List: Most Anticipated Books of 2025 - January to June

 

Here are my most anticipated books for the first half of the year, in order of publication.

"Hungerstone", by Kat Dunn (pub February 13, 2025)

"The Tomb of Dragons", by Katherine Addison  (pub March 11, 2025)

"The Hymn to Dyonisus", by Natasha Pulley  (pub March 18, 2025)

"Don't Sleep with the Dead", by Nghi Vo (pub April 8, 2025) 

"The Sun Blessed Prince", by Lindsey Byrd (pub May 1, 2025)

"Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame", by Neon Yang (pub May 6, 2025) 

"The Incadescent", by Emily Tesh (pub May 13, 2025)

"Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil", by Victoria E. Schwab (pub June 10, 2025)

"The Mercy Makers", by Tessa Gratton (pub June 17, 2025)

"A Treachery of Swans", by A. B. Poranek (pub June 24, 2025) 

List: Best books of 2024

2025 is coming! In no particular order, here are my favorite books of this year, with links to my reviews.

✨ 5 stars

READ MY REVIEW HERE. This one was a feast, an incredible vampire story with an epistolary twist.

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READ MY REVIEW HERE. The incredible conclusion to a heartfelt duology.

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READ MY REVIEW HERE. An excellent exploration of a toxic immortal love.

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READ MY REVIEW HERE. The trilogy sticks the landing with this powerful tale of love and sacrifice.

✨ 4 stars

READ MY REVIEW HERE. Another great conclusion to a trilogy, leaving no storyline unaccounted for.

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READ MY REVIEW HERE. An utter surprise, a delightful banger with great things to say.

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READ MY REVIEW HERE. A poignant exploration of grief.

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READ MY REVIEW HERE. A delicious vampire tale.

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READ MY REVIEW HERE. A stunning and lovely debut about love.

READ MY REVIEW HERE. A powerful tale about healing after an abusive relationship.

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READ MY REVIEW HERE. An incredible retelling of the Iliad.

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READ MY REVIEW HERE. An excellent alt-history tale with great characters.

Review: Don't Let the Forest In, by C.G. Drews

High school senior Andrew Perrault finds refuge in the twisted fairytales that he writes for the only person who can ground him to reality—Thomas Rye, the boy with perpetually ink-stained hands and hair like autumn leaves. And with his twin sister, Dove, inexplicably keeping him at a cold distance upon their return to Wickwood Academy, Andrew finds himself leaning on his friend even more.
But something strange is going on with Thomas. His abusive parents have mysteriously vanished, and he arrives at school with blood on his sleeve. Thomas won’t say a word about it, and shuts down whenever Andrew tries to ask him questions. Stranger still, Thomas is haunted by something, and he seems to have lost interest in his artwork—whimsically macabre sketches of the monsters from Andrew’s wicked stories.

"We let our love for each other cut us to the bloody core."

C.G. Drews' Don't let the Forest In is an excellent YA horror story about loneliness, grief, and rage. The only POV, an asexual boy struggling with bullies and with his growing feelings for his roomate, has to face a sudden supernatural threat that might have even come from himself. His codependent relationship with his roomate, an angry boy abused by his parents, and the similarly codependent relationship with his twin sister, the only one who believes in him, are explored beautifully, creating a tangle of emotions and a marvelous exploration of asexuality.

Growing parallel to this is the exploration of the bone-chilling threat coming to their isolated prestigious school, turning the surrounding forest into a place of untold horrors. The body horror imagery is quite strong, and so is the constant sense of something being utterly wrong. Things come to a head in the moving finale, where the readers realize all the pieces were there all along for them to fix the puzzle. I'm not ashamed to say I didn't figure out the twist until it was spelled out, but it was exhilarating to return to the previous pages and find the clues in plain sight.

More enterprising readers might figure it out sooner, but it shouldn't take from the overall enjoyment of this little gem. At its core, it's a story about the extent of what we would do for the people we love, and whether that's even right or wrong. The answer isn't so simple.

The prose is exquisite, very lyrical and also explicit in its horrific descriptions. The novel features illustrations and short fairy tales that are the very same that are described in the book, as the main characters are respectively an artist and a writer, and the role of their works is quite interactive.

Don't let the Forest In is a quiet marvel.

✨ 4 stars

Review: The Lotus Empire, by Tasha Suri

Malini has claimed her rightful throne as the empress of Parijatdvipa, just as the nameless gods prophesied. Now, in order to gain the support of the priesthood who remain loyal to the fallen emperor, she must consider a terrible Claim her throne and burn in order to seal her legacy—or find another willing to take her place on the pyre. Priya has survived the deathless waters and now their magic runs in her veins. But a mysterious yaksa with flowering eyes and a mouth of thorns lies beneath the waters. The yaksa promises protection for Ahiranya. But in exchange, she needs a sacrifice. And she's chosen Priya as the one to offer it.
Two women once entwined by fate now stand against each other. But when an ancient enemy rises to threaten their world, Priya and Malini will find themselves fighting together once more – to prevent their kingdoms, and their futures, from burning to ash.

"To swim through rage and grief and rise, alive, on the other side."

Tasha Suri's The Lotus Empire is the heart-wrenching conclusion to the spectacular Burning Kingdoms trilogy, expertly weaving a tale of loss, solitude, revenge, and grief. No thread is left unacknowledged, everything accounted for, in this tragedy about love and duty and sacrifice, a masterful story with a bittersweet ending.

We begin as the last book ended, with our lovers separated by war and a bitter betrayal, but still aching for one another, on the edge between love and hate. Malini has to navigate her Court while waging a war against the supernatural threat of the Yaksa and attempting to survive the fanatical clergy calling for her burning; Priya has to contend with the monsters wearing loved ones’ faces, and with the great empire bent on destroying and assimilating her people. Still in dreams they return to each other, their bond too strong and, perhaps, the key to the end of the war.

Amidst the odd POV characters, the POVs of Bhumika and Rao shine with their journeys, to self-love and peace respectively, as they face the circumstances that left them reeling in the previous book. Both of their storylines reach satisfying conclusions.

The worldbuilding expands to new neighboring kingdoms, new people, and an exploration of the Yaksa and of the goddesses of Malini's people. Not every question is answered, and there's a sense of unfinished business, but the powerful moments leading to the end more than make up for it.

