Tag: book review blog

— ARC review, book review, nonfiction —

It Can’t Rain All the Time: The Crow by Alisha Mughal (ARC Review)

December 25, 2025

Released in 1994, The Crow first drew in audiences thanks to the well-publicized tragedy that loomed over the film: lead actor Brandon Lee had died on set due to a mishandled prop gun. But it soon became clear that The Crow was more than just an accumulation of its tragic parts. The celebrated critic Roger Ebert wrote that Lee’s performance was “more of a screen achievement than any of the films of his father, Bruce Lee.”

In It Can’t Rain All the Time, Alisha Mughal argues that The Crow has transcended Brandon Lee’s death by exposing the most challenging human emotions in all their dark, dramatic, and visceral glory, so much so that it has spawned three sequels, a remake, and an intense fandom. Eric, our back-from-the-dead, grieving protagonist, shows us that there is no solution to depression or loss, there is only our own internal, messy work. By the end of the movie, we realize that Eric has presented us with a vast range of emotions and that masculinity doesn’t need to be hard and impenetrable.

Through her memories of seeking solace in the film during her own grieving period, Alisha brilliantly shows that, for all its gothic sadness, The Crow is, surprisingly and touchingly, a movie about redemption and hope… Read More It Can’t Rain All the Time: The Crow by Alisha Mughal (ARC Review)

— ARC review, book review, nonfiction —

Ugh! As If!: Clueless by Veronica Litt (ARC Review)

December 25, 2025

Ugh As If! uncovers the complex layers beneath the glossy surface of the 1995 classic film Clueless. Litt investigates not just the Austen satire but the film’s deeper ethical questions about femininity, innocence, bias, and inequity.

A sweet and sly exploration of the Jane Austen–inspired teen movie and its evergreen imperative to be kind, do better, and find the activist within

We are totally butt-crazy in love with Clueless. Since the movie’s premiere in 1995, pop culture has mined Amy Heckerling’s high school comedy for inspiration, from Iggy Azalea and Charli XCX’s “Fancy” music video to Cher’s iconic yellow plaid suit appearing at every Halloween party.

In Ugh As If!, Veronica Litt argues that this seemingly fluffy teen romp is the quintessential thinking woman’s movie, one in which the audience is asked to seriously consider the beauty and power of naïveté. Cher Horowitz’s gradual pivot from oblivious it girl to burgeoning activist is a powerful reminder that even the most unlikely people can change for the better and contribute to their communities. In this bright, shiny film, pursuing a more just society isn’t just possible — it’s enjoyable. This fun, feminine, feel-good movie is a counter-narrative to nihilism, a refusal to give into cynicism, hopelessness, and passivity. Almost without viewers noticing, Clueless teaches Cher, and us, how to become better. Like the film it examines, Ugh As If! nudges even the most jaded viewer into feeling hopeful about the future… Read More Ugh! As If!: Clueless by Veronica Litt (ARC Review)

— Adult, ARC review, audiobook, book review —

All Superheroes Need PR by Elizabeth Stephens (ARC Review)

November 28, 2025

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)

— ARC review, book review, comic/graphic novel, middle grade —

Oddity Woods by Kay Davault (ARC Review)

November 27, 2025

After her father’s sudden disappearance, thirteen-year-old aspiring detective Marietta travels to where his trail went cold, the town of Perdita, to ask for help. But with nobody believing her claim that something paranormal is to blame, her questions go nowhere. Determined to find out what happened—even if she has to do it alone—Marietta enters the nearby woods, where people are known to have vanished.

Armed with a peculiar magnifying glass that has the power to reveal lies and a mysterious letter containing clues about her father, Marietta stumbles into the alternate world hidden in the woods. There, she meets a friendly spirit who leads her to a phantom train where the Conductor says he’ll help Marietta find her father—for a price. With the help of Wyatt Weiss, a mysterious boy with his own secrets, Marietta escapes without bargaining away something she can’t afford to lose and finally learns where she’s ended up: the Oddity Woods, an endless forest where monsters and ghosts roam freely.

