Category: Kate’s Reviews

Kate’s Review: “Now She’s Dead”

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

Book: “Now She’s Dead” by Roselyn Clarke

Publishing Info: Sourcebooks Fire, June 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: Last summer, Sara Ellis was found dead by the lake, and only Mandy knows what really happened. This summer, she’s desperate to keep it a secret.

For a few weeks every summer, Sara was Mandy’s best friend. At Highmark, the lake resort where their families vacationed, the two were in a world of their own. Or at least Mandy got to be part of Sara’s world.

But now Sara’s dead. The police ruled her death an accident; a tragic mistake after a night of impaired judgment. For the past year, Mandy’s coped by escaping: leaving home and barely keeping it together at school. The last thing she wants to do is return to Highmark this summer—even if she does need “closure.” As soon as she’s back, though, she hears the whispers: someone killed Sara Ellis. And if she’s not careful, they’ll figure out it’s all her fault.

As evidence resurfaces and anonymous accusations are scrawled in angry red spray paint, Mandy must confront the truths she’s been avoiding about last summer. Because someone wants to make her pay for what happened to Sara that night.

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

Summer is basically here, and while it’s probably my least favorite of the seasons (it’s just so hot), I do really enjoy the vibes and ambiance of sitting by the pool with my book. It’s especially fun if the book is engaging, a little soapy, and filled with lots of drama, shocks, and surprises. Admittedly, I have a pretty picky standard when it comes to books like these, and if it even so much as VAGUELY drifts into no no territory (like last minute twists that don’t feel earned), I will feel sour about it, poolside or not. But I have great news! “Now She’s Dead” by Roselyn Clark is the kind of book that not only would make great poolside reading for the season, it also managed, for me, to not fall into any pitfalls I associate with the genre!

The structure of this thriller mystery is fairly straight forward. Our protagonist is Mandy, a teenage girl who is returning to the lakeside resort where her summer best friend Sara died in an assumed accident the previous year. Mandy off the bat has a lot of guilt, and since it’s first person POV she tells the reader that it is her fault that Sara is dead, and we get a story told through the present summer as a true crime content creator has started sniffing around the resort, and through flashbacks to the days leading up to Sara’s death. It’s a great device, and it’s the perfect kind to have an unreliable narrator drive the story as the audience has to piece together what really happened. When done well this is quite possibly a favorite structure of mine when it comes to thrillers, and Clarke manages to make it flow easily. It has a nice slight of hand, and while I was pretty convinced that Mandy didn’t have all the information and was probably missing something (and side note, her dialog DID sometimes veer to bashing the reader of the head with all the ‘BUT I KILLED HER’ quips), I was still curious to see how it was all going to unravel to what actually happened, and I was surprised a good deal of the time! The clues are there, but the sleight of hand keeps them hidden until Clarke is ready to reveal them for the most part.

And what really kept me going in this book was how it portrays a very complicated, close, but somewhat unbalanced friendship between two teenage girls. You can tell that Mandy and Sara see themselves as incredibly close, but that their closeness and their friendship is in many ways unhealthy, with resentment, jealousy, and insecurities nagging at them both during the lead up to Sara’s death. It’s a bit soapy as Mandy and Sara keep aggravating and baiting each other as disaster looms on the horizon, but what I really appreciated is that while it could solely have been a motive, it’s actually a rather emotional examination of this kind of toxic friendship between teenage girls that may hit close to home for some readers, be they the intended YA audience or not. I know that I can think of at least one close, but at times unhealthy, friendship I had when I was in high school, with my role being VERY similar to Mandy’s in the friendship of the sidekick who is overshadowed and resentful, but also unable to process my own contributions to the toxicity. It felt real and honest, even if most of us in these shoes weren’t dealing with a murder mystery we may or may not have been involved with. Minor details!

“Now She’s Dead” is a sudsy and twisty thriller that should definitely join you on your summer adventures. It’s a fun ride and I really enjoyed it.

Rating 8: A fast paced and well crafted thriller, absolutely perfect for summer reading season!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Now She’s Dead” is included on the Goodreads lists “2025 YA Thrillers and Mysteries”, and “Bisexual Books of 2025”.

A Revisit to Fear Street: “Fear Street: Prom Queen”


Given that I did a re-read of R.L. Stine’s original “Fear Street” series a few years ago, as well as a few “Super Chillers” and a couple special Trilogies within the Universe, when Netflix started releasing modern “Fear Street” films I had to review those too! And four years after the original trilogy released, we now have a NEW “Fear Street” film, this one loosely adapting the book “The Prom Queen”! So we once again find ourselves on another Revisit to Fear Street!

Film: “Fear Street: Prom Queen”

It’s been four years since Netflix debuted the campy, gory, and altogether nostalgic “Fear Street Trilogy”, a set of films that gave us a new imagining of the iconic R.L. Stine YA horror series. They were not only fun (albeit VERY different) adaptations of the books I have loved so much for so long, they also built and interesting backstory and lore for the plagued town of Shadyside and all the murder and mayhem that befalls it. So imagine my pleasant surprise when I saw that there was a brand new “Fear Street” movie coming out this year, and not only was it taking inspiration from one of my first “Fear Street” revisits on the blog, “The Prom Queen”, it took place in 1988! Not only does that reopen the door for a cursed Shadyside (as the trilogy wrapped up with an end to the curse of Sarah Fier), but it has SO MANY opportunities for homages to 1980s slasher movies and all the tropes that come with them! Suffice to say, I was STOKED.

