Reviews

If you love celebrity gossip and reality TV, The Daydreams by Laura Hankin is a solid choice. And honestly, even if you don’t (like me) this is a page turner that will have you gasping with its many revelations.  

The Daydreams is told from the point of view of Katherine (formerly Kat), a DC lawyer who starred in a teen musical drama in the early 2000’s. After a disastrous season 2 live finale, the show was cancelled, and the stars scattered. Some came away unscathed, while others were lambasted by the media and public for years to come.  

After 14 years, a live reunion is proposed and the once close co-stars return. Each with varying motivations and secrets they’ve kept hidden. 

At its heart, The Daydreams is about friendship, love, loss and the pitfalls of fame at a young age. It also begs the question, no matter how well you think you know someone, do you really know everything that’s going on in their lives? At least for the cast of The Daydreams, the answer is a resounding ‘no.’ 

I have to admit that I’ve been in somewhat of a reading slump the past few weeks. Which is why I am so pleased to have read Ascension by Nicholas Binge. This one made it onto my most anticipated reads list for 2023 and it did not disappoint. I cruised through this one in under 3 days and all I want to do is talk about it with someone. The chapters aren’t particularly short, but it’s a page turner that sucks you in from the very beginning. And honestly at 352 pages it is short for a Sci-Fi. I think this would be a great book discussion pick for Sci-Fi/Horror fans. 

An epistolary novel, the story is told by renowned Physicist Harold Tunmore in found letters to his niece Harriet. In 1991 Harry is recruited as part of an expedition to scale a mountain that’s mysteriously appeared in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. What follows will test the team’s physical and mental strength, while making them question science, faith and themselves.  

If I had to compare this to anything, I’d have to say it felt like Arrival and Annihilation had a baby with a sprinkle of physics from Interstellar.  

This is Binge’s first novel released in the US, and I’ll be keeping my eye out for his next one. 

If there’s one thing I love, it’s retellings and Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel is an excellent one. I hold a special place in my heart for anything by Madeline Miller, so if you agree you’ll thoroughly enjoy this one. With similar pacing, character development and attention to detail I highly recommend this for fans of Circe. Patel is able to weave a story rich in history that transports you to a time and place far removed from our everyday lives. 

At the end of the day this is a story about the bonds we make and how we cultivate them, a mother’s love and her mission to raise the status of not only herself but all women in a male dominated world. 

I wasn’t familiar with Hindu mythology or the Ramayana before reading this novel, but it didn’t matter. I fell in love with the strong female leads. Kaikeyi comes in at a whopping 475 pages but it’s a fast read that benefits from the detail. The story is split into 4 parts that span quite some time which helps to break up the story and keep it moving. 

Can a book defy category? Possibly, and I think Emily Wilde’s Encylopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcette may have accomplished that feat. Somehow this novel is a cozy fantasy with a dark twisted horror undertone, full of academia, a tiny bit of romance, a dose of history, some adventure, all rounded out with a mystery. 

I would certainly never call this book 100% cozy as there are several sections of casual cruelty where faeries are concerned. The way Emily lays out the facts is anything but flowery and speaks to the gruesome nature of Faeries in this world. Even so, Fawcette was able to make me feel the story rather than solely visualize it.  

At certain points I found myself feeling enchanted and jovial, yet dark and terrible scenarios played out on the page in front of me. How? I have no idea, but it happened, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

This book is unique in a refreshing way. I will say it certainly started slowly for me but picked up pace around the halfway mark. There is a lot of detail that lends to the academic nature of the novel. This is book one of a duology, but doesn't end on a cliffhanger.

In 2022 I learned that my heart holds a special place for cozy fantasies. The year started with House in the Cerulean Sea and ended with The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. Without a doubt, if you enjoyed the former, you will adore the latter. 

Sangu Mandanna hit it out of the park with this warm, uplifting tale of a lonely witch on a path to self-discovery and love. It has found family, a fun magic system, romance and a twist I did not see coming.  

Mika Moon is a witch, but outside of a small group of other witches (whom she only sees a few times a year disguised as a book club), no one knows it. The only family she’s ever known is Primrose, the aging leader of their group who took Mika in when she was orphaned at a young age.  

Against Primrose’s ‘rules’ Mika starts an online account where she posts videos pretending to be a witch. However, one person doesn’t quite believe she’s pretending and invites Mika to tutor three young witches he is keeping hidden. Although she knows that Primrose would never approve, Mika accepts the offer and travels to Nowhere House. 

Upon arrival she learns she has only a few short months to help her new students learn to control their magic, or their family and everything they’ve ever know could be torn apart. What follows is heartwarming, quirky and 100% worth reading. 

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood was a pure delight. I enjoyed The Love Hypothesis but something about Bee spoke to a deep part of my quirky soul that cannot be denied. While there are certainly similarities, those that might have been put off by the uneven power dynamic between Olive and Adam in the Love Hypothesis, will love the equal footing of Bee and Levi.  

Sticking to several romance tropes, Hazelwood was able to put a unique spin on them that made them much less typical (and quite frankly frustrating). There were a lot of layers to this story and the characters’ developed backstories really upped the enjoyment factor. 

If you’re into quirky, whip smart female women in STEM leads, and respectful (swoon) and dedicated male counterparts, this is the one for you. 

