Tag: 9 Rating

Kate’s Review: “How Bad Things Can Get”

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

Book: “How Bad Things Can Get” by Darcy Coates

Publishing Info: Poisoned Pen Press, August 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: It was supposed to be the party of the century: miles of idyllic white sand beaches, lush jungle foliage…and a dark legend nobody dreamed might be all too true.

When an online influencer and several hundred of his most loyal fans land on Prosperity Island, the plan is simple: five days of elaborate games, drinking, and suntanned fun.

A week in paradise should have been a welcome respite. The only survivor of an infamous cult, Ruth wants nothing more than to keep her head down and not draw attention. She’s spent decades outrunning her blood-soaked childhood, and her identity is a closely held secret.

But then the true history of the island is revealed…along with its sinister connection to Ruth’s past. As guests go missing and games turn deadly, Ruth and the rest of the attendees are forced to question whether they’ve really been invited to paradise…or whether something much darker―and far bloodier―is waiting for them just beyond the bonfire’s light.

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

I kind of dropped the ball at the beginning of August when I was parsing out my Highlights for the month. Don’t misunderstand me, I was absolutely amped by all of the books on the list, and they were all good choices. But I completely forgot about the newest horror novel from one of my favorite horror authors Darcy Coates!! Coates is must read for me, and her new book “How Bad Things Can Get” was DEFINITELY a highly anticipated book for the entire YEAR, not just August! Oh well, it is what it is. And besides, highlight or not, I am here to tell you that once again I adore Coates and I adored this book. And how could I not? It has cults, gore, feckless billionaires, and influencer culture all trapped on a tropical island!

It’s like it was written with me in mind! (source)

Coates takes her sweet time with “How Bad Things Can Get”, and I really liked having her lay all the groundwork for the surprises and horrors she had in store. We are following a couple of different threads in this book as a group of influencers and guests are invited to a private and secluded tropical island by Eton, a “Mr. Beast”-esque online influencer who has become a billionaire and has monetary prizes in store for his guests. Ruth is one of the guests with her boyfriend Zack, and she has a secret she is trying to hide from the rest of the world: she was the only survivor of a suicide cult called Petition. As she is trying to put the past behind her and start anew, this vacation is making her deeply nervous, and she feels like someone is keeping an eye on her. We also follow Petra, one of Eton’s most trusted employees, always there to tamp down scandal and to bolster positive news. We also follow the mysterious Logan, as he is looking for hints about what Eton is up to, and seems to be connecting the dots that something is wrong. At first I was worried it may be a bit much, but never fear, Coates knows what she is doing and as she sets the scene, we get a slow burn tension that hints at more cults, urban legends, and a tragedy that has haunted this island for generations. Ruth was the clear winner for me in terms of perspectives, as she is filled with pain and justified paranoia, but I felt like I wholly understood her and really got her background. And I felt for her when she was one of the few people realizing something was terribly wrong as the weekend and competition continues, but questions herself because of her trauma. I also enjoyed Petra, because following her meant that we could get at least a little insight into Eton without having to get a FULL look, which added to the mystery at hand of how much he knows and what he is hiding.

Coates knows her references, from Jonestown to Heaven’s Gate to Roanoke, and it all blends into a seriously nasty (in a good way) brew. It’s gory, it’s horrifying, and there were multiple moments where the imagery on the page completely jarred me and sent chills up my spine. The horror elements also feel a little like “Cannibal Holocaust”, though without the weird racist undertones or sexual violence that movie has. It’s relentless at times, but if you like some gross visceral horror it should be right up your alley. A lot of people have said it feels like Jonestown meets Fyrefest, and that’s a pretty good analogy that I am going to continue. And like I said, all of this is my catnip and I really, really loved it.

“How Bad Things Can Get” is a fun as hell and scary end of summer horror novel. This very well be my favorite of her books, and that’s some pretty stiff competition.

Rating 9: You got cults, you got a disingenuous billionaire, you got an influencer festival going full gorefest, and you got Darcy Coates. A perfect end of summer horror read!

Reader’s Advisory:

“How Bad Things Can Get” isn’t on many relevant Goodreads lists, but it would fit in on “Summer Horror Books”.

