Tag: 8 Rating

Serena’s Review: “A Forbidden Alchemy”

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Book: “A Forbidden Alchemy” by Stacey McEwan

Publishing Info: S&S/Saga Press, July 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley

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

Book Description: Nina Harrow and Patrick Colson are twelve years old when they are whisked away from the shadows of their disenfranchised mining towns to dazzling Belavere City to discover their magical potential. Those who pass Belavere’s test will become Artisans, wielders of powerful elemental magic destined to fulfill the city’s grand ambitions. For Nina, the Artisan School symbolizes a dream and an escape from her harsh reality, while Patrick yearns to return to his Craftsman family, whose extraordinary physical strength serves the idium mines keeping the city alive.

And then they uncover a devastating truth: Artisans aren’t born, they’re chosen. They part ways on very different paths, leaving them to carry the burden of this secret alone.

In the years that follow, a Craftsman revolution ignites, thrusting Nina and Patrick into opposing factions of a brewing war. Now an elite Artisan with the very rare talent for charming earth, Nina has turned her back on the fight, haunted by the loss of her found family. But fate intervenes when she is captured by Patrick’s rebel group. Despite the years and conflict that separates them, Patrick hasn’t forgotten Nina. He desperately seeks her help for a mission that could shift the tides against Belavere City. Reluctantly, she agrees, battling the sparks flying between them. But when Nina’s first love reappears, asking her to betray Patrick for the sake of the Artisans, Nina faces an impossible choice that could alter the fate of their world.

Review: This is the kind of book that has really stuck with me since reading it, both due to the aspects that I very much enjoyed, but also due to some points of frustration that I really can’t let go of!

Let’s start with the things that I enjoyed though. First and foremost, I’m a big fan of this author’s writing style. She’s incredibly “readable,” easily weaving together nuanced worlds, incredible characters, and a smooth style of writing that sucks me in and doesn’t let me go until its several hours later and I realize I haven’t eaten for a while. All of that was true here. I was immediately invested not only in our two main characters when we first meet them as children, but also with the stakes of this world and the building division and conflict between the workers who live out in the countryside and the magical elite who live in their, quite literal at times, ivory towers.

The magic system was fairly straight forward, and the kind of thing where it’s probably best to just take it as it comes. I did have a few questions about how some of this all worked (or how it had been allowed to work this way as smoothly as it had for so long), but I was happy enough with the action of the plot to let these little niggles go.

I think it’s also fair to say that this author knows how to write an excellent romantic arch. I’ve been loving second-chance/childhood friends romances, and this one works so well as it also dips its toes into the tried-and-true enemies-to-lovers trope as well. Yes, there is the barest hint of a love triangle, but as it is set up so obviously weighted in one direction, it didn’t bother me in the way that most love triangles did. I will say, I’m not quite convinced that this other character really served much of a purpose in being in this book past a certain point. Sometimes it felt like he was there just to build angst and push forward the main romantic couple’s interactions.

But when we were focused on this main couple, the swoon-worthy moments hit hard. Both main characters were at their best in the scenes between them, and the tension was built up nicely as they grew to better understand and trust one another. Perhaps if I had my way, I would have held off on them actually getting together until the next book. But hey, I know I’m in the romantasy-readers minority with my strong preference for true slow-burn love stories.

Now, my frustration came with regards to the over use of the miscommunication trope that played out strongly in the last half of this book. The conflict it set up fairly early (though we did run into the problem where we were in the head of Nina for much of this time and it made no sense for one of these “twists” to not be mentioned in her own thoughts), but the way it actually played out was incredibly frustrating. There was one particular scene where Nina pretty much lays it all out there. And then the book (and the characters!) act as if somehow she didn’t just give the entire gig away! There was such an incredibly obvious follow-up question that was just…ignored, for the sake of the plot. And even without asking it, an intelligent person (as the hero is set up to be) could easily make some deductive jumps that would explain the current situation. But nope. None of that happens and when the true conflict hits in the end…Shock! Horror! Betrayal! But…didn’t you guys already know all this basically?? I found it incredibly frustrating.

Overall, however, I enjoyed the main plot points and Nina and Patrick as individual characters and as a couple. While some of the twists towards the end were fairly predictable, I’m still excited to see where the story goes from here! I just may have to skip a few scenes where the characters deal with the stupidity of their own confusion and betrayal here…

Rating 8: A bit frustrating at times with the predictable build up to the ultimate reveal, but the world and characters were still strong and I’m excited for the next book!

Reader’s Advisory:

“A Forbidden Alchemy” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Original Stories . . . a Breath of Fresh Air and Romantasy TBR 2025.

Serena’s Review: “Katabasis”

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Book: “Katabasis” by R. F. Kuang

Publishing Info: Harper Voyager, August 2025

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

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

Book Description: Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality—her pride, her health, her love life, and most definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in the world—that is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault.

Grimes is now in Hell, and she’s going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her very future in his now incorporeal hands, and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her dreams. Nor will the fact that her rival, Peter Murdoch, has come to the same conclusion.

Review: Kuang is such an interesting case as a writer. She’s both beloved, with her books immediately resulting in high sales and tons of special editions produced, but also fairly divisive, with readers either really loving or really disliking her books. While I’ve never really hated anything of hers, it’s also easy enough to understand where the disconnect lies. And this book will likely prove to follow the same pattern.

