Author: thelibraryladiesmn

Kate’s Review: “Feeding Ghosts”

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Book: “Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir” by Tessa Hulls

Publishing Info: MCD, March 2024

Where Did I Get This Book: The library!

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

Book Description: In her evocative, genre-defying graphic memoir, Tessa Hulls tells the stories of her grandmother, Sun Yi; her mother, Rose; and herself.

Sun Yi was a Shanghai journalist caught in the political crosshairs of the 1949 Communist victory. After eight years of government harassment, she fled to Hong Kong with her daughter. Upon arrival, Sun Yi wrote a bestselling memoir about her persecution and survival, used the proceeds to put Rose in an elite boarding school―and promptly had a breakdown that left her committed to a mental institution. Rose eventually came to the United States on a scholarship and brought Sun Yi to live with her.

Tessa watched her mother care for Sun Yi, both of them struggling under the weight of Sun Yi’s unexamined trauma and mental illness. Vowing to escape her mother’s smothering fear, Tessa left home and traveled to the farthest-flung corners of the globe (Antarctica). But at the age of thirty, it starts to feel less like freedom and more like running away, and she returns to face the history that shaped her.

Gorgeously rendered, Feeding Ghosts is Hulls’ homecoming, a vivid journey into the beating heart of one family, set against the dark backdrop of Chinese history. By turns fascinating and heartbreaking, inventive and poignant, it exposes the fear and trauma that haunt generations, and the love that holds them together.

Review: I sometimes find a book that doesn’t exactly fit the expectations I have based upon the circumstances in which I found it. “Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir” by Tessa Hulls is a great example of that, as I saw it for the first time on the social media feed of horror influencer Sadie Hartmann, aka Mother Horror. Since she is such a huge presence in the horror lit community I assumed that it was a horror graphic novel (and I mean, the word ‘ghosts’ in the title added to that). But when I did research on it, I realized that it wasn’t a horror story, but a story about three generations of Chinese and Chinese American women, and the trauma that is passed down between the three of them. Sure it wasn’t a horror novel, but the premise still very much intrigued me. So I got it from the library, thinking I’d work through it pretty fast. Little did I know that it would be one of the harder reads of 2024. But not in a bad way by any means.

So I’m immediately going to clarify what I mean by ‘harder’, because I know that it makes it sound like a chore to read. And it is by no means that. When I say harder I am more talking about two things. The first is that this is a VERY dense book. Like on the page, there are SO MANY WORDS for a graphic novel. The most recent graphic memoir I read before this was “Worm” and I was able to read that in one night. That was NOT the case for “Feeding Ghosts”, as Hulls wants to tell three individual stories of herself, her mother Rose, and her grandmother Sun Yi, as well as the story of their relationships due to the trauma that is passed down through them, AS WELL AS a compact history of China in the 20th Century and how that influenced Sun Yi and Rose. The other is that the subject material is very, VERY heavy, with lots of themes that are very difficult, and Hulls approaches them with a matter of fact cadence and tone. Sun Yi was living as a reporter in Shanghai when the Communist Party took over, and after giving birth to Rose out of wedlock (and with a foreigner, as Rose’s father was a Swiss diplomat), and being an undesirable person for other reasons on top fo that, the new government spied on, intimidated, harangued, and harassed her until she and Rose could escape to Hong Kong. Shortly thereafter Sun Yi wrote a memoir speaking out against the Communists, and then had a severe mental breakdown that left Rose to her own devices in a boarding school, and then as a caregiver after they moved to America. In turn, Rose raised her own daughter Tessa with a lot of fear, anxiety, and a clinging fear of losing her to mental illness, which in turn pushed Tessa away and gave her her own set of traumas. Tessa writes this memoir with lots of honesty as to all the things that all of them went through, and how trauma and mental illness can keep reverberating through generations and progeny. With the combination of the jam packed pages and some VERY heavy themes, it took me longer to get through this than I anticipated. But again, that’s not a bad thing. I appreciated the care and context that Hulls wanted to give her family, as well as herself, and I thought that she did a really good job of pulling it all together, as well as allowing herself vulnerability to open up about some very tragic truths about her family history that is still present to this day. It’s quite the achievement, and I found it to be deeply fascinating and moving.

I also quite enjoyed the way that Hulls weaves in the history of 20th Century China into this tale, as so much of that time period had an effect on Sun Yi, and in turn Rose and Tessa down the line. She does a good job of laying out the timeline from the jump as almost an outline, and then diving deeper into the various parts of it, including the invasion of Japan to the Communist Revolution to the Great Leap Forward, and showing how these events shaped Sun Yi’s life, and the repeated traumas in all probability led to her complete mental breakdown that she never recovered from. It’s by no means a deep dive into this time period or the events, but she does make them very accessible and takes some pretty complex moments and parses them out without disrupting the flow of the story of her family. Lord knows I don’t know that much about this time period outside of learning about it for a unit when I was in high school, and I liked having the basics laid out. It’s also so important to the overall story I really like how she made sure it was all there, even if it did contribute to the aforementioned denseness.

All in all, “Feeding Ghosts” is a deeply personal and moving memoir, a magnum opus for an author who was trying to untangle some complicated histories in her family. If you like memoirs, this is absolutely one to check out.

Rating 8: An emotional memoir about cycles of trauma that went through three generations of women, “Feeding Ghosts” is dense, deeply personal, and very well done.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Feeding Ghosts” is included on the Goodreads list “Memoirs Published in Year: 2024”.

Not Just Books: June 2024

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

Serena’s Picks:

TV Show: “Your Honor”

Honestly, we started this one purely because Bryan Cranston was the star. And clearly whomever made this poster understood that that was probably the primary appeal for most people! The story follows a judge whose son commits a hit-and-run, accidentally killing the son of a mob boss. Shenanigans ensue as the judge attempts to save his son while actively working against his own moral judgement. It’s definitely been a tense watch, and I spend way to much of my time being angry at the son, but Cranston shines as always. If you like dark legal thrillers, than this one might be worth checking out!

