Spring (Seasonal Quartet, #3)

Author: Ali Smith
Publisher: Pantheon
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

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Cover Description

What unites Katherine Mansfield, Charlie Chaplin, Shakespeare, Rilke, Beethoven, Brexit, the present, the past, the north, the south, the east, the west, a man mourning lost times, a woman trapped in modern times?

Spring. The great connective.

With an eye to the migrancy of story over time, and riffing on Pericles, one of Shakespeare's most resistant and rollicking works, Ali Smith tells the impossible tale of an impossible time. In a time of walls and lockdown Smith opens the door.

The time we're living in is changing nature. Will it change the nature of story?

Hope springs eternal.

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TL;DR Review

Spring is my favorite of Ali Smith’s Seasonal Quartet so far. It’s a deeply felt novel with smart, resonant social commentary.

For you if: You love characters that feel real enough to break your heart.

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Full Review

I’m currently reading Ali Smith’s Seasonal Quartet in order, season by season (with @caseys_chapters!). I’ve liked them all, but I think Spring is my favorite so far.

This one focuses on two main characters: Richard, an older man who was once a moderately successful film director, mourning the loss of his closest friend; and Brit, a corrections officer for the quartet’s fictional security company (which is also involved with border security). Richard has decided there’s nothing left for him, and Brit finds herself traveling with a remarkable young schoolgirl named Florence.

I think this one felt a little less abstract in terms of how it related to the season it’s named for, which helped. It sang with positioning of spring against the idea of borders and migration and the kind of impossible, barely-there hope that always exists despite the brokenness of the world. It might also be that the social commentary felt a little fresher (since the book is newer); I was particularly struck by Brit and the momentum that keeps her from opening her eyes, much less taking action.

But even considered on its own, the power of Ali Smith’s prose is (as always) somehow unnameable but also unmistakeable, and the characters broke my heart. This was deeply felt and effective, and I can’t wait to read Summer.

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Content and Trigger Warnings

• Suicide attempt

• Racism

• Xenophobia

• Confinement / forced prostitution

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride

Author: Roshani Chokshi
Publisher: William Morrow
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

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Cover Description

A sumptuous, gothic-infused story about a marriage that is unraveled by dark secrets, a friendship cursed to end in tragedy, and the danger of believing in fairy tales—the breathtaking adult debut from New York Times bestselling author Roshani Chokshi.

Once upon a time, a man who believed in fairy tales married a beautiful, mysterious woman named Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada. He was a scholar of myths. She was heiress to a fortune. They exchanged gifts and stories and believed they would live happily ever after—and in exchange for her love, Indigo extracted a promise: that her bridegroom would never pry into her past.

But when Indigo learns that her estranged aunt is dying and the couple is forced to return to her childhood home, the House of Dreams, the bridegroom will soon find himself unable to resist. For within the crumbling manor’s extravagant rooms and musty halls, there lurks the shadow of another girl: Azure, Indigo’s dearest childhood friend who suddenly disappeared. As the house slowly reveals his wife’s secrets, the bridegroom will be forced to choose between reality and fantasy, even if doing so threatens to destroy their marriage . . . or their lives.

Combining the lush, haunting atmosphere of Mexican Gothic with the dreamy enchantment of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is a spellbinding and darkly romantic page-turner about love and lies, secrets and betrayal, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.

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TL;DR Review

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is a lush, delicious, completely enchanting (and short!) gothic fairytale with an ending I can’t believe I didn’t see coming. What more could you ask for?

For you if: You’re looking for the perfect book to gobble up in one sitting.

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Full Review

I haven’t read all of Roshani Chokshi’s books, but I did have fun reading the Gilded Wolves trilogy, so when I heard she’d written a standalone, adult, gothic fairy tale fantasy novel, I was ON BOARD. And my friends, this book is such a good time. I absolutely recommend.

The book has two narrators: an unnamed “bridegroom” married to a mysterious, possibly magical woman named Indigo (present day), and Indigo’s mysteriously absent childhood best friend Azure (flashback). Indigo married her bridegroom on the condition that he’s never ask questions about her past, but when she has to bring him to the (also possibly magical) house she grew up in, the threads begin to unravel. And then ending? Absolutely A+. Can’t believe I didn’t see it coming (and isn’t that the best kind)?

This is a standalone and not very long, but it’s super immersive and atmospheric, which makes it the perfect book to get lost in and finish in one sitting. The prose is absolutely delicious, lush, and enchanting. The kind of darkly romantic book where you aren’t sure who to trust and what’s real. As Alix Harrow put it, “fairy tale in the old bad sense, gothic in the new subversive sense.” I think I wish it had been a bit more fleshed out for this to become a true favorite, but I definitely loved it nonetheless.

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Content and Trigger Warnings

• Toxic friendship

• Pedophilia / sexual harassment

• Death

• Sexual content (minor)

Victory City

Author: Salman Rushdie
Publisher: Random House
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

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Cover Description

She will whisper an empire into existence — but all stories have a way of getting away from their creators . . .

In the wake of an insignificant battle between two long-forgotten kingdoms in fourteenth-century southern India, a nine-year-old girl has a divine encounter that will change the course of history. After witnessing the death of her mother, the grief-stricken Pampa Kampana becomes a vessel for a goddess, who tells her that she will be instrumental in the rise of a great city called Bisnaga — literally 'victory city' — the wonder of the world.

Over the next two hundred and fifty years, Pampa Kampana's life becomes deeply interwoven with Bisnaga's as she attempts to make good on the task that the goddess set for her: to give women equal agency in a patriarchal world. But all stories have a way of getting away from their creator, and as years pass, rulers come and go, battles are won and lost, and allegiances shift, Bisnaga is no exception.

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TL;DR Review

Victory City is a delightful historical literary fantasy by the master storyteller himself. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a delight to read, and Rushdie always leaves us with much to ponder.

For you if: You love the kind of literary fiction that feels like fables and fairytales.

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Full Review

Victory City isn’t perfect, but like so many of Salman Rushdie’s novels, it is well-written and a delight to read. He’s a masterful storyteller no matter what he’s writing, but a work of historical literary fantasy like this? Chef’s kiss.

Inspired by the real-life, fourteenth century Vijayanagara Empire, this novel charts the life of Pampa Kampana, a girl orphaned at the age of nine when her mother walked into flames. She’s then imbued with power and foresight and long life by a goddess who charges her to give women equal agency. She becomes the mother of a kingdom sprouted from seeds, and over the course of more than 250 years, we watch the rise and fall of that kingdom, witnessing her own children cycle between love and reverence, and fear and rejection, and back again and back again.

I love when Rushdie tells me a story — and that’s what this really feels like, an epic once upon a time. The voice is magical and enchanting, and you can tell he had a lot of fun writing it. (The audiobook is also delightfully narrated.) This, for me, was the primary delight of the book.

