I think all of those readers will be completely satisfied with this book. However, romance is a genre/topic that is incredibly subjective. Of all the genres, I think it is the one best served with tropes/hashtags assigned from the very start. A reader who enjoys dark romance is going to be into very different scenes and topics than a cozy romance reader. And the latter is best served by knowing right from the start that its a dark romance that they are picking up. So, too, with various pairings. Some readers enjoy reverse harems and throuples, while others are solidly monogamous/fated mates/etc. readers. I’m definitely the latter, and that being the case, this love story wasn’t for me.

This is one of those exact situations where I wish the book had been properly tagged from the start. Now! Don’t get me wrong, I probably still would have read this trilogy and been pleased I had, because I enjoy this author’s work and it’s not like throuples/polyamory are dealbreakers in any way. However, my expectations would have been properly aligned from the start. As it stands, the first book set up a love triangle, but I finished it still with the expectation that the trilogy would conclude with Lore ending up with one or the other, not both. So I was ultimately disappointed when I saw the direction the love story took, as throuples aren’t really my thing

All of this to say, this was just a fine read. As a whole, I don’t think the trilogy was properly paced, with the last two books both floundering a bit after the tightly plotted first book. That said, I think readers who are heavily invested in Lore/Bastian/Gabe will be incredibly happy with the way this book wraps up! I’ll definitely check out what Whitten writes next, but this trilogy won’t go down as one of my favorites from her.

Rating 7: This will definitely work for some, but I think it suffers from losing its focus on the main three characters at the heart of the story.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Nightshade God” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Romantasy TBR 2025 and Baroque Fantasy.