Apple TV Show: “Masters of the Air”

Continuing my steady march into middle age, I’m back again with yet another WWII story! This time the story focuses on a group of flyers in the bombing unit of the air force. I haven’t watched “Band of Brothers,” but it’s from the same group of producers, which probably gives you some idea. The story is based on true stories and characters and man, it’s tough at times. But the bravery of the flyers in these situations was also incredible! For some reason, I feel like I’ve only ever really heard/watched/read about the fighter pilots in this war, so this was a unique look into the world of bomber flying, which, turns out, is very different! If you enjoy true stories about historical warfare, than this is definitely one to check out!

Movie: “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga”

I know this one has been a bit of a let down at the box office with some fairly mixed reviews, but I still wanted to give it a chance based on the strength of the last “Mad Max” movie and the fantastic cast. And while it’s not as good as the last entry in this series, I also don’t think it’s nearly as bad as some of the reviews are saying. In fact, bizarrely, it’s biggest problem seems to come down to the effects. During the credits, they roll scenes from “Fury Road” and even these brief glimpses are a bit of a slap in the face with how much better that (older) movie looked than many of the scenes in this (newer) movie. That said, if you look past the step backwards in this area, I think this was a successful film! The acting was fantastic, the story delivers on a believable prequel arc for a fan favorite character, and the overall vibe fits well within the “Mad Max” series as a whole. I think it’s well worth a shot, even if one has to lower the standards a bit on some of the effects.

Kate’s Picks

TV Show: “Criminal Minds: Evolution”

Some things never change, and one of those things is my love for procedurals. And “Criminal Minds: Evolution” is back and I am hooked. After the BAU captured prolific serial killer Sicarius, immediate questions were raised about the phrase ‘Gold Star’ when he mentioned it to one of their colleagues, who was killed shortly thereafter. Now they are trying to find out what ‘Gold Star’ is, but it seems like it’s another serial killer who is even more dangerous. Now they may have to get insight from Sicarius himself, as much as they don’t want to. Because Sicarius may have the only information on this murderer who may also be government trained in his kills. This iteration of “Criminal Minds” is darker and has been doing more interesting things than the original, and while the team is still missing a few core characters, I love seeing how those who have returned have been faring. Especially Penelope Garcia! Man I love her.

Film: “Love Lies Bleeding”

I was one of those jerks that scoffed at Kristen Stewart for a long time because of “Twilight”. But lately I’ve realized that I was super wrong because she has really done some dynamic and compelling movies, as I am pretty certain that she is going to have an Oscar someday. My most recent instance of eating crow was “Love Lies Bleeding”, an erotic thriller/neo-noir tale that stars Stewart and Katy M. O’Brian as misfit lovers caught up in a violent crime that unravels them both. Stewart is Lou, a woman who runs a gym who meets Jackie, an ambitious body builder. The two fall for each other immediately and start a relationship, but an impulsive act of violence turns their world upside down as Lou tries to protect Jackie from a local gangster… who also happens to be her father. I really enjoyed the vibes of this one, it’s tense and sexy and a wild ride.

TV Show: “Frasier”

I have honestly been struggling a lot with some serious burnout as of late, with lots of things making me stress out and my emotional regulation being a lot less, uh, regulated? So what do I do in times of severe burnout? I dive into things that just bring me predictable comfort, and one of those things is the show “Frasier”. I’ve definitely highlighted it before, but I’ve started jumping around the original series again with favorite episodes, and it still manages to bring me lots of laughter and lots of comfort even when I’m feeling out of control and exhausted in my life. The cast is still perfect, the stories are still hijinks, and the heart is still beating strongly. Thank you, Crane family and friends! I needed this!

Serena’s Review: “The God and the Gumiho”

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

Book: “The God and the Gumiho” by Sophie Kim

Publishing Info: Del Rey, June 2024

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

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

Book Description: Kim Hani has retired from a life of devouring souls. She is, simply put, too full. Once known as the infamous Scarlet Fox, she now spends her days working in a coffee shop and annoying a particularly irritating, if unfairly handsome, trickster god as often as she can.

That god is Seokga the Fallen. Exiled from the heavenly kingdom of Okhwang, he now begrudgingly resides in the mortal realm, working toward his redemption and suffering through his interactions with the particularly infuriating, if sneakily charming, gumiho barista at his favorite café.

But when a powerful demon escapes from the underworld and threatens to end all of humanity, Okhwang’s emperor offers Seokga an enticing bargain: Kill this rogue creature, as well as the legendary and elusive Scarlet Fox, and he will be reinstated as a god. Hani, however, has no intention of being caught. Seokga might be a trickster god, but she has a trick of her own that he’ll never see coming: teaming up. As Seokga’s assistant, Hani will undermine and sabotage his investigation right under his overly pointy nose. Sure, she’ll help him kill the demon, but she certainly won’t allow him to uncover her secret identity while they’re at it.

As the bickering partners track their case down a path of mayhem and violence, the god and the gumiho find themselves inescapably drawn to each other. But will the unlikely couple stand together to prevent the apocalypse, or will they let their secrets tear them—and the world—apart?

Review: I was very excited when I received an ARC from the publisher for this book! Right off the bat, it has a lot of things going for it: combining urban fantasy and South Korean mythology, and then setting the story in the early 90s. Looking at all of that, it was easy to see that this book was going to be lots of vibes all mashed together. Add in an enemies-to-lovers romance, and yeah, easy to see why I was excited. Let’s get into the full review!

While I had a lot of hopes for this book, it didn’t all come together quite like I wished. But there was still a lot to like about it, and I do think there are many readers out there who will enjoy it. Let’s start with some of the good stuff! I’ve had some exposure to South Korean mythology in other fantasy books, but I’m by no means an expert. In that regard, some of the fantasy elements were just familiar enough that I felt like I understood this world easily, but were still exploring new dynamics and aspects of the mythology that felt completely fresh. Even the familiar elements were twisted into new forms that were intriguing.

I also thought the writing was approachable and easy to read. While I think it was a tad simplistic at times, especially with regards to characterization, it shone as far as pacing and fast-paced storytelling. The reader will be quickly drawn into this world, and the story will catch them up for the ride from there. As a reader who often focuses on characterization above most other elements, it speaks to the readability of the style of writing that I finished this one up fairly quickly even though I wasn’t connecting to the main characters.

Now, as I’ve mentioned, I did struggle with the characters themselves, both separately and as a couple. From the romance angle, I was left wanting right away when I realized that the “enemies” portion of their relationship came from a mess up in a coffee order. Now, I get that this is played for humorous effect, but it just didn’t work for me. We’re talking about centuries-old beings here with untold powers; the fact that they are equally ridiculous about this minor altercation doesn’t speak well of either of them. And it simply wasn’t as funny as it was clearly meant to be.