Admittedly, it’s got a little bit of feminism-written-by-a-man syndrome (Pampa Kampana is sexually abused by the monk who took her in but never tells anyone, even when he rises to power; she works her magic through two kings rather than leading herself; the kingdom she gives life to still ends up thinking women unfit to rule, etc.) At the same time, it feels true to the period of history it seems to represent. Are all societies doomed to implode eventually? Can we free ourselves from the cycles of violence, the corruption of power, the allure of privilege?

If you love the kind of literary fiction that feels like fables and fairytales, definitely give this one a shot.

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Content and Trigger Warnings

• Misogyny

• Death of a parent

• War and death

• Pregnancy

• Rape (minor; off-page)

The Stone Virgins

Author: Yvonne Vera
Publisher: FSG
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

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Cover Description

Winner of the Macmillan Prize for African Adult Fiction An uncompromising novel by one of Africa's premiere writers, detailing the horrors of civil war in luminous, haunting prose.

In 1980, after decades of guerilla war against colonial rule, Rhodesia earned its hard-fought-for independence from Britain. Less than two years thereafter when Mugabe rose to power in the new Zimbabwe, it signaled the beginning of brutal civil unrest that would last nearly a half decade more. With The Stone Virgins, Yvonne Vera examines the dissident movement from the perspective of two sisters living in a small township outside of Bulawayo. In a portrait painted in successive impressions of life before and after the liberation, Vera explores the quest for dignity and a centered existence against a backdrop of unimaginable violence; the twin instincts of survival and love; the rival pulls of township and city life; and mankind's capacity for terror, beauty, and sacrifice. One sister will find a reason for hope. One will not make it through alive. Weaving historical fact within a story of grand passions and striking endurance, Vera has gifted us with a powerful and provocative testament to the resilience of the Zimbabwean people.

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TL;DR Review

The Stone Virgins is a technically challenging and emotionally difficult read, but there’s no denying that it’s also an incredible work of fiction. While I struggled with it, I was also so impressed.

For you if: You are comfortable with prose that’s lush, but sometimes hard to follow, if it’s worth it.

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Full Review

I’d never read Yvonne Vera before — my experience with African literature is pretty lacking overall, truth be told — so when my good friend Bernie announced he was hosting a buddy read of The Stone Virgins, I eagerly joined. And while I wasn’t quite in the right head space to fully enjoy this one, there’s no denying it’s a masterful work.

Vera’s author bio puts it best when it says her books are “known for their poetic prose, difficult subject-matter, and their strong women characters, and are firmly rooted in Zimbabwe's difficult past.” This is no exception. Winner of the Macmillan Prize for African Adult Fiction in 2000, it focuses on two sisters — only one of whom survives — who live in a village near Bulawayo before and after Zimbabwe’s independence from Britain.

The prose here is lush and gorgeous, and her ability to whiplash between beauty and extreme violence (be warned; there are stomach-churning scenes here) is incredible. There’s something reminiscent of Toni Morrison in the reading experience. But it’s also a challenging read that demands slow attention (and that’s where I struggled, as I was traveling for work, pulled in many directions, and super busy). The book has almost no dialogue; the narration moves fluidly forward and backward in time. One review that I read said it felt like reading someone’s dream, and I wholly agree.

Even though this was a bit of the wrong book at the wrong time for me, I’m really glad I read it — and even more glad to have had Bernie’s group chat full of such smart, careful readers to discuss it with. I’m in awe of Vera’s talent, and it’s easy to see why this one received so much acclaim.

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Content and Trigger Warnings

• Rape and extreme sexual violence

• Murder (decapitation)

• War

The Bone Shard War (The Drowning Empire, #3)

Author: Andrea Stewart
Publisher: Orbit
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

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Cover Description

***Description is spoiler for The Bone Shard Daughter and The Bone Shard Emperor***

Lin Sukai has won her first victory as Emperor, but the future of the Phoenix Empire hangs in the balance – and Lin is dangerously short of allies. 

As her own governors plot treason, the Shardless Few renew hostilities. Worse still, Lin discovers her old nemesis Nisong has joined forces with the rogue Alanga, Ragan. Both seek her death.  

Yet hopes lies in history. Legend tells of seven mythic swords, forged in centuries past. If Lin can find them before her enemies, she may yet be able to turn the tide.  

If she fails, the Sukai dynasty – and the entire empire – will fall.

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TL;DR Review

The Bone Shard War is a good conclusion to a pretty strong epic fantasy trilogy, although it felt a bit too drawn out to blow me away. Still, I recommend the series overall!

For you if: You like fantasy books set in fully fleshed-out worlds with multiple POV characters.

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Full Review

The Bone Shard War is the third book in the Drowning Empire trilogy, which starts with The Bone Shard Daughter and The Bone Shard Emperor. I’m going to do my best here to write a review without spoilers, so this will really be more of a review of the trilogy overall.

The Drowning Empire is an epic fantasy series, with a world that resembles but doesn’t belong to ours and a cast of characters with POVs. The main character is Lin, daughter of the Emperor, who practices what’s called bone shard magic (carved pieces of bone can be used to animate and control “constructs”). The second character is Jovis, a smuggler who witnesses one of the Empire’s islands sink into the sea. And third we have Sand/Nisong, a woman on a remote island with no memories.

This third book picks up two years after the end of the second, which in execution was a little disappointing for me. All the tension at the end of book two was popped, the characters almost reset. Then we spend a lot longer than I would have liked with Lin and Jovis (and, for that matter, Jovis and his companion Mephi) separated from one another. So I felt like I spent a lot of this book just waiting for that to get resolved, and that made it drag a bit. I also thought our two villains became less interesting, though for different reasons. In fact, I was pretty actively disappointed in Nisong’s arc.

But enough of the not-so-good! I still landed on the side of liking the book overall, and I recommend this trilogy if epic fantasy is your thing. The world is lush and inventive, the magic system is unique and interesting, the central mystery is compelling, and the characters are lovable. No regrets!

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Content and Trigger Warnings

• Death and murder, war and violence

• Animal death

• Blood

• Sexual content (minor)

Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change

Author: Angela Garbes
Publisher: Harper Wave
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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

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Cover Description

From the acclaimed author of Like a Mother comes a reflection on the state of caregiving in America, and an exploration of mothering as a means of social change.

The Covid-19 pandemic shed fresh light on a long-overlooked truth: mothering is among the only essential work humans do. In response to the increasing weight placed on mothers and caregivers—and the lack of a social safety net to support them—writer Angela Garbes found herself pondering a vital question: How, under our current circumstances that leave us lonely, exhausted, and financially strained, might we demand more from American family life?

In Essential Labor, Garbes explores assumptions about care, work, and deservedness, offering a deeply personal and rigorously reported look at what mothering is, and can be. A first-generation Filipino-American, Garbes shares the perspective of her family's complicated relationship to care work, placing mothering in a global context—the invisible economic engine that has been historically demanded of women of color.