So a quick plot summary: Somewhat similar to the book that it takes its name from, “Prom Queen” takes place leading up to and on Prom at Shadyside High, with multiple girls vying for the title, and a killer taking them out one by one. In THIS, it’s 1988, and our group of nominees are a group of mean girls, led by Tiffany Falconer who wants the title of Prom Queen REALLY badly, bad girl Kristy Renault who entered the race just to piss people off, and Lori Granger, school outcast with a tragic past. But a masked killer is taking out the girls one by one, as well as anyone who may get in the way.

To just get it out of the way, this was a little bit of a let down for me, and I’m not sure if it’s just because the momentum from the original trilogy has long since passed, or if it was just an overall less engaging film. It has glimmers of what I really liked about the Trilogy, and even has some references to it (the camp massacre in the second movie is what really sprang to mind). But I think that the problem was that it never REALLY connected to the trilogy, and it could have been just any generic slasher film. I know that that was something of a criticism of “1994”, “1978”, and “1666”, but at least in those movies they were building up a mythology for the series that DID have some references to the “Fear Street” books (the Fier Family, Camp Nightwing, the Shadyside Mall) and fit well within it. In “Prom Queen” it just felt like this could have easily been a remake of “Prom Night”. Also, talk about a missed opportunity to reference MY GAL RUBY DAY, one of the ghosties from the trilogy, who had her OWN murderous and bloody prom night! This one created a different bloody history with Shadyside Prom involving Lori’s mother, setting up a reason to want to win to remove herself from a tragic narrative, which was fine, but kind of hack. OH, and not to get into spoilers too much, but this movie also has some contradictions to the curse in regards to Shadyside vs Sunnyvale and the way that the curse doles these things out. And on top of that, I wasn’t really invested in any of the characters either, outside of Lori’s bestie Megan, who is a horror movie Goth weirdo stoner who may or may not be in love with Lori. Everyone else was fairly two dimensional, be it tragic Lori, or uber bitch Tiffany, or her lapdog girl gang. One of the things I liked best about the trilogy was that I genuinely cared about the characters, so it was extra upsetting when they were ultimately brutally murdered, and in this one I just didn’t feel it for most of the players. I honestly would have liked more from bad girl Kristy, but she was played by Ariana Greenblat who is making her own way these days and didn’t stick around too long so that it felt more like a cute cameo of a rising actress.

But, sloppiness aside, the VIBES of this movie gave me everything I needed. I thought that the costuming department and the design department was pretty spot on for a lot of the styling of the time, REALLY enjoying the looks of Megan and Kristy (what can I say, I’m a Goth/punk chick at heart), but even the more preppy and ‘in’ styles seemed pretty on point to me. Hell, just the whole feel and tropes and execution of this movie tapped into the 80s era of slasher films, with lots of gore, pretty bland characters only there to add to the body count, and melodrama melodrama melodrama. This movie knows what its references are, just take a look at the poster I picked. Full on “Nightmare on Elm Street”, 80s horror VHS sleeve panache! Even if the story itself was kinda ho hum, this is the kind of case that I’m willing to grant some leniency because of VIBES, baby.

And we once again have a GREAT soundtrack, very 80s centric, but not even necessarily only obvious 80s songs but also some less thought of ones. I mean sure, we still got things like “Hungry Like The Wolf” and “I Think We’re Alone Now” but I actively screeched in glee when they played the song “Gloria” by Laura Branigan! And what’s more, the music didn’t stop with the pop music at the time, but the instrumental tracks were tailored to sound like they were from 80s slashers at the time with a huge emphasis on synthesizers and electronica. I kept thinking about John Carpenter scores, like from “The Fog” or “Christine” (honestly the man’s whole musical catalogue) or even things like the scores to “C.H.U.D” or “Suspiria“. Or hell, even a more modern score like in “It Follows” that REALLY hit the synth wave hard, GOD that is a banging score. The music was my favorite part of this film.

So, overall, a bit of a mixed bag. Story and plot execution, meh. But candy coated slasher homage to 80s horror schlock AND books that were incredibly formative to me serving as a backbone? FUN AS HELL! I certainly won’t pass up on the opportunity for more “Fear Street” movies, especially since, given the lore and mythos, they will all be historical fiction horror, and that opens up a lot of opportunities.

Kate’s Review: “Lore Olympus: Volume 8”

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

Book: “Lore Olympus: Volume 8” by Rachel Smythe

Publishing Info: Inklore, May 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I own it.

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

Book Description: “You have no authority here.”

Revelations rock Olympus as Persephone’s trial ends, threatening to throw the gods into a new war.

Though Persephone and Hades become closer than ever after she opens up to him about all she has endured, their peace is shattered when another truth is revealed: Apollo is Zeus’s son. The announcement shocks the pantheon, and the king of the gods realizes that the would-be usurper wants Persephone’s power to take the throne.

Zeus banishes Persephone to the Mortal Realm and, out of fear, cuts it off entirely from the rest of the gods. This decree succeeds in undercutting Apollo’s plan, but also inadvertently begins a decade-long divine cold war when Hades strikes back by shuttering the Underworld. With the gods scattered and weakened, Kronos uses the ensuing bedlam to finally escape his imprisonment and begin staging his own coup.

Persephone has only one choice when she discovers all the realms on the verge of collapse: Descend into the Underworld to try to defeat the power-hungry Titan, claim her rightful place as queen, and reunite with her one true love.

This edition of Smythe’s original Eisner Award–winning webcomic Lore Olympus features a brand-new, exclusive short story from creator Rachel Smythe and brings the Greek pantheon into the modern age in a sharply perceptive and romantic graphic novel.