Let’s start with the unequivocally good parts! There’s no denying Kuang’s sheer talent at putting together a beautiful sentence, painting an evocative scene, and peopling her worlds with complicated, thoroughly realized characters. Even when I struggled at various points, I still felt a driving urge to continue reading, eager to know what would happen next. I very quickly became invested not only in the characters but in this version of Hell and the afterlife. The very nature of the story makes it so readers are always looking forward, on to the next ring of Hell and what new terrors and insights it will bring.

I also really enjoyed the two main characters, which is surprising since they weren’t necessarily likable much of the time, especially Alice. Indeed, I routinely was incredibly frustrated with her ability to keep her head firmly placed in the sand, even when confronted with the most obvious conclusions about the people in her life, both for good and ill. Peter was a more straight-forward character, easier to sympathize with and whose own history is slowly revealed over the course of the story. Their romance, while definitely a subplot, was very sweet with the moments we had.

I also liked learning more about this version of Hell and all of the logic puzzles that were at the heart of this world’s magic system. I will say, much of this was thoroughly unapproachable to the typical reader, myself included. If you asked me right now to explain exactly how any of these paradoxes or logic puzzles worked, I definitely couldn’t. That said, I still found them really interesting to read through and try to puzzle out. However, this is definitely an area that may be a turn off to readers. Kuang doesn’t go easy on her readers, and you’ll likely end up feeling a bit like a dummy reading this book.

I’ll also say that the book does get a bit too in the weeds with its focus on academia and the trials and joys therein. There were definite times where it felt like the author was including sections, passages, and theories simply to flex more than due to any necessities from the plot itself. Some of these moments felt a bit pretentious and naval-gazing, to be honest. I was invested enough in the rest of the story to just handwave these bits away, but I do think the story would have been improved with some editing that could have tightened these things up a bit. I get that the author has strong feelings on the nature of academia, but some of these discussions didn’t actually contribute to the narrative that was being built here.

Overall, I still very much enjoyed this book. That said, I think this will be received in a manner very similar to “Babel.” Some readers will very much connect with it while others may be turned off my some of the highhanded nature of the storytelling. If you’ve enjoyed her books (especially “Babel”) in the past, than I definitely think you’ll want to check this one out!

Rating 8: Perhaps prone to getting caught up in unnecessary waxing theoretical at times, the characters and story were still strong enough to have me whipping through this one fairly quickly!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Katabasis” can be found on these Goodreads lists: 2025 Dark Academia Releases and 2025 Adult Fantasy/Sci-fi/Speculative Releases by BIPOC Authors.

Kate’s Review: “This Place Kills Me”

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Book: “This Place Kills Me” by Mariko Tamaki & Nicole Goux (Ill.)

Publishing Info: Abrams Fanfare, August 2025

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

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

Book Description: At Wilberton Academy, few students are more revered than the members of the elite Wilberton Theatrical Society—a.k.a. the WTS—and no one represents that exclusive club better than Elizabeth Woodward. Breathtakingly beautiful, beloved by all, and a talented thespian, it’s no surprise she’s starring as Juliet in the WTS’s performance of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy. But when she’s found dead the morning after opening night, the whole school is thrown into chaos.

Transfer student Abby Kita was one of the last people to see Elizabeth alive, and when local authorities deem the it-girl’s death a suicide, Abby’s not convinced. She’s sure there’s more to Wilburton and the WTS than meets the eye. As she gets tangled in prep school intrigues, Abby quickly realizes that Elizabeth was keeping secrets. Was one of those secrets worth killing for?

Told in comics, letters, diary entries, and news articles, This Place Kills Me is a page-turning whodunnit from award-winning writer Mariko Tamaki and acclaimed illustrator Nicole Goux that will have readers on the edge of their seats and begging for an encore.

Review: Thank you to Abrams Fanfare for providing me with an ARC at ALAAC25!

As someone who was a bit of an outcast in high school, stories about outsiders dealing with their outsider status appeal to me on a personal level. Along with that, I do love a good thriller and mystery. “This Place Kills Me” by Mariko Tamaki scratches both of those itches when it comes to thematic elements, and when I saw that it was going to be available at ALAAC25 I really wanted to get it. Finding out that there were also theater elements, boarding school dramatics, and queer themes to boot just hyped me up more! I’ve always enjoyed Mariko Tamaki’s contemporary books so I was quite interested in seeing what would be done with a thriller.

I really liked Abby as our main character, as she is a very relatable outsider who can’t seem to find her way to fit in at this prestigious all girl’s school, and who has some baggage toe carry with her due to rumors and unfair perceptions. I fully believed her as an amateur detective who wants to get to the bottom of her classmate’s unexpected death, especially when she uncovers some clues that make it seem like Elizabeth may have been hiding something. Tamaki is very deliberate in revealing clues through the eyes of Abby, and as she investigates and starts to find some of the more sordid and controversial secrets at Wilberton, she makes new enemies of fellow classmates, but also finds a potential ally in her roommate Claire, who has been pretty aloof bordering and hostile up until this point. I kind of saw some of the layers of the mystery early in the book, but that didn’t make it any less enjoyable. I was invested in seeing how Abby eventually figured things out for herself, and the coming of age that comes with learning about some dark and unfair truths about the world we live in.