Things didn’t really improve from there. On one hand, we have a trickster god, and yet I barely ever felt this aspect of his personality. Instead, he was very much the “grumpy” side of the relationship, and the chaos aspect of what I imagine from trickster gods was nowhere to be found. As for Hani, we learn early in the story that she has been in hiding for decades now after committing a mass murder for which she is still being hunted today. We’re told that she is incredibly clever to have avoided capture for so long. But again, right from the beginning, we see her making choices that clearly give away her past. In one notable example, when choosing a weapon, she immediately picks the type of weapon that her wanted identity was most known for using. And, predictably, this is what begins to alert the hero to her past. It’s just…kind of silly. And there were multiple instances of things like this for both characters, where we are told they have certain traits, but the actual choices and behaviors we see on the page directly contradict this. And, again, I could never get past some of the ridiculousness and immaturity of characters are are hundreds of years old.

Overall, this was just an ok read for me. The readability of the style of writing and some of the more fun aspects of the world-building were enough to pull me through this read fairly quickly. But throughout it all, I struggled to connect to these characters or become invested in their love story. If you’re looking for a fresh-feeling urban fantasy, this might be one worth checking out, however!

Rating 7: A fun concept and world were dampened a bit by characters who I found more ridiculous than not most of the time.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The God and the Gumiho” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Asian SSF and Adult SFF by BIPOC Authors.

Kate’s Review: “Middle of the Night”

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Book: “Middle of the Night” by Riley Sager

Publishing Info: Dutton, June 2024

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

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

Book Description: In the latest jaw-dropping thriller from New York Times bestselling author Riley Sager, a man must contend with the long-ago disappearance of his childhood best friend—and the dark secrets lurking just beyond the safe confines of his picture-perfect neighborhood.

The worst thing to ever happen on Hemlock Circle occurred in Ethan Marsh’s backyard. One July night, ten-year-old Ethan and his best friend and neighbor, Billy, fell asleep in a tent set up on a manicured lawn in a quiet, quaint New Jersey cul de sac. In the morning, Ethan woke up alone. During the night, someone had sliced the tent open with a knife and taken Billy. He was never seen again.

Thirty years later, Ethan has reluctantly returned to his childhood home. Plagued by bad dreams and insomnia, he begins to notice strange things happening in the middle of the night. Someone seems to be roaming the cul de sac at odd hours, and signs of Billy’s presence keep appearing in Ethan’s backyard. Is someone playing a cruel prank? Or has Billy, long thought to be dead, somehow returned to Hemlock Circle?

The mysterious occurrences prompt Ethan to investigate what really happened that night, a quest that reunites him with former friends and neighbors and leads him into the woods that surround Hemlock Circle. Woods where Billy claimed monsters roamed and where a mysterious institute does clandestine research on a crumbling estate.

The closer Ethan gets to the truth, the more he realizes that no place—be it quiet forest or suburban street—is completely safe. And that the past has a way of haunting the present.

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

It’s fully summer now, and along with the promises of pool days, barbecuing, river tubing, and melting in the heat and therefore hiding in an air conditioned home as much as I can, I also have the promise of a new Riley Sager novel every year. And this year we have “Middle of the Night”, a new thriller about a long missing boy, the man who was the one left behind and facing survivor guilt, and a neighborhood that has had this case haunting them for decades… oh, and also a spectral person lurking in the neighborhood in the dead of night. Oh yes. This has potential for sure.

Like most of Sager’s books before it, I was entertained by the mystery and the twists and turns of “Middle of the Night”. The initial mystery is already a solid premise: thirty years ago, Ethan Marsh and his neighborhood best friend Billy were camping in his backyard on a sleepover, only for their tent to be cut into and Billy to go missing, with Ethan clueless as to what happened outside of shoddy flashes of memories that don’t make much sense. In the present Ethan has returned to the old neighborhood to sell his parents house after their retirement, and has started noticing weird things, like a mysterious shadow person creeping through the neighborhood at night, or signs of life that only Billy could have done back in the day. You already have me with the questions of what happened to Billy, and who (or what) is now sending Ethan messages thirty years later, but then Sager adds MORE to it by bringing in a mysterious local institution with connections to the Ivy League that may or may not have been doing some odd things they hoped to keep hidden. The weirdness and the slow reveals of how THAT plays into the story, as well as more evidence, motives, suspects, and, yes, red herrings, makes for a suspenseful read as we jump from Ethan’s perspective in the present to other people’s perspectives in the past, and even though it could have been a lot of narrative shifting, it worked well for me. I was genuinely surprised by a lot of the reveals, and even those that weren’t as shocking to me still felt executed tightly and properly. I know that Sager can be polarizing to thriller fans, but I always buy into his books because it’s just fun to experience the ride.

Sager is usually a good bet if you want an entertaining read for the fun summer months, and “Middle of the Night” once again delivers on that. But what I also liked about this book is how Sager explores the themes of survivor guilt and collective trauma for those who live in a tight knit community when a person, especially a young person, goes missing. My mind kept wandering back to a notorious and long lingering Minnesota case, that of Jacob Wetterling, who was kidnapped by a masked man in 1989 and was missing for decades until they got a confession and found his body in 2016. Ethan has come back to the place where his best friend vanished, and has to face how that has shaped his life up until now, and how that has reverberated through his relationships, actions, and experiences, usually with tragic elements as he hasn’t fully reconciled all of his guilt and fear and heartbreak. I found Ethan to be a very easy to follow main character, and I thought that Sager really dug into his psyche. It’s also a change to have a male protagonist in a Sager book (I suppose “Survive the Night” had a dual POV with a male protagonist, but it was split), so that was a breath of fresh air. And hell, we even get a little bit into the minds of all the people in the neighborhood around the time Billy disappears, which gave more complicated layers to a supposedly perfect suburban setting. I always enjoy a dressing down of the facade of a perfect Americana community, and “Middle of the Night” peels back some layers and exposes the cracks that were there even before Billy disappeared. It makes for some added pathos to an already emotional premise.

Ultimately I found “Middle of the Night” to be another serviceable thriller, and one perfect for summer vacations. It’s speedy and fun and I continue to hold Riley Sager in high regard when it comes to genuinely enjoyable thrillers.

