Last week I read Shannon Morgan's 2025 book, Grimdark, and I was excited to get into her brand new book, A Penance for Crows. This Gothic thriller takes place on a remote Irish island, Beanna Dubh, where 62-year-old Grizela has always been treated like an outsider. Not only is she Scottish, but she also spends... Continue Reading →
A debut novel I've been eagerly anticipating this year just came out: The Night Hunter by Natalie Moss. Two sisters, Danielle and Grace, grew up partially on a reserve in South Africa, but the family has become divided over the years. When their mother dies, Danielle and Grace meet up on the reserve, ready to... Continue Reading →
I adored A.K. Caggiano's Villains & Virtues series opener, Throne in the Dark, so I couldn't wait to continue the trilogy. The second book is Summoned to the Wilds, re-released earlier this year. Picking up right where the first installment left off, Summoned to the Wilds follows a newly "kidnapped" Amma and Damien down a winding road... Continue Reading →
Last December, Nadia Davids released her novel, Cape Fever. Set in 1920 in an unnamed city in South Africa, it follows Soraya, a young Muslim woman working as a maid for an English woman, Mrs. Hattingh. Her new employer requires her to live at the house, and she rarely gets a chance to see her... Continue Reading →
I always love a romance set in Scotland, so I couldn't miss Naina Kumar's new book, Just a Highland Fling. Neelu has barely seen her dad since her parents separated when she was a kid. But now her dad is remarrying, so she goes to Aberdeen, Scotland to attend the wedding. While in town she... Continue Reading →
Last year Shannon Morgan released her third novel, Grimdark. With her fourth book just around the corner, I wanted to catch up on this one first. Grimdark starts off when Cló's husband, Jude, unexpectedly inherits his estranged family's estate in Norfolk. The couple travel there to oversee the new ownership, but Jude's cruel, much older... Continue Reading →
I hadn't read anything by Ashley Winstead before, but I was curious about her newest release, Hot Girl Murder Club. A string of murders points to a singer, of all people, as the most likely suspect, leading to a web of complicated and overlapping stories of abuse in Hollywood... and the vengeance someone is seeking.... Continue Reading →
Whether she's writing horror, historical fiction, or fantasy, I always enjoy Silvia Moreno-Garcia's books. Her newest release is The Intrigue, a noir set in a small Mexican town in 1943. Ulises Linares was born and raised to be a conman, and he's hoping to finally make a big score by wedding a wealthy spinster. So... Continue Reading →
Alexandra Kennington has been on my radar since her 2025 duology starter, Blood Beneath the Snow. Later this year, she will release a new novel, Drown the Bones, through Berkley XO. I was happy to read a 12-chapter preview of it; this sneak peek certainly left me wanting more! Merridan is the younger twin; her... Continue Reading →
Charlotte Cross's debut novel, The Brides, just came out this week. This is for all the Dracula fans out there: In this retelling, we get accounts from Mafalda Lowell, Lucy North, schoolfriend Eliza, and lady’s maid Alice from their travels to Budapest and Transylvania in 1884. Twenty years later, Dr. John Seward is a psychiatric... Continue Reading →
In a few months, Charlotte B. Plumb will release her debut novel, Reap & Sow, via the new crossover imprint, Berkley XO. This imprint is meant to have appeal for both Adult and Young Adult audiences. Reap & Sow is a slow-burn romantasy about Eda, a young woman forced to make a pact with a... Continue Reading →
These past few years, I've been enjoying Felicia Grossman's Once Upon the East End series. Each story centers Jewish characters finding love in 1830s London, and each is a gender-flipped fairytale retelling. The latest release is Dearest Beast, inspired by Beauty and the Beast. When Rebecca Adler's home and business gets blown up by an... Continue Reading →
I can't believe it's already been five years since I read David Heska Wanbli Weiden's debut novel, Winter Counts. Time has flown by, and at long last, the author is back with a sequel: Wisdom Corner. We return to South Dakota's Rosebud Indian Reservation and our favorite vigilante, Virgil Wounded Horse. It's been a year... Continue Reading →
One of my all-time favorite novels is Jane Eyre, and I always enjoy reading retellings of it. And so I couldn't resist reading Marian Yee's debut, 4 Janes. This book is divided into four reimaginings of Jane, two continuing from Charlotte Brontë's established storytelling, and two drawing up entirely new versions of the titular character.... Continue Reading →
I grew up poor. We weren't quite in poverty, and we were lucky to have some safety nets, but lack of money was a constant theme. As an adult, I've continued to have a particular focus on economic issues, and I've been interested in Matthew Desmond's lauded 2023 book, Poverty, by America. I've finally read... Continue Reading →
As a lifelong fan of horror, I was intrigued by Mallory Arnold's debut novel, How to Survive a Horror Story. It follows a group of seven authors (aspiring and published) who have been invited to the reading of a will. Iconic horror author Mortimer Queen has passed away, and he has bequeathed something special to... Continue Reading →
Amanda's Book Corner 