Review: After dropping the ball on reviewing the previous volume of “Lore Olympus” in a timely matter, I promised myself that I wouldn’t let that happen again. I mean come on, it’s one of my favorite series, how can I let it fall by the wayside?! So here we are with “Lore Olympus: Volume 8”, in a more timely manner and at not a moment too soon! Because things are really heating up with the gods and goddesses of Olympus, barreling towards a wrap up of a THRILLING story arc that has SO MUCH going on.

And what an action packed conclusion to this story arc it is. To really get into the nitty gritty, we have to get into some spoilers for this volume, so proceed with caution if you don’t want to know anything. This volume really shows the dysfunction of the hierarchy of the Olympians, with Zeus being fully in charge, and making panicked decisions that are more about protecting his own power versus what is good for everyone, culminating with him banishing Persephone to the Mortal Realm and cutting it off completely. Not because he thinks this is a fair punishment, but because he realizes that Apollo, newly revealed as his son, is plotting to overthrow him, and needs Persephone’s mysterious powers to do so. Which, of course, results in disaster. Not just for Hades and Persephone, who are now ripped apart and both devastated and traumatized by this, but for the entirety of Olympus, as Hades, in retaliation and rage, closes access to The Underworld, which separates the Gods and Goddesses even further, and opens all of them up to new vulnerabilities. Meanwhile, Persephone is doing her damnedest to appease Zeus, though she is pretty certain she will never be able to meet his demands by design, which sends her on her own mission to take matters into her own hands (more on that in a bit). All of the pieces that have been put into place are starting to come together, and it’s a fantastic set up with a really satisfying pay off. We have a bit of a time jump so that we can fully see how bad things are, and Smythe slowly reveals what all has happened in subtle and ingenious ways without the pacing falling out of sync (for example, we see that Daphne is no longer a tree), while also having brief flashbacks to the fallout from Persephone’s banishment. It’s a well done device, and it makes for a more engrossing way to tell the story.

But what I loved the most in this volume is that I feel like we finally got some payoff for the way the story has been slowly revealing Persephone’s strengths and powers, even though she herself hasn’t quite figured out her own abilities. I will say that one of my (mild!) criticisms of this series in the earlier books is that Persephone, while being AWESOME in her own right for lots of reasons, was a little bit infantilized or treated in a way like a manic pixie dream girl, at least to start. Yes, we get insights into some darkness, and as her story progresses we find out that she is a fertility goddess and has a bit of wrath inside of her, but it always felt a LITTLE bit like she needed protecting and guidance from Hades. But that has fully fallen away, as their romance, while still pivotal to both of their motivations, is put on the back burner here, as they are mostly separated in this book and Persephone has to figure shit out on her own. And it is here that we finally get to see her come into her own, stand on her own, and fully round out as a character, who has for literal millennia been a bit of a wallflower in her own story throughout many adaptations. This feels like Persephone finally gets to come into her own. And I love to see it.

You’ve come a long way, baby. (source)

And even with all the very intense moments in this volume as a huge arc wraps up with high, high stakes, we still get some genuinely hilarious scenes and interactions, whether it’s wink wink nudge nudge references to the original myths dynamics, or just clever banter and laugh out loud physical comedy moments. Smythe has such a gift for hitting a wide range of emotional beats in her stories, and honestly I still think that her humor is one of her strongest elements in this series.

What a great wrap up of a first major arc to “Lore Olympus”! The foundation for where Persephone, Hades, and all of the Olympians are going next has been laid, and I am so excited to see what happens next. I guess we’ll find out in the Fall! Can’t wait!

Rating 10: A fantastic conclusion to a riveting story arc, “Lore Olympus: Volume 8” dazzles with deep emotion, engrossing romance, and a lot of humor.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Lore Olympus: Volume 8” is included on the Goodreads list “2025 Mythology Releases”.

Previously Reviewed:

Kate’s Review: “The Manor of Dreams”

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

Book: “The Manor of Dreams” by Christina Li

Publishing Info: Avid Reader Press, May 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: Mexican Gothic meets Everything I Never Told You in Christina Li’s haunting novel about the secrets that lie in wait in the crumbling mansion of a former Hollywood starlet, and the intertwined fates of the two Chinese American families fighting to inherit it.

They say what you don’t know can’t hurt you. But silence can be deadly.

Vivian Yin is dead. The first Chinese actress to win an Oscar, the trailblazing ingénue rose to fame in the eighties, only to disappear from the spotlight at the height of her career and live out the rest of her life as a recluse.

Now her remaining family members are gathered for the reading of her will and her daughters expect to inherit their childhood Vivian’s grand, sprawling Southern California garden estate. But due to a last-minute change to the will, the house is passed on to another family instead—one that has suddenly returned after decades of estrangement.

In hopes of staking their claim, both families move into the mansion. Amidst the grief and paranoia of the families’ unhappy reunion, Vivian’s daughters race to piece together what happened in the last weeks of their mother’s life, only to realize they are being haunted by something much more sinister and vengeful than their regrets. After so many years of silence, will the families finally confront the painful truth about the last fateful summer they spent in the house, or will they cling to their secrets until it’s too late?

Told in dual timelines, spanning three generations, and brimming with romance, betrayal, ambition and sacrifice, The Manor of Dreams is a thrilling family gothic that examines the true cost of the American dream—and what happens when the roots we set down in this country turn to rot.

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

Haunted house stories are one of my favorite sub-genres of horror fiction, and I don’t think that I will ever get sick of the trope of a family moving into a new home, unaware of the horrors that await. And we’ve been getting a few books like this as of late, with “The Manor of Dreams” by Christina Li being one of the more recent ones. And when I was reading about this one, it was pretty clear to me that not only were we going to get a haunted house story, but also a family saga with some shades of dysfunction and the racist undertones of American society. Which meant that I was even more on board to read it.