But the thing that I found most resonant about this story, like many of Tamaki’s stories in the past, is how real and bittersweet and painful the coming of age aspect was in this story, and not just for Abby. But mostly Abby. This book takes place in the early 1990s, and Abby is a queer teen who has found herself ostracized and demonized because of her queerness and those around her being unable to understand or accept it. Tamaki taps into the loneliness and the isolation, and the way that having to hide oneself can be so damaging to a teenager (or anyone, really) going through some really difficult things. This book has some truly bittersweet and pathos filled moments, letting these feelings linger and speak for themselves even with a dark mystery at the forefront. But again, Tamaki has always been great with these kinds of stories, and this one continues the streak.

And finally, I enjoyed the artwork by Nicole Goux. Full disclosure, my ARC of this book was in black and white and the finished product will have some color, but even without that I still enjoyed the style.

(source)

“This Place Kills Me” is another great book about difficult subjects by Mariko Tamaki. Definitely recommended!

Rating 8: A disturbing mystery, a secretive girls school, and a bittersweet coming of age tale combine to make a solid story from Mariko Tamaki.

Reader’s Advisory:

“This Place Kills Me” isn’t on any Goodreads lists as of yet, but it would fit in on “Boarding School Mysteries”.

Serena’s Review: “The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk”

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Book: “The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk” by Carissa Broadbent

Publishing Info: Bramble, August 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley!

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

Book Description: Mische made the ultimate sacrifice to save those she loves – and plunged the world into an eternal night. Now, imprisoned by the gods and obsessed with revenge, Asar is desperate to find her again.

When a goddess offers them a final path to redemption – and back to each other – Asar and Mische embark on an extraordinary mission. Together, they must seize the power of the god of death so Asar may do the impossible: ascend to true divinity.

Their journey will take them through mortal and immortal realms, alongside both old friends and ruthless enemies. But as the underworld teeters on the brink of collapse and the gods prepare for a war, Asar and Mische must decide what they are willing to sacrifice for the power to defy death. In a game of vengeful gods and ancient betrayals, there are some debts that even love may not be able to repay.

Previously Reviewed: “The Songbird and the Heart of Stone”

Review: This was definitely one of my most anticipated reads for the summer! The first book left off on a fairly massive cliffhanger, but luckily it’s only been about a six month wait between. And, in most ways, everything wrapped up nicely in this second half of the duology!

Like the first book, the two lead characters anchored my enjoyment of the story. Following the pattern of Broadbent’s first duology in this world, while the first book followed Mische’s perspective exclusively, this one opens things up, introducing chapters from the romantic lead, Asar’s, perspective as well. While I still have mixed feelings about how well this shift in perspectives worked in the first duology, it definitely worked well here. Much of Mische’s internal journey was covered in the first book, and while there were still aspects of her growth to cover here, her story is more straightforward. However, there was much still to learn about Asar’s own history and the ways in which the events of this book shaped his internal arch. Indeed, this story is largely his, with Mische serving more as a supporting, secondary character. I really enjoyed Asar in the first book, and he was even more interesting here, so I think this change worked out well.

I also really enjoyed the numerous cameo appearances from tons of characters from previous books. While it’s not strictly necessary to have read those other books, readers who have read them all will definitely get the most out of this book. Characters show up from not only the first duology, but also the other stand-alone novel and the novella as well. I really enjoyed spending time with them all! In particular, I was reminded how much I enjoyed the main couple from “Slaying the Vampire Conqueror;” we only got one book of them and I wish we had more! I also really enjoyed the return of Vincent, who played a surprising role in this book. He’s such an interesting character, and I liked the way pieces of his story that had felt like they were still left hanging were more neatly wrapped up here.

All of that said, there were parts of this book that I struggled with. As I said, I enjoyed seeing all of these other characters on the page, but unfortunately, there were times where I felt like I was becoming more invested in these other characters again than I was in the main two of the current duology. Part of this, I think, came down to the fact that Mische often felt as if she didn’t have a lot going on in this book. It’s kind of an odd thing, becomes she demonstratively did have things happening throughout it all (most notably, you know, being dead), but her internal arc still felt rather static.

The romance itself also didn’t feel as if it had anywhere to really go. I’m not a fan of forced drama and angst to increase tension, but as the story continued, the love story felt a bit flat and deflated at times (and I just finished reading a few books that navigate solid relationships throughout without falling into this trap, so I know it’s possible without unnecessary angst). One simple thing was that I thought there were perhaps one or two too many spicy scenes. I know this is probably an unpopular opinion, but I definitely fall on the “higher quality but less” side of the spice debate. At a certain point, an increased number of these scenes simply fail to add anything new to the story, and that was definitely the case here.

Lastly, the plot felt all over the place. There is a ton of action in this book, with our characters hopping all over the place, not only within the world, but in the heavens and the underworld as well. While the first book felt tightly paced and plotted, this one felt a bit scattered. I could never really latch on to any single current event before I was whisked away into the next location and conflict. The balance simply felt off, and it was one of those odd situations where, because there was always so much going on, I began to disconnect from the story and even became a bit bored at times. Always weird how that can happen, but I’ve found it’s definitely a phenomenon that can happen.