Rating 8: Tense and at times incredibly sad, “Middle of the Night” is about going home in the face of unresolved trauma, and a neighborhood haunted (perhaps literally) by a long lost child.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Middle of the Night” is included on the Goodreads list “Best Dark Fiction of 2024”.

Serena’s Review: “Mirrored Heavens”

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

Book: “Mirrored Heavens” by Rebecca Roanhorse

Publishing Info: Saga Press, June 2024

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

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

Book Description: Serapio, avatar of the Crow God Reborn and the newly crowned Carrion King, rules Tova. But his enemies gather both on distant shores and within his own city as the matrons of the clans scheme to destroy him. And deep in the alleys of the Maw, a new prophecy is whispered, this one from the Coyote God. It promises Serapio certain doom if its terrible dictates are not fulfilled.

Meanwhile, Xiala is thrust back amongst her people as war comes first to the island of Teek. With their way of life and their magic under threat, she is their last best hope. But the sea won’t talk to her the way it used to, and doubts riddle her mind. She will have to sacrifice the things that matter most to unleash her powers and become the queen they were promised.

And in the far northern wastelands, Naranpa, avatar of the Sun God, seeks a way to save Tova from the visions of fire that engulf her dreams. But another presence has begun stalking her nightmares, and the Jaguar God is on the hunt.

Previously Reviewed: “Black Sun” and “Fevered Star”

Review: This was on my list back in January for most highly anticipated books of the year, and we’re finally here. So many massive events that have been slowly building up over the course of this series will be resolved! Prophesies will be either fulfilled or thrown off! And, most importantly for my romance-loving-heart, Serapio and Xiala will finally reunite (unless something goes wildly off track!). And while I do think there were a few weakness to the overall book here and there, in the ways that truly counted, this was a successful conclusion to an excellent trilogy!

I’ll say right now that, as a whole, I think this series is excellent. However, it did take an interesting trajectory as far as my experience reading each individual book. Looking back at my reviews, I gave a “10” to the first book, a “9” to the second, and this one is an “8.” Luckily, since it started out as the very top, even if each book dropped a bit in my estimation, that still left plenty of room to be solidly good reads. The main reason for the drop for this one had to do with the balancing of the various characters (their arcs and POVs) as well as the pacing towards the end of the book. Because of this former point, I think that readers’ reception of this book will largely come down to which characters are their favorite.

From the beginning, I’ve been here mostly for Xiala and Serapio’s stories, both individually and as a couple. And luckily for me, both of these two were done best by in this last book. Xiala, especially, was really given some of the best elements of this story. Not only do we finally make it back to her homeland, but we learn more about her connection to the ocean and her abilities (something that we barely touched on in the second book, really). Not only must she learn to wield these powers (game-changingly powerful abilities, as it turns out!), but she also travels an interesting arc of coming into her own as a princess and leader of her people, something she’s been fleeing from for most of her adult life. There was some real tragedy in this portion of the story, but we also get some of the best action sequences, as well.

I also loved seeing her and Serapio finally (FINALLY!) reunited. Both of these characters are excellent in their own right, but even some of the other side characters comment on the fact that they both seem to become fuller versions of themselves together. Theirs is a relationship built on radical acceptance, and it’s especially gratifying seeing it play out for Serapio, a person who is held at a distance by literally everyone else around him for his godly persona. For his part, Serapio’s story is once again wrapped up in a prophesy, one that he must fulfill in order to win the coming war. Some of this began to feel a bit like filler, but because Serapio’s personal story and arc is so compelling, the character himself brought a sense of gravitas to a plot line that could have felt superficial at times.

Unfortunately, the book begins to fall apart a bit when it comes to the many other POV characters. Most unexpectedly, this carries over to Naranpa, the third main character who has shared equal billing with Xiala and Serapio up to this point. By the time I finished up this book, I was frankly left a bit baffled by this character and her story here (both in this book, and, by extension, the entire trilogy). She’s off on a side quest throughout most of the book, and by the time it wraps up, I’m not sure what the point even was? It’s honestly a bit hard to describe just how little there was for this character to do, especially without getting into spoilers. It seems like it may be building up in one direction, but then just…doesn’t. And then it’s over and the reader is left wondering whether they would have even noticed had Naranpa’s storyline been excluded altogether? Pretty shocking stuff for a character who had been equally as important as Serapio and Xiala in the first two books.

While this was the most egregious example, primarily because of Naranpa’s positioning as a main character from the first two books, the unnecessary POVs carried over to other characters as well. For example, we get numerous chapters told from the villain’s perspective. Now, some of these take place in the past and thus serve to flesh out the history behind Serapio’s birth/creation. But, at the same time, again, much of what we got here felt rather unnecessary. Especially any of the chapters set in the modern time period. I simply didn’t need as much exposure to this character, and, given the way the story builds and concludes, there were no twists or swerves that would retroactively make these inclusions worth while.

Lastly, the pacing of the major conflict felt a bit off. Xiala’s storyline is the main point of action for the first two thirds of the books. All of the other characters are following much more passive arcs, mostly spending time looking ahead to and positioning various pieces for the the great battle that is coming. I can’t emphasize enough just how much time is spent discussing and preparing for this conflict, how great the scale is meant to be, how insurmountable the odds our heroes face. And yet, when it actually comes, everything sort of falls flat. Again, I don’t want to spoil how it resolves, but given how much time is spent building to this moment, by the time it arrives, the reader would be excused for getting through it all all before realizing that it is, in fact, now already over.

So, a bit of a dour note to end on, but I don’t want that to tint the rest of the positives of this book and this trilogy as a whole. While there were definitely flaws in this last book, it also concluded in an extremely satisfactory way, especially if you’re fans of Serapio and Xiala. The world-building remained excellent throughout, and the author’s sheer skill as a writer is not to be underestimated. I definitely recommend this trilogy to any fantasy fans out there looking for a high quality, unique story!

Rating 8: Not without some flaws with regards to pacing and certain character POVs, but an excellent resolution to the trilogy as a whole.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Mirrored Heavens” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Ancient Mesoamerica Books and Polynesian and Native American Fantasy.