The Lotus Empire is the stunning conclusion to a great trilogy.

✨ 5 stars

Review: The Shabti, by Megaera C. Lorenz

Can you flimflam a ghost? It’s 1934. Former medium Dashiel Quicke travels the country debunking spiritualism and false mediums while struggling to stay ahead of his ex-business partner and lover who wants him back at any cost. During a demonstration at a college campus, Dashiel meets Hermann Goschalk, an Egyptologist who’s convinced that he has a genuine haunted artifact on his hands. Certain there is a rational explanation for whatever is going on with Hermann’s relics, Dashiel would rather skip town, but soon finds himself falling for Hermann. He agrees to take a look after all and learns that something is haunting Hermann’s office indeed. Faced with a real ghost Dashiel is terrified, but when the haunting takes a dangerous turn, he must use the tools of the shady trade he left behind to communicate with this otherworldly spirit before his past closes in.

"Are you actually suggesting that we try to flim-flam a ghost?"

Megaera C. Lorenz's The Shabti is an atmospheric ghost story set in the Thirties, featuring two protagonists in their forties while they try to solve a mystery and they helplessly fall in love. The only POV, a former swindler with a conscience, gets increasingly attached to an impossibly kind Egyptologist plagued by an infestation problem, and the resulting closed door romance is a sweet affair that warms the heart.

The supernatural threat stems from a possessed figurine, the eponymous shabti, and dealing with it results in very suggestive pages, especially during the scenes set in dark places. Another far more human threat comes from Dashiel's jilted lover and former associate, grounding the narration when needed.

The attention to detail shown in the descriptions of Egyptology of the time, also shows in the usage of appropriate language for that time period, featuring old-timey turns of phrase that make the reading experience a delight. The author also takes their time exploring the world of fake spiritualism with a firm hand, but the chaotic ending doesn't really stick the landing.

The Shabti is a fun adventure for ghost story lovers.

✨ 3.5 stars

Review: Sargassa, by Sophie Burnham

Selah Kleios is twenty-two years old and suddenly one of the most important women in the empires. The role of Imperial Historian is her birthright, something she’s been preparing for since birth—but she was supposed to have more time to learn the role from her father, the previous Historian. In the wake of her father’s sudden and shocking assassination, Selah finds herself custodian of more than just the Imperial Archives, the towering central library that safeguards all collective knowledge of the Roman Imperium and its client empires. There’s also the question of the two puzzling classified items her father left in her care—an ancient atlas filled with landscapes that don’t exist, and a carved piece of stone that seems to do nothing at all.
Soon, though, it becomes clear that the Iveroa Stone is more than just a slab of rock. With the reappearance of an old lost love who’s been blackmailed into stealing it for an unknown entity, Selah finds herself in a race to uncover the mysteries the Stone holds. But she isn’t the only one with an interest in it—she’ll have to contend with the deputy chief of police, an undercover spy, and her own beloved half brother along the way. What begins as an act of atonement and devotion ultimately pulls her into the crosshairs of deep state conspiracy, the stirrings of an underground independence movement, and questions that threaten to shake the foundational legitimacy of Roma Sargassa’s past, present, and future.

"She will always choose change."

Sophie Burnham's Sargassa is an incredible alt-history novel, set in a world where the Roman Empire never fell and injustice runs rampant. When Selah's father dies, she has to fill his shoes pretty quickly and take his place as Historian, a hereditary job that's meant to be like a custodian of ancient knowledge. But the world she has to move in, a world where indentured servitude was never stopped, forces her to come to terms with some very harsh truths.

This is a multi-POV epic that also follows her slave-adjacent half-brother, a nonbinary rebel, a righteous cop, and an idealistic thief. Their characters meet and play off of each other beautifully, even the racist misogynist of a cop who's tragically in the wrong place at the wrong time. The luring corruption of the city functions as a backdrop to this delightful mystery as a millennia-old lie unfurls into the light and battle-lines are drawn.

The setting is perfect, with fantastic pieces of worldbuilding, little things you can really trace to the actual Roman Empire. At the end of the book is a helpful compendium explaining how this colony came to be, and the revelations only enrich the experience. You get the sense, early on, that not everything is as it seems, and it's fun to follow the clues clearly left for the reader.

Between the themes of systemic violence and slavery, there wouldn't seem to be much time for love stories, but two delicate queer romances unfold organically, following the course of the novel to its incredible conclusion. In particular, the sapphic love story featuring Selah has the strongest foundation, and a strong development.

Sargassa is the fantastic first book of a series that promises to be explosive.

✨ 4.5 stars

Snippet: The Brides of High Hill, by Nghi Vo

The Cleric Chih accompanies a beautiful young bride to her wedding to the aging ruler of a crumbling estate situated at the crossroads of dead empires. The bride's party is welcomed with elaborate courtesies and extravagant banquets, but between the frightened servants and the cryptic warnings of the lord's mad son, they quickly realize that something is haunting the shadowed halls.
As Chih and the bride-to-be explore empty rooms and desolate courtyards, they are drawn into the mystery of what became of Lord Guo's previous wives and the dark history of Do Cao itself. But as the wedding night draws to its close, Chih will learn at their peril that not all monsters are to be found in the shadows; some monsters hide in plain sight.

“Fear serves, when nothing else is left.”

Nghi Vo's The Brides of High Hill is another great installment in the Singing Hill Cycle, a story about the many faces monsters can wear, about lies and deception. It becomes clear very quickly that this is a version of Bluebeard, but then the story takes an abrupt turn, careening towards a plot twist that leaves you reeling. The ending was a bit rushed for my taste, making this installment a bit weaker than the other books in the series, but it's still an incredible story, and Vo's prose is excellent as always. This is also the first novella when Cleric Chih seems to be attracted to someone.

✨ 3.5 stars

Review: Swordcrossed, by Freya Marske

Mattinesh Jay, dutiful heir to his struggling family business, needs to hire an experienced swordsman to serve as best man for his arranged marriage. Sword-challenge at the ceremony could destroy all hope of restoring his family's wealth, something that Matti has been trying—and failing—to do for the past ten years. What he can afford, unfortunately, is part-time con artist and full-time charming menace Luca Piere.
Luca, for his part, is trying to reinvent himself in a new city. All he wants to do is make some easy money and try to forget the crime he committed in his hometown. He didn't plan on being blackmailed into giving sword lessons to a chronically responsible—and inconveniently handsome—wool merchant like Matti. However, neither Matti's business troubles nor Luca himself are quite what they seem.