Garbes contends that while the labor of raising children is devalued in America, the act of mothering offers the radical potential to create a more equitable society. In Essential Labor, Garbes reframes the physically and mentally draining work of meeting a child's bodily and emotional needs as opportunities to find meaning, to nurture a deeper sense of self, pleasure, and belonging. This is highly skilled labor, work that impacts society at its most foundational level.

Part galvanizing manifesto, part poignant narrative, Essential Labor is a beautifully rendered reflection on care that reminds us of the irrefutable power and beauty of mothering.

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TL;DR Review

I had been hoping for a bit more from Essential Labor. The memoiristic parts are its strongest. The rest may be a good introduction to many different social issues for those new to them, but it stayed pretty surface-level.

For you if: You are interested in thinking briefly about how different social issues intersect with motherhood.

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Full Review

Essential Labor has been on my TBR for awhile, and when I was in the mood for a nonfiction audiobook recently I decided to download it. It’s pretty short, and while I didn’t think there was anything particularly wrong with it, I did feel like it stayed a bit more surface-level than I expected.

Angela Garbes is a Filipino-American writer and mother, and the pandemic’s focus on “essential labor,” combined with the acute challenges parents faced, inspired her to write this book. I thought the first half was the strongest; it was rooted much more in Garbes’ personal experiences and felt like a good combination of memoir and social justice writing. The second half reads more like individual lessons about different areas of social justice, and while there is a slight lens of relating these things back to motherhood, she stays very high-level.

I didn’t hate this, but I had expected a lot more out of it. She could have written a whole book on any one of those latter chapters and held my attention better — there is so much more to analyze and consider. I would recommend this to someone who feels like they’re just getting started with social advocacy or maybe wants a birds-eye view of how modern-day social issues intersect with parenting — but if you feel pretty well versed, maybe not.

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Content and Trigger Warnings

• Ableism

• Fatphobia and body shaming

• Xenophobia and racism

• Sexual content (minor)

• Mental illness

• Medical trauma

The Colony

Author: Audrey Magee
Publisher: FSG Books
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

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Cover Description

In 1979, as violence erupts all over Ireland, two outsiders travel to a small island off the west coast in search of their own answers, despite what it may cost the islanders.

It is the summer of 1979. An English painter travels to a small island off the west coast of Ireland. Mr. Lloyd takes the last leg by currach, though boats with engines are available and he doesn't much like the sea. He wants the authentic experience, to be changed by this place, to let its quiet and light fill him, give him room to create. He doesn't know that a Frenchman follows close behind. Jean-Pierre Masson has visited the island for many years, studying the language of those who make it their home. He is fiercely protective of their isolation, deems it essential to exploring his theories of language preservation and identity.

But the people who live on this rock--three miles long and half a mile wide--have their own views on what is being recorded, what is being taken, and what ought to be given in return. Over the summer, each of them--from great-grandmother Bean Uí Fhloinn to widowed Mairéad to fifteen-year-old James, who is determined to avoid the life of a fisherman--will wrestle with their values and desires. Meanwhile, all over Ireland, violence is erupting. And there is blame enough to go around.

An expertly woven portrait of character and place, a stirring investigation into yearning to find one's way, and an unflinchingly political critique of the long, seething cost of imperialism, Audrey Magee's The Colony is a novel that transports, that celebrates beauty and connection, and that reckons with the inevitable ruptures of independence.

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TL;DR Review

The Colony is a quietly devastating, gorgeously written book about colonization and agency set on a small Irish island during the Troubles. It has lots of layers!

For you if: You like character-driven novels, plus prose that’s poetic and a bit nontraditional.

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Full Review

After a fair amount of pre-release hype, The Colony was longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize. Having read it, I can confirm that this 100% feels like a Booker book (in a good way), and that it’s going to make for an excellent book club discussion.

The story is set on a small island off Ireland’s coast in 1979, as the Troubles raged on the mainland. The island has been somewhat sheltered from colonization, with its people still living according to their longstanding customs and speaking a traditional form of Irish. But that’s slowly changing. During this summer, two white men come to stay: an English painter named Lloyd, determined to make a name for himself painting the landscape and, eventually, its people; and a French linguist named Masson, determined to make a name for himself as the savior of their language. Throughout, we get short vignettes depicting terrible acts of violence on the mainland.

Although the plot itself is relatively quiet — simmering backdrop of violence notwithstanding — this book does and says a ton as it pertains to not only colonization and saviorism, but also agency (whose choice is it whether people need saving?). I’m particularly excited to discuss the linguist, Masson, with my book club. Without saying too much, he’s the child of a colonizer and a member of a colonized people, making his actions and motivations really fascinating.

But perhaps the most distinctive part about this book is the prose. It’s beautiful, poetic, and a little nontraditional. Magee’s decision to write this way and also not use quotation marks — especially with so many characters being bilingual — blends thought and dialogue in a way that’s effective and affecting but somehow never confusing.

I will say that I guessed how this was going to end (hoping I was wrong), but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment. Magee’s purpose here is equal parts clear and moving, and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

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Content and Trigger Warnings

• Colonization

• Murder and violence (depiction of incidents during the Troubles in Ireland)

• Death and grief

• Domestic abuse (minor)

Happy Place

Author: Emily Henry
Publisher: Berkley
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

Click above to buy this book from my Bookshop.org shop, which supports independent bookstores (not Amazon). You can also find it via your favorite indie bookstore here.

Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

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Cover Description

Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t.

They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.

Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blue week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.

Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week… in front of those who know you best?

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TL;DR Review

Emily Henry does it again! Happy Place is not only a fun read with a fun combination of tropes, it’s also deeply felt with a realistic, heartbreaking central conflict.

For you if: You’re always looking for romance novels that have a little something extra

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Full Review

Let me first just say that I haven’t read all of Emily Henry’s books (yet); Book Lovers was my first and Happy Place was my second. So I can’t give you a good ranking, but I can tell you that I liked this one even better than Book Lovers (and I really liked Book Lovers)!

This is a — get ready for it — second chance + fake dating + only one bed romance novel. (!!) The main character, Harriet, recently split from her fiance, Wyn, but they haven’t told their close-knit group of friends yet. And when they arrive for their annual friends’ trip to Maine, circumstances arise that make it definitely not the right time. How long can they keep up the charade?

I really just loved this, y’all. Book Lovers was fun because the characters had good chemistry and it turned tropes upside down, but this one just plain yanked at my heart. I started out listening while doing things like cleaning my house, but by halfway through I realized I needed to listen without any distractions because I was so invested.

For me, the magic of Emily Henry (so far) is that she’s really good at writing her characters into situations that feel realistic, impossible to cast aside, and deeply empathetic — two people who desperately love each other but also MUST live the lives that are right for each of them. In one pivotal scene, this book even made me cry. Like, tears streaming down my face cry. (Shout out to Julia Whelan’s voice acting for that one, too.)