Kate’s Review: “The Pecan Children”

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

Book: “The Pecan Children” by Quinn Connor

Publishing Info: Sourcebooks Landmark, June 2024

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: For fans of The Midnight Library and Demon Copperhead comes a breathtaking story of magical realism about two sisters, deeply tied to their small Southern town, fighting to break free of the darkness swallowing the land—and its endless cycle of pecan harvests—whole.

How long will you hold on when your world is gone?

In a small southern pecan town, the annual harvest is a time of both celebration and heartbreak. Even as families are forced to sell their orchards and move away, Lil Clearwater, keeper of a secret covenant with her land, swears she never will. When her twin Sasha returns to the dwindling town in hopes of reconnecting with the girl her heart never forgot, the sisters struggle to bridge their differences and share the immense burden of protecting their home from hungry forces intent on uprooting everything they love.

But there is rot hiding deep beneath the surface. Ghostly fires light up the night, and troubling local folklore is revealed to be all too true. Confronted with the phantoms of their pasts and the devastating threat to their future, the sisters come to the stark realization that in the kudzu-choked South, nothing is ever as it appears.

A story of the love between sisters, and an allegory of decay in small-town America, The Pecan Children walks the line between beauty and horror.

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

We are about half way through Pride Month, and I’m happy to be able to say that today I have a horror-esque novel that will be a great choice if you are wanting to read LGBTQIA+ books through the end of June. Sourcebooks Landmark reached out to me with “The Pecan Children” by Quinn Connor (the pen name of writing duo Robyn Barrow and Alex Cronin), and touted it as a Southern Gothic story that has a lovely sapphic romance at the center of it. All of this caught my eye, and I was eager to jump into it leading up to Pride. And I think that it did make good on the majority of the promises it made in the description.

In terms of a genre I would PROBABLY classify this as more of a dark fantasy than a horror novel (which was what I thought I was getting into), but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be scary at times or definitely have horror elements that shine through. There are so many moments of dread, even if it’s just through the description of invasive kudzu, or strange children encountered in the wilderness, or strange fires that flicker to life only to abruptly disappear like they never started in the first place. We are mostly following twin sisters Lil and Sasha, who have grown up in a small town in Arkansas that has relied on pecan harvests and local community to survive, only for land to suddenly stop producing and predatory land grabs snatching up and threatening the town. But this is not the case on Lil and Sasha’s farm, the one that Lil has tended to ever since her other passed, and the one Sasha has returned to after being away. The slow building suspense of what is happening around them as they reconnect with old loves, the first being Lil’s ex boyfriend Jason who has also returned and the second being Autumn, an old friend of Sasha, makes for an eerie and creepy read as things just seem off. And by the time we find out just what IS going on (and I’m not going to spoil anything), the tension snaps back and reverberates as the story hurtles towards its end. I think that I was hoping for more straight up horror beats, but when I started approaching it as a dark fantasy it worked really well for me.

But like so many tales, “The Pecan Children” is rife with real world obstacles and societal commentary. The first is that Lil and Sasha’s hometown is in stasis and slowly succumbing to a rot and decay of an outside force that is sucking it dry. It works well for the horror elements and reveals that are in place (no spoilers here, again), but it’s also a pretty poignant way to talk about the way that many small towns in poorer rural areas are really struggling for many reasons, and how in turn many of the people who do stay cling to aspects of the past. But along with that is the fact that I also loved the dichotomy of the twin sisters, as Lil has stayed to continue the pecan farm as her mother had put that mantle on her, and Sasha left for a time, only to return and to reconnect with her sister, in spite of the resentment between both of them for different reasons. It’s a heartfelt thread that crosses throughout the dark fantasy elements and eerie scares of the greater story, and it has siblings that clearly loves each other while having to overcome bitterness and familial heartaches. It was the very human and realistic moments that worked best for me in this novel, whether it’s the love between the twins, or the romance between Sasha and Autumn, or the reconnection between Lil and Jason. I REALLY liked the relationship between Sasha and Autumn, as I love seeing two old friends reconnect and realizing that there was always something more there, and finally being willing to explore it more than they had in the past.

With a strange and dreamy aura about it and some easy to root for relationships, romantic and sisterly, “The Pecan Children” is a dark fantasy read that would be a great choice for Pride month, and a solid read for dark fantasy readers who like a Southern Gothic twist.

Rating 7: A creepy and dreamy dark fantasy tale that is also about sisters, lost loves, and decaying small town identity, “The Pecan Children” is an eerie read for summer.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Pecan Children” is included on the Goodreads list “Queer Books Set in Arkansas”.

Diving Into Sub-Genres: Folk Horror

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

Interestingly enough, while I have decided to focus on the sub-genre of Folk Horror for this edition of ‘Diving Into Sub-Genres’, it’s a sub-genre that I tend to have complicated feelings about. That isn’t to say that I dislike folk horror; on the contrary, if I love a piece of folk horror, I REALLY love a piece of folk horror. The perfect example of this is the film “The Wicker Man”, one of the earlier examples in the sub-genre in which a Scottish policeman goes to the strange and pagan island of Summerisle in search of a missing girl, and finds a community of odd, quirky, and ultimately devious townsfolk who mess with the outsider before pulling one of the greatest twists in horror history. It’s one of my favorite horror films, and my Terror Tuesday friends and I have watched it about three times in our years of movies. There’s also “The Witch”, which brings a Puritan family to the unforgiving wilderness as a witch lurks in the woods tormenting them, though the bigger threat may be the way the family Others their daughter Thomasin. This is a favorite movie of mine, period. But for every “Wicker Man” and “The Witch” there are probably five or so “Midsommar”s, in which I find the final product lacking, underwhelming, or overly pretentious (sacrilege I know, but I really hated “Midsommar”). But it’s absolutely a sub-genre that has a lot of teeth and a lot of potential, so I wanted to highlight some of the stories within.

Folk Horror is generally a kind of horror tale that involves an outsider finding themselves caught up in an unfamiliar place that has ties to folklore or ‘old ways’, and finds themselves in danger at the hands of the people or things they encounter. Superstition, ritualistic practices, nature and the dangers that come with it, and people with hidden motives are usually involved. And while there are occasionally some supernatural elements to be had, usually involving creatures from folklore and Pagan religions, it’s more likely the the threat is going to just be people in one way or another. In terms of books, one of the earlier examples is the novel “Harvest Home”, where a family movies into an isolated rural/agricultural community that adheres to some old timey superstitions about how to make their crops grow. The list I put together has some newer titles, and are mostly books that I’ve enjoyed. Or at least appreciated.