As a haunted house story, “The Manor of Dreams” is solid and effective. There is a slow build of dread as two families, Elaine and her daughter Nora, and Lucille, her sister Rennie, and daughter Madeline, start a legal fight over the inheritance of an estate that had been in Lucille’s family for years, but ended up being left for Elaine by the owner, actress Vivian Yin. Elaine’s parents had worked for Vivian and her husband Richard, and Elaine harbors enough resentment that she wants to keep the house, while Lucille is furious. But as both families decide to camp there while it all gets sorted, Nora and Madeline, and Rennie too, start seeing things, and realizing something is VERY wrong in the house. From weird images, to shadowy figures, to a very, shall we say, ACTIVE garden, the haunted house trope is alive and well in this book, with a rot seeping not only into the house, but into the women who are fighting over it. We start to learn the various tragedies and moments that may be contributing to the haunting, with a sad and devastating history of the house playing a role, but also with reveals that are well hidden and pulled off as the story goes on.

I also really connected with the ways that Li weaves in themes of racism, identity, and generational trauma into this haunted house story, making it about so many different things that can haunt a person. In the past storyline, we have Vivian, whose fame is growing as she establishes herself as a serious actress on the arm of her actor/producer husband Richard, making a splash as the first Chinese American actress to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, but then finding the roles drying up due to a lack of interest in non-white actresses (amongst other things). We also have tensions relating to Vivian’s identity in regards to the history of the house itself, with Richard’s family estate having ties to the Chinese Railroad workers, as his ancestor was a magnate who had no qualms taking advantage of workers who were being exploited in dangerous conditions and cast aside. Add in the tension as Vivian’s marriage starts to deteriorate, and the complexity of Vivian oozes off the page. And in the present day we have Lucille and Rennie, who have darker memories of their childhood in the home and the terrible losses they endured, and the complicated relationship they both had with their mother, and how that informs both of them and their motivations. Which in turn passes down to Lucille’s relationship with her own daughter Madeline. And THEN we have Nora and her mother Elaine, with Elaine having her OWN motivations as the daughter of former staff to Vivian and Richard, and bitterness towards the family that lived there throughout the years. It adds layers to the supernatural haunting angle, and I truly enjoyed how well Li pulled out the family dysfunction along with the haunting itself.

Overall, “The Manor of Dreams” is a creepy and poignant horror story that touches upon family dysfunction and identity with a deft hand. If you like haunted house novels, definitely check this one out.

Rating 8: A suspenseful, creepy, and very poignant story about family secrets, generational trauma, and how bitterness can wreak havoc on the living and the dead.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Manor of Dreams” is included on the Goodreads lists “Horror To Look Forward To in 2025”, and “Queer Releases May 2025”.

Kate’s Review: “Julie Chan Is Dead”

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

Book: “Julie Chan Is Dead” by Liann Zhang

Publishing Info: Atria Books, April 2025

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

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

Book Description: In this razor-sharp, diabolical debut thriller, a young woman steps into her deceased twin’s influencer life, only to discover dark secrets hidden behind her social media façade.

Julie Chan has nothing. Her twin sister has everything. Except a pulse.

Julie Chan, a supermarket cashier with nothing to lose, finds herself thrust into the glamorous yet perilous world of her late twin sister, Chloe VanHuusen, a popular influencer. Separated at a young age, the identical twins were polar opposites and rarely spoke, except for one viral video that Chloe initiated (Finding My Long-Lost Twin And Buying Her A House #EMOTIONAL). When Julie discovers Chloe’s lifeless body under mysterious circumstances, she seizes the chance to live the life she’s always envied.

Transforming into Chloe is easier than expected. Julie effortlessly adopts Chloe’s luxurious influencer life, complete with designer clothes, a meticulous skincare routine, and millions of adoring followers. However, Julie soon realizes that Chloe’s seemingly picture-perfect life was anything but.

Haunted by Chloe’s untimely death and struggling to fit into the privileged influencer circle, Julie faces mounting challenges during a weeklong island retreat with Chloe’s exclusive group of influencer friends. As events spiral out of control, Julie uncovers the sinister forces that may have led to her sister’s demise and realizes she might be the next target.

Review: Thank you to Atria for sending me an eARC of this book via NetGalley.

Summer is right around the corner, and that means that lots of readers are probably looking for some perfect books for vacations, for poolside, for early evenings on the deck. I love having sudsy and fast paced thrillers for times like those, and I have a recommendation (though Serena and I will have more in June with our annual Beach Reads post!). “Julie Chan Is Dead” has a catchy title, an intriguing premise, and sounds like a “Parent Trap” story from Hell, with a woman named Julie being reunited with her long lost twin Chloe, who is a famous influencer… and then ends up usurping Chloe’s identity down the line after she finds her dead. Sounds sudsy! But it’s also whip smart and a sharp social satire as well as a crazy twisty thriller.

So there are two mysteries at play in this thriller: the first is whether Julie is going to pull off her identity switch after taking over Chloe’s life, and if she can seamlessly transition her behaviors, mannerisms, and full self into that of her beloved and powerful twin sister. The second is the mystery of what actually happened to Chloe. The latter takes a bit of a back seat, at least until later in the story, and it’s more about Julie trying to keep her identity swap secret so she can indulge in the life that Chloe had without being caught as a fraud. Julie isn’t exactly a GOOD person, but as a reader I fully understood why she made the decisions she did, having grown up in rotten circumstances after her parents horrible deaths while also being separated from her twin, who was adopted into a new wealthy family and leading a seemingly charmed life. I held my breath when Julie would be faced with the threat of her cover being blown, and I was very curious to see how far she would go to maintain her new life. To make matters more suspenseful, we get some hints that Chloe’s circle of influencer friends, whom have invited Julie on an exclusive retreat with them, may be hiding things as well, and the weird sinister vibes slowly build up as the story goes on.

