Adult, ARC review, book review

We Love You Bunny by Mona Awad (ARC Review)

In the cult classic novel Bunny, Samantha Heather Mackey, a lonely outsider student at a highly selective MFA program in New England, was first ostracized and then seduced by a clique of creepy-sweet rich girls who call themselves “Bunny.” An invitation to the Bunnies’ Smut Salon leads Samantha down a dark rabbit hole (pun intended) into the violently surreal world of their off-campus workshops…… Read More We Love You Bunny by Mona Awad (ARC Review)

Adult, ARC review, audiobook, book review

All Superheroes Need PR by Elizabeth Stephens (ARC Review)

Over two decades ago, forty-eight young, gifted superheroes fell to Earth and were eventually marketed as opposing heroes and villains. Now, one exceptionally gruff bad guy is looking to hop teams. Hello, PR director Vanessa Theriot.

His real name is Roland Casteel a.k.a. the Pyro. First, swap that with the less incinerating the Wyvern. Next, put him in spandex to highlight that near-godlike body. Finally, give that hero in training a heroine—if Vanessa will play the part in a pretend romance guaranteed to make the city swoon. She’s game. As shy as Vanessa is, it’s her job to be Roland’s very own Lois Lane. Who knew that fake dating would change their worlds?

But falling head over heels for real makes for a dangerous shift in the narrative. A monstrous supervillain is bringing out Roland’s bad side again. This time, it’s to save a woman who, against all the odds, is becoming the human love of his superhero life… Read More All Superheroes Need PR by Elizabeth Stephens (ARC Review)

Adult, ARC review, audiobook, book review

An Amateur Witch’s Guide to Murder by K. Valentin (ARC & Audiobook Review)

Mateo Borrero has ninety-nine problems, and all of them hinge on the fact that his terrifying and currently-missing bruja mother trapped a demon in his body when he was born. His mother forbade him from ever using magic, but now that she’s gone, magic’s his only marketable skill, and he’d really like an exorcism—which costs money he doesn’t have. What’s the harm in making a quick buck by calling himself an Occult Specialist and chanting a few half-remembered spells in his crappy Spanish?

Enter Topher, a naive nepo baby with a curse that keeps killing people around him. Most importantly, he’s rich, and too clueless to clock that Mateo–and his (absolutely-not-the-assistant) astral-projecting best friend Ophelia–have never actually had a client before. Lifting Topher’s bad luck curse should be simple, but as luck would have it, nothing is simple, and Topher–who Mateo sort of, kind of likes–might be at the center of a deadly magical conspiracy.

To make matters worse, the more magic Mateo does, the stronger the demon inside him grows and the more he wants to eat people. But would caving to the urges of an ancient evil really be that bad if it helps him get a payday?… Read More An Amateur Witch’s Guide to Murder by K. Valentin (ARC & Audiobook Review)

Adult, ARC review, audiobook, book review

Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez (ARC Review)

There might be no such a thing as a perfect guy, but Xavier Rush comes disastrously close. A gorgeous veterinarian giving Greek god vibes—all while cuddling a tiny kitten? Immediately yes. That is until Xavier opens his mouth and proves that even sculpted gods can say the absolute wrong thing. Like, really wrong. Of course, there’s nothing Samantha loves more than proving an asshole wrong…

. . . unless, of course, he can admit he made a mistake. But after one incredible and seemingly endless date—possibly the best in living history—Samantha is forced to admit the truth, that her family is in crisis and any kind of relationship would be impossible. Samantha begs Xavier to forget her. To remember their night together as a perfect moment, as crushing as that may be.

Only no amount of distance or time is nearly enough to forget that something between them. And the only thing better than one single perfect memory is to make a life—and even a love—worth remembering… Read More Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez (ARC Review)

ARC review, book review, middle grade

Astronautical! by Brooklin Stormie (ARC Review)

A century ago, planet Zephyr exploded under mysterious circumstances. Ever since, generations have been living out their lives on the remaining floating planet chunks.

Brothers Max and Lari and their father Captain Cherryhair deliver goods around the galaxy on their spaceship—until their father is suddenly kidnapped by the fox minions of Cynosure, the Planet Breaker.

Luckily, a couple of stars with a ferryboat business offer to help the brothers on their rescue mission. But when Max sustains a life-threatening black hole injury, little brother Lari finally has to step up and take care of his chronically in-charge big brother.