I originally saw the Plated Prisoner series on TikTok and was swayed when it was touted to cure an A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) hangover. While I wouldn’t say I was suffering from a SJM hangover having finished that series several months ago, I heartily agree with that claim.  For those that love ACOTAR, and the From Blood and Ash series, this is the one for you (there are hints of both here). It did take me a bit to get into this series, the first book was by far the slowest for me, however world building and character development really benefit from the pace to start. 

Gild is written in first person POV from the main character Auren, the gold-touched favored of King Midas, who is kept in a gilded cage within the palace. Midas rules the Sixth Kingdom of Orea, each kingdom only being able to be ruled by those with magical abilities. Keeping in line with the story of Midas, gold touch is his power. Subsequent novels are written from multiple POV which is helpful once things move out of a singular location. 

These books are full of strong female leads, magic, fae, beasts, secrets, betrayals, triumphs, politics and romance. 

This is an adult dark fantasy romance series.

Sometimes described as a fantasy 1984, The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune reads like a cross between Lemony Snicket and Harry Potter. While the main character is a bit dull (at least to start), this story, and the cast of characters are anything but.  

If you’re looking for a light, whimsical, and wholesome story that will leave you crying tears of happiness (I wouldn’t know anything about that personally of course...) this is the novel for you. 

Set in a world where magical beings must be monitored and registered, Linus Baker is a Case Worker at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. Overseen by Extremely Upper Management, a secretive and menacing group of individuals, Linus has memorized the rules; never stepping out of line. Having lived a solitary black and white life, very much under the radar, Linus is shocked when he is summoned by Extremely Upper Management. 

Linus is given a highly classified assignment; travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, a house next to the sea and far from his usual comforts. This particular orphanage is home to six dangerous children of varying magical abilities. Linus must closely observe them and determine if they should remain on the island with their caretaker, Arthur Parnassus. His final report should be thorough, complete and turned in exactly on time. 

Given only the barest of details, Linus embarks on a quest of self-discovery, learning things about himself only a protective caretaker, an ornery grounds keeper, a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, a green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist can teach him. Also, that perhaps Extremely Upper Management has ulterior motives, and the world isn’t as black and white as Linus has made it. 

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and woman merely players.” 

M.L. Rio’s debut novel If We Were Villains really takes those words to heart. As a Shakespearean scholar herself, it’s not shocking that the world she weaves is entirely Shakespeare centric. Hopping between the present and past, Rio weaves an elegant mystery that will leave you wondering what is true and what is just good acting.  

If We Were Villains is a story of friendship, love, loss and betrayal. Fans of Shakespeare will not be disappointed in how thoroughly the bard’s work is woven into the plot. Anyone scarred by their high school English paper on Romeo & Juliet, you’ve been warned. 

Ten years ago there was a murder at a small but elite arts college in Illinois.  

Oliver, one of only seven students to have made it to their senior year, makes his way back to campus and what he considers his true home. Having successfully navigated the brutal culling of students, the remaining seven theatre majors are unsurprisingly a tightknit group. Having spent the past 3 years perfecting their Shakespearean delivery, all seven know their prescribed roles (whether they are happy about them is another story): 

As the year goes on and the instructors switch up the roles, things begin to fall apart. 

Ten years later, Oliver, who has just been released from prison, is finally ready to tell the lead investigator, who never really believed he got the full story, what really happened.  

The ending will break your heart while simultaneously giving you hope for Oliver’s future. 

A princess/almost nun, a witch, a fairy godmother, a dog made of bones, and an ex-knight walk into a boarding house... 

Typical of T. Kingfisher novels, Nettle & Bone is a darker Grimm fantasy. Nevertheless, Kingfisher weaves a magical story that will have you falling in love with and rooting for the underdogs. The banter between characters, and worldbuilding make this story one to remember. 

Coming in at just 245 pages, Nettle & Bone is a considerably smaller time commitment than your average fantasy tome. But don’t be fooled, this novel packs a punch and delivers plenty of visual fuel.  

Nettle & Bone follows Marra, the youngest of three princesses from the Harbor Kingdom who has spent half of her life embroidering and delivering babies at an Abbey far from home. Caught between two feuding and powerful kingdoms, the Queen marries her oldest daughter Damia off to the Northern Kingdom’s prince. When Damia suddenly dies, Marra’s middle sister Kania takes her place. It becomes clear to Marra that not all ever-afters are happy in the Northern Kingdom. Married to an abusive and paranoid man, Kania is trapped in a game of politics that Marra will inherit should Kania befall the same fate as Damia. 

Embarking on a quest to save her sister, Marra enlists the help of a dust-wife who agrees to help only if Marra can complete three impossible tasks: 

• Build a dog from bones 

• Weave a cloak of nettles 

• Capture moonlight in a jar of clay 

Surprising herself and annoying the witch, (“No. Child, you give someone an impossible task so that they won’t be able to do it.”) Marra completes all three. Now they just need to get there in time, figure out how to kill a prince protected by a powerful godmother, and make it out alive. Easy enough. 

Along the way, Marra is joined by a troop of outcasts and learns that everyone has their demons, even chickens, and especially puppets. That, perhaps, she is capable of a great deal more than she gives herself credit for.