Overall, however, I still very much enjoyed this book! It does feel like there is a bit of a pattern developing here, where the first book in these duologies is noticeably stronger than the second. But the quality overall is still quite high. There were also a lot of major changes on a world-wide scale in this book, so I’m incredibly excited to see how events play out in the next duology! We’ve also already met the next leading male character, and I’m definitely intrigued. Fans of the first book in this duology are sure to enjoy this one as well!

Rating 8: Perhaps a bit more scattered than the first in the duology, but still a satisfying conclusion to the story, while also setting up a strong setting for the next stage in this series!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Epic High Fantasy/Romance/Mythology in 2025 and August 2025 Most Anticipated Romance Releases.

Kate’s Review: “What Hunger”

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Book: “What Hunger” by Catherine Dang

Publishing Info: Simon & Schuster, August 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publisher at ALAAC25.

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

Book Description: A haunting coming-of-age tale following the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, Ronny Nyugen, as she grapples with the weight of generational trauma while navigating the violent power of teenage girlhood, for fans of Jennifer’s Body and Little Fires Everywhere.

It’s the summer before high school, and Ronny Nguyen finds herself too young for work, too old for cartoons. Her days are spent in a small backyard, dozing off to trashy magazines on a plastic lawn chair. In stark contrast stands her brother Tommy, the pride and joy of their immigrant parents: a popular honor student destined to be the first in the family to attend college. The thought of Tommy leaving for college fills Ronny with dread, as she contemplates the quiet house she will be left alone in with her parents, Me and Ba.

Their parents rarely speak of their past in Vietnam, except through the lens of food. The family’s meals are a tapestry of cultural memory: thick spring rolls with slim and salty nem chua, and steaming bowls of pho tái with thin, delicate slices of blood-red beef. In the aftermath of the war, Me and Ba taught Ronny and Tommy that meat was a dangerous luxury, a symbol of survival that should never be taken for granted.

But when tragedy strikes, Ronny’s world is upended. Her sense of self and her understanding of her family are shattered. A few nights later, at her first high school party, a boy crosses the line, and Ronny is overtaken by a force larger than herself. This newfound power comes with an insatiable hunger for raw meat, a craving that is both a saving grace and a potential destroyer.

Review: Thank you to Simon and Schuster for giving me an ARC at ALAAC25!

I may not be looking in the right places, and maybe I don’t WANT to be seeking it out, thinking about it, but I haven’t read much cannibalism horror in all the years of doing this blog. I mean, there have been one or two, and it doesn’t really freak me out too badly as a sub-genre, but when I think of cannibalism horror tales I think of extreme horror or visceral horror, two kinds of horror I don’t really read much of. But who would have thought that my most recent cannibalism horror story would also be an exploration of the refugee experience, the barrier between immigrants and their first generation children, and violent misogyny perpetrated against teenage girls? Enter “What Hunger” by Catherine Dang, a book with an INCREDIBLE cover and a hard to ignore hook. Teenage girlhood can be hell, so why not throw in some consumption of human flesh on top of it?

The description of this book alludes to “Jennifer’s Body”, which is KIND OF correct? Ronny is definitely going through a lot and makes for a very sympathetic and easy to connect to protagonist. After she is sexually assaulted at a party (shortly after her older brother Tommy was killed in an accident that left her family in shambles), and after she bit her attacker and mangled his ear, she starts to have cravings and urges for raw meat, with a fixation on human flesh. She’s heard of stories of cannibalism, one even being connected to Vietnamese refugees desperate during a tragic escape attempt after the fall of Saigon, and as she deals with her trauma and grief, her rage translates into an urge and hunger she can’t seem to fight off. In that way it’s very “Jennifer’s Body”, but it stands on its own merits as well, exploring misogyny and sexual violence and revenge with a literal bite. It wasn’t so much scary as it was ‘good for her!’ as I was reading it, though admittedly some of the graphic descriptions of her chomping down on raw meat were gross as hell, but hey, that’s what we’re looking for, right? I do love feminine rage in a story and this one has oodles of it.

But aside from the cannibalism aspects, this is also a very tender tale about women, mothers and daughters, generational trauma, and refugees trying to make it in a new life when things seem incredibly stacked against them. Me and Ba both escaped from Vietnam after the end of the Vietnam War, though the road to America and safety was paved with violence, loss, sacrifice, and terrible choices that had to be made. We see how Me and Ba have been compartmentalizing their trauma and putting so much into their children, foisting expectations upon them that feel heavy and impossible, and after Tommy dies their grief is that much more complicated. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the relationship between Ronny and Me is the one that takes the fastest and strongest root, and while they don’t understand each other’s perspectives in some things, when they DO start to try and understand each other it makes for an eerie, but incredibly heartfelt relationship that brought tears to my eyes multiple times.

“What Hunger” is a uniquely emotional horror tale that unnerves the reader and has a lot of rage, but also has a powerful message about familial ties that come under strain. I quite enjoyed it.

Rating 9: Unnerving, filled with feminist rage, and a strong emotional center about mothers and daughters navigating generational trauma, “What Hunger” is a satisfying horror tale with a fair amount of pathos and heart.

Reader’s Advisory:

“What Hunger” is included on the Goodreads lists “She’s A Little Bit Unstable”, and “Horror To Look Forward To in 2025”.

Kate’s Review: “Lucky Day”

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

Book: “Lucky Day” by Chuck Tingle

Publishing Info: Tor Nightfire, August 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: Lucky Day is the newest novel of terror from Chuck Tingle, USA Today bestselling author of Bury Your Gays, where one woman must go up against the most horrifying concept of all: nothing.