But the most effective theme of this book was how Zhang takes on and satirizes influencer culture and the privilege/conspicuous leisure that comes with it, as well as pointing out the racism that can also come with it. I don’t really follow any influencers of this kind in real life (mostly political ones, as well as a guy who cleans and repairs/treats cow hooves?), but the idea of being a picture perfect vision of aspiration for an audience of millions (and to encourage them to consume consume consume!) is SO fascinating, and I always love a deconstruction and satire of the harmful aspects of the whole concept. Julie finds herself one of the only non-white women in a tight and popular circle of influencer friends, not only trying to perform as Chloe to keep up her ruse, but also to perform in a way that would be appealing to white audiences, and to perform for her new ‘friends’ and colleagues, especially when she finds herself on a retreat on a private island surrounded by them with no exit.

And here is the thing that really shocked me about this book: we got a bit of a CRAZY swerve in terms of plot and reveals… and I didn’t hate it! Normally when a thriller has a huge game changing moment that feels totally out of the blue I will be a bit put off. It really takes a talent and an engaging storyteller to pull it off, and Zhang really pulls it off here. I think what also helped was that a big part of this twist (I am not going to spoil it here) was left somewhat ambiguous, with room for the reader to question what exactly HAD happened, as opposed to completely shifting things definitively and too abruptly.

“Julie Chan Is Dead” is a well done thriller that kept me hooked. PERFECT poolside reading for the summer!

Rating 8: A wild thriller that has a crazy swerve that actually worked for me, “Julie Chan Is Dead” is about privilege, race, influencer culture, and getting a luxurious life at any cost.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Julie Chan Is Dead” is included on the Goodreads list “2025 Mystery Thrillers True Crime”.

Kate’s Review: “Leap”

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

Book: “Leap” by Simina Popescu

Publishing Info: Roaring Brook Press, November 2024

Where Did I Get This Book: The library!

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

Book Description: A coming-of-age graphic novel following two dancers at a conservative performing arts school―exploring friendship, first love, and what it means to fall out of step with your own dreams.

Ana has been studying contemporary dance since she was little, but her heart isn’t in it anymore. Instead her focus is on Carina―a beautiful, ambitious ballerina whose fear of being outed keeps Ana in the closet and their fragile relationship from seeing the light of day. Risking her own career, Ana gives up more and more in order to fit into the shadows of Carina’s life.

Sara, on the other hand, is fielding whispers she may be the best dancer their school has produced in years. Much of that is thanks to her mentor and instructor, Marlena, who plucked Sara from the classical track and encouraged her to blossom as a contemporary dancer. Sara has always been in awe of Marlena, but recently, that admiration has sparked into something more, and Sara’s not sure what to do about it.

As junior year at their performing arts school begins, Ana and Sara are assigned as roommates. What starts off as a tentative friendship soon becomes a much-needed anchor.

Review: Sometimes I have a hard time writing reviews because I find myself somewhat unable to express why I feel a certain way about a book outside of the very simple and concise phrase ‘vibes, man’. It never feels fully constructive, but sometimes it is what I find myself falling back upon. “Leap” by Simina Popescu is absolutely one of those books, as once I had finished it I was chiller and calmer and happier than when I’d started it, all because of the vibes. But then it was time to explain why, exactly, it made me feel that way, and I found myself having a hard time articulating. So you may have to forgive me as you read this review, as it very well may fully turn into a written out screed that all comes back to vibes. But hopefully that can be enough sometimes?

Okay fine, even I’m unconvinced, I’ll give it a shot! (source)

“Leap” has a very straightforward plot: two young women, Sara and Ana, are two dance students at a fairly conservative academy in Romania. They are both in a more contemporary program, though Ana is dating an ambitious ballerina named Carina on the sly, as Carina isn’t ready to come out. Ana and Sara become roommates and start to forge a friendship through a shared interest in dance, as well as the realization that they are both queer women in a setting where they are a bit more invisible, though Ana would love to be out and Sara is grappling with the possibility of doing so. It’s a bit slice of life, and I enjoyed watching their friendship build as they support each other through the highs and lows of what’s going on in their lives (Sara’s unattainable crush on Marlena, one of the teachers at the school, and Ana’s ennui with dance and her somewhat one sided relationship with Carina). The issues were important and weighty without feeling overwrought, and their separate but easily relatable journeys felt very real and fit together well, leading to believable conflict but nothing a little communication and empathy couldn’t fix.

Another aspect that really worked for me, and I do have to spoil a bit here to talk about it but it doesn’t really spoil anything too much, is that this book’s focus really was on the importance of friendship instead of focusing on romance. Ana and Sara are two queer friends who are both going through difficult moments in their personal lives in the romance department; Ana is having to hide her relationship with Carina, and Sara is discovering her sexuality through crush on her teacher Marlena (and which is wholly unattainable for many reasons). While these relationship woes are definitely a conflict for them and unrequited and painful, Ana and Sara are always there and supportive of each other, and the story never hints at a possible romance for the two of them. I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve read that would have taken the opportunity to show that these two girls would fall for each other in the end (not that I dislike that kind of trope, friends to lovers can be fun!), and in this case I loved that Popescu instead decided to show that platonic love and intimacy can be more than enough for connections between two people.

“Leap” is a calm and lovely coming of age story that felt cozy and earnest. If you are looking for something sweet to read this Spring, this is a great choice. Vibes galore.

Rating 8: A sweet and charming coming of age tale about friendship, self discovery, and connection.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Leap” isn’t on any Goodreads lists as of now, but it would fit in on “Graphic Novels Featuring LGBTIQ+ Themes”.