Marietta and Wyatt work together to navigate the woods but become increasingly lost. A search for magical keys and solving a puzzling murder offer them ways to get home, but Marietta has yet to find her father…and the Conductor hounds her every step. Can she get what she came for and make a clean getaway, or will the woods claim another victim?… Read More Oddity Woods by Kay Davault (ARC Review)

— Adult, ARC review, audiobook, book review —

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

November 26, 2025

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)

— guest post —

Guest Post: Extract: Magic in the Real World: Modern Science and Ancient Magic

October 26, 2025

Welcome to another guest post on Flavia the Bibliophile: Extract: Magic in the Real World: Modern Science and Ancient Magic by Vanessa Finaughty! ⤖ Magic in the Real World Extract: Modern Science and Ancient Magic ⬻ The Wizard of Ends companion, Magic in the Real World, has just been published and is available for free… Read More Guest Post: Extract: Magic in the Real World: Modern Science and Ancient Magic

— Adult, book review —

Cash by Jessica Peterson (Review)

October 24, 2025

My dad and I have been estranged for years. But as his only living relative, it’s no surprise I inherit his massive cattle ranch when he dies. Something that is a surprise? The stipulation in his will, which requires me to live on the ranch and actively manage it for a year before I can access my inheritance money.

I haven’t stepped foot in Hartsville, Texas, population one thousand, since my parents split when I was six. Now a city girl through and through, I never imagined having to move back to cowboy country. But I need the money to invest in my company, and a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.

There’s just one giant roadblock to my plan: the ranch’s foreman, grumpy cowboy Cash Rivers. I don’t care how good he looks in his Wranglers and chaps. He’s rude, he’s growly, and he wants me gone. I’d fire him in a heartbeat, but I need this cowboy to teach me the ropes of running a ranch.

We’re enemies from the get-go. But turns out, Cash is really good at this ranch thing. He’s got strong hands, an intelligent mind, and let’s just say everything really is bigger in Texas. Working alongside him leads to conversations beneath the stars. Throw in some cheek-to-cheek dancing at the local dive bar, and it all feels so right that I start to fall in love with life on the ranch. And maybe with him, too.

But my stay in Hartsville is only temporary. And you know what they say about cowboys: they may break horses, but they also break hearts. If only Cash hadn’t already lassoed mine… Read More Cash by Jessica Peterson (Review)

— Adult, book review —

Beautiful Venom by Rina Kent (Review)

October 24, 2025

They shattered my world; now, I’ll bring down theirs.
The problem? I have virtually no way to trace the puppet master.
My only lead: The Vipers.
An elite college hockey team that rules the ice—and the shadows beyond it.
To infiltrate their secret society, I set my sights on their weakest link.
Kane Davenport.
The charismatic captain and the lone green flag in a nest of serpents.
But too late, I realize I’ve enticed the most venomous snake.
Kane’s friendly façade hides a predator more dangerous than I imagined.
He quickly unveils the monster lurking beneath the surface.
A monster who lured me in only to trap me in a lethal game with no escape.… Read More Beautiful Venom by Rina Kent (Review)

— Adult, book review —

Till Summer Do Us Part by Meghan Quinn (Review)

October 16, 2025

Scottie Price just started a new job, and it’s a real sausage fest. She’s the only woman on a team filled with Brads and Chads. Expecting a bachelor pad atmosphere, she is quickly corrected when she finds out everyone is happily married.

In an effort to impress her boss, Scottie mentions her non-existent husband in a company meeting. But eagle-eyed Chad points out her lack of wedding ring. Panicked, Scottie creates a story about her unhappy marriage. Unfortunately for Scottie, her boss has a solution – a one-on-one session with the best marriage counsellor in the Northeast, who happens to be her boss’s husband.

With no way out of her lie, Scottie agrees to see him. Frantic, she calls in help from her best friend who sets her up with his brother, an improv-obsessed millionaire.

Enter Wilder Wells. More than happy to take on the job, he teaches Scottie the main rule of always say yes. But the rule backfires during the session when Wilder signs them up for an eight-day summer marriage camp with all of Scottie’s co-workers where she’ll have to share a cabin with her way-too-handsome fake husband… Read More Till Summer Do Us Part by Meghan Quinn (Review)