I’m looking forward to finishing off EH’s backlist so I can give you a better ranking. But until then, read this ASAP!!

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Content and Trigger Warnings

• Death of a parent / grief

• Depression

• Sexual content

• Recreational alcohol and drug use

• Pregnancy (minor)

Take What You Need

Author: Idra Novey
Publisher: Viking
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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

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Cover Description

In her most powerful book yet, award-winning writer Idra Novey has conjured a novel of "astonishing and singular" honesty (Rumaan Alam) with two determined, unforgettable female voices.

Set in the Allegheny Mountains of Appalachia, Take What You Need tracks the aftermath of a long estrangement between a stepmother and daughter. Leah is a web editor and young mother who's sought an urban life and clean break from her rural childhood. But with her stepmother Jean's death, Leah must return to sort through what's been left behind.

What Leah discovers is astonishing: Jean has filled the house with giant sculptures she's welded from scraps of the area's industrial history. There's also a young man now living in the house who's played an unknown role in Jean's last years and in her art.

With great verve and humor, Idra Novey zeroes in on the joys and difficulty of family, the ease with which we let distance mute conflict, and the power we can draw from creative pursuits.

Passionate and resonant, Take What You Need explores the continuing mystery of the people we love most, and what can be built from what others have discarded--art, unexpected friendship, a new contentment of self. This is Idra Novey at her very best.

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TL;DR Review

Take What You Need is a quick but heartbreaking read about an estranged stepmother and stepdaughter with geographic, class, and political divides. The character and conflict work is just incredible.

For you if: You live for a really excellent character-driven novel.

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Full Review

I received a gifted copy of this book from Viking and was immediately struck by the powerhouse roundup of jacket blurbs. (Garth Greenwell, Rumaan Alam, Angie Cruz, Cathy Park Hong, Raven Leilani, more!!) I don’t know how it’s STILL managed to fly so far under the radar, but I need more of you to read it right now, please.

The narrative is told in the dual POVs of Jean, a bull-headed senior woman living alone and welding giant sculptures in the Allegheny Mountains; and Leah, who spent a few key formative years of her childhood as Jean’s stepdaughter. They’re estranged and haven’t spoken in years when Leah gets a call that Jean has died and left her sculptures to her. We see the key moments of Jean’s last few years (including her interactions with a teenage boy who lived next door), and a combination of flashbacks and her present-day trip to see the sculptures from Leah. That’s all I’ll say on the plot.

The book isn’t very long, and I read it in one sitting. And yet still, it really snuck up on me. This is one of those litfic books that’s excellent in a quieter way, with just plain really good fiction craft. The characters here — especially Jean — are so vivid and humanly flawed that it cracks your heart in two. They have complicated, realistic relationships and conflicts where everyone is both in the right and the wrong at the same time. It follows themes of regret, pride, love, motherhood, real art being something you do, and generational / geographical / class / political divides between people who love one another.

This is prize-worthy stuff, and I hope this book gets enough acclaim to be nominated for some good ones (maybe the National Book Award?). Jean, in particular, is going to stay with me for a long time. Please read it!

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Content and Trigger Warnings

• Death and grief

• Blood

• Homelessness

• Racist language and acts

• Drug use (minor)

White Cat, Black Dog

Author: Kelly Link, with illustrations by Shaun Tan
Publisher: Random House
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

Click above to buy this book from my Bookshop.org shop, which supports independent bookstores (not Amazon). You can also find it via your favorite indie bookstore here.

Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

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Cover Description

Seven ingeniously reinvented fairy tales that play out with astonishing consequences in the modern world, from one of today's finest short story writers--MacArthur "Genius Grant" Fellow Kelly Link, bestselling author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist Get in Trouble

Finding seeds of inspiration in the Brothers Grimm, seventeenth-century French lore, and Scottish ballads, Kelly Link spins classic fairy tales into utterly original stories of seekers--characters on the hunt for love, connection, revenge, or their own sense of purpose.

In "The White Cat's Divorce," an aging billionaire sends his three sons on a series of absurd goose chases to decide which will become his heir. In "The Girl Who Did Not Know Fear," a professor with a delicate health condition becomes stranded for days in an airport hotel after a conference, desperate to get home to her wife and young daughter, and in acute danger of being late for an appointment that cannot be missed. In "Skinder's Veil," a young man agrees to take over a remote house-sitting gig for a friend. But what should be a chance to focus on his long-avoided dissertation instead becomes a wildly unexpected journey, as the house seems to be a portal for otherworldly travelers--or perhaps a door into his own mysterious psyche.

Twisting and winding in astonishing ways, expertly blending realism and the speculative, witty, empathetic, and never predictable--these stories remind us once again of why Kelly Link is incomparable in the art of short fiction.

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TL;DR Review

White Cat, Black Dog is a delightfully weird little collection of stories inspired by fairy tales and folklore. It’s funny and layered and excellent.

For you if: You like weird short stories and/or fairy tale retellings.

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Full Review

This was my first read from MacArthur genius and Pulitzer finalist Kelly Link (I think her last collection came out in 2015), but it definitely won’t be the last. I can see that she’s a queen of short stories for a reason!

It helps that this collection (and the kinds of stories Link tends to write in general) is extremely my sh*t: A smart mix of modern-day realism with magic and speculative elements. These stories, specifically, are all inspired by fairy tales and folklore from across the globe. They’re super weird and sorta dark and often quite funny. We’re talking like, a third son whose father sends him on a quest and he ends up staying in a commune with a talking cat in Colorado, smoking weed. (That story is called “The White Cat’s Divorce” and I think it was my favorite one.)

I really liked the fact that each story notes which fairy tale inspired it so that I could look them up on Wikipedia before reading, if needed. They’re pretty loose “retellings,” so it was fun to try to make the connections and see how they inspired Link to go in the direction she went.

TLDR, this is an inventive and fun and layered collection, and I liked it very much!

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Content and Trigger Warnings

• Infidelity

• Drug use (weed)

• Blood

• Murder (minor)

Running While Black: Finding Freedom in a Sport That Wasn't Built for Us

Author: Alison Mariella Désir
Publisher: Portfolio
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

Click above to buy this book from my Bookshop.org shop, which supports independent bookstores (not Amazon). You can also find it via your favorite indie bookstore here.

Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

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Cover Description

A searing exposé on the whiteness of running, a supposedly egalitarian sport, and a call to reimagine the industry

"Runners know that running brings us to ourselves. But for Black people, the simple act of running has never been so simple. It is a declaration of the right to move through the world. If running is claiming public space, why, then, does it feel like a negotiation?"

Running saved Alison Désir's life. At rock bottom and searching for meaning and structure, Désir started marathon training, finding that it vastly improved both her physical and mental health. Yet as she became involved in the community and learned its history, she realized that the sport was largely built with white people in mind.