"You broke me out of the box."

Freya Marske's Swordcrossed is a low-stakes romantasy with very little fantasy elements and a focus on fencing and wool. Set in a queernormative world, it follows workaholic Matti as he struggles to juggle his merchant family duties and faces a wedding he doesn't really want. His chance meeting with swordsman Luca will help him find a better balance in his life and allies he wasn't sure he had.

This is a cozy story with great things to say about managing familial expectations and finding one's own way, even when one's family is supportive. It's also a fun adventure featuring interesting customs such as the one about using duelists during formal events such as a wedding, which makes for nice shenanigans.

The progression of the attraction between the two main characters was handled beautifully and led to many steamy scenes, but there was some well-placed angst as well. The plot truly is minimal, and the twists are pretty obvious, but sometimes that's all you need. I will say that the fact this was written before the remarkable Last Binding trilogy is made clear by the simplicity of the story, but it's not inherently a bad thing.

Swordcrossed is a fun romp that will make you learn many things about the wool industry.

✨ 4 stars

Review: A Wolf Steps in Blood, by Tamara Jerée

Yasmine is a red wolf girl stuck in rural Alabama. Her world is small: pick up shifts at the greasy late-night diner and endure her pack’s petty squabbles. She’s not good at being a wolf or being human, directionless in life and disconnected from her ancestors. Blessed by a century-old enchantment, the local red wolves have escaped extinction by blending into the human world. But with the old witches’ blessing wearing thin, the wolves face an uncertain future.
An answer arrives in the form of an exiled blood witch whose magic is steeped in reckless grief. Kalta rides into town in her dead brother’s truck, prophecy following on her heels. Despite the danger Yasmine can smell swirling around the witch, a fated bond tangles their futures—and those of all the wolves.

"I want to tear out the throat of the world."

Tamara Jerée's A Wolf Steps in Blood is a sweet novella about a werewolf finding her place in her pack, seeking peace in her shifting, and meeting her fated mate. When a witch hiding a painful secret passes through, the two form a bond that defies all logic and allows Jasmine to grow, reclaim her ancestry, and try and mend her family too.

The lovely and evocative prose carries the reader through the quick adventure as the pair find companionship, learn to navigate their relationship, and find closure and a sense of belonging. The worldbuilding is minimal, but it gets the work done. This is a quick palate cleanser between heavier reads.

A Wolf Steps in Blood is a quiet beauty.

✨ 3.5 stars

Review: Yield Under Great Persuasion, by Alexandra Rowland

Tam Becket has hated Lord Lyford since they were boys. The fact that he’s also been sleeping with the man for the last ten years is irrelevant. When they were both nine years old, Lyford smashed Tam’s entry into the village’s vegetable competition. Nearly twenty years later, Tam hasn’t forgiven the bastard. No one understands how deeply he was hurt that day, how it set a pattern of small disappointments and misfortunes that would run through the rest of his life. Now Tam has reconciled himself to the fact that love and affection are for other people, that the gods don’t care and won’t answer any of his prayers (not even the one about afflicting Lyford with a case of flesh-eating spiders to chew off his privates), and that life is inherently mundane, joyless, and drab.
And then, the very last straw: Tam discovers that Lyford (of all people!) bears the divine favor of Angarat, the goddess Tam feels most betrayed and abandoned by. In his hurt and anger, Tam packs up and prepares to leave the village for good. But the journey doesn’t take him far, and Tam soon finds himself set on a quest for the most difficult of all possible prizes: Self care, forgiveness, a second chance... and somehow the unbelievably precious knowledge that there is at least one person who loves Tam for exactly who he is—and always has.

"But if you want to be loved, really loved, first you have to be you."

Alexandra Rowland's Yield Under Great Persuasion is a cozy adventure of self-exploration, featuring an unlikable protagonist who becomes less unlikable as he starts working on himself and experiences love and acceptance. It's a soft story about second chances, coming to terms with all the ugly parts of you, and coming out willing to do the work to become the better version of yourself.

On the others side of the equation is Lyford, hopelessly in love with the main character, a paragon of understanding. He, too, learns something: to challenge the one you love and allow yourself to get angry sometimes and stand up for himself, and to stop just accepting whatever's sprouted at him. Together, the two will learn to complete each other and coexist, accept and challenge each other.

The worldbuilding is exquisite, featuring a meddling hearth goddess and her equally meddling siblings. Gods have people they favor, and they bestow upon them gifts that can help others; learning to navigate this favor and find community and acceptance is also a main theme of the book.

But most of all, this is a book about working on yourself and features therapy lingo very heavily.

Yield Under Great Persuasion will drag you to therapy kicking and screaming.

✨ 4 stars

Review: The Fireborne Blade, by Charlotte Bond

Maddileh is a knight. There aren’t many women in her line of work, and it often feels like the sneering and contempt from her peers is harder to stomach than the actual dragon slaying. But she’s a knight, and made of sterner stuff.
A minor infraction forces her to redeem her honor in the most dramatic way possible, she must retrieve the fabled Fireborne Blade from its keeper, legendary dragon the White Lady, or die trying. If history tells us anything, it's that “die trying” is where to wager your coin.

"What will be written about us by those who come after?"

Charlotte Bond's The Fireborne Blade is a fantasy novella about a bisexual knight who's dealing with mysoginy in her line of work, and pursuing a dragon. The narration in this sense is very straightforward, with a classic story about dragon-hunting. This novella excels in creating interesting lore for dragons while maintaning a haunting atmosphere, but the tension is broken by the chapters set in the past and by chapters detailing dragon-hunting and other knights' dealings.

The novella builds up a plot twist organically, but stumbles when it comes to the actual delivery, and the final part feels rushed. The ending is invigorating, though, and the interest for the second and final novella in the series gets certainly piqued. Meanwhile, the queer aspect is more of an undercurrent, although one certainly picks up a certain tension between the knight and the sorceress-in-training fighting against mysoginy in her own field.

The Fireborne Blade is a packed adventure.