Kate’s Review: “Bochica”

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

Book: “Bochica” by Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro

Publishing Info: Atria/Primero Sueno Press, May 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 real-life Latin American haunted mansion. A murky labyrinth of family secrets. A young, aristocratic woman desperate to escape her past. This haunting debut gothic horror novel is perfect for fans of Mexican Gothic and The Shining.

In 1923 Soacha, Colombia, La Casona—an opulent mansion perched above the legendary Salto del Tequendama waterfall—was once home to Antonia and her family, who settle in despite their constant nightmares and the house’s malevolent spirit. But tragedy strikes when Antonia’s mother takes a fatal fall into El Salto and her father, consumed by grief, attempts to burn the house down with Antonia still inside.

Three years later, haunted by disturbing dreams and cryptic journal entries from her late mother, Antonia is drawn back to her childhood home when it is converted into a luxurious hotel. As Antonia confronts her fragmented memories and the dark history of the estate, she wrestles with unsettling questions she can no longer Was her mother’s death by her own hands, or was it by someone else’s?

In a riveting quest for answers, Antonia must navigate the shadows of La Casona, unearthing its darkest secrets and confronting a legacy that threatens to swallow her whole.

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

Anyone who knows me or has been reading this blog for awhile knows that I really adore Gothic stories, especially if they are within the horror genre. Isolated settings, tormented heroines, questions of hauntings or ghosts or hallucinations, I love it all. So obviously the book “Bochica” by Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro really called out to me, given that not only is it a Gothic story with a mansion that has a haunting history, it’s also in the jungles of Colombia! In the early part of the 20th Century! All of this is just catnip to me, and I had been really looking forward to digging in once it was getting closer to review time.

I absolutely loved the setting of this book. For one, I really enjoyed the time and place, with the focus on Colombia in the 1920s and 1930s, centered mostly in a Gothic mansion nestled in the jungle by a large waterfall (based on an actual mansion that has its own history that somewhat mirrors this story). I love Gothic stories, and to have one centered with a Latin American backdrop and a rich and complex historical basis really compelled me. I loved the way that Flórez-Cerchiaro paints a portrait of this opulent hotel with a dark history, and how I could just see it all come to life as I read the book. I also greatly enjoyed the histories that this story touched upon, whether it was the Muisca mythology and folklore, as well as the ways that the book would touch upon colonialism and imperialism, and the role that the Catholic Church has played in such things ever since the Spanish-led conquest/genocide in this area. There are also some creepy and eerie moments that really unnerved me, with strange shadowy figures or weird moments in the dark.

On the flip side, outside of our main character Antonia, I wasn’t really blown away by our cast of characters, as everyone that wasn’t her didn’t really interest me or feel well expanded upon. Whether it was a complicated relationship between Antonia and her father Ricardo that felt limp, or a romantic connection between Antonia and her love interest/journalist Alejandro that never really crackled, or even an antagonist with secrets in Doña Pereira, who has a past connection to Antonia and her mother and has taken over El Salto as a hotel, none of the characters really did much for me, and the way that Antonia interacted with any of them just didn’t really take off. And because of that, my reading experience never felt very high stakes, and I wasn’t as engrossed with the story as much as I had hoped I would be. I think that going in with a lot of high hopes set it up for a bit of a free fall when they weren’t met, and while I would certainly recommend this book as a Gothic horror story with a unique POV, it doesn’t really stand out beyond that.

A bit of a mixed bag. I definitely suggest checking it out if you have been thinking about it, but the comparisons to other stories like “The Shining” and “Mexican Gothtic” aren’t quite on point.

Rating 7: The setting is eerie and very unique with great explorations of the history of the area, but the characters were kind of flat, and I was never fully pulled in. Overall, lots of potential, but it didn’t quite channel it.

Reader’s Advisory:

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

Kate’s Review: “See How They Fall”

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

Book: “See How They Fall” by Rachel Paris

Publishing Info: Scarlet, April 2025

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

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

Book Description: In this compulsive debut thriller set in Sydney’s wealthiest suburbs, one detective’s investigation into a family tragedy threatens to collapse a powerful dynasty. . . .

When Skye married into the wealthy Campbell family, she thought she was entering paradise. But lately, she’s been unhappy in her marriage to Duncan and hiding a few secrets of her own as she tries to maintain a normal, happy life for their six-year-old daughter, Tilly.

Now the family patriarch, Sir Campbell Turner, has died and his three sons are set to inherit the luxury goods empire upon which he built their fortune. But plans for a seamless handover are complicated when a fourth, hitherto unknown, heir named Cody comes forward. The Turners gather for an intimate weekend retreat at an opulent seaside estate in order to meet this newcomer and figure out their next steps. With so much at stake, tempers flare and egos clash within their first few hours together. But even as the tensions rise no one could predict that their very first night would end with a shocking poisoning that leaves one family member dead and another fighting for her life.

Sergeant Mei O’Connor is assigned to investigate the incident and though her superiors are keen to close the case as swiftly as possible, the evidence just isn’t lining up. Mei already has enough on her mind as she struggles to care for her terminally ill mother and recover from her broken engagement, but she can’t help poking around the Turners, convinced that there’s more to the suspicious poisoning than a simple accident. As Mei continues to push for answers, she may just send the carefully laid dominoes of the Turner empire crashing down.

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

Hoo boy, buckle up everyone because I have once again brought you all a novel that has scummy rich people behaving badly! Nope, this trope still hasn’t gone out of style for me, and the more frustrated I get with real world examples of this, the more cathartic I find novels that center nasty wealthy sleaze balls and show them for what they are. So of COURSE I wanted to read “See How They Fall” by Rachel Paris! I like soapy thrillers, I like dysfunctional families, and I like murder mysteries. It was bound to be a winner.