Running While Black draws on Désir's experience as an endurance athlete, activist, and mental health advocate to explore why the seemingly simple, human act of long distance running for exercise and health has never been truly open to Black people. Weaving historical context—from the first recreational running boom to the horrific murder of Ahmaud Arbery—together with her own story of growth in the sport, Désir unpacks how we got here and advocates for a world where everyone is free to safely experience the life-changing power of movement.

As America reckons with its history of white supremacy across major institutions, Désir argues that, as a litmus test for an inclusive society, the fitness industry has the opportunity to lead the charge--fulfilling its promise of empowerment.

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TL;DR Review

Running While Black is the perfect blend of memoir and hard-hitting social commentary. Desir’s focus on the running world is both narrow (making it feel particularly fascinating) and broad (illustrating its necessity.

For you if: You are interested in how racism affects niche areas of society.

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Full Review

"Runners know that running brings us to ourselves. But for Black people, the simple act of running has never been so simple. It is a declaration of the right to move through the world. If running is claiming public space, why, then, does it feel like a negotiation?"

I first heard about Running While Black in Anne Helen Petersen’s Culture Study newsletter (which, tbh, feels like how I get all my nonfiction reads lately). As a (hobby) runner and white woman, I knew I needed to read it. But honestly, I think this book would be interesting for anyone, even if you’re not a runner. Antiracism books like this — that focus on a more niche aspect of our broader society — are one way to go deeper into the work, making them so necessary (and interesting).

Running While Black manages the perfect blend between memory and hard-hitting social commentary. Désir founded the (now massive) running group Harlem Run in 2013 after she fell in love with running but noticed how white the spaces always were. She’s done a LOT since then, and her story was super engaging. As her the narrative of her antiracism work among the running community progresses, so does the book’s exploration of these issues and where they stand today. (Spoiler: It’s bad.)

I learned a lot from this book and will surely think about it every time I go out for a run. I absolutely recommend that you read it too.

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Content and Trigger Warnings

• Police brutality (remembering historic incidents)

• Racism and xenophobia

Chain of Thorns (The Last Hours, #3)

Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

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Cover Description

***Description is spoiler for Chain of Iron and Chain of Gold***

James and Cordelia must save London—and their marriage—in this thrilling and highly anticipated conclusion to the Last Hours series from the #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Cassandra Clare. Chain of Thorns is a Shadowhunters novel.

Cordelia Carstairs has lost everything that matters to her. In only a few short weeks, she has seen her father murdered, her plans to become parabatai with her best friend, Lucie, destroyed, and her marriage to James Herondale crumble before her eyes. Even worse, she is now bound to an ancient demon, Lilith, stripping her of her power as a Shadowhunter.

After fleeing to Paris with Matthew Fairchild, Cordelia hopes to forget her sorrows in the city’s glittering nightlife. But reality intrudes when shocking news comes from home: Tatiana Blackthorn has escaped the Adamant Citadel, and London is under new threat by the Prince of Hell, Belial.

Cordelia returns to a London riven by chaos and dissent. The long-kept secret that Belial is James and Lucie’s grandfather has been revealed by an unexpected enemy, and the Herondales find themselves under suspicion of dealings with demons. Cordelia longs to protect James but is torn between a love for James she has long believed hopeless, and the possibility of a new life with Matthew. Nor can her friends help—ripped apart by their own secrets, they seem destined to face what is coming alone.

For time is short, and Belial’s plan is about to crash into the Shadowhunters of London like a deadly wave, one that will separate Cordelia, Lucie, and the Merry Thieves from help of any kind. Left alone in a shadowy London, they must face Belial’s deadly army. If Cordelia and her friends are going to save their city—and their families—they will have to muster their courage, swallow their pride, and trust one another again. For if they fail, they may lose everything—even their souls.

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TL;DR Review

Chain of Thorns was a fine conclusion to a fine trilogy — entertaining, yes, but definitely not my favorite set of Shadowhunters books. The trilogy-long miscommunication trope was too much for me.

For you if: You like YA fantasy books with character D R A M A.

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Full Review

Chain of Thorns is the third and final book in The Last Hours trilogy, which represents books 13–15 of Cassandra Clare’s (core) set of Shadowhunter novels. They take place a few years after The Infernal Devices and follow Cordelia Carstairs (wielder of Cortana) and James Herondale (Tessa and Will’s son).

I mainly read this trilogy because, well, I can’t get 12 books into a universe and then just stop lol. But while these books were certainly entertaining — Cassandra Clare knows how to write a good central mystery — it was my least favorite Shadowhunters series so far. (The Dark Artifices reigns supreme. IYKYK.)

Thing is, The Last Hours is one big (BIG! These books are like 800 pages long! Where is her editor!) miscommunication trope. Throw a love triangle in for good measure. They are about D-R-A-M-A, but it was just too drawn out for my taste. I understand why she did it, given the book’s central theme about letting others in and not carrying a burden on your own, because when you hurt yourself you hurt the ones you love — but still. It stopped being fun for me at like, the end of book one.

As for this book in particular, I thought it was better than book two, but it still fell a little flat for me. There was a character death that didn’t feel like it was given enough weight, James made me roll my eyes, and Cordelia got frustrating. The ending was good, but I don’t know if it was I’ve-been-waiting-three-books-for-this-and-I-hope-it-saves-the-trilogy-for-me good.

It sounds like I hated these books, lol, which I didn’t. They were fast-paced and entertaining and kept my eyes glued to the page. But I know Cassandra Clare can (and has) given us better.

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Content and Trigger Warnings

• Alcoholism/addiction (severe trigger)

• Violence, death and grief

• Homophobia

• Sexual content

• Pregnancy (minor)

Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies

Author: Maddie Mortimer
Publisher: Scribner
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

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Cover Description

This lyrical debut novel is at once a passionate coming-of-age story, a meditation on illness and death, and a kaleidoscopic journey through one woman’s life—told in part by the malevolent voice of her disease.

Lia, her husband Harry, and their beloved daughter, Iris, are a precisely balanced family of three. With Iris struggling to navigate the social tightrope of early adolescence, their tender home is a much-needed refuge. But when a sudden diagnosis threatens to derail each of their lives, the secrets of Lia’s past come rushing into the present, and the world around them begins to transform.

Deftly guided through time, we discover the people who shaped Lia’s youth; from her deeply religious mother to her troubled first love. In turn, each will take their place in the shifting landscape of Lia’s body; at the center of which dances a gleeful narrator, learning her life from the inside, growing more emboldened by the day.

Pivoting between the domestic and the epic, the comic and the heart-breaking, this astonishing novel unearths the darkness and levity of one woman’s life to symphonic effect.

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TL;DR Review

Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies is an unconventional, heartbreaking, extremely beautiful book about a woman dying of cancer. It’s part poetry, part narrative, and unlike anything else.

For you if: You like books that play with language in unique ways, and you don’t mind feeling a little bit unmoored in the story as you read.