✨ 3.5 stars

Snippet: Awakenings, by Claudie Arseneault

Innkeep, hunter, blacksmith, nurse—Horace has apprenticed for every clan in the domed city of Trenaze, and they've all rejected em. Too hare-brained. Too talkative. Too slow. Ever the optimist, e has joined Trenaze's guards to be mentored. Horace has high hopes to earn eir place during eir trial at the Great Market. That is, until the glowing shards haunting the world break through the city's protective dome, fused together in a single, monstrous amalgam of Fragments.

“Your story is my story.”

Claudie Arseneault's Awakenings is a sweet novella set in a queernormative world, a cozy adventure that starts when the nonbinary aroace main character find themselves in a situation bigger than them and decide to leave their city and help a mysterious figure regain their memories. The two will cross paths with a merchant and his sentient wagon, and the three will set off for adventure. This book believably lays the groundwork for what promises to be a fun series of short works about finding oneselves and the importance of friendship.

✨ 3.5 stars

ARC Review: The Crack at the Heart of Everything, by Fiona Fenn

Orpheus can't believe it's come to this. After helping his childhood friend conquer the realm by raising an army of hell-beasts, the befuddled dark sorcerer finds himself banished when the price of his magic endangers the palace. Isolated and betrayed, the feared spellcaster isn't exactly thrilled when his irritating and handsome rival keeps stepping between him and certain doom.
Ill at ease in the barren wasteland his powers created, Orpheus slowly warms to the charismatic ex-general's relentless overtures. But as his feelings grow more intense, the former villain struggles with an inconvenient calling towards heroism. Will dabbling in good deeds get him killed or open the doors to happily ever after?

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fiona Fenn's The Crack at the Heart of Everything is a sweet standalone fantasy with a twist that recontestualizes everything we thought we knew about the story. We follow the main character Orpheus as he attempts to navigate a curse and come to terms with his evil deeds done in service of his queen, while contending with his newfound feelings for his cheerful companion and seeing the world outside for the first time.

It's a story about isolation, betrayal, and the love we can still find, no matter our circumstances. Orpheus is a compelling character, a man who only wants to do what's right, a traumatized person with self-harm tendencies. He cries often, but his tears aren't seen as a weakness, and his search for comfort is a strength. His companion slowly chips at the wall Orpheus has had to build, with his steadfulness and his great heart. This is not a romantasy, but the sweet romance grows organically, alongside with the main plot.

The worldbuilding is intriguing, snippets of the past revealing themselves slowly until the reader pieces together the truth. Some parts are still nebulous - one wonders at a few things - but the story still works. Despite the urgency and the trauma, there's also a strong cozy vibe.

The Crack at the Heart of Everything is a delightful debut.

✨ 4 stars

Review: The End Crowns All, by Bea Fitzgerald

Princess. Priestess. The most beautiful girl in Troy. Cassandra is used to being adored – and when her patron god, Apollo, offers her the power of prophecy, she sees an opportunity to rise even higher. But when she fails to uphold her end of the agreement, she discovers just how very far she has to fall. No one believes her visions. And they all seem to be of one girl – and the war she’s going to bring to Troy’s shores.
Helen fled Sparta in pursuit of love, but it’s soon clear Troy is a court like any other, with all its politics and backstabbing. And one princess seems particularly intent on driving her from the city before disaster can strike... But when war finally comes, it’s more than the army at their walls they must contend with. Cassandra and Helen might hold the key to reweaving fate itself – especially with the prophetic strands drawing them ever closer together. But how do you change your future when the gods themselves are dictating your demise?

"We should not tell stories of the heroes, but of the women who survived them."

Bea Fitzgerald's The End Crowns All is a lovely retelling of the Iliad, seen through the eyes of the women who suffered during the Trojan War, with a special focus on the two main characters, Cassandra and Helen. Their dual POV narration explores the events of the war and what came before, following closely enough the epic poem, until it starts veering towards a kinder, more hopeful ending. Cassandra, Helen, and the women of Troy reclaim their agency, taking matters into their hands and fighting against a future that isn't set in stone, no matter what prophecies say.

Cassandra and Helen steadily grow closer as their inital emnity, caused by the fact that Cassandra sees the downfall of Troy, turns into an alliance and then affection blooms between them. The book features such an in-depth, lovely, careful rendition of asexuality, and especially sapphic asexuality, and it's a joy to read how Cassandra comes to terms with her orientation, and finds love in the unlikeliest place. It's lovely, too, to see romantic love equated to all other kinds - friendship, familial - and not treated as the most important kind of love. Cassandra finds a partner, yes, but she also finds companionship, and people who care about her for who she is.

The conditions of women at the times is thoroughly explored, from forced marriage to kidnapping and the consequences of war. I adored how the grim epilogue of the Iliad is tamed and conquered, giving new meaning to the saying "history is written by the victors." The exploration of the changes one can make to the threads of fate makes for a compelling story, and the complexity of Apollo's curses, and the way Cassandra and Helen try to navigate each change, adds conflict in a believable way.

The book deals very well with treaths of sexual violence, not one to sugarcoat it despite the younger audience. It's marketed as a YA, and it shows especially in the kind of language used and the simple narration, but it's readable by an adult audience. Apollo is every bit the villain of the story, wanting to own and terrorize Cassandra for the crime of spurning him, but Aphrodite is a close second, her threats to Helen bone-chilling.

The End Crowns All is a remarkable retelling.

✨ 4 stars

Review: The Switchboard, by Christina K. Glover

Mortal mage Henley Yu has enough to worry about between the storms caused by broken magic and his strained relationship with his father. He’s trying to keep his head above water, but when he finds a stranger hiding in his kitchen cabinets he’s forced to reconsider his priorities. Chief Operator Kittinger has overseen the flow of magic for centuries, but he’s no fighter. Betrayed by his protectors in their quest to gain control of the magic, he’s running for his life when he makes Henley his accomplice. Kit might lose his new ally if Henley finds out that Kit’s secrets go deeper than the magic itself.
Together they’ll venture into the Between, where magic connects worlds, to fight an army of officers ready to finish what they started when Kit fled the scene. For Kit, failure means death. For Henley, it means losing the memory of the only person who gives him purpose. Henley won’t let anyone interfere before he finds out what that means for their future together.

"Death waits for us behind and before; I choose forward."

Christina K. Glover's The Switchboard is a fast-paced urban fantasy that doesn't hold the reader's hand and plunges straight into action, depicting an alternate modern Earth where mages pull their power from a highly bureaucratic dimension without even knowing they're doing it. The two main characters, a mage and an operator, find themselves unexpected allies when a threat to the stability of that dimension promises to wipe out magic forever.