Book Club Review: “Starling House”

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

We are part of a group of librarian friends who have had an ongoing book club running for the last several years. Each “season” (we’re nerds) we pick a theme and each of us chooses a book within that theme for us all to read. Re-visiting some of our past themes, we’re once again pulling genres from a hatch and matching them together in one book. For this blog, we will post a joint review of each book we read for book club. We’ll also post the next book coming up in book club. So feel free to read along with us or use our book selections and questions in your own book club!

Book: “Starling House” by Alix E. Harrow

Publishing Info: Tor Books, October 2023

Where Did I Get This Book: We own it!

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

Mix-and-Match Genres: Dark Fantasy and Contemporary Romance

Book Description: Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote The Underland–and disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that it’s best to let the uncanny house―and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling―go to rot.

Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but an unexpected job offer might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden. Too quickly, though, Starling House starts to feel dangerously like something she’s never had: a home.

As sinister forces converge on Starling House, Opal and Arthur are going to have to make a dire choice to dig up the buried secrets of the past and confront their own fears, or let Eden be taken over by literal nightmares.

If Opal wants a home, she’ll have to fight for it.

Kate’s Thoughts

Alix E. Harrow has been hit or miss for me in the past. I absolutely adored “The Once and Future Witches”, but didn’t really connect with “The Ten Thousand Doors of January”. But “Starling House” caught my eye back at ALA in 2023, and then I just neglected to actually read it until Serena picked it for book club! So that worked out!

Overall this was a pretty enjoyable read for me! True, it was a bit more on the fantasy side when it comes to what I expect from a Gothic tale with a strange/notorious house, but I greatly enjoyed the way that Harrow created a history of a place, gave it some mystery and tragedy, and built it up into more of a found family and Gothic fantasy with a lot of heart and emotional beats. I really loved Opal and Arthur’s relationship an seeing it grow and change, and I found it very easy to root for them as they come closer together as they try to unlock the secrets of Starling House and how that connects to them both. Opal was an enjoyable narrator and I really liked Arthur as well, so yeah, of course the romance was going to work for me. I just love an intrepid interloper and the brooding/strange caretaker of a creepy old house!

But what I also really liked was the way that Harrow ties in the sadness and darkness of the community in small town Kentucky that has been ravaged by economic hardship and a collapsing job economy. The discussion of small rural towns, especially in the Rust Belt, being left behind has been a topic of conversation for more than a decade now, and as we see the fallout from these sad truths and the way that communities dig in and cling to a past only to be forgotten or tossed aside is a HUGE theme in this book, and I found that to be very emotional and deeply engaging. It added a whole other layer to the story that brought in some more bittersweet undercurrents. Throw in some ruminations on the destruction these practices also bring to the Earth and the way that rot can keep cycling through both literally and metaphorically and you have some heavy topics that Harrow treats with respect and empathy.

I am so glad that I finally read “Starling House”! Add another winning read to my Harrow experience!

Serena’s Thoughts

Shocking no one, I still enjoyed this a second time around! I always feel a bit guilty picking a book I’ve read before for my own bookclub choice, but in this case, my prompt of genres to mix was a bit challenging. Without going straight to urban fantasy (the typical crossover you might see, though “dark” perhaps is questionable as far as the fantasy elements go), it was tough to find a book that fit the prompt. But here we have a contemporary story (check), a gothic house with a creepy past (check), and a romance (check!).

On that last point, I had forgotten just how strongly the book focused on the romance. I remembered there being a nice love story, but I had forgotten how central it really was, making up a majority of the “action” in the middle portion of the book. Yes, these two could have communicated more and solved most of their problems. But unlike the books where I often have this complaint, both Opal and Arthur had character-based reasons for not opening up quickly, which, to me, made their slow-burn romance all the more effective when it finally game together at the end.

Like before, the house itself was probably one of my favorite characters. I’ll be curious to see how the “dark” thing lands for the other members of bookclub; this is a gothic fantasy story with a haunted house that reads more like a neglected puppy dog just wanting to be loved! I though there were some really nice reflections on what makes up family and home to be found here, especially Opal’s growing understanding of the love/hate relationship she has to the town itself.