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Full Review

Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies was longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize. I’m so glad it was, because otherwise I would probably never have picked it up — and it was both heartbreaking and incredibly beautiful. In fact, I’m shocked this didn’t make the shortlist.

Part poetry, part narrative, this book is super unconventional. It’s about a woman named Lia, who has cancer. It alternates between sections that feel more traditional, in which we get Lia’s story (both her present-day relationship with her husband and fierce daughter, and her heavy past), and those that are told (abstractly) from the POV of what most people interpret as her cancer itself.

If you love books that play with language in creative ways — including poetic, unconventional typesetting — you will love this book. On the other hand, if you’re uncomfortable feeling a little bit unmoored inside a story, you may not. If you stop to try to interpret or “understand” every paragraph, you’ll quickly become frustrated. Because so much reads like poetry, you have to let yourself sink in and be swept away, trusting Mortimer to carry you out the other side (she will). I listened along as I read in print (do NOT skip the print copy, I beg you), and that approach really helped me do it.

Mortimer wrote this book in tribute to her mother who died of cancer, and the rendering is exquisite. The slight dizziness of the reading experience interprets the experience of having a loved one (or self) with a terminal illness, the foreignness and familiarity of the body, the inescapable momentum of it all. Where is the line between self and body, trauma and invasion? Perhaps there is none.

There is a lot more I could say — about Iris, Lia’s daughter, and how expertly she was written. About Lia’s difficult mother, or upbringing in religion, or relationship with her sexuality. About the complicated kind of abuse and toxicity that shaped her life. But I’m running out of space! So please, do yourself a favor and read this book.

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Content and Trigger Warnings

• Cancer, terminal illness

• Death of a parent

• Sexual content

• Bullying

The Faithless (Magic of the Lost, #2)

Author: C.L. Clark
Publisher: Orbit
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

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Cover Description

***Description is spoiler for The Unbroken***

In the second installment of C.L. Clark's Magic of the Lost trilogy, soldier Touraine and princess Luca must return to Balladaire to reclaim Luca's throne and to face the consequences of dismantling an empire.

The rebels have won, and the empire is withdrawing from Qazal. But undoing the tangled web that binds the two nations will not be easy, and Touraine and Luca will face their greatest challenge yet.

Luca needs to oust her uncle from the Balladairan throne once and for all and take her rightful place as Queen. But he won't let go of power so easily. When he calls for a "Trial of Competence" and Luca's allies start disappearing from her side, she will need to find a way to prove her might. And she knows someone who can help...

Touraine has found a home in the newly free country of Qazal. But she soon realizes that leading a country and leading a revolution are two very different tasks. And, even more importantly, if Luca's uncle doesn't ratify the treaty, the Qazali could end up right back where they started. 

Together, the two women will have to come overcome their enemies, their history, and their heartbreak in order to find a way to secure Luca's power and Touraine's freedom. 

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TL;DR Review

The Faithless, sequel to The Unbroken, is a pretty good book two. I found the pacing a little uneven, but the ending was great and I’m looking forward to book three.

For you if: You read and liked The Unbroken (lesbians + magic + dismantling colonialism).

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Full Review

Thank you, Orbit, for the review copy of The Faithless! This is the second book of C.L. Clark’s Magic of the Lost trilogy, the first of which (The Unbroken) I enjoyed a lot. I liked this one a lot, too.

To recap without spoilers, the Magic of the Lost trilogy is about two countries, Qazāl (colony) and Balladaire (colonizer), which are inspired by a historical Morocco and France. Tourraine begins The Unbroken as a Qazāl conscript in the Balladairan army. Luca is the princess of Balladaire, waiting until she’s old enough to be crowned while her uncle rules as regent. Also, the Qazāli have a magic rooted in their faith, while Balladaire has outlawed all religion (and magic). The Unbroken takes place in Qazāl and focuses on the Qazālis’ rebellion, and The Faithless picks up a few months later and mostly takes place in Balladaire. (Also yes, these books are very sapphic.)

My main criticism — although it’s not a loud one — is that I found the pacing uneven. All the action happens in the second half, especially the last 20% or so. (That’s pretty common for a second book; the author has resolved the first big plot arc and turns their attention to deeper character development.) But while I was impatient for more action, I can also say that I was never bored. I loved getting to know our main characters better and some characters (Sabine! Pruett!) for the first time.

But overall, I remain deeply impressed by Clark’s nuanced depiction of colonialism and how hard it is to disentangle it — to overthrow from a rebellion’s perspective, to dismantle from the inside, and to undo its effects on how people see themselves and each other. I can’t wait to see where the story goes in the trilogy’s final book.

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Content and Trigger Warnings

• Colonialism/colonization

• Violence and death

• Murder

• Grief

• Child abuse

What We Fed to the Manticore

Author: Talia Lakshmi Kolluri
Publisher: Tin House
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

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Cover Description

Through nine emotionally vivid stories, all narrated from animal perspectives, Talia Lakshmi Kolluri’s debut collection explores themes of environmentalism, conservation, identity, belonging, loss, and family with resounding heart and deep tenderness. In Kolluri’s pages, a faithful hound mourns the loss of the endangered rhino he swore to protect. Vultures seek meaning as they attend to the antelope that perished in Central Asia. A beloved donkey’s loyalty to a zookeeper in Gaza is put to the ultimate test. And a wounded pigeon in Delhi finds an unlikely friend.

In striking, immersive detail against the backdrop of an ever-changing international landscape, What We Fed to the Manticore speaks to the fears and joys of the creatures we share our world with, and ultimately places the reader under the rich canopy of the tree of life.

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TL;DR Review

I absolutely loved What We Fed to the Manticore. It’s a collection of beautifully rendered short stories, all from the perspective of animals, ruminating on grief, hope, war, and climate change. Please read it.

For you if: You like deeply resonant stories that play with atypical narrators and forms.

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Full Review

What We Fed to the Manticore has been on my radar since it came out, but its inclusion on the Aspen Words Literary Prize longlist AND the Carol Shields Prize longlist bumped it up on my list. And I’m so glad it did. This collection is smart, creative, and beautifully rendered.

This is a slim book of nine short stories, each of which is told from the perspective (sometimes first person, sometimes third) of a different animal all over the world. For example, we have a donkey in Gaza, vultures in Asia, and a pigeon in Delhi. Sometimes they can converse with humans, and sometimes they can’t — the reason for which is explained in the author’s note — and some are like fables, some deeper or more narrative.

The wonder of this book is that it’s so much more than a simple look inside these animals’ heads or anthropomorphism for its own sake. It’s teeming with humanity and resonance with the state of the world today — climate change, grief, war, family, and home. It can be heavy, definitely heart-wrenching, but it will also draw you in and hook your heart.

If you like short stories — or really, even if you don’t usually, because I think these do a good job of feeling complete without leaving you wanting more — definitely pick this collection up.