The magic system is the strongest aspect of the novel, an intriguing system based on giving up memories in order to power one's spells. The dimension, with all its differences from modern-day Earth, is described vividly, and the mechanics of the transfer of power are explained with attention to detail. Some aspects fall flat, like the actual lore of the world and the sudden deus ex machina that doesn't feel like it was properly foreshadowed. With the premise and rules as they were explained, and a heart-breaking scene towards the end, the resolution feels like a cop-out.

The characters are painted vividly; the supporting cast shines, and the two main characters at the heart of the novel are intriguing and multi-faceted. Their relationship grows organically despite the break-neck speed of the narration, which spans just a few days from the moment they meet for the first time. The way things end certainly keeps one interested in the sequel.

The Switchboard is a solid first installment of a series.

✨ 3.5 stars

Review: The Phoenix Keeper, by S.A. MacLean

As head phoenix keeper at a world-renowned zoo for magical creatures, Aila's childhood dream of conserving critically endangered firebirds seems closer than ever. There's just one glaring caveat: her zoo's breeding program hasn't functioned for a decade. When a tragic phoenix heist sabotages the flagship initiative at a neighbouring zoo, Aila must prove her derelict facilities are fit to take the reins. But saving an entire species from extinction requires more than stellar animal handling skills. Carnivorous water horses, tempestuous thunderhawks, mischievous dragons... Aila has no problem wrangling beasts. Inspiring zoo patrons? That's another story. Mustering the courage to ask for help from the hotshot griffin keeper at the zoo's most popular exhibit? Virtually impossible.
Especially when the hotshot griffin keeper in question just so happens to be her arch-rival from college: Luciana, an annoyingly brooding and even more annoyingly insufferable know-it-all with the grace of a goblin and the face of a goddess who's convinced that Aila's beloved phoenix would serve their cause better as an active performer rather than as a passive conservation exhibit.

"Let her prove she could be worth something."

S.A. MacLean's The Phoenix Keeper is a cozy fantasy novel about bisexual zoekeeper Aila and her struggle with anxiety and with the zoo program that's trying to save a Phoenix species from extinction. It's a low-stakes story, sweet and slow-paced, taking its time to describe the daily life at the zoo and the steps taken to bring the program back to life, while chronicling her journey to become a more functional person. It's marketed as a sapphic romantasy, but while the romance is lovely, it's not focussed on and it's more of a subplot.

The tension between Aila and her love interest crackles as Aila has to first navigate a blooming relationship with another zookeeper, a man who on the surface looks perfect for her. But looks can be deceiving, and when Aila lets herself see people for who they truly are, she might reach a different conclusion than she thought.

Throughout the book, she's helped by her best friend, whose friendship has to overcome a few hurdles. Aila is a self-centered protagonist, trapped inside her anxiety that makes her not quite so insightful, but as she slowly comes out of her shell, she becomes more mindful. Her love interest is a more well-rounded character than her, showing hidden depths behind a cool demeanor.

The worldbuilding isn't too elaborate, but it works. The world looks mostly like our own, with the notable exception of magical fauna that's preserved in zoos. The book excels in describing these habitats and enclosures with a lush and colorful prose, showing a zookeper's life with the joy and enthusiasm of a child's visit, building on that nostalgia to really pluck at the heartstrings.

The Phoenix Keeper is a quiet story of self-realization.

✨ 3.5 stars

Snippet: Under the Dragon Moon, by Mawce Hanlin

Mael Nguyen doesn’t believe in fate, but he does believe in magic. His entire life revolves around the study of the arcane—spells and rituals, potions and illusions. As far as Mael is concerned, all he needs is a book in one hand and magic in the other. Anything outside of his bookshop, hidden away in the streets of New Orleans, isn’t worth his attention. But when a strange human stumbles into his life and hires him for a job, bringing along his blinding smile and curious magic, Mael finds that Fate is just as dangerous as Magic.
Leo Greyson refuses to believe in fate, but he desperately wishes to believe in magic. As a small time rockstar, full time radio host, Leo has never been one to shy away from experience and adventure. He’s always lived his life on the edge—always moving, never standing still. But when his twin sister is murdered, and he gains custody of her strangely magical daughter, that constant motion comes to a screeching halt. Instead, he is launched into an entirely new world hidden right beneath his nose, and Leo finds himself wondering if Fate really does exist, and if she’s led him right where he needs to be.

“He kissed like a hurricane.”

Mawce Hanlin's Under the Dragon Moon is a sweet romantasy with great character work and a mysterious background plot that promises to take center stage in the next installments of the series. In this first book the focus is on a magical mystery and on the establishment of the main characters’ relationship, motivations, past, and their relationship with friends and family, other than laying the foundation of a pretty complex worldbuilding, with sidhe, Courts, pacts, dragons, and a magic that builds on magical patrons. The politics and lore of this scintillating debut of an urban fantasy are pretty layered, and the prose is fantastic: lyrical at times, at times funny, always very respectful of the many triggering aspects, and littered with references to pop culture. There are quite a few explicit sex scenes.

✨ 4 stars

Review: The Lowest Healer and the Highest Mage, by Hiyodori

In a country where mages have all the power and healers supposedly only exist to support them, Clematis—a talented healer—is despised for her past attempts to defy the mageocracy. In her early thirties, she’s already on year seven of a life sentence for treason. But when the most powerful mage in the nation suddenly loses all her magic, the government wants unconventional Clematis to help get it back.
The mage is a tall, distant woman called Wist, and Clematis knows her all too well. They used to be classmates. Best friends. Perhaps more. Wist is also the person who reported Clematis for leaking state secrets. She’s the reason Clematis spent the last seven years in prison. Clematis wants revenge for her betrayal, but she wants freedom even more. She’s got thirty days to recover Wist’s magic: miss the deadline, and she’ll be shunted back to prison for the rest of her life. Yet attempting to resurrect Wist’s lost magic will force her to face the real reason why Wist betrayed her—and to face her unresolved, unspoken feelings for the mage who stabbed her in the back and walked away.

"I never forgot the sound of you calling for me. Not for a second."