Book: “The Twisted Ones” by T. Kingfisher

I’m starting with a T. Kingfisher book because I really like the easy breezy and sometimes ‘cozy’ horror tone she brings to her novels, and that same tone comes with “The Twisted Ones”. When a woman named Mouse has to clean out her deceased grandmother’s cabin in the wooded wilderness in North Carolina, she thinks it will be a time consuming, but generally easy task. But she soon hears strange noises at night, and sees glimpses of odd beings through the corners of her eyes in the clearing around the cabin. And she soon finds diary entries her stepgrandfather left, describing strange and terrifying beings that stalk the woods, and a mysterious man named Ambrose. As Mouse starts to dig deeper into the mysteries and the strange things she’s encountering, she finds things that are beyond imagination. Kingfisher is always a fun read, and this one has some weird folksy scares to go along with her affable main character.

Book: “The Ritual” by Adam Nevill

This one is a bit more of a straight up folk horror nightmare, and “The Ritual” had enough cinematic horror elements to it that it did get adapted into a film a few years ago, which I found to be fun and creepy as hell. It definitely solidified my fears of camping, I can tell you that much, and the book beforehand had a similar effect. Four old friends are hoping to reconnect their bond that time and shifting priorities has eroded away, and go for a camping trip in the north of Sweden, in a wooded area nestled in the Arctic Circle. When they start to get discombobulated and lost, tensions start to reach a new high. But it’s when they stumble upon an old seemingly abandoned house, which has odd altars, scattered bones, and Pagan symbols, they realize that they aren’t really alone in these woods. There’s a nice build of tension with this one, and some interesting modernization of outsiders meeting old world sensibilities.

Book: “The Loney” by Andrew Michael Hurley

Folk horror doesn’t always have to be in your face with its action and themes while still achieving an overarching sense of dread, and I think that “The Loney” is a good example of this BECAUSE of how quiet it is, until it has you in a stranglehold in the last few moments. This one was a bit of a slow read for awhile, but then when it sped up MAN did it speed up and create an atmopsheric Gothic oddity. In the 1970s a family consisting of a deeply Catholic mother and her two sons, one of whom is developmentally disabled, take a week long retreat to a remote seaside hamlet, with the mother hoping that fervent prayer and visitation to a local shrine can create a miracle to cure her son. During one of these trips, the younger brother Smith, our narrator, encounters a genial but odd group, consisting of some adults and a heavily pregnant teenage girl, as well as hostile locals who don’t adhere to the Catholic dogma that the visitors do. This one not only has the clash of new sensibilities vs old (though a bit subverted as Smith’s mother is VERY antagonistic in her faith), it also has a really twisted conclusion.

Book: “The Hunger” by Alma Katsu

Feel like combining some historical fiction in with your folk horror? Alma Katsu has you covered with her Donner Party horror story “The Hunger”. Because what could make an already true story about getting trapped in the wilderness in the dead of winter and resorting to cannibalism MORE horrifying? BRING IN SOME SUPERNATURAL TERRORS ALSO MAKING PROBLEMS. As the Donner Party moves west in hopes of finding a new life out west, they go on a bad route and get stuck in the Sierras right when winter is about to hit. As their survival becomes less and less likely and they have to start eating the dead to survive, something else and otherworldly is watching and waiting from the unforgiving wilderness. This folk horror trope is definitely along the lines of outsiders moving into an area unfamiliar to them and finding something terrible and unexpected, but it’s also an interesting meditation on the hubris of men, and the way that manifest destiny made settlers think that they were deserving of a new life, when in actuality they had NO idea what they were getting into.

Book: “Pet Sematary” by Stephen King

This is probably the least obvious of folk horror novels on this list, but thinking about it really made me think about the broad swath that folk horror can reach. And “Pet Sematary” TOTALLY has folk horror elements! It follows the Creed family as they move into a new small town and new house near a forest, leaving big city life behind. When the family cat is hit by a car on the busy road, Dr. Louis Creed is led to a backwoods ‘pet cemetery’ by his neighbor Judd, who says that you can bury an animal there and it comes back to life… Though admittedly a little wrong. It works for the cat, though yes, it’s not the same cat it once was. And when horrific tragedy strikes the family, Louis decides to use the burial spot one more time out of desperation and grief. I’m sure you can imagine how it goes. This one is very much in the realm of ‘unrelenting mysteries and horrors of nature’ trope that is found in the sub-genre, as we don’t know WHY the ground can bring things back to life, or why they always come back wrong. It’s a terrifying story not only because of the reanimation, but also the ambiguity.

Book: “Slewfoot” by Brom

This was a favorite read of mine from a couple years ago, and I still find myself going back and skimming through different parts of it. And MAN, does it really fit a folk horror mold, specifically if your kind of folk horror is very much “The Witch” (which, as we all know, is the case for me). After all, Puritans clashing with a supposedly malevolent force in the forest is always going to be up my alley, and in this book nature and forest spirts play a HUGE role in all of it. Abitha is a reluctant Puritan widow who is trying to keep her farm away from her vicious brother in law now that her husband has passed away. When she meets a strange demonic figure in the forest she calls Slewfoot, who has no memory of his past life but has guidance from forest spirits about his role as a vengeful being, they slowly grow a friendship as outsiders. And when the Puritans start to target Abitha, they don’t realize that messing with her is messing with him. I LOVE THIS BOOK, and it combines nature, zealousness, outsiders, and folklore to create a fantastic addition to this list.

What folk horror novels are your favorites? Let us know in the comments!

Serena’s Review: “Daughter of the Merciful Deep”

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Book: “Daughter of the Merciful Deep” by Leslye Penelope

Publishing Info: Redhook, June 2024

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

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

Book Description: “Our home began, as all things do, with a wish.”

Jane Edwards hasn’t spoken since she was eleven years old, when armed riders expelled her family from their hometown along with every other Black resident. Now, twelve years later, she’s found a haven in the all-Black town of Awenasa. But the construction of a dam promises to wash her home under the waters of the new lake.