As I’ve done an entire review of this book before (check out that if you want more of my detailed thoughts), I’ll wrap my portion up here. I think this book crosses over a ton of genres, even beyond the ones asked for by the prompt, making it a great book for a large variety of readers. Once again, I highly recommend it, especially to gothic fantasy fans!

Kate’s Rating 9 : A truly unique take on a Gothic strange house with a lot of heart and emotion!

Serena’s Rating 10: Still love this one just as much as before! I will say that if I was rating it purely as an audiobook this time, I’d drop it down to a 9, since I didn’t love this narrator’s reading of Opal’s personality/voice.

Book Club Questions

  1. The story is split between Opal and Arthur. What interested you most about each character’s arc in this book?
  2. Wanting vs. needing is a major theme of this book. How does this drive Opal and Arthur throughout the book? Did any particular insights on this theme stand out to you?
  3. Another theme explored in the book is that of story itself, both in how we remember history and how we remember own own stories. How did these themes come into play with some of the twists at the end of the book?
  4. There are a lot of interesting side characters throughout this book, including Starling House itself. Did any of these stand out to you and why? Would you like to know more about any of them?
  5. The mixed genres for this pick were dark fantasy and contemporary romance. Were these genres well-represented? Was one stronger than the other? Were there aspects of either that you enjoyed or didn’t like?

Reader’s Advisory

“Starling House” is included on these Goodreads lists: Gothic Fantasy and Sentient Houses.

Next Book Club Pick: “Red Shirts” by Jon Scalzi

Book Club Review: “A Master of Djinn”

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

We are part of a group of librarian friends who have had an ongoing book club running for the last several years. Each “season” (we’re nerds) we pick a theme and each of us chooses a book within that theme for us all to read. Re-visiting some of our past themes, we’re once again pulling genres from a hatch and matching them together in one book. For this blog, we will post a joint review of each book we read for book club. We’ll also post the next book coming up in book club. So feel free to read along with us or use our book selections and questions in your own book club!

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

Publishing Info: Tor Books, May 2021

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

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

Mix-and-Match Genres: Fantasy and Mystery

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

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

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

Kate’s Thoughts

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

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

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

Serena’s Thoughts

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

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

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

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

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

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

Book Club Questions

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

Reader’s Advisory

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

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

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

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

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

Publishing Info: Dutton, July 2025

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

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

Book Description: Lizzie and Bex were best friends in college. After graduation, Bex vanished, leaving Lizzie confused and devastated.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reader’s Advisory:

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

Serena’s Review: “Red Tempest Brother”

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

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

Publishing Info: Titan Books, July 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: NetGalley!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reader’s Advisory:

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

Book Club Review: “Matilda”

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

We are part of a group of librarian friends who have had an ongoing book club running for the last several years. Each “season” (we’re nerds) we pick a theme and each of us chooses a book within that theme for us all to read. Re-visiting some of our past themes, we’re once again reading books that have had film/TV adaptations and then comparing the two mediums. For this blog, we will post a joint review of each book we read for book club. We’ll also post the next book coming up in book club. So feel free to read along with us or use our book selections and questions in your own book club!

Book: “Matilida” by Roald Dahl

Publishing Info: Viking, October 1988

Where Did I Get This Book: The library!

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

What We Watched: “Matilda” (1996) & “Matilda: The Musical” (2022)

Book Description: Matilda is a little girl who is far too good to be true. At age five-and-a-half she’s knocking off double-digit multiplication problems and blitz-reading Dickens. Even more remarkably, her classmates love her even though she’s a super-nerd and the teacher’s pet. But everything is not perfect in Matilda’s world…

For starters she has two of the most idiotic, self-centered parents who ever lived. Then there’s the large, busty nightmare of a school principal, Miss (“The”) Trunchbull, a former hammer-throwing champion who flings children at will, and is approximately as sympathetic as a bulldozer. Fortunately for Matilda, she has the inner resources to deal with such annoyances: astonishing intelligence, saintly patience, and an innate predilection for revenge.