Hiyodori's The Lowest Healer and the Highest Mage is a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid that combines a compelling protagonist and sole POV character with a surprising plot that keeps you on your toes as it slowly unveils the background of the characters and their history. Clematis and Wist navigate the consequences of an old betrayal that put them at odds with each other, while trying to solve a problem that might prove to be fatal for their world.

Clematis is a delight, caustic and angry and incredibly competent. Her old friend Wist is remote and mysterious and she has secrets which will change everything Clematis thinks she knows. Their relationship, in the present and the snippets of the past, is a compelling one, and so is the way they learn to trust each other again. The supporting cast does its job, with two very fleshed-out and interesting characters in the form of a friend Clematis made more recently, and a Healer that Wist trusts to treat her.

The snippets of world-building paint a vivid picture, albeit a fragmented one, that I hope to see explored more in the other books of the series. The contrast and politics of the usage and abuse of magic, with Healers as glorified batteries for Mages that, at least in the nation where the characters live, have no system in place to check their treatment of Healers, makes for an interesting conflict.

The Lowest Healer and the Highest Mage is a captivating novella.

✨ 4 stars

ARC Review: The Saint of Heartbreak, by Morgan Dante

After his betrayal with a kiss, Judas Iscariot dies in despair and goes to Hell. When Christ saves other souls during the Harrowing of Hell, he leaves Judas behind—but not alone in the ninth circle, where the most detestable traitors go. Callous, resigned, and abandoned by God long ago, the Devil sees Judas as a pathetic wretch, but he soon finds a kindred spirit. As the centuries pass, they struggle to find even a sliver of happiness in Hell. Doomed by the narrative, will they find happiness, or will their story continue to be a tragedy?

My thanks to the author for providing an ARC copy.

Morgan Dante's The Saint of Heartbreak is a story some might find blasphemous, but at its core, it's a story about finding companionship in the direst circumstances, and finding forgiveness within oneself. The first chapters, depicting events from the New Testament, set quickly the scene, introducing the reader to Judas through the eyes of Yeshua; the rest of the book is from Lucifer's POV, and it does get the reader to sympathise with the Devil. Morgan Dante's Hell is not Dante's Inferno, but a gentler place than one might expect - while being very clearly a place of eternal torment.

The relationship between Judas and Lucifer grows organically, from a tentative fascination to a kind of friendship; transactional sex becomes tender as all veils fall and their souls are laid bare. The choise to never have Judas' POV is interesting, because we only see him through someone else's eyes: he's tormented by what he's done, by his betrayal, by the loss of Yeshua, and he often seeks way to punish himself, but slowly finds a way to forgive himself. And Lucifer, in turn, grows to make peace with his past.

This book wouldn't work without the presence of Lucifer's fantastic supporting cast. Hell isn't explored thoroughly, but rather painted with a few vignettes, exploring other circles, other damned, and the Dukes of Hell. Lilith in particular makes for an incredible secondary character. Even a few Angels make an appearance, and the little snippets of the Fall are harrowing, showing the casual cruelty of the so-called good side.

Dante's writing is, as usual, exquisite. There's a few odd turns of phrase, but generally speaking, the vibes are always immaculate with this author.

The Saint of Hearbreak is an unexpected treasure.

✨ 4 stars

Review: The Weavers of Alamaxa, by Hadeer Elsbai

The Daughters of Izdihar—a group of women fighting for the vote and against the patriarchal rule of Parliament—have finally made strides in having their voices heard...only to find them drowned out by the cannons of the fundamentalist Ziranis. As long as Alamaxa continues to allow for the elemental magic of the weavers—and insist on allowing an academy to teach such things—the Zirani will stop at nothing to end what they perceive is a threat to not only their way of life, but the entire world.
Two such weavers, Nehal and Giorgina, had come together despite their differences to grow both their political and weaving power. But after the attack, Nehal wakes up in a Zirani prison, and Giorgina is on the run in her besieged city. If they can reunite again, they can rally Alamaxa to fight off the encroaching Zirani threat. Yet with so much in their way—including a contingent of Zirani insurgents with their own ideas about rebellion—this will be no easy task. And the last time a weaver fought back, the whole world was shattered.

"Safe in the knowledge that she was powerful."

Hadeer Helsbai's The Weavers of Alamaxa is the hectic conclusion to the duology started with The Daughters of Izdihar. The novel picks up where the first book ended, and from there doesn't stop a moment, careening towards an ending that ties up all the loose threads but feels unearned because we didn't have time to really delve into the changing situations. Events take place at a fast pace, and the new characters and setting suffer from it. The first conflict of the novel gets resolved in the blink of an eye, in order to put all pieces on the board and proceed with a war that becomes too rushed as well.

A trilogy would have allowed this series to breathe; we could have spent the whole of the second novel at the Zirani court and in Zirani, to learn more about their people and have time to get interested in those characters. Instead, the rushed resolution means we care little for them when disaster strikes. The core characters from the first volume are of course exempt from this, and a tragic event is treated with the grace and attention it deserves. But the focus on the war means that all the things that made the first book so memorable - the political struggle and the battle for bodily and political authonomy - take the backseat.

The two POVs' journey, on the other hand, is well-executed: Nehal softens her edges as she learns the struggles of the poor, and she has a few memorable scenes; Giorgina undegoes a metamorphosis, going from a meek character to one who fights for what's right. Malak of course continues to stun with her political acumen and her strength, the remaining Daughters of Izdihar make their appearance, and Nico handles himself well; the Zirani monarchs, while underdeveloped, make for interesting villains. The worldbuilding suffers from the fast pace, but new information about the world gives a new perspective.

The Weavers of Alamaxa is a book that could have been more.

✨ 3.5 stars

Snippet: Empire of the Feast, by Bendi Barrett

We awaken with Riverson, 32nd ruler of the Stag Empire, as he attempts to govern without the memories of his previous lives. To survive the ever-sharpening gears of war, he will need to mend the political schisms threatening to tear his empire apart while maintaining the erotic rituals holding off the eldritch horror known only as the Rapacious.

“We will eat the stars and drench the darkness in ecstasy.”

Bendi Berrett's Empire of the Feast is a sci-fi novella with a touch of magic, compact and luxurious. In less than a hundred pages, the author paints the delicate balance of an intergalactic empire held together against an eldritch foe only thanks to the power surges created by a never-ending orgy. Despite the particular subject, the book isn't too explicit, and follows the efforts of the newly resurrected Emperor attempting to regain his footing and stop a coup, having been brought back memoryless and with a different gender. This delightfully queer page-turner of a novella packs a complex journey that resolves in less than a day; it only stumbles in the Epilogue, where it tries to tie too neat a bow to the detriment of a perfect roller-coaster.