Vera is a survivor of a global catastrophe known as the Low Probability Event, but she definitely isn’t thriving. Once a passionate professor of statistics, she no longer finds meaning in anything at all.

But when problematic government agent Layne knocks on her door, she’s the only one who can help him uncover the connection between deadly spates of absurdity and an improbably lucky casino. What’s happening in Vegas isn’t staying there, and the world is at risk of another disaster.

When it comes to Chuck Tingle, the only thing more terrifying than a serious horror novel is an absurd one…

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

This may be a bit of a strange revelation, but I take three annual trips a year, in general. The first is to the North Shore on Lake Superior, and my husband, kid, and I like being on the lake and just having chill family time. The second, of course, is ALA, no matter where that may lead. The third, and more out of character one, is going to Las Vegas every year for my husband’s birthday celebration. Las Vegas is a weird town to me. It’s overwhelming and very self indulgent, and I’ve seen things there that remind me while Randall Flagg in Stephen King’s “The Stand” chose it for his home base. But I generally have a good time because I can make it into whatever I want it to be (aka poolside in the shade, a fun couple of nights out with friends, and in bed by ten with my stack of books). But I was cackling a bit as I was reading “Lucky Day” by Chuck Tingle, as a good deal of the action takes place in Las Vegas, and Tingle doesn’t hold back on the absurdity and arrogance of this city. Oh, and there are also existential ruminations and some “Final Destination”-esque deaths, making for a strange and entertaining read!

Chuck Tingle continues to surprise me as an author. I had been expecting another horror novel, and while there are certainly horror-esque moments in this book (with lots of gore and outlandish slasher-y deaths), this to me seems more like a Science Fiction story than an outright horror tale. Usually when this kind of thing happens I find myself unable to connect with the book (Science Fiction, man, it’s not really my bag, baby), but in the case of “Lucky Day” Tingle mostly kept me interested and I felt like I was reading a story that could have been in “The X-Files”, and I meant that in the most complimentary way. I love the concept of messing and tweaking with luck and fate and having to have an offset in some way, with a huge and absolutely devastating “Low Probability Event” (LPE) leading to millions of deaths in the most improbable ways (fish falling from the sky causing accidents, a chimp running loose through a diner in Chicago and mauling people, spontaneous combustion, and more!) and a survivor and a shady Government agent teaming up to investigate. I love how Tingle tweaks and twists with the idea of manipulating luck through various inter-dimensional means, but then showing an offset and a cost that is INCREDIBLY high.

And I enjoyed the time spent in Vegas as our survivor Vera and Agent Layne start to investigate the head honchos of a casino that promises their gamblers the best luck on the Strip. It is such a nailing of Vegas and the glitz, the gilded glamour, and the way that people can convince themselves that they, too, can be lucky and everything will work out, without seeing or dealing with any consequences of it (what happens in Vegas, after all). Until you have to deal with it because disaster after disaster is happening. The portrayal of Denver, the head of the incredibly lucky casino, is spot on to what I would expect from a powerful player in a Vegas casino in the modern age, and her disingenuous nature and plastered on smile and charm made her easy to root against but was a fun characterization all the same. I also really liked Vera, our traumatized but still quite logic based statistician who lost so much in the LPE as she has to force herself to care again, and gets sucked more and more into probabilities, dimension rifts, and Nothingness versus Everything. Layne was a little more of a mixed bag for me character wise, and I felt like we got some reveals that didn’t make as much sense as they could have, but that’s a quibble when other parts of this were so strong.

So perhaps it was more Sci-Fi than I was anticipating, but I still found “Lucky Day” to be creative and enjoyable. I’m trying to get my husband to listen to the audiobook on the way to Vegas for his birthday in a few weeks.

Rating 8: Incredibly existential, out there, and creative, “Lucky Day” is the boldest story from Chuck Tingle yet!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Lucky Day” is included on the Goodreads lists “Bisexual Books of 2025”, and “2025 Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction”.

Serena’s Review: “Hemlock and Silver”

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

Book: “Hemlock and Silver” by T. Kingfisher

Publishing Info: Tor Books, August 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley!

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

Book Description: Healer Anja regularly drinks poison.

Not to die, but to save—seeking cures for those everyone else has given up on.

But a summons from the King interrupts her quiet, herb-obsessed life. His daughter, Snow, is dying, and he hopes Anja’s unorthodox methods can save her.

Aided by a taciturn guard, a narcissistic cat, and a passion for the scientific method, Anja rushes to treat Snow, but nothing seems to work. That is, until she finds a secret world, hidden inside a magic mirror. This dark realm may hold the key to what is making Snow sick.

Or it might be the thing that kills them all.

Review: T. Kingfisher always has such a creative (and often dark!) approach to fairytale re-tellings, and this one, a re-imaging of “Snow White,” was no different! I think a lot of authors shy away from this fairytale due to the inherent passive nature of the heroine. I mean, you can’t do a lot with a girl who ends up in a magical slumber during all the action at the end! Wisely, Kingfisher refocuses the story on her classic prototype of a main character: a mature woman who’s hyper focused in one area of expertise, has not time for anyone’s shit, and really, really doesn’t want to get dragged into things. And so we meet Anja, a woman with a boundless knowledge of poisons who is pulled in to solve a mysterious wasting disease affecting the king’s daughter.