Kate’s Thoughts

“Matilda” was my hands down favorite Roald Dahl book when I was a kid. As much as I enjoyed other books of his, there was just something Matilda Wormwood that really connected with me (could it be that she was a strange and lonely little girl who liked to read? Possibly!). But I hadn’t revisited it until it was selected for our book club as our last adaptation read, and oh my goodness am I so glad that we picked this one. Because “Matilda” is still so, so utterly whimsical and a true delight.

Dahl really had a knack for writing such funny books that are funny for kids (eating a giant chocolate cake! A hat stuck on a Dad’s head!) while also being funny for adults (so much dry humor and English witticisms!). I highly enjoyed the over the topness of the experiences that Matilda was dealing with, be it her horrible parents, the INSANE Miss Trunchbull, or even the quirky and strange and oh so amusing classmates at her school. I also enjoyed revisiting the artwork of Quentin Blake, and I had forgotten that there are so many fun illustrations throughout the book, which really just added to my positive experience of revisiting this classic from my youth.

And I actually ended up watching the 2022 film adaptation of the musical, starring Alisha Weir as Matilda, Lashana Lynch as Miss Honey, and Emma Thompson as The Trunchbull. I absolutely adored it. I thought that it was a little truer to the spirit of the book than the 1990s film (though that one is still very charming and fun!), and I really love the music and basically all the performances from everyone in it. I also liked the way that it highlights the ways that Matilda was doing small things, or ‘a little bit naughty’ things, to fight back against the oppressive people in her life when feeling like she has no control (things I try to keep in mind these days). And I can definitely say that it’s kid approved, because my daughter watched it obsessively in the days after she watched it with me.

“Matilda” is still absolutely charming and sweet. So witty, so magical, so utterly enjoyable.

Serena’s Thoughts

I mean, can I just say “delightful” and then be done with my review? Sometimes you re-read books from your childhood and are shocked to find that perhaps the rose-tinted glasses have worn off. But then there are others that really just prove they are classics for a reason, and such was the case here! There is just so much to love about this story! The characters, the magic, the “British-ness” of it all! (That last one I may have appreciated more re-reading it now as an adult.)

It’s also the kind of story that is sure to connect with readers of all ages today as well! Though there’s also no denying that this is the sort of story that librarians are especially primed to love. Who can so say no to a story about a love for reading and how it can lead to only good things?? It’s also the sort of story that will likely speak to many kids who may feel out of place or lonely and who turn to books as a source of escape and comfort.

I also re-watched the 90s version of the movie. I watched it once as a kid, but hadn’t seen it since. It, too, was as delightful as ever! One of our bookclub friends mentioned that the movie “Americanized” the story, in that everything was bigger than ever, including the magic, and I think this is spot on. It’s still an excellent adaption, however, and I’m sure my kids will love to watch it whenever I get around to showing it to them.

Kate’s Rating 9 : Matilda Wormwood, icon that you are, you are still a fantastic children’s lit character and I’m so pleased that I was able to revisit your world again!

Serena’s Rating 9: Just as delightful as I remember it being!

Book Club Questions

  1. Did you read “Matilida” growing up? Did you experience it differently as an adult?
  2. Did you watch the movie or the musical? How did they compare to the original?
  3. In the book, the magical elements are a bit more in the background than they are in many of the adaptations. Do you think that one approach worked better than another?
  4. There is a good cast of secondary characters. Did any stand out to you in particular and why?
  5. How do you think Matilda will use her magic going forward after the events at the end of the book?

Reader’s Advisory

“Matilda” is included on the Goodreads lists: Favorite books from my childhood and Children’s Books I’ll Re-Read No Matter How Old I Am

Next Book Club Pick: “A Master of Djinn” by P. Djeli Clark

Serena’s Review: “The Devils”

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Book: “The Devils” by Joe Abercrombie

Publishing Info: Tor Books, May 2025

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

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

Book Description: Holy work sometimes requires unholy deeds.

Brother Diaz has been summoned to the Sacred City, where he is certain a commendation and grand holy assignment awaits him. But his new flock is made up of unrepentant murderers, practitioners of ghastly magic, and outright monsters. The mission he is tasked with will require bloody measures from them all in order to achieve its righteous ends.