✨ 4 stars

Review: So Let Them Burn, by Kamilah Cole

Faron Vincent can channel the power of the gods. Five years ago, she used her divine magic to liberate her island from its enemies, the dragon-riding Langley Empire. But now, at seventeen, Faron is all powered up with no wars to fight. She’s a legend to her people and a nuisance to her neighbors. When she’s forced to attend an international peace summit, Faron expects that she will perform tricks like a trained pet and then go home. She doesn’t expect her older sister, Elara, forming an unprecedented bond with an enemy dragon—or the gods claiming the only way to break that bond is to kill her sister.
As Faron’s desperation to find another solution takes her down a dark path, and Elara discovers the shocking secrets at the heart of the Langley Empire, both must make difficult choices that will shape each other’s lives, as well as the fate of their world.

"She'd been a liar longer than she'd been a saint."

Kamilah Cole's So Let Them Burn is a YA fantasy with dragons, set in a queenormative world. The two POVs follow two sisters, five years after a war against a colonizing empire wherein the younger sister was chosen by the gods of their small nation to protect themselves against the invasion. The choice to sidestep the big war and begin with five years later, as reconstruction is well under way and the young nation opens up peace talks, is a strong one, that translates into the author having to infodump frequently, but it's done deftly enough and the exposition isn't too clunky.

The crown jewel of the book is certainly the relationship between the two sisters. Their love for each other is what motivates them and pulls the plot in certain directions; it's what sets things in motion. Twists and turns abound as the two of them are separated and drawn to harsh choices that might change the world, but the execution isn't strong and the choices, the twists, the revelations, feel unearned. We don't have time to get attached, to feel the sense of betrayal and the outrage, because the characters go from one situation to the other without letting the tale settle properly. The dragon school isn't explored, save from off-hand remarks and off-screen development that means one thing that was plainly meant to be an emotional beat towards the end falls flat.

The romantic relationships feel unearned, too, at least Faron's sudden attachment to a boy she's mistrusted for most of the book. Elara's slow burn with an enemy is handled better, with the two girls growing closer as circumstances force proximity and an alliance forming out of necessity.

The magic system was intriguing, as were the glimpses of the supernatural and the way they were linked to Jewish folklore; we have demons and angels and the name of God. There are horror elements, in a sense, but the deepest horror is human depravity. The worldbuilding is interesting, with gods and dragons and a magic system that allows one to call upon the spirits of ancestors, and a darker magic being explored. The revelations about the past make for an intriguing lore, and the abrupt ending keeps the reader on their toes.

So Let Them Burn is a sweet YA debut, perfect for young readers.

✨ 3.5 stars

Review: The Sins on Their Bones, by Laura R. Samotin

Dimitri Alexeyev used to be the Tzar of Novo-Svitsevo. Now, he is merely a broken man, languishing in exile after losing a devastating civil war instigated by his estranged husband, Alexey Balakin. In hiding with what remains of his court, Dimitri and his spymaster, Vasily Sokolov, engineer a dangerous ruse. Vasily will sneak into Alexey’s court under a false identity to gather information, paving the way for the usurper’s downfall, while Dimitri finds a way to kill him for good.
But stopping Alexey is not so easy as plotting to kill an ordinary man. Through a perversion of the Ludayzim religion that he terms the Holy Science, Alexey has died and resurrected himself in an immortal, indestructible body—and now claims he is guided by the voice of God Himself. Able to summon forth creatures from the realm of demons, he seeks to build an army, turning Novo-Svitsevo into the greatest empire that history has ever seen. Dimitri is determined not to let Alexey corrupt his country, but saving Novo-Svitsevo and its people will mean forfeiting the soul of the husband he can’t bring himself to forsake—or the spymaster he’s come to love.

"If I die first, I'll tell you the secrets of heaven."

Laura R. Samotin's The Sins on Their Bones is an extraordinary tale of healing from trauma and finding your inner strength again after enduring an abusive relationship, a well-written dark fantasy story with Jewish accents and folklore and a Russian-inspired court, a tale of the supernatural that doesn't shy away from its horrors, even when it's creatures of good that are doing the violations. It's a quiet story, following the three POVs of the grief-stricken former Tzar, his loyal spymaster, and the man who abused the Tzar's heart, body, and empire.

The abuser's POV is truly unsettling; he's so enamored of his narrative, so disgustingly lacking in self-awareness, that it proves to be a challenging read. He's a perfect villain, not moustache-twirling but one who believes he's the hero of his own story when in truth, we see the depths of his depravity in stark vividness. The book is prefaced by trigger warnings, and one would do best to take heed of them; the upsetting material isn't just in his chapters, but is reminisced and witnessed in the other POVs as well. The spymaster, too, has a painful past, that he'll try to overcome while he helps the former tzar do the same. The tzar's POV is heartbreaking, for his love for his abuser, even though he's aware of the things he did, is still ever-present and drenched in agony, and he can't bring himself to find comfort as his kingdom is taken apart by a madman.

The supporting cast truly shines. Dimitri has friends, his inner court, well-rounded characters with inner lives, who love him and try to bring him back from the abyss (they enrich the queerness of the book, as one of them is nonbinary and another is aroace). The story starts after the war that broke the realm, and pieces of information are given here and there, to slowly paint the picture of what happened. Not everything is clear - how exactly Alexey turned to the Holy Science, for instance - but the atmosphere makes up for it. Another character who is truly tragic is Dimitri's half-brother, who bears the brunt of Alexey's twisted affections in the absence of the brother whom he resembles so much; his story was heartbreaking.

The magic system was intriguing, as were the glimpses of the supernatural and the way they were linked to Jewish folklore; we have demons and angels and the name of God. There are horror elements, in a sense, but the deepest horror is human depravity.

The book, despite no indication of this, seems to be part of a series given the epilogue, but I was expecting a standalone.

The Sins on Their Bones is a powerful tale.

