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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
If you've ever felt nostalgic for indie rock music or the 2010s, you need to read Gabrielle Korn's new coming-of-age novel, Long Island Girls. It starts when Susan is a teenager in 2005; she meets a girl from a different high school, Eliza, and thus begins her queer awakening and a decades-long obsession. Susan meets... Continue Reading →
In the past few years I've been getting into demon romances. So when I heard about Once Upon a Demon's Heart by K.M. Moronova, the first in her Cruel Fates duology, I was intrigued. It was originally published last year and is now being republished by Bloom Books. Alira is a demigod knight stuck in... Continue Reading →
Happy book birthday to You Won't Forget Me by Mazey Eddings! This was one of my most anticipated romances this year. It's my first time reading this author, but I always love a book with music at its core. Here, Cubby Clark is the frontwoman for an up-and-coming band, but they're off to a rough... 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 →
Happy book birthday to Harper St. George's The Dove and the Rogue! This is the final novel in her Doves of New York trilogy, set up so brilliantly in the previous book, Eliza and the Duke. I was sad when Berkley didn’t pick up the third story in the trilogy. (Traditional publishing's general move away... Continue Reading →
A book I've been looking forward to all year is Startup Hell by Caitlin Rozakis. When her boss summons a demon and promptly dies, Morgan suddenly has a problem on her hands. But both she and Lucareoth (Luke) are just trying to meet their respective sales quotas, and he's now stuck on her plane, so... 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 →
Sunyi Dean's new novel, The Girl with a Thousand Faces, was one of my most anticipated releases this year. Divided between 1940s and 1970s Hong Kong, it follows Mercy, a middle-aged woman with a knack for talking to ghosts and sending them on their way. But Mercy has no memories before the age of 20,... Continue Reading →
Amanda's Book Corner 