Elves lurk at our borders and hunger for our flesh, while greedy princes care for nothing but their own ambitions and comfort. With a hellish journey before him, it’s a good thing Brother Diaz has the devils on his side

Review: I’m one of those rare modern fantasy readers who HASN’T already read a Joe Abercrombie book it seems. But rather than start with one of his trilogies, I was excited to see that he was releasing a new book/series this spring, thus giving me a great entry point!

I’m on the record with how difficult I believe it is to write ensemble casts in these sorts of books. Nailing down one unique character with a compelling arc and clear point of view is difficult enough. Now do it multiple times! But here Abercrombie illustrates how well a properly portrayed and established ensemble can elevate a fairly simple story to something much more! At its core, this is a fairly standard questing fantasy, with our group travelling the continent to reach a defined point, meeting enemies along the way. What carries it, however, is this amazing group of characters who make up our little troupe.

The simplest way to put it, perhaps, is this is essentially the epic fantasy version of “Suicide Squad.” Not all of our characters are outright villains, but many of them have some level of darkness to their past. By slowly adding layers to these characters, the author neatly side steps the pitfall of these characters falling into overt fantasy stereotypes. Something that would be all too easy when you have a cast made of up werewolves, elves, undying knights, vampires, snarky thieves, etc. All the good stuff us fantasy readers are all too familiar with! However, here, each goes beyond many of the initial assumptions brought in by the sort of fantasy creatures/characters they are.

Our werewolf is a Viking who relies on her poor memory to cope with the death of her friends, often at her own hands. Our elf is just misunderstood, her ability to turn invisible mirroring how she feels in the group itself. Our sorcerer, ahem, “magician” just wants out of this whole freak show, sure that he is more powerful than everyone around him. And, of course, our thief is a con artist now caught up in a con that has gotten out of control! That’s only touching on some members of the cast! Throughout it all, whenever it felt like the characters were getting a bit lost in the extreme violence on the page or even some of the humor, Abercrombie always managed to pull it back to a humanizing moment, dealing with themes regarding penitence, grief, and what we owe one another.

Speaking of violence and humor, as I said, I haven’t read this author’s work before, but I do know that he is known for his dark fantasy. So I went in with an expectation of reading a grimdark fantasy novel, even though those are not necessarily my favorite of the fantasy subgenres. However, I wasn’t expecting just how funny this book was! Even in the midst of some of the most gruesome fight scenes that I’ve come across, I often found myself chuckling out loud. I will say that while most of the humor hit home for me, I did find a bit too much emphasis on bodily function humor. Perhaps this just comes from living in a household with three boys (my husband and two sons), but I only have so much tolerance or interest in reading jokes about farts, even if they’re incredibly well written.

Overall, I really loved this book! It was action-packed, hilarious, and full of a cast of characters of which I could never quite settle on a favorite! It’s truly a testament of the author’s steadiness at the wheel when I was only ever excited to see what the next character had to say! It’s hard to remember a book where I didn’t have at least one dud POV character. But here, they were all excellent! If I had to pick favorites, perhaps Vigga (werewolf) and Balthazar (sorcerer/magician) might come out on top. But honestly, they were all great. If you enjoy epic fantasy, definitely give this one a shot! I will only warn that it is definitely high on the violence, but I think the excellent humor balances this out well.

Rating 9: How to write “grimdark fantasy” without all of the “grim.” Abercrombie hits it out of the park with this one!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Devils” can be found on this Goodreads list: 2025 Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction.

Serena’s Review: “Anji Kills a King”

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Book: “Anji Kills a King” by Evan Keikam

Publishing Info: Tor Books, May 2025

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

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

Book Description: Anji works as a castle servant, cleaning laundry for a king she hates. So when a rare opportunity presents itself, she seizes the chance to cut his throat. Then she runs for her life. In her wake, the kingdom is thrown into disarray, while a bounty bigger than anyone could imagine lands on her head.

On her heels are the fabled mercenaries of the Menagerie, whose animal-shaped masks are magical relics rumored to give them superhuman powers. It’s the Hawk who finds Anji a surly, aging swordswoman who has her own reasons for keeping Anji alive and out of the hands of her fellow bounty hunters, if only long enough to collect the reward herself.