The premise is simple. The Turners, a billionaire family still reeling from the patriarch’s death a few months earlier, are gathering with their loved ones for a weekend at a summer estate, with hopes of hashing out the inheritance, while also dealing with a new surprise heir in the form of an illegitimate son of the middle son, Duncan. During the weekend, one of the brother’s wives is dead, and Duncan’s daughter Tilly is hospitalized in grave condition, both victims of arsenic poisoning. Skye, Tilly’s mom, is desperate to find out what happened, while Duncan hides her away, and Mei O’Connor, a detective assigned to the case, starts to peel back the nasty layers of this wealthy family. Our mystery is mostly who poisoned Tilly and her aunt Nina, but as we see it through Skye and Mei’s perspectives, the mystery becomes more about what the family as a whole has to hide. It’s suspenseful, it has believable twists and turns, and it has high stakes with a little girl near death, her mother becoming more unhinged as more secrets come out, and our lead investigator finding lots of dirty laundry, therein putting a target on her back as well. The Turner Family is filled with complete sociopaths, and as the story continued the more tense I became, fearful for Skye AND Mei and what they may uncover. Paris has a lot of tricks up her sleeve, and many of them were pulled off seamlessly.

I also enjoyed the dual perspectives between Skye and Mei, as both of them have some really well constructed back stories, well thought out motivations, and their two takes on the story as it is happening complement each other as they each present different clues to the reader about what is going on and who could be behind the poisonings. Skye is deeply sympathetic as her daughter lies unconscious after being poisoned, and while her husband Duncan is lying, gaslighting, and hiding something from her, and trying to keep her from finding out family business that may or may not be tied to Tilly’s attempted murder and Nina’s actual murder. I was seriously worried for Skye as well as enraged on her behalf, and Paris nails the way that the most insidious of wealthy people will manipulate even those that they purport to love if it will keep power within their grasp. Mei, on the other hand, has problems of her own, and it makes this case deeply personal, whether it’s because she is still reeling from a break up with a manipulative jerk, or because when she was a child her younger sister went missing, and she sees her sister in Tilly. I really felt for her, and if there was a series following her as a detective I would definitely read it.

Overall, “See How They Fall” is fun, addictive, and an entertaining thriller. If you like the genre, definitely seek it out.

Rating 8: Lots of reveals, lots of scandal, and two interesting character perspectives make this book an addictive thriller.

Reader’s Advisory:

“See How They Fall” isn’t on any relevant Goodreads lists as of yet, but it would fit in on the list “Novels If You Like ‘Succession'” in the Goodreads article “What To Read Based on Your Pop Culture Obsessions”.

Kate’s Review: “Murder Land”

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

Book: “Murder Land” by Carlyn Greenwald

Publishing Info: Sourcebooks Fire, May 2025

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

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

Book Description: Murder Land opens tonight. Not everyone will survive. Buckle up for a thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat, perfect for fans of Karen McManus and Holly Jackson.

Seventeen-year-old Billie feels like she is on top of the world. She gets to spend the summer with her best friend, sparks are flying with her crush, and she has received a promotion to ride operator for one of the most buzzworthy new attractions in the theme park she works at. But the first night on the new job takes a dark turn when her creepy coworker mysteriously dies…on her ride, when she isn’t authorized to be running it.

At first, it seems like he died by heart attack, but by the time she returns to the body with help, it looks like a broken neck. Had she just imagined him sitting upright a few minutes ago? It’s as if someone is trying to pin his death on her, and she has one night to figure out who is really responsible before she is blamed.

Billie recruits the help of her friends to sneak around the park after-hours and search for the truth. But as the night stretches on and more people wind up dead, Billie realizes she may not make it out of Murder Land alive. And her friends may know more than they’re letting on.

Review: Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for sending me an eARC via NetGalley!

Outside of Disney World, I am not REALLY a fan of theme parks. We have a couple here in Minnesota, there’s Valley Fair a bit south of the cities, and the Mall of America has Nickelodeon Universe, which my five year old loves and I only tolerate for her sake (also, here’s some lore: it USED to be called Camp Snoopy and was Peanuts themed, but alas, those days are long over). But even though I don’t really like theme or amusement parks, I do love the idea of a horror or thriller novel set in one. It just opens up so many different opportunities for suspense and horror. Because of this I was definitely interested in checking out “Murder Land” by Carlyn Greenwald, a new YA thriller that has a murderous night at a popular theme park as its premise. Nickelodeon Universe could NEVER. Plus I really like that cover. It just screams Santa Cruz Boardwalk by way of “The Lost Boys”.

No vampires, though. (source)

But promising premise and my own dorky associations aside, I am sorry to say that, for me, an old hat connoisseur of the thriller genre, “Murder Land” was a bit of a let down.

But first, the good. As I mentioned above, the premise and potential of this story is off the charts for me. There is a precedent in thrillers and horror stories for theme parks or carnivals or festivals to be unique and unsettling settings, and I, for one, wouldn’t be opposed to more of it. And that translates over to “Murder Land”, with clear homages to places like Knotts Berry Farm. And I always love a theme of greedy corporations hoping to hide scandals for profit purposes, and the conspiracies that can come to fruition because of it. And also, as a YA thriller, I could see this being a solid introduction to the thriller genre, as there is definitely a plotted out mystery that does feel planned and thought out. I also love a device that uses epistolary or ‘found footage’, so the way that we have transcripts from a website/channel that is all about the history of CaliforniaLand and references ‘urban exploration’ along with it. That all worked for me.