Jane will do anything to save the community that sheltered her. So, when a man with uncanny abilities arrives in town asking strange questions, she wonders if he’s might be the key. But as the stranger hints at gods and ancestral magic, Jane is captivated by a bigger mystery. She knows this man. Only the last time she saw him, he was dead. His body laid to rest in a rushing river.

Who is the stranger and what is he really doing in Awenasa? To find those answers, Jane will journey into a sunken world, a land of capricious gods and unsung myths, of salvation and dreams made real. But the flood waters are rising. To gain the miracle she desires, Jane will have to find her voice again and finally face the trauma of the past.

Review: I’ve read several books by this author in the past. I started out with her original world, high fantasy trilogy, and very much liked that. But I have also enjoyed the swerve towards historical fiction that she’s now taken, incorporating fantasy and magical elements alongside stories that very much tackle the cultures and issues of specific points in history. Her last one, “The Monsters We Defy,” was set in the 1920s, and while the story was made up of many elements (including a heist!) the jazz movement and its place in Black history was very central to the story. All of this to say, that I was very excited when I saw that in this book she was going to tackle an even lesser known point in history: that of the drowned towns of the South.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this book. It manages to fit a lot of excellent historical information into a narrative that is still very character-focused, all told through the eyes of our leading lady. For her part, Jane is a sympathetic character, a young woman who has suffered greatly, but throughout the course of this book, rediscovers her own power and sets a course not only for herself but for her entire community. There’s also a very sweet romance included, something that this author often incorporates in her stories, much to my appreciation!

I will say that the book did struggle a bit with pacing, however. The start to this story is fairly slow, with very little actually happening for much of the first half of the book. For readers of historical fiction, however, this may be less of an issue. The story is definitely following more genre conventions for historical fiction in this half, with its detailed focus on the details of this time and place. Readers who were more intrigued by the fantasy elements, however, have a while to wait for these to truly show up. And then when they did, I feel like a little more could have been done to blend these fantasy elements into the previously established historical setting. The reader is left to take much of them magical stuff at face value and just go with it.

I also appreciated the author’s note that was included at the end. For whatever reason, I’ve gotten into the habit of flipping to the back of books to read the author’s note before I even start, and yet again, I feel like this method has paid off. I had vague knowledge of the sunken towns, already. I grew up in a town next to a large, dammed reservoir; though no towns were destroyed in its making, the concept of drowned towns was always a morbid point of curiosity to a population that went about its day in the shadow of a huge dam like this. But I appreciated the greater detail I received in this author’s note, which went on to further enrich my reading experience as the characters confront this looming danger. Perhaps some of the plotting was a bit predictable, here, but at the same time, the characters were compelling enough that this wasn’t a problem for me. Readers who enjoy historical fiction with a lighter focus on fantasy should definitely give this one a go!

Rating 7: A bit disjointed in its balancing of genre conventions between fantasy and historical fiction, but the strength of the historical topic and the compelling characters still made it a worth while read!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Daughter of the Merciful Deep” can be found on this Goodreads list: 2024 Adult Fantasy/Sci-fi/Speculative Releases by BIPOC Authors

Blog Tour & Joint Review: “Not in Love”

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Book: “Not in Love” by Ali Hazelwood

Publishing Info: Berkley, June 2024

Where Did We Get This Book: eARC from blog tour!

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

Book Description: Rue Siebert might not have it all, but she has enough: a few friends she can always count on, the financial stability she yearned for as a kid, and a successful career as a biotech engineer at Kline, one of the most promising start-ups in the field of food science. Her world is stable, pleasant, and hard-fought. Until a hostile takeover and its offensively attractive front man threatens to bring it all crumbling down.

Eli Killgore and his business partners want Kline, period. Eli has his own reasons for pushing this deal through – and he’s a man who gets what he wants. With one burning exception: Rue. The woman he can’t stop thinking about. The woman who’s off-limits to him.

Torn between loyalty and an undeniable attraction, Rue and Eli throw caution out the lab and the boardroom windows. Their affair is secret, no-strings-attached, and has a built-in deadline: the day one of their companies will prevail. But the heart is risky business – one that plays for keeps.

Serena’s Thoughts

First of all, I’ve loved being included in these blog tours and truly appreciate the opportunity to participate! I’ve loved most books I’ve read by Ali Hazelwood, up to this point, so I was excited to check this one out! Unfortunately, I have to admit up top that not only was this my least favorite book by Hazelwood so far, but it was a let down of a read for me in most ways. Now, of course, this is a subjective take, especially the things that didn’t work for me, and many of my complaints may work great for others!

First of all, I was disappointed to find that this was a duel POV romance story. Hazelwood has always been a favorite of mine for the simple fact that she writes single POV love stories, something that I always prefer. And, I’m sorry to say, but I think the change in format was for the worse in general. More often than not, I feel like authors end up using duel POV as a crutch when conveying the a love story. Instead of showing the romance building, the narrative simply switches between POVs where both characters simply tell the reader how much they adore the other. And we had much of that here. Gone was much of the nuance and the romantic scenes/action that show the characters growing to love one another.

What’s worse, given the nature of the way this relationship builds, instead of telling the reader how much they each are growing to care for one another, we ended up with a whole lot of inner thoughts about simply wanting to jump into bed with one another. The male POV was especially rough in this arena. I don’t care to repeat the number of times he reflects on how great of a lay Rue is. This is all fine and dandy, but not something I need to be in someone’s head to hear about repeatedly.

I also thought the balance was off in this book between the spice scenes and the emotional development: there was too much of the former and not enough of the latter. Rue, in particular, had an interesting background and I enjoyed learning more about her backstory and watching her come out of her shell a bit. But for his part, Eli felt a bit too much like your standard “golden retriever esque tech bro” type character. He also seemed to immediately fall into instalove/lust with Rue from their very first scene together, which didn’t leave the story anywhere to go for him.

Unfortunately, I didn’t love this book, which I’m so disappointed to report. I’ve really enjoyed Hazelwood’s romances in the past, but many aspects of this were just never going to be for me (the duel POVS, the balance of spice to plot, etc.). Others who like these elements may enjoy this one more.