With the rest of the Menagerie on their trail, so begins an alliance as tenuous as it is temporary—and a race against death that will decide Anji’s fate, and may change the course of a kingdom.

Review: While I enjoy fantasy romance, I also really love epic fantasy, so I was excited when I saw Tor coming out with this debut fantasy novel. It sounded like an odd mix of classic fantasy tropes (a quest-based story featuring various monsters/challenges along the way) paired with a bit of wackiness (that mostly came from this cover, which I like, but is definitely unique!) And honestly, those impressions were pretty spot on!

The story definitely strikes an interesting tone. The world itself is violent, grim, and full of danger. But at the same time, there is a comedic dash to much of the writing, giving the entire thing a strange feeling of chuckling through horror. To speak further to the grimdark nature of the story, in many ways the story highlighted the often understated discomfort and misery that would accompany quests like this. Our characters spend the majority of their time freezing, tired, and often underfed. Nothing about this sounds like a good time. There are no grand shots of a line of characters making their way through majestic mountain-scapes. Instead, it is much more realistic portrayal of the sheer misery that would make up much of a journey like this.

On top of that, the story doesn’t shy away from darkness. No character is safe from horrible outcomes, so definitely don’t go into this one with any expectations of invisible safety nets around main characters, animals, or children. There was crying, I’ll say that much.

But, again, this story isn’t just a slog of depression. For one thing, the action and pacing was nonstop, so even if dark things were happening on the page, everything was moving along so fast that the reader is already swept into the middle of another action set piece before they’ve had a chance to truly feel the effects of the previous scene’s action. On top of that, our main character and secondary main character were so strong that they easily balanced out some of the rougher bits of grimdark action (this last point is a preference thing to some extent, as grimdark has never been my favorite subgenre in fantasy fiction, but is very popular on its own for other readers!)

Anji was fantastic. Here is a character who truly embodies the concept of “too stubborn to die.” The world kicks her down about a million times, and yet she keeps fighting, even in the face of odds that are severely stacked against her. Hers is also a story of confronting the realities of the world and the trade offs found in every decision, even if it was the right one at the moment.

Anji’s impulsivity and, to a weird extent, naivety about the world is balanced by the Hawk, the legendary warrior tasked with bringing Anji to justice for her crime of killing the king. As the story unravels, we learn more about the Hawk’s background and her own complicated moral code. Here, again, is a imperfect character who is living with the results of her choices. Dealing with the consequences of one’s choices and actions, be those known or unknown consequences, was a big theme of the book, and I think the author did a great job of mostly presenting questions to the reader, without preaching any simplistic answers. Instead, the reader is left to grapple with the fact that sometimes there are no fully “good” answers to the problems of the world.

Overall, this was a fantastic read! There are definitely elements of the story that will be familiar to epic fantasy fans, but everything is tied together so well as to make the entire thing feel like a breath of fresh air. And, like I said before, the odd balance in tone between incredibly grim events alongside a more light style of storytelling made for a very unique-feeling read. I definitely recommend this one to epic fantasy fans!

Rating 9: An incredible debut and a breath of fresh air to epic fantasy fiction!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Anji Kills a King” can be found on this Goodreads list: Can’t Wait Sci-Fi/Fantasy of 2025

Book Club Review: “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret”

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We are part of a group of librarian friends who have had an ongoing book club running for the last several years. Each “season” (we’re nerds) we pick a theme and each of us chooses a book within that theme for us all to read. Re-visiting some of our past themes, we’re once again reading books that have had film/TV adaptations and then comparing the two mediums. For this blog, we will post a joint review of each book we read for book club. We’ll also post the next book coming up in book club. So feel free to read along with us or use our book selections and questions in your own book club!

Book: “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret” by Judy Blume

Publishing Info: Bradbury Press, 1970

Where Did I Get This Book: The library!

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

What We Watched: “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret” (2023)

Book Description: Margaret Simon, almost twelve, likes long hair, tuna fish, the smell of rain, and things that are pink. She’s just moved from New York City to Farbrook, New Jersey, and is anxious to fit in with her new friends—Nancy, Gretchen, and Janie. When they form a secret club to talk about private subjects like boys, bras, and getting their first periods, Margaret is happy to belong.