But, on the flip side, I am definitely not the target audience for this book, and I have read so many thrillers over the years, that nothing about “Murder Land” really stood out to me despite all of the potential that it had. I thought that our main characters, rounded out by protagonist Billie and her friend group Grace, Leon, and Sawyer, were pretty cookie cutter in their personalities and their relationships with each other. We have a bit of a love quadrangle going on, which I can usually grin and bear if it’s basically sidelined, but within this story, taking place in ONE night with lots of death and murder and tragedy at hand, it felt clunky and out of place. I also felt that the way that the reveals were done, outside of a few in the transcripts, didn’t have that much weight. I think this is probably due to the fact that I wasn’t as invested in the story because I wasn’t as invested in the characters, but I DO feel like even if I don’t connect with any characters in a thriller I can still be, well, thrilled. And I wasn’t held in much suspense as this story was going. I do think that it’s very possible (maybe even probable) that if I was a teen reading this it would have worked better, but for this forty year old, it just didn’t click.

Overall I think that this didn’t work for me because I’m not the audience it caters to. “Murder Land” was a disappointment for me, but it probably won’t be for everyone!

Rating 6: This is a solid thriller for the age group it is intended for, but seasoned thriller fans in general may be a little underwhelmed.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Murder Land” is included on the Goodreads list “YA Releases of May 2025”.

Kate’s Review: “Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng”

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

Book: “Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng” by Kylie Lee Baker

Publishing Info: MIRA, April 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: Cora Zeng is a crime scene cleaner—but the bloody messes don’t bother her, not when she’s already witnessed the most horrific thing possible: her sister being pushed in front of a train. The killer was never caught, and Cora is still haunted by his last words: “bat eater.”

These days nobody can reach Cora: not her aunt, who wants her to prepare for the Hungry Ghost Festival; not her weird colleagues; and especially not the slack-jawed shadow lurking around her door frame. After all, it can’t be real—can it? After a series of unexplained killings in Chinatown, Cora believes someone might be targeting East Asian women, and something might be targeting Cora herself.

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

While I am still checking into the University of Minnesota’s wastewater analysis site weekly to see see what COVID is doing in my area, and still wear masks in crowded indoor places, I will say that we have come a long way in the five years since the pandemic started. We are now entering a point in media where the pandemic is serving as a backdrop, and in my periphery my most recent experience with this is the book “Bat Eater and Other Names For Cora Zeng” by Kylie Lee Baker. This was a new kind of Kylie Lee Baker for me, as I read her book “The Keeper of Night”, which is a YA dark fantasy. This book is a straight up adult horror novel. I didn’t know what to expect with her taking that on, but let me tell you, this book is FANTASTIC. A ghost story, a pandemic story, a story about the ugliness of white America, it has so many beats and notes that I just loved. And yes. It’s very, very scary.

The ghost story is what I will cover first, and it’s great. I have been very interested in Hungry Ghost mythology for awhile now, and Baker has our main character, Cora Zeng, haunted by a potential hungry ghost who may also be the ghost of her murdered sister Delilah, who was shoved in front of a subway in front of Cora. Cora doesn’t really believe in ghosts, but now there is a contorted and terrifying presence in her apartment that is following her wherever she goes, and messing with her mind, maybe. The descriptions of this ghost were SO terrifying I actually had to put the book down a couple of times, and Baker builds the dread up in ways that make the reader know that something is going to break, it’s only a matter of when. And when it does? MAN, it is SO scary and SO good.

But now I want to talk about the more realistic horrors of this novel, as to me so many horror novels really shine when they take on the real world scares. And in this book it is a combination of the terrifying unknowing of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the disgusting and violent racism hurled towards Asian Americans, particularly women, during this time and beyond. Cora works as a crime scene cleaner, and she and her coworkers (who are also of Asian heritage) have noticed a scary pattern of Asian American women being brutally murdered and having bats left at the crime scene. Not unlike when Cora’s sister Delilah was murdered by being shoved in front of a subway train by a white man, after being called ‘Bat Eater’. Baker has built up a disturbing serial killer story, but she pulls the rug out from beneath it in ways that felt all the more upsetting while also feeling tragically realistic, and perfectly captures the fear and anxiety that so many women like Cora were feeling as violence was being directed at them during this time period and beyond. And not just violence, but also the little cuts of racism that BIPOC deal with in everyday life, like Cora going to Church with her white Aunt who doesn’t realize that Cora feels VERY unwelcome, and refuses to understand why that may be. It’s enraging and heartbreaking all at once and it boosts the narrative impact.

And she also perfectly captures the tension and fear of the early days of lockdowns during the early days of the pandemic. Cora is VERY scared of contracting COVID, as this is pre-vaccine access AND set in New York City in 2020. You know, the place that had bodies spilling into streets from refrigerator trucks and constant siren wails throughout the Burroughs (my sister and her wife lived this, living in Brooklyn in a small apartment, only leaving to do laundry or go grocery shopping). It’s such a close memory at this point, and Baker nailed it. I was actually shuddering to myself as Cora would start to have an anxiety attack while in public over the fear of contagion, because I was once in that same place, where I would hyperfocus and fret about getting sick just from grocery shopping, even when wearing my mask.

“Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng” is a phenomenal horror story about the things that haunt a person, be it trauma, racism, or actual ghosts. I highly recommend it.

Rating 9: A terrifying ghost story but also a deeply disturbing exploration of racism during the early days of the COVID 19 pandemic, “Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng” is an effective and searing horror novel.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng” is included on the Goodreads lists “Weird Girl Lit”, and “Diverse Releases of 2025 – Mystery, Thriller, Horror”.