In many ways, you have to squint a bit at this one to see the parallels to “Snow White.” The story itself is completely different, with only names, important magical elements (mirrors and apples) and villains being similar. And with the latter, even this was wildly different than the classic version of the story you may be familiar with. And I really liked this! In some ways, the villain of the story can come across as a bit mustache-twirling, but it was such a unique take on the Queen character, with many twists and turns along the way that I enjoyed the heck out of it.

I also really enjoyed Snow herself. This is now two fairytale books in a row from Kingfisher where she has tackled young teenage/children characters. It’s tricky to write kids in a way that is believable and natural, but here, Snow has all of the spunk of a pre-teen paired with all of the foolish self-confidence of the young. She’s at times incredibly unlikable, but also so sympathetic. Ah, the teenage years.

The magic of this world and its interplay with the poisoned apple and mirrors from “Snow White” was so original and unique. Perhaps too unique at times. Large portions of the middle of the book had to be devoted to explaining just how this magic worked, necessary information to fully understand what had happened in the past and how events unfolded at the conclusion of this book. Even now, while I was able to stick with the major plot points, I might struggle to explain exactly how some of this worked. It was definitely interesting, and I think Kingfisher did a good job trying to explain the ins and outs of it. But the necessary detailed descriptions of Anja testing this out did slow the pacing down quite a bit.

I also liked Anja and the subplot of her romance, but I will say that both of these elements were a bit reduced from this author’s usual highs. That’s to say, Kingfisher usually knocks it out of the park, and here, they were just ok. Anja read as a very familiar leading lady, and while I enjoyed her immensely, I did feel like I had read variations of this same character from this author before. The love story was also very much on peripheral of the story. Which, again, that is typical of this author’s approach to her romances in these fairytale fantasies. But here, there perhaps just wasn’t quite enough built up between these two to really hone in on their love story.

Overall, however, I thought this was an incredibly unique version of “Snow White.” There were so many creative twists and turns that I thoroughly enjoyed. Perhaps the pacing lagged a bit in the middle and the main character read as a bit too familiar, but Kingfisher’s strengths as a writer carried me through it all. This perhaps wasn’t my favorite of her books, but I still really enjoyed it and definitely recommend it for readers looking for a unique fairytale re-telling!

Rating 8: A wholly unique version of “Snow White,” if perhaps not a wholly unique feeling heroine.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Hemlock and Silver” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Epic High Fantasy/Romance/Mythology in 2025 and Snow White Retellings.

Kate’s Review: “What’s Yours Is Mine”

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Book: “What’s Yours Is Mine” by Jennifer Jabaley

Publishing Info: Lake Union Publishing, August 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: Determined daughters. Controlling mothers. There’s no such thing as friendly competition in a twisty novel of suspense about ambition, revenge, and unrealized dreams.

Valerie Yarnell is a hardworking single mother who’d do anything for her daughter, Kate. Kate is a dancer with dreams of stardom, just like her talented best friend, Colette. Despite Valerie’s sacrifices, it’s Colette’s mother, former prima ballerina Elise, whom Kate adores. And Colette has become like the practically perfect sister Kate never had. How can Valerie not feel frustrated, ineffectual, and a little jealous of the queen bee of dance moms? Not only has she hijacked her daughter, but Elise is married to the man Valerie pines for.

Rivalries are forming. Tension is mounting. In preparation for an elite dance competition, Kate outshines the more promising Colette onstage, and the pressure is on for Colette to keep her position in the spotlight—and especially to keep her demanding mother happy. Who could have foreseen the violent attack that sabotages everything? Anyone who’s been watching closely.

As ruthless and sinister ambitions are exposed, a media firestorm and an explosive town scandal erupt. Before it’s over, two mothers and two daughters will learn just how fierce and dangerous a rivalry can still get.

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

My kid is five years old and my husband signed her up for soccer this past Spring into Summer. I was talking to book club about this during our cabin weekend and how I’ve somehow been wrangled into the role of ‘soccer mom’ since his work schedule means that more often than not I was the one taking her, and probably will be in the future (as the kid LOVED it), and it was pointed out that at least soccer, comparatively, is cheaper than other popular sports and pastimes (we’re in the land of hockey, after all). One that came up was dance, and I kept thinking about that as I read “What’s Yours Is Mine” by Jennifer Jabaley, a new soapy thriller about teenage dance rivalries spilling into mother’s circles and running amok. It was either a stark reminder that it could always be worse, or a scrying glass into my future (hopefully without the extra drama and bodily harm).

As a thriller, it worked fairly well for me. The set up is simple: Kate and Colette are teenage dancers and best friends, Kate’s mother Valerie being a single mom who works a difficult and time consuming job, and Colette’s mother Elise being a former prima dancer turned powerful and put together housewife. Kate has ambition to be the best, while Elise has that same ambition for her daughter. When it becomes clear that Kate may be outshining Colette, and Kate starts to REALLY want to become the best, tensions rise between friends, and mothers and daughters, until Colette is injured in a suspicious accident. The crux of it is who wants to hurt Colette, and how far are some of these characters willing to go to get what they want? It’s simple, it’s straightforward, but it has a good amount of suspense with lots of suspects, clues, and misdirections to keep me guessing in general. Were all of the reveals surprising? It was a bit of a mixed bag. But the pacing was well done and the suspense was there.