But none of them can believe Margaret doesn’t have religion, and that she isn’t going to the Y or the Jewish Community Center. What they don’t know is Margaret has her own very special relationship with God. She can talk to God about everything—family, friends, even Moose Freed, her secret crush.

Margaret is funny and real, and her thoughts and feelings are oh-so-relatable—you’ll feel like she’s talking right to you, sharing her secrets with a friend.

Kate’s Thoughts

I missed out on so much classic children’s literature when I was little, because I basically jumped from the likes of “Goosebumps”, “The Babysitter’s Club”, and “Fear Street” to full on adult novels, without really touching any contemporary books that are long enduring classics. So I never actually read “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret” by Judy Blume when I was a prepubescent girl, which was probably the best time to read it. But thanks to book club, I had the opportunity to read it, now at forty years old! Better late than never?

And I really enjoyed this book! I actually kind of wish that I HAD read it as a pre-teen because there were so many things that I absolutely would have been able to relate to when it comes to Margaret. I was a girl who was worried about making friends and fitting in, and I was a girl who was raised without any kind of religion, really, outside of major Christian holidays celebrated in the most secular sense (we did go to Church for a month when my Mom convinced herself that we needed that community factor in our lives and then remembered pretty quickly that oh yeah, Church was NOT something ANY of us wanted to do, least of all her). And even though the book was written decades ago, I thought that it still has a lot of pertinent and timeless themes like friendship, peer pressure, burgeoning sexuality, and the way that families can be complicated, even if we don’t fully see the big picture as children. Margaret is very realistic in her anxieties, whether it’s fitting in, her crush on a boy who may not be seen as ‘cute’ by her friend group, her worries about not getting her period yet, or her existential crisis when it comes to her family’s approach to faith.

And I have to say, the film adaptation was actually better than the book! I think that is due, in part, to the way that not only do we see Margaret’s point of view, but we also see the POVs of her mother (played by a delightful Rachel McAdams) and her grandmother (played by the ICONIC Kathy Bates). It made the story all the more emotional seeing three generations of women trying to figure it out through crazy changes in their lives. It also wrapped up a few things that I felt were left a bit hanging in the book (I was far more satisfied with how the Laura storyline ended in the movie). I really, really loved it.

I am so glad that I finally read “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret”! What a charming and delightful book that still speaks to the anxieties of adolescence.

Kate’s Rating 9: A charming, incredibly relatable, and at times emotional coming of age story. I really enjoyed this one!

Book Club Questions

  1. Have you read “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret” before? If so, how does it compare reading it now? If not, what books were you reading as a pre-teen?
  2. Religion is a huge theme in this book. Why do you think religion and choosing one was suddenly so important to Margaret after not really thinking about it for so many years in New York City?
  3. When it comes to the adults in the book and in the movie, how did you feel that they were portrayed between the two mediums? Did you prefer one portrayal over the other?
  4. What were your thoughts on Margaret’s friend group in her new home?
  5. Do you think that this story could be updated to take place in the 2020s as opposed to the 1970s? Why or why not?

Reader’s Advisory

“Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret” is included on the Goodreads lists “Best Coming of Age Stories”, and “Friendship Between Girls”.

Next Book Club Pick: “Matilda” by Roald Dahl

Serena’s Review: “Shield of Sparrows”

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

Book: “Shield of Sparrows” by Devney Perry

Publishing Info: Red Tower Books, May 2025

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

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

Book Description: Long ago, the gods unleashed monsters upon the five kingdoms of Calandra to remind us that humans are insignificant—that we must pray to the gods for mercy throughout our fragile, fleeting lives.

I didn’t need a deity to remind me I was powerless. Being a princess had never been more than a performance—twenty-three years of empty titles and hollow traditions. My sister revels in the spectacle, basking in the attention and flawlessly playing her part. I was never asked to be part of the charade.

Until the day an infamous monster hunter sailed to our shores. The day a prince walked into my father’s throne room and ruined my life. The day I married a stranger, signed a magical treaty in blood, and set off across the continent to the most treacherous kingdom in all the realm.