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Content and Trigger Warnings

• Animal death and cruelty

• Death of a child

• War and violence

The River of Silver: Tales from the Daevabad Trilogy

Author: S.A. Chakraborty
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

Click above to buy this book from my Bookshop.org shop, which supports independent bookstores (not Amazon). You can also find it via your favorite indie bookstore here.

Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

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Cover Description

Bestselling author S. A. Chakraborty's acclaimed Daevabad Trilogy gets expanded with this new compilation of stories from before, during, and after the events of The City of Brass, The Kingdom of Copper, and The Empire of Gold, all from the perspective of characters both beloved and hated, and even those without a voice in the novels. The River of Silver gathers material both seen and new—including a special coda fans will need to read—making this the perfect complement to those incredible novels.

Now together in one place, these stories of Daevabad enrich a world already teeming with magic and wonder. Explore this magical kingdom, hidden from human eyes. A place where djinn live and thrive, fight and love. A world where princes question their power, and powerful demons can help you...or destroy you.

A prospective new queen joins a court whose lethal history may overwhelm her own political savvy...

An imprisoned royal from a fallen dynasty and a young woman wrenched from her home cross paths in an enchanted garden…

A pair of scouts stumble upon a secret in a cursed winter wood that will turn over their world...

From Manizheh's first steps towards rebellion to adventures that take place after The Empire of Gold, this is a must-have collection for those who can't get enough of Nahri, Ali, and Dara and all that unfolded around them.

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TL;DR Review

The River of Silver is nothing less than a gift to Daevabad lovers, from the bottom of S.A. Chakraborty’s heart. I loved being back in this world.

For you if: You read and loved the Daevabad trilogy.

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Full Review

S.A. Chakraborty’s Daevabad trilogy is one of my favorites. And what a joy it was to be back in this world, with these characters!

The River of Silver is a collection of supplementary stories and chapters set before, during, and after The City of Brass, The Kingdom of Copper, and The Empire of Gold. And while Chakraborty gives a heads up about timeline and spoilers at the start of each one, I think you’re best off reading this collection after the whole main trilogy.

There’s nothing revolutionary here, nothing that really changes anything, but it was a delight to get to know some of the characters a little bit better, see some of the before-times and in-between moments in detail, and even read an alternative epilogue. I especially loved the chance to get more Muntadhir and Jamshid (although I wish we could have had some steamy scenes lol — pls send fics 😉).

I ended up listening to most of these stories via audiobook; they were the perfect comforting companion as I worked on a sewing project. If you loved the Daevabad trilogy like I did, pick this one up!

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Content and Trigger Warnings

• Murder, war, and violence

• Homophobia

• Death of a parent

Dyscalculia: A Love Story of Epic Miscalculation

Author: Camonghne Felix
Publisher: One World
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

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Cover Description

An epic meditation on loving yourself in the face of heartbreak, from the acclaimed author of Build Yourself a Boat, longlisted for the National Book Award

When Camonghne Felix goes through a monumental breakup, culminating in a hospital stay, everything—from her early childhood trauma and mental health to her relationship with mathematics—shows up in the tapestry of her healing. In this exquisite and raw reflection, Felix repossesses herself through the exploration of history she'd left behind, using her childhood "dyscalculia"—a disorder that makes it difficult to learn math—as a metaphor for the consequences of her miscalculations in love. Through reckoning with this breakup and other adult gambles in intimacy, Felix asks the question: Who gets to assert their right to pain?

Dyscalculia negotiates the misalignments of perception and reality, love and harm, and the politics of heartbreak, both romantic and familial.

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TL;DR Review

Dyscalculia is a hard-hitting, strikingly original little book about a messy breakup amid the author’s lifelong struggle with trauma and mental illness. It’s a very quick read that will definitely make for a strong reread.

For you if: You like memoirs written in vignettes, and/or prose by poets.

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Full Review

Dyscalculia had so many incredible blurbs on the back (Raven Leilani, Deesha Philyaw, Kiese Laymon!) that I simply had to pick it up. It’s a very quick read — only two hours on audio at 1x — but man, it packs a big punch.

Dyscalculia is a condition caused by trauma that results in an intense struggle with math. This book is a memoir written in vignettes in which Felix uses the poetic nature of math (and her childhood dyscalculia) to ground her experiences with childhood abuse, a lifelong struggle to get an accurate diagnosis of her mental illness, the implosion of a relationship, and making it through to the other side. It’s raw and unapologetic, and it turns on a dime between humor and devastation (to great effect).

“Enjoyed” is a strange word to use with this book because of its heavy nature, but it’s excellent. The audiobook is read by the author and very good, but I recommend listening along as you read on the page; by listening only, you’d lose most of the effect of the vignettes and, by extension, the poetic power of Felix’s prose.

Because this is so short, I read it in one sitting, but it’s definitely one of those books that begs a reread (or two or five).

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Content and Trigger Warnings

• Pedophilia/childhood rape

• Self-harm

• Suicidal thoughts

• Severe mental illness

• Infidelity

• Abortion (minor)

Arca (The Five Queendoms, #2)

Author: G.R. Macallister
Publisher: Saga
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

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Cover Description

***Description is a spoiler for Scorpica***

Return to the Five Queendoms in the sequel to Scorpica, a sweeping epic fantasy that Rebecca Roanhorse called “ambitious and engaging,” in which a centuries-long peace is shattered in a matriarchal society when a decade passes without a single girl being born.

The Drought of Girls has ended, but the rift it broke open between the Queendoms is not so easily healed. Political tensions roil the senate of Paxim, where Queen Heliane vows to make her son Paulus the nation’s first ruling King or die trying. Scorpican troops amass on the border of Arca, ready to attack. And within Arca itself, its young, unready queen finds her court a nest of vipers and her dreams besieged by a mysterious figure with unknown intentions.

As iron and magic clash on the battlefield and powerful women scheme behind the scenes, danger and violence abound. Can anyone stop chaos from ripping the Queendoms apart?

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TL;DR Review

Arca is the second book in the Five Queendoms series, and I think it was even stronger than book one (Scorpica). I’m definitely enjoying these enough to want the next book!

For you if: You like sweeping epic fantasy with lots of characters, geographies, and plotlines.

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Full Review

Arca is book two of G.R. Macallister’s Five Queendoms series. It’s the sequel to Scorpica, which I read last year and liked enough to keep going. I’m happy to report that Arca is even better. It’s going to be tricky to review it without including any spoilers for book one, but here goes.

The Five Queendoms series has been called a “matriarchal Game of Thrones,” and while nothing is truly like Game of Thrones, the comparison isn’t totally off. There are (you guessed it) five queendoms at play in this world, many people are vying for the crowns, and the books jump between the POVs of many different characters across all of those realms. It’s a sprawling, true epic fantasy. It’s also matriarchal, but not in a utopic sense — in fact, the men in this world are treated pretty darn badly (kind of like women in GOT, but thankfully without the sexual violence). At the start of the series, the Drought of Girls begins — no girls are born for basically an entire generation — which you can imagine causes quite a bit of chaos and political unrest.