Kate’s Thoughts

There is a reason that Ali Hazelwood is probably my favorite romance author, and that is because in some ways I know exactly what to expect, but in other ways she knows how to catch me off guard. I usually know a few things about what I’m going to get into with her novels, and that is they are always going to have quirky and science minded protagonists, and there will be some steamy spicy moments. “Not In Love” is no exception to this, and it still works for me for the most part. I really enjoyed our female lead Rue, as she was probably Hazelwood’s most coded as neurodivergent character yet, and I am always going to be ALL about that kind of representation. Especially since she is never put down or made to feel bad for it by those who matter. I wasn’t as big of a fan as Eli, and it’s for the same reasons that Serena lists above. But I DO appreciate that Hazelwood has been experimenting a bit within her sub genre approaches as of late, whether it was a stellar dive into paranormal romance in “Bride” or a tamer and more chaste take on YA romance in “Check and Mate”. In this one she explores kink and BDSM as Rue and Eli do their forbidden lust/romance, and I kept thinking about “Secretary” as I read, which is a good thing because that movie is WILD and oh my GOD JAMES SPADER. Anyway. I have no experience in the BDSM/kink community so can’t speak to how accurate it is, but I like that Hazelwood is expanding her horizons.

But I do find myself agreeing with her frustration with the way the romance progressed as was presented, though in my case it may have more to do with personal preference more than anything else. I have been used to Hazelwood taking her sweet time with the romances in her books, building up the sexual tension and the friendship and intimate aspects to her love birds at.a pace that makes for lots of fun moments and then a HUGE pay off when they do consummate. Well in “Not In Love”, while there is a BIT of a wait, the sexytimes payoff is a bit sooner than a lot of her past books, and for me it felt like we were going off prematurely. Which I fully recognize is a bit of a silly criticism for a forbidden romance/no strings turned more romance. But it’s a tried and true pattern for me and my reading tastes that romances that have a lot of spice too soon don’t connect for me as well as that sweet sweet slow burn, and that’s, of course, incredibly subjective. I know plenty of people who will see this as a huge plus.

So while some parts of “Not In Love” didn’t quite click for me, I did enjoy other aspects of it like I have in previous books by Hazelwood. I still can’t wait for whatever she comes up with next.

Serena’s Rating 6: The duel POV hampered rather than helped the love story, and the spice scenes were not the best and overshadowed the plot.

Kate’s Rating 7: I like that Hazelwood continues to explore different angles and sub genres of romance, and I like how unapologetically neurodivergent Rue is. But as someone who really likes there to be some build up to spice for a slow burn pay off, “Not In Love” went a little too hard too fast for me.

Reader’s Advisory

“Not in Love” is on this Goodreads list: Rom Coms

Kate’s Review: “What Fire Brings”

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Book: “What Fire Brings” by Rachel Howzell Hall

Publishing Info: Thomas & Mercer, June 2024

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: A writer’s search for her missing friend becomes a real-life thriller in a twisting novel of suspense by the New York Times bestselling author of These Toxic Things.

Bailey Meadows has just moved into the remote Topanga Canyon home of thriller author Jack Beckham. As his writer-in-residence, she’s supposed to help him once again reach the bestseller list. But she’s not there to write a thriller—she’s there to find Sam Morris, a community leader dedicated to finding missing people, who has disappeared in the canyon surrounding Beckham’s property.

The missing woman was last seen in the drought-stricken forest known for wildfires and mountain lions. Each new day, Bailey learns just how dangerous these canyons are—for the other women who have also gone missing here…and for her. Could these missing women be linked to strange events that occurred decades ago at the Beckham estate?

As fire season in the canyons approaches, Bailey must race to unravel the truth from fiction before she becomes the next woman lost in the forest.

Review: Thank you to Sparkpoint Studio for sending me an ARC of this novel!

We’ve actually had a pretty wet Spring going into Summer here in Minnesota, which means that in my part of the state we have no drought conditions and no threats of fires spreading dangerously (for now. We’ll see what Summer brings). Wildfire season hasn’t been a big thing for my state outside of the fact smoke has been making its way here for the past few years, but I know that it’s a huge problem out west. “What Fire Brings” by Rachel Howzell Hall takes that very real threat and throws a mystery of a missing woman, an intrepid detective, and a charming author in for good measure, and that kind of combination is super intriguing to someone like me. I was pretty hopeful going in, and my hopes were pretty well met, I’d say.

The mystery here is pretty unique and has a lot of interesting layers. We have Bailey, an aspiring private detective from L.A. who has taken on a case involving a missing woman Sam, who disappeared in the Topanga Canyon wilderness near the sprawling estate of famed author Jack Beckham. Bailey has snagged an undercover position as Jack’s writer in residence, and is using that to investigate, and while investigating starts to realize that Sam isn’t the only woman who has gone missing in the area over the years. It’s a great hook, and it has a built in suspense factor of whether or not Bailey will be discovered by Jack and his staff on top of the weird things she’s finding during her investigation. It makes for all of her moves to have added weight and potential consequence, as she is playing a part, being deceptive, and starts to realize that there may be bigger problems at hand for her outside of the investigation at hand. Bailey herself is a bit unreliable, as it slowly comes out that she has been having some problems and instabilities of her own, whether it’s a mysterious wound we aren’t privy to the origin of from the get go, an implied problem with fugue states here and there, and weird phone calls that are rattling her. It really added some dread to the ongoing investigation, which has its own twists and turns that I found surprising and enjoyable.

One thing that dinged it a bit was the pacing feeling pretty lackadaisical for a lot of the story, in spite of the fact the dread was built pretty well otherwise. It didn’t exactly meander or feel like it was stalling, but I remember there was a moment in my reading that I thought to myself ‘hm, there’s a lot of book left here’. I wasn’t bored or anything like that, but when I’m reading a thriller, even thrillers that ultimately don’t work for me (this one doesn’t fall into that category, I want to emphasize), I can at least give credit for a fast paced read that feels like it flies by. This one didn’t really have that, and by the time we did eventually get to the start of the climax it felt like it had been a long wait to get there. Once it got going it was breakneck, however. I think it’s sometimes a hard balance to get a solid slow burn for suspense while also doing a good job of keeping things moving smoothly. It’s certainly not a dealbreaker.

“What Fire Brings” is a sizzling thriller perfect for the summer months. Rachel Howzell Hall is making a name in the genre to be sure.

Rating 7: I enjoyed the mystery and the way there is already built in suspense with the private eye angle, though the pacing was sometimes a little slower than I would have liked.

Reader’s Advisory:

“What Fire Brings” is included on the Goodreads list “2024 Books by Black Authors”.