That was the day I learned that not all myths are make-believe. That lies and legends are often the same. And that the only way to kill the monsters we fear was to become one…

Review: I was approached by the publicist to read and review this book, so I’ll be honest, I knew next to nothing about it going in. I had the vague understanding that the author was fairly prolific in the contemporary romance world, but as I read very little of that genre, I’d never checked out any of her books. Beyond that, the book summary look interesting, but also fairly generic. Well, let this be a lesson to never write anyone off! This was one of those books where I ended up binge reading it late into the night over two nights total!

I’m always a bit nervous when an author unfamiliar to the genre decides to tackle fantasy. Will they understand the conventions of the genre? Will they be be able to add something unique and not become mired in generic tropes? I think these are valid concerns. But not only did Perry prove me wrong in these concerns, but I think she also highlighted a key factor in why the romantasy genre may need MORE cross-over authors.

Romantasy is a super popular, fairly new genre, and as such, publishers are whipping out new titles as fast as they can without a steady list of veteran authors to pull from. And over the last few years, this desire to catch the bandwagon has produced a run of books where it feels like debut authors were not given the proper editing support they needed or titles were picked up that really had no business being published in their current state. And lacking many veteran voices in the genre, this can lead to the feeling that the genre as a whole is a bit shaky as far as quality goes. Perry illustrates how an experienced author with numerous books under her belt can elevate even the most mundane romantasy tropes and produce a book that feels like a breath of fresh air to the genre!

So, now I’ve written several paragraphs and not really talked about this book at all! But let’s start with the characters. Right off the bat, I liked the variation in the main character from the typical leading lady we see. There are a million and one feisty, snarky, fighter FMCs in romantasy. Instead, we follow the overlooked sister, Odessa, who has her rather dull life already plotted out before her. So when she’s thrust into the role of new Queen and secret spy, she’s totally unprepared. And by that I mean…actually unprepared! She doesn’t suddenly reveal incredible powers of fighting prowess or the skillset to properly infiltrate a foreign nation. We see her flounder her way through the “spying” again and again, and the book devotes a healthy amount of time to her attempts to learn to fight. By the end of the book, it’s been months, and it’s clear that while she can now pull off basic moves, she’s by no means a powerhouse. Instead, her strengths are found in her resilience, her empathy for those around her, and her bravery in the face of a world of new dangers and unknowns.

I also really enjoyed the romance and the romantic lead! It’s easy for the readers to guess the real situation, but I particularly appreciated the care that was taken with the main character’s handling of this situation. Odessa’s attempts to balance her obligations, bond with the man she believes to be her husband, and deal with her growing attraction for another all feel believable and sympathetic. I’ve seen this sort of set up go very wrong in the past, and I was glad to see that avoided here.

I also have to give a shout out to the creativity and complexity to the plot line and the world-building. While there is a heavy focus on the romance, it’s definitely of the slow-burn variety, which leaves a lot of page time freed up. And instead of the fluff that I feel like I often see in books like this, here we get not only a rich world, full of creative and horrific monsters, but also a detailed history and political situation that took several twists and turns towards the back half of the book that I didn’t see coming! I was also impressed by the author’s dedication to portraying the horror that would be living in this world. There are terrible monsters filling this land, and that being the case, terrible things often happen to those who live in it. There were a few scenes that definitely had me tearing up! Again, it was gratifying to read a romantasy that took its world-building seriously, even when that lead to rough situations and scenes.

So, shocking no one at this point, you can see that I really enjoyed this one! It took me completely by surprise and now not only can I not wait for the sequel, but I’m even thinking about checking out some of this author’s contemporary romance books (if I can find the time to escape my massive TBR!). If you’re a romantasy fan who’s aching for a book with a bit more meat on the bones, this is definitely one to check out. That said, it does end on a cliffhanger of sorts, so go in knowing you’ll have a wait for any real conclusion (talking to my aunt here!)!

Rating 9: A perfect example of the highs that the romantasy genre can reach when in the hands of a skilled author! Swoon-worthy romance, rich world-building, and an fast-moving plot that doesn’t let up!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Shield of Sparrows” isn’t currently on any Goodreads lists, but it should be on Romantasy TBR 2025.