Happy release day to It Looks Like You in the Dark by Mathilda Zeller! The first in her new Kobuk Valley series, this horror novel centers Iñupiat people, history, and folklore. It takes place in an Indigenous Alaskan village in 1994, and white men have just arrived to mine, heedless of the health issues their... Continue Reading →
Today, Kelley Armstrong releases her latest horror novel, Dive Bar at the End of the Road. This is my second time reading her, but what a different book this one is! It starts with Ellie, driving down a dark road in the woods, a bit disoriented about the time. Suddenly a woman is right in... Continue Reading →
Last week saw the release of Something Followed Us Home: Tales of Latiné Horror, edited by Cynthia Pelayo. This anthology features 18 short stories by a variety of Latine authors. Some I've read and enjoyed before, such as Isabel Cañas, Zoraida Córdova, and Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro. Some are authors I've been wanting to read, including Mariana... Continue Reading →
Earlier this year, I enjoyed R.J. Valldeperas's YA debut, Their Will Undone, and I've been eager to read more from her. Today, her adult debut is available: Daughter of the Dark, the first in the Daughters of Auquis series. Set in a fantastical South American world, it follows a demon hunter, Solana. But when a... Continue Reading →
It was four years ago when I first learned about Afong Moy, purported to be the first Chinese woman to live in the United States. In the debut novel by Bo Wang, The Chinese Lady, we get a fictionalized account of her life in the 1830s and 1850s. From China to New York to San... Continue Reading →
It's been five years since I read Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas, and I was excited to finally revisit the characters in its long-awaited sequel, Cemetery Boys: Espíritu. Following the events of the first book, this one picks up shortly after, with Christmas fast approaching. But Julian is being haunted, and neither Yadriel nor Maritza... Continue Reading →
One of my most anticipated books of the year is out today: An Immaculate Deception by Isabela Livino. This debut horror takes readers to 1877 in Brazil. Madalena is young and pregnant, and the only way she'll be allowed to keep her baby is if her beau, Leandro, marries her. Madalena is excited to tell... Continue Reading →
Robert de la Chevotière has just released his second adult novel, The Twelfth House. Set mainly between the 1770s and 1830s in Dominica, this book gives voice to the people stolen from their home in Dahomey (in present-day Benin) and enslaved by a cruel white man in the Caribbean. But an unborn soul is witness... Continue Reading →
Earlier this year, Amy DuBois Barnett released her debut novel, If I Ruled the World. Set mainly between 1999 and 2001, it follows Nikki Rose in her career in magazines. Despite just getting a promotion at a prominent fashion magazine, Nikki wants to work somewhere that uplifts Black people, so she makes the risky move... Continue Reading →
This week sees the release of Kailee Pedersen's sophomore novel, The Minimalist. Mia Voss is a composer, long mentored by the brilliant but harsh Ryder Wakefield. But then Ryder's son Oliver (also Mia's former boyfriend) dies by suicide; Ryder passes away not long after, leaving Mia to finish his final orchestra composition, titled Death Fugue.... Continue Reading →
These past three years I have been loving Liana De la Rosa's historical romances, so I was intrigued that she was going to step into the contemporary romance category. Mutual Discord follows Sofia Mendoza, a 31-year-old who has been successful in her marketing career up until now. Recently laid off, she's spending her newfound free... 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 →
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 →
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 →
Happy release day to the English translation of The Summer of the Serpent by Cecilia Eudave. First released in Spanish in 2022, this novella takes place in the summer of 1977 in Guadalajara, Mexico. Two daughters witness bizarre horrors in their neighborhood, while the adults are wrapped up in their more mundane problems, unaware of... Continue Reading →
Earlier this month, Jasmine Holmes released her debut novel, Our Sister's Keeper. Set in the all-Black town of East Cobb, Mississippi in the 1920s, it follows two women who live in this seemingly utopian city. Thea has just moved there with her husband, Kid, but immediately feels like she won't fit in. Thea wants a... Continue Reading →
I recently learned about a new author, R.J. Valldeperas, whose books draw from her Peruvian and Venezuelan heritage. I'm currently in Lima, my husband's home city, and have been craving more books set in and around Peru. I first heard of her upcoming adult fantasy... but then saw she also had a YA fantasy coming... Continue Reading →
Happy release day to Cynthia Gómez's debut novella, Muñeca. This has been high on my list since I first learned about it, and what a compelling and quick read it turned out to be. It's set in Orinda, California in 1968. Natalia used to help her mom cleaning at the affluent Miramontes home, and it... Continue Reading →
I've been looking forward to Keshe Chow's adult debut, Strange Familiars, which just came out a couple weeks ago. The first in the Seamere College Duology, it's set in a magical version of our world at a London university, where two veterinary science majors are competing for the top spot upon graduation. Gwendolynne Chan and... Continue Reading →
I read and enjoyed Vaishnavi Patel's first two novels, and I've been excited for her latest release, We Dance Upon Demons. This is a bit of a departure from her earlier works, most notably because it's contemporary fantasy as opposed to historical fantasy. It's also very heavily focused on current issues regarding abortion rights and... Continue Reading →
This year I've been increasingly drawn to horror novels set around the world, including African horror in particular. House of Margins by Tlotlo Tsamaase piqued my interest for its setting in both Botswana and South Africa, its focus on African literature, and a missing person mystery told through the lens of a true crime podcast.... Continue Reading →
I really enjoyed Julian Winters's adult debut, I Think They Love You, early last year, and I've been excited for more from him. The 24 Carter Gold series continues with Last First Kiss, in which Jordan and Jamie find their way to each other. Both were introduced in the previous book, and here we get... Continue Reading →
I loved Katie Holt's debut novel, Not in My Book, and I've been looking forward to her next book. It's out this week: The Last Page, about a NYC bookstore that must carry on after the beloved owner has passed away. Ella has been a manager there for years, and Leo had told her he'd... Continue Reading →