And I mean it’s just so dramatic and soapy, and that is truly my catnip when it comes to domestic thrillers. We have best friends who are now fully competing with each other! We have class wars! We have a former dancer who wants her daughter to be a star no matter what! We have potential affairs! It has so many suds just spilling out of it that I was eating it up and reveling in the histrionics of it all, and I fully mean that in a complimentary kind of way. I liked jumping perspectives between characters so we could get an idea of what they were all thinking, but Jabaley was successful in keeping clues hidden away for the most part even when we were getting into each character’s head. A nice soapy vibe is usually going to be something I like and this book had it and then some.

As a whole I enjoyed “What’s Yours Is Mine”. It has some twists and turns and a lot of dramatics, and if you are still looking for easy poolside reading this summer, this is a good choice.

Rating 8: A tension filled domestic thriller about ambition, rivalry, and passion that kept me guessing and kept me invested. Also, VERY sudsy, which is always a plus.

Reader’s Advisory:

“What’s Yours Is Mine” isn’t on any Goodreads lists as of now, but if you like Megan Abbott this will surely be a good fit.

Serena’s Review: “The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy”

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Book: “The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy” by Brigitte Knightley

Publishing Info: Ace, July 2o25

Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley!

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

Book Description: Osric Mordaunt, member of the Fyren Order of assassins, finds himself in dire need of an expert healer. As fate would have it, that very healer is Aurienne Fairhrim, a member of his enemy Order, the Haelen.

Aurienne is desperate for funding to heal the sick, so desperate that when Osric breaks into her office to offer her a bribe for her healing services, she must accept. Even if she loathes him.

A forced collaboration ensues: the brilliant Woman in STEM is coerced into working with the PhD in Murders – much to Aurienne’s disgust. Despite being enemies thrown together, as Osric and Aurienne work together to solve not only his illness, but the mysterious reoccurrence of a deadly Pox, they find themselves ardently denying their attraction which seems to only fuel the heat between them.

Review: This is one of those odd reviews to write where, largely, my experience while reading it was positive. But at the same time, there were some glaring hiccups along the way. This made for a very confusing reading experience, as I was having fun, but was also constantly pulled back from full immersion by one thing or another.

Now, I haven’t read the original fanfic (and there are mixed messages going around about whether this is a straight adaptation of that story or a more original tale), but I will say that had I not known this was based on a Draco/Hermione fanfiction tale (and the marketing and cover image hadn’t telegraphed that point so heavily), I wouldn’t have guessed. This speaks well to the author’s ability to remove it from any original points of inspiration, leaving characters and a world that felt wholly unique. If I squinted I could maybe identify pieces that were pulled from Harry Potter; but truly, had I not known, it never would have entered my mind that there was any connection to another story/world in this book.

The story is also a fast, fun, romantic comedy. This last point I think is crucial. While it is marketed as “romantasy” and would fit that criteria, being both a romance and set in a fantasy world, it more strictly aligns with the sort of story you’d likely find in a romantic comedy. There are very few serious moments to be found and the fantasy world-building is mostly just there as window-dressing for this love story to play out. Instead, the story is largely light-hearted (even its darker moments are largely tempered by jokes).

I also very much appreciated the slow-burn nature of the story. It is here that I think some romantasy fans may find disappointment. These two barely make any progress until the very end of the book, and even there, it’s the most minimal of steps. Now, I love slow burn, so I was all about this approach. But for romantasy readers looking for more spice or clearly romantic interactions, this may be a disappointment.

However, I did struggle with this book throughout. As I mentioned above, the world-building and magic system is incredibly sparce. There is a glossary at the end of the book that describes the various magical groups and their beliefs/powers. But if the reader doesn’t discover this bit for themselves, the book does very little to explain any of this within the story itself. We get enough about the main characters’ respective groups, but the groups who aren’t represented on the page are incredibly unclear. Like I said, if I hadn’t scanned the back of the book to start, I’d have no clue about how any of these worked.

The world itself is also fairly confusing. It’s clearly based on the UK, but this version is also split into various smaller nations, many of whom are verging on war with one another. It’s never clear how these places differ from one another, why they are fighting, what goals they are trying to achieve…really, just nothing was given here. I was usually having enough fun just following the interactions between the main couple to forget these niggling details, but the second I stepped back from the book, all of these questions came charging back in. And frankly, there just aren’t any answers to be found.

There is also a strong emphasis on humor in this book. This was also a tough spot, because while I found some of it genuinely funny, there was also a lot of cringy moments. In particular, there was so, so much crass body humor throughout the entire affair. Just ball/dick jokes galore. And that’s just not my thing. It was especially frustrating because there were other moments where I actually chuckled out loud! Mostly, I feel like the author has the skill to write a funny, romantic comedy-style story, but that this one was a bit too stuck in some of the stylized humor that you do find in fanfiction still.

The story itself was also interesting, and, like I said, the pacing was fast. That said, the ending was incredibly abrupt and left me turning pages and looking for the real ending. It’s not even really a cliff-hanger (though everything is still completely unresolved at the end), but more that it felt like the author finished a chapter….and then they just cut the book off there. Presumably to pick up with the very next chapter at the start of the next book! It was just odd.