Will Lari be able to figure out the secret of the broken planet and face the powerful Cynosure? Can he save not only his brother, but the people of Zephyr too?… Read More Astronautical! by Brooklin Stormie (ARC Review)

Adult, ARC review, audiobook, book review

A Duke Never Tells by Suzanne Enoch (ARC Review)

Before entering into a supremely-advantageous arranged marriage with James Clay, the new Duke of Earnhurst, clever, independent Lady Meg Pinwell has to see if he’s really the rake he’s rumored to be. But how is a well-bred young lady going to make sure he’s all that he seems? With the help of her Aunt Clara, they plan some discreet reconnaissance at the Duke’s country estate. Meg will pretend to be her aunt’s maid/companion to see the true state of affairs at Earnhurst Manor.

But Meg isn’t the only one pretending to be someone she isn’t. In order to escape Clara (who is surely a marriage hunter!), James has traded places with the excellent Riniken, the former Duke’s butler. Soon everyone is falling in love with the absolute wrong person! They say the course of true love never does run smooth… at Earnhurst, it’s running amuck!… Read More A Duke Never Tells by Suzanne Enoch (ARC Review)

Adult, ARC review, book review

Forgotten Sisters by Cynthia Pelayo (ARC Review)

Sisters Anna and Jennie live in a historic bungalow on the Chicago River. They’re tethered to a disquieting past, and with nowhere else to go, nothing can part them from their family home. Not the maddening creaks and disembodied voices that rattle the old walls. Not the inexplicable drownings in the area, or the increasing number of bodies that float by Anna’s window.

To stave off loneliness, Anna has a podcast, spinning ghostly tales of Chicago’s tragic history. But when Anna captures the attention of an ardent male listener, she awakens to the possibilities of a world outside.

As their relationship grows, so do Jennie’s fears. More and more people are going missing in the river. And then two detectives come calling.

They’re looking for a link between the mysteries of the river and what’s housed on the bank. Even Anna and Jennie don’t understand how dreadful it is—and still can be—when the truth about their unsettled lives begins to surface… Read More Forgotten Sisters by Cynthia Pelayo (ARC Review)

Adult, ARC review, book review

An Ordinary Violence by Adriana Chartrand (ARC Review)

Dawn hasn’t spoken to her brother, Cody, since he was sent to prison for a violent crime seven years ago. Now living in a shiny new Toronto condo, Dawn is haunted by uncanny occurrences, including cryptic messages from her dead mother, that have followed her most of her life. When the life Dawn thought she wanted implodes, she is forced to return to her childhood home and the prairie city that holds so much pain for her and her fractured family.

Cody is unexpectedly released from prison with a mysterious new friend by his side, who seems to be the charismatic leader of a dangerous supernatural network. Trying to uncover their plans, Dawn follows increasingly sinister leads until the lines between this world and the next, now and then, and right and wrong begin to blur and dissolve.

What unfolds is an eerie, incisive, and at times darkly funny horror novel about a young Indigenous woman reckoning with trauma and violence, loss and reclamation in an unsettling world where spirit realms entwine with the living ― and where it is humans who carry out the truly monstrous acts… Read More An Ordinary Violence by Adriana Chartrand (ARC Review)

Adult, ARC review, book review

The Full-Moon Whaling Chronicles by Jason Guriel (ARC Review)

The follow-up to Guriel’s NYT New & Noteworthy Forgotten Work is a mashup of Moby-Dick , The Lord of the Rings , Byron, cyberpunk, Swamp Thing , Teen Wolf … and more.

It’s 2070. Newfoundland has vanished, Tokyo is a new Venice, and many people have retreated to “bonsai housing”: hives that compress matter in a world that’s losing ground to rising tides. Enter Kaye, an English literature student searching for the reclusive author of a YA classic—a beloved novel about teenage werewolves sailing to a fabled sea monster’s nest. Kaye’s quest will intersect with obsessive fan subcultures, corporate conspiracies, flying gondolas, an anthropomorphic stove, and the molecular limits of reality itself. Set in the same world as Guriel’s acclaimed Forgotten Work , which the New York Times called “unlikely, audacious, and ingenious,” and written in rhyming couplets, The Full-Moon Whaling Chronicles cuts between Kaye’s quest, chapters from the YA novel, and guerilla works of fanfic in a visionary verse novel destined to draw its own cult following… Read More The Full-Moon Whaling Chronicles by Jason Guriel (ARC Review)

Adult, ARC review, book review

The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey (ARC Review)

Bestselling authors Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey have teamed up to deliver a dark new story with magic, monsters, and mayhem, perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman and Joe Hill.

Julie Crews is a coked-up, burnt-out thirty-something who packs a lot of magic into her small body. She’s been trying to establish herself in the NYC magic scene, and she’ll work the most gruesome gigs to claw her way to the top.

Julie is desperate for a quick career boost to break the dead-end grind, but her pleas draw the attention of an eldritch god who is hungry for revenge. Her power grab sets off a deadly chain of events that puts her closest friends – and the entire world – directly in the path of annihilation… Read More The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey (ARC Review)