The execution of all this wasn’t terrible in Scorpica, but it was a little rocky. But Macallister really found her groove here in Arca, and the structure felt much smoother, especially as it related to POV switches and time jumps. That gave it more momentum in a good way. I also loved the doomed romance plotline in this book. Oh, my heart.

I don’t know how many books we’re going to get in this series (five, I’d presume, but I don’t think that’s certain), but there will be a book three next year. After liking but not loving Scorpica, I wanted to read Arca before I decided whether I’d continue with the series. Now I can definitely say I’m excited for book three!

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Content and Trigger Warnings

• War and violence

• Death and grief

• Pregnancy and childbirth

• Animal death

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi (Amina al-Sirafi, #1)

Author: Shannon Chakraborty
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

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Cover Description

Amina al-Sirafi should be content. After a storied and scandalous career as one of the Indian Ocean’s most notorious pirates, she’s survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon to retire peacefully with her family to a life of piety, motherhood, and absolutely nothing that hints of the supernatural.

But when she’s tracked down by the obscenely wealthy mother of a former crewman, she’s offered a job no bandit could refuse: retrieve her comrade’s kidnapped daughter for a kingly sum. The chance to have one last adventure with her crew, do right by an old friend, and win a fortune that will secure her family’s future forever? It seems like such an obvious choice that it must be God’s will.

Yet the deeper Amina dives, the more it becomes alarmingly clear there’s more to this job, and the girl’s disappearance, than she was led to believe. For there’s always risk in wanting to become a legend, to seize one last chance at glory, to savor just a bit more power… and the price might be your very soul.

Shannon Chakraborty, the bestselling author of The City of Brass, spins a new trilogy of magic and mayhem on the high seas in this tale of pirates and sorcerers, forbidden artifacts and ancient mysteries, in one woman’s determined quest to seize a final chance at glory—and write her own legend.

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TL;DR Review

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi is an adventurous, swashbuckling, gloriously fun time with an incredible cast of characters. It’s the start of a series (but feels like a standalone) and I can’t wait for more in this world!

For you if: You like pirate stories (especially when the pirate is a badass 40-year-old Muslim woman).

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Full Review

Shannon Chakraborty is a favorite author of mine, so I’ve been looking forward to The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi ever since it was announced. A pirate fantasy featuring a middle-aged woman main character? Say less!! And y’all, it does NOT disappoint.

At the heart of this story, of course, we have Amina al-Sirafi, a sexually liberated Muslim retired pirate in her 40s currently focused on raising her daughter. But when the head of a powerful and wealthy family tracks her down and offers Amina a life-changing sum to rescue her kidnapped granddaughter, Amina can’t refuse. She gathers her crew — including Dalila, poison master and Christian refugee; Tinbu, her first mate who really loves his cat; Majed, master navigator who worked with Amina’s father before her — and sets out. Oh, and did I mention that Amina was married to a super-hot demon?

This book is the start of a new series, but it could read like a standalone. Needless to say, I loved it. As you can tell, it stands out on its incredible cast of lovable characters alone. But it was also a very fun read; it’s definitely adventurous, but it’s also not as episodic as I expected from the title. There’s plenty of time to get to know these characters as they prepare to set off. And a super heartwarming revelation at the end that just sealed the deal of me loving it.

Also of note, this one was fab on audio! It kept me company as I peeled wallpaper in my house for hours, lol. Can’t wait for more books with these characters in this world!!

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Content and Trigger Warnings

• Violence, death

• Body horror

• Transphobia

• Threat of sexual assault

Lucy by the Sea (Amgash, #4)

Author: Elizabeth Strout
Publisher: Random House
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

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Cover Description

From Pulitzer Prize-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Strout comes a poignant, pitch perfect novel about a former couple in lockdown together--and the love, loss, despair, and hope that animate us even as the world seems to be falling apart.

With her trademark spare, crystalline prose--a voice infused with "intimate, fragile, desperate humanness" (The Washington Post)--Elizabeth Strout once again turns her exquisitely-tuned eye to the inner workings of the human heart, this time following the indomitable heroine of My Name Is Lucy Barton and Oh William! through the early days of the pandemic.

As a panicked world goes into lockdown, Lucy Barton is uprooted from her life in Manhattan and bundled away to a small town in Maine by her ex-husband and longtime friend, William. For the next several months, it's just Lucy, William, and their complex past together in a little house nestled against the moody, swirling sea. They will not emerge unscathed.

Rich with empathy and emotion, Lucy by the Sea vividly captures the fear, struggles, and isolation that come with life in a global pandemic, as well as the hope, peace, and possibilities that those long, quiet days can inspire. At the heart of this story are the deep human connections that unite us even when we're apart--the pain of a beloved daughter's suffering, the emptiness that comes from the death of a loved one, the promise of a new friendship, and the comfort of an old, enduring love. "We all live with people--and places--and things--that we have given great weight to," Lucy says. "But we are weightless, in the end."

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TL;DR Review

Lucy By the Sea is another cozy, resonant novel by Elizabeth Strout. While I didn’t love it as much as I’d hoped, watching Lucy process the pandemic does feel almost therapeutic for we who lived it.

For you if: You love Elizabeth Strout novels (and have read the other Amgash books).

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Full Review

Lucy By the Sea is the fourth book in Elizabeth Strout’s Amgash series, which features the beloved protagonist Lucy Barton. I’ve heard from many people that this is their favorite Amgash book. While I still think Anything Is Possible was my favorite, Lucy By the Sea delivers yet another of Strout’s signature quiet, resonant reading experiences.

This one follows Lucy and William through the COVID-19 lockdown; William convinces Lucy to leave NYC for a seaside cottage in Maine, and we re-experience all the anxiety and turmoil from those early pandemic days alongside them. I was afraid this would feel triggering, but for me at least, I found that watching Lucy process these feelings was surprisingly therapeutic. And of course, this is Elizabeth Strout, so the book is also about relationships, growth, and the emotions that make us human. I particularly loved getting to know her daughters so much better. (Also, there is a small crossover with Olive Kitteridge, which was fun.)

While I did enjoy this one, I think I may have read it too soon after Oh William! to truly love it. Without getting into spoilers, SEA did feel like it reversed some of the choices Strout made in WILLIAM, to its detriment in my opinion. Lucy’s extreme dependence on anyone but herself also started to get to me. But at the same time, she’s such a kind person experiencing relatable things, and Strout writes relationships and interiority so well, that Lucy has also started to feel like a friend.

If Strout writes more Amgash books, I’ll gladly read them.

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Content and Trigger Warnings

• COVID pandemic

• Death and grief

• Miscarriage and infertility

• Infidelity

• Eating disorder (minor)