Books written, published, or set in the 2020s.
I needed a little help getting into the Halloween spirit, and The Bewitching seemed like the perfect solution. Witches, dark academia, gothic atmosphere, three timelines, and a mysterious disappearance? Yes, please. Here’s what I thought of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s latest spooky read.
The cover of Strange Houses immediately caught my attention. Floor plans, a strange mystery, visual puzzles? Sign me up. Unfortunately, the book inside didn’t quite live up to the intriguing package. Here’s why this short Japanese mystery left me disappointed.
I expected Nomad to be a quiet story about grief and life in the Arizona desert. I didn’t expect it to hit quite so close to home. Cynthia A. Johnstone’s debut surprised me with its beautiful writing, complicated characters, and one very persistent stray dog. Here’s why this one stayed with me.
I don’t consider myself a horror reader.
Which makes it particularly funny that I requested a book about blood witches, body horror, magical science, and a creepy mansion in the Appalachian Mountains.
But *The Forest Bleeds* caught my attention on NetGalley with two words: “arcane bioengineering.” Add a blood witch and a gorgeous cover, and apparently that was enough to make me click Request.
I’m glad I did.
Rachel Kitch blends science and magic into a creepy, atmospheric story with complicated characters, dark academia vibes, and enough hopefulness to balance out the horror. I even gobbled it up in two days.
Sometimes following the thing that makes you curious leads you somewhere you didn’t expect to enjoy.
Read my review of *The Forest Bleeds* to find out why this non-horror reader is already feeling ready for spooky season.
I don't read a lot of dark romance, which means K!ll for Me was something of an experiment for me. I went into it with an open mind. I wanted...
What do you do when a book has a fascinating premise but doesn’t quite live up to its potential?
*Haven Lives* pulled me in with foster care, childhood trauma, biotechnology, and a villain determined to cheat death. The premise had all the ingredients of an unsettling psychological thriller.
But as I read, I found myself asking more questions about the story than the story was answering.
I wanted to love this one. Instead, I found a book with some genuinely interesting ideas that needed more development to reach their full potential.
Read my review to see what worked, what didn’t, and why I still think there might be a really good story hiding inside *Haven Lives*.
A mystery that knows it’s a mystery
There are few things more fun than a mystery that knows exactly what kind of mystery it is.
How to Write a Murder puts a group of mystery writers in an isolated monastery, gives everyone secrets and motives, and then starts killing people.
Naturally, I had a great time.
But what really made this one work for me was how Jessica Brody plays with the conventions of the genre. The characters know they’re behaving like characters in a murder mystery. The book itself keeps winking at the reader. And somehow, beneath all that cleverness, there is a surprisingly thoughtful exploration of how the roles we believe we’re playing can shape who we become.
I had a blast with this one. And yes, I have thoughts about that cover, too.
Read my full review of How to Write a Murder.
Despite being nearly 500 pages, *Bodies of Magic* became the book I reached for every chance I got.
If dark academia, magical medicine, layered mysteries, and unlikely friendships sound like your kind of story, this review might help you decide whether Freya Marske’s newest fantasy deserves a place on your TBR.
Read the full review →
I almost didn’t read *Atmosphere*.
I actually started a completely different book, DNF’d it, and picked up Taylor Jenkins Reid’s latest on a whim.
Then I sobbed. Repeatedly.
What I expected to be a story about astronauts, NASA, and an ’80s space program turned into one of the most unexpectedly emotional reading experiences I’ve had in a long time.
So, was the hype finally right?
I’ve shared my full review, including what worked, what surprised me, and why this book made me want to pay much closer attention to the life I’m actually living.
There are books you read because you want to be challenged. And then there are books you reach for because real life is a lot and you need somewhere else to be for a while.
*The Dark Lord’s Guide to Honeymooning (and Other Acts of Tyranny)* was that book for me.
With villains, found family, romance, assassination attempts, ancient evil, and a pastry chef who just wants to bake scones, Tiffany Hunt’s latest is a fast-paced, over-the-top romantasy that manages to deliver both humor and heart.
In my newest review, I’m talking about what worked, what wobbled, why I enjoyed this sequel even more than the first, and why this 600+ page book was exactly the kind of escape I needed during a stressful season of real life.