✨ 4 stars

Review: A Sweet Sting of Salt, by Rose Sutherland

When a sharp cry wakes Jean in the middle of the night during a terrible tempest, she’s convinced it must have been a dream. But when the cry comes again, Jean ventures outside and is shocked by what she discovers—a young woman in labor, already drenched to the bone in the freezing cold and barely able to speak a word of English. Although Jean is the only midwife in the village and for miles around, she’s at a loss as to who this woman is or where she’s from; Jean can only assume she must be the new wife of the neighbor up the road, Tobias. And when Tobias does indeed arrive at her cabin in search of his wife, Muirin, Jean’s questions continue to grow. Why has he kept his wife’s pregnancy a secret? And why does Muirin’s open demeanor change completely the moment she’s in his presence?
Though Jean learned long ago that she should stay out of other people’s business, her growing concern—and growing feelings—for Muirin mean she can’t simply set her worries aside. But when the answers she finds are more harrowing than she ever could have imagined, she fears she may have endangered herself, Muirin, and the baby. Will she be able to put things right and save the woman she loves before it’s too late, or will someone have to pay for Jean’s actions with their life?

"She held her love in an open hand."

Rose Sutherland's A Sweet Sting of Salt is a sapphic retelling of the tale of the selkie wife, set in Nova Scotia during the Nineteenth Century. The author weaves an atmospheric story of longing and loneliness, depicting period-typical homophobia and a deft exploration of the wrongness of forced marriage. The growing tenderness between Jean and Muirin is written beautifully, and as the stakes get higher and the husband turns into a menacing antagonist the story almost turns into a horrific tale, with palpable tension woven in the narration.

The cast was fantastic. Jean, the protagonist and only POV, a midwife with a secret in her past that led her to being ostracised for a long while, stuns with her bravery and her kindness. Muirin is a perfect match, a loving mother and a brave character whose playfulness shines through sometimes, with a secret of her own. The crown jewels of the book are certainly their interactions, and especially the moments when Jean teaches English to Muirin. Jean's mentor and her friend, a mother and son, take a bigger role than expected; Jean's relationship with her mentor is beautifully explored, especially in one touching moment, but it's the small moments with the other townsfolk, as we see Jean carve a new life for herself, that really stir the heart. Muirin's husband is an excellent antagonist, a stalking threat who believes that possession is love.

The mystery is built up slowly, with little clues here and there, but it's easy to clock in on the truth even if one picked up the book only thinking it a work of historical fiction. Jean is perhaps a little slower to catch on, but when she does, it's with a heart full of love. The full scope of the revelations however is a surprise even to a more savvy reader.

A Sweet Sting of Salt is a stunning debut.

✨ 4 stars

Review: The Bedlam Stacks, by Natasha Pulley

In 1859, ex–East India Company smuggler Merrick Tremayne is trapped at home in Cornwall with an injury that almost cost him his leg. When the India Office recruits him for an expedition to fetch quinine--essential for the treatment of malaria--from deep within Peru, he knows it's a terrible idea; nearly every able-bodied expeditionary who's made the attempt has died, and he can barely walk. But Merrick is eager to escape the strange events plaguing his family's crumbling estate, so he sets off, against his better judgment, for the edge of the Amazon.
There he meets Raphael, a priest around whom the villagers spin unsettling stories of impossible disappearances, cursed woods, and living stone. Merrick must separate truth from fairy tale, and gradually he realizes that Raphael is the key to a legacy left by generations of Tremayne explorers before him, one which will prove more valuable than quinine, and far more dangerous.

"He wasn't crude work but the ruin of something fine."

Natasha Pulley's The Bedlam Stacks is an atmospheric story set in Chile and filled with magical realism, full of wonder. We follow Merrick, a disabled character, as he has to join an expedition he would have rather abandoned because of his new disability. In the liminal space of a town his grandfather used to visit once, he will find Raphael, a mysterious man who seems to be ailed by a strange condition.

The prose as always with Pulley, was spectacular, so very simple and yet complex and magical. It's a slow reveal of a novel, a quiet treasure that one should savor. The magical elements come together slowly, revealing the magic behind the ordinary and beyond the objective European mind, unveiling a wholly different way of thinking.

I appreciated how Merrick was written, exploring his disability and his struggles in a very believable way, and I loved what we got to see of Raphael. Their feelings are never made explicit, but this is undoubtedly a love story, one that has a bittersweet ending. Like other Pulley characters, they are flawed and sometimes nasty, but always so very human. And fans of the Watchmaker of Filigree Street will find an incredible cameo and appreciate even more a beloved character.

The magical realism aspects were very intriguing, especially once the veil is lifted and things are revealed to be much more than they seem at first glance. The other characters feel a bit empty, with only the physician having a little depth.

The Bedlam Stacks is a quiet marvel.

✨ 4 stars

Review: Unholy with Eyes like Wolves, by Morgan Dante

Noémie, a dishonored and widowed noblewoman in early 17th century Hungary, finds herself in an unenviable position: after grievous trauma and loss, her last chance to regain her honor comes when she must serve as Lady Erzsébet Báthory’s handmaiden. Báthory is stoic and imperious, and as Noémie struggles to acclimate and accept her present and future, she begins to have dreams about a mysterious woman. Worse, there are stories of disappearance and deaths in the castle, and Noémie might be next.

"Sometimes, we need monsters to protect us."

Morgan Dante's Unholy with Eyes like Wolves is a gory sapphic exploration of the horrors of life as a woman, set in Hungary and drawing on the myth of Erzsébet Báthory and the story of Carmilla, throwing in the mix a sympathetic protagonist that isn't afraid to get her hands dirty. Noémie holds her own as a character in her own right, surrounded by the figures of legends, and her journey is both touching and invigorating.

The book delves deep into themes of grief, mortality, morality, and self-actualization, weaving a tragedy steeped in languid eroticism that climaxes in sex scenes that are gory and bloody and deeply sensual. The prose is excellent, a slow and rich journey, but it's plagued by a number of typos that destroy the magic a little.

The 17th-century Hungary setting is clearly researched, even with phrases sprinkled throughout the text, and the exploration of the politics of the time is certainly intriguing.

The almost-female cast is the real gem of this book, with the relationships that are woven not only between the three women at the center, but also with the serving women at the castle and with others, and especially the strong bonds of sisterhood explored when the three wise women help Noémie with an abortion. The book, as one might imagine, tackles triggering topics, but does it expertly.

Unholy with Eyes like Wolves is a decadent delight.

✨ 4.5 stars