So, there you go. A very mixed bag read. I’d say that for my actual reading experience, this was fun enough to earn an 8 rating. However, due to the issues with the limited world-building, the sometimes cringy humor, and the odd pacing at the end, I have to lower it down to a 7. I think that readers looking for a fun, lighthearted romantasy (especially those who enjoy a true slow burn) may still have fun with this one though. And I’ll definitely be checking out book two when it comes out!

Rating 7: While I had a lot of fun reading this book, the world-building and pacing were rough at times, and the humor came on a bit too hard at times.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy” can be found on this Goodreads list: July 2025 Most Anticipated Romance Releases.

Kate’s Review: “Influencer”

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Book: “Influencer” by Adam Cesare

Publishing Info: Union Square & Co, October 2024

Where Did I Get This Book: I received a finished copy at a panel at ALAAC25

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

Book Description: Aaron Fortin is new in town. He drives a brand-new Acura—a gift from his parents for uprooting him in the middle of senior year. Showing up on his first day at the local public school in that nice of a car? He knows he’ll never blend in, and he doesn’t care to try. The car, the new kid mystique, he can use all that…

Crystal Giordano carpools to the same school in her friend Trevor’s beat-up van. In the van along with Crystal and Trevor are Paul, Harmony, and Gayle. Crystal’s technically part of their misfit group, but most of the time, she feels like she’s the only one who doesn’t fit.

When Aaron Fortin sits at their lunch table, Crystal can see he’s not who he says he is. But how big of a fraud is Aaron Fortin? Crystal clumsily exposes Aaron and becomes his target, falling victim to his insidious campaign to erase her. Only then does she discover who he truly is—and it’s so much worse than she thought.

As her friends begin to follow him one by one, Crystal wonders if she can protect them or if his influence is just too strong.

Review: Thank you to Union Square & Co for giving me a finished copy of this novel at ALAAC25!

So here is a story that perfectly reflects the fates of some of my ARCs. During the ALA Annual Conference in 2024, I picked up an ARC of the book “Influencer” by Adam Cesare. I grabbed it because 1) I have enjoyed other books by Adam Cesare and was happy to see he had a new one, and 2) I just love a thriller or horror story that uses social media influencers as a sticking point in their plots. Fast forward to the ALA Annual Conference in 2025, where I find myself attending a panel that has Adam Cesare, and he is talking about his 2024 “Influencer”…. A book that I wholly left by the wayside the year before. As I listened to him talk I thought to myself ‘ah shit, I really should have read “Influencer” by now, it sounds great’. Well good news! I got a new copy at ALAAC25, and I DID READ IT THIS TIME!

Hooray! (source)

I had a lot of fun with this book! Once it hooked me in the very first chapter (which was a start that had QUITE a shocking bang I must say!), I had a really hard time putting it down. It’s a very readable thriller with a well done narrative structure of two narrators, one being our psychopathic ‘influencer’ Aaron and the other being awkward but observant Crystal. Through both of their perspectives we see the making of a cat and mouse game as Aaron slowly dismantles Crystal’s life and isolates her from her friends, and as Crystal tries to figure out a way to expose him for the dangerous villain he is. We can slowly start to tell what Aaron is plotting on one hand, but on the other we can see Crystal coming up with her own counter moves, and the tension of seeing who ends up on top propels the story. And as someone who used to have an unfortunate hyperfocus on serial killers, I definitely picked up on a lot of what Cesare was referencing. It’s also just a wicked take on how social media stars and influencers build upon parasocial relationships to create a profit, whether that’s money in our world or Manson-like control and violence mongering to make oneself feel powerful in the story at hand. Cesare isn’t afraid to really go balls to the wall in disturbing content in this book, but it makes his point (also, note that this book has instances of animal abuse, sexual assault, and many murders including that of a pregnant person, just to put some content warnings out there. Also, the book has a page of content warnings to refer to). It’s just a thriller that really worked for me.

But my favorite part of this book was the character of Crystal, our protagonist who can see right through Aaron due to her incredible intuition and pattern recognition. Crystal is very observant and perceptive, but she is also riddled with anxiety and awkwardness and constant worries about the status of her friendships and how her friends perceive her. If we’re being honest, Crystal was a LOT like me in high school, never quite feeling like she totally fit in with her peers and even her friends outside of perhaps one or two exceptions, and I thought that she was very, very endearing because of it. In fact, I also really enjoyed (as much as one can, I suppose as a villain’s perspective!) Aaron’s POV chapters as we see his manipulations, his deviousness, and his absolute sociopathy. It’s a shocking contrast between the two main POVs, and I thought that Cesare nailed both of them pretty well. Some of our supporting characters could have used a bit more oomph, specifically Harmony and Paul, as I felt like I didn’t know them well enough to know if I believed their quite heel turns as happy lapdogs to Aaron’s plots and plans no matter how crazed and violent, but I’m willing to suspend my disbelief a bit just because I enjoyed so many other things about the book.

Me finally getting to “Influencer” took some time, but I’m thrilled I finally got the kick in the pants I needed to pick it up. If you are looking for some more fast and fun reads as the summer winds down, check this one out for sure!

Rating 8: Fast paced, twisted as hell, and suspenseful until the end, “Influencer” is a darker tale from star on the rise author Adam Cesare!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Influencer” is included on the Goodreads list “Fiction About Influencers”.