Sorcery and Small Magics

 Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocy, 416 pages.

Despite his father's aspirations, Leovander Loveage is a writer of only small magics, minor charms to cause fireworks or change people's hair color. Any time he has tried to work great magic it's backfired spectacularly, so he has sworn it off for good. A conviction that is shaken when a magical mix-up involving forbidden magic leaves him compelled to follow the orders of longtime rival and perpetual stick-in-the-mud Sebastian Grimm. As the spells magic tightens the two grow increasingly desperate to break the spell, even as their forced cooperation seems to be irrevocably changing something between them.

This book grabbed me completely right from the start. The magic system, which relies on one person to write magic and someone with different capabilities to do the actual casting, leads to some fascinating character possibilities and world building ideas. I also found Leo to be a really compelling character, expertly balancing humorous deflections with genuine emotional feeling. The adventure is fun, while giving enough of substance to chew on to be really satisfying. I'm only sad that there is no release date for a sequel yet. I'm really looking forward to discussing this one with Orcs & Aliens on Monday!

The Deep Dark

The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag, 480 pages

Mags is a teenager with some very adult problems on her hands — she's the primary caregiver for her ailing grandmother while juggling work and school too and her kinda-relationship with a girl must be hidden from the girl's boyfriend. Oh yeah, there's also a secret monster in the basement that leaves her bleeding and exhausted every night, and could kill people if it got out. But when a childhood friend returns, Mags finally gets some of the support she needs, and she begins to realize that things don't have to be the way they are.

This graphic novel beautifully tells a complex story of identity, family prejudice, and finding comfort with who you are. The illustrations are gorgeous, and the story is so thought-provoking (and is obviously so personal to Ostertag) that I'm still turning it over in my mind more than a month after reading it. Highly recommended.

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich

 The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz, 256 pages.

The laws of the Kingdom of Fromage say that a woman cannot inherit, and Lady Camembert hates the idea of marrying a man so much that when her father dies she decides it would be much better to move to the capital and start living as Count Camembert instead. She has every intention of laying low, but is frankly pretty bad at that, and instead develops a friendship (or perhaps, impossibly, more?) with Princess Brie. Cam can't stop thinking about the princess, and it may yet bring the whole charade down around them.

This was a delightful book! The quantity of cheese puns really tickled my fancy, and it shouldn't be surprising that this isn't a book that takes itself too seriously. Most of it really captures a fairytale feeling, but it's also not afraid to throw in things like graphic tees and rotting in bed with a nintendo switch to capture the right vibe. The art is very expressive, and I really liked the character designs! I picked this up on a whim when it came across the circulation desk at the library, and I'm glad I did! This book was just plain fun, and I would recommend it. 

A Game in Yellow

A Game in Yellow by Hailey Piper, 288 pages

Carmen and Blanca have been in a bit of a rut, sexually speaking, despite scraping the bottom of their vast barrel of kink-related twists. Blanca thinks she has the answer in a mysterious woman named Smoke, who introduces the couple to a play that is much more than it seems. Soon Carmen has been pulled under the play's influence, unable to tell what's real and what's not.

This is a very particular sort of erotic-meets-psychological horror, one that I'm sure has its fans. However, I am not one of them. This was a strange book, and while I did want to know where Carmen would end up, getting there was certainly a journey I don't want to take again. If anything about that first paragraph intrigues you, by all means, give this a read; otherwise, I have a boatload of other horror novels to recommend.

Divine Traitors

 So Let Them Burn and This Ends in Embers by Kamilah Cole, 816 pages.

Faron Vincent was 12 when she was granted the power of the gods to become the Childe Empyrean and fight the war to liberate her country. Five years later San Irie is free and Faron has spent the last few years frivolously using her powers and feeling purposeless. She is given sudden purpose again when her sister Elara ends up bonded to an enemy dragon, and Faron has to desperately try to find a way to sever the bond so she doesn't have to kill her sister. This desperation drives her to start something she can't stop, and the whole world may have to pay the price.

This Jamaican-inspired anti-colonial fantasy novel started pretty interesting. I liked the tension between Elara's plot at the dragon academy and Faron's attempts to uncover ancient secrets. Unfortunately, the second book was much harder to buy into, partially because many of the characters' actions were so unfathomably selfish. I also found the magic a little simplistic, especially given then real world countries with the thinnest possible coat of fantasy paint. If you're looking for a young adult novel where a young woman from a (formerly) colonized people has to go to a dragon academy run by her colonizers, set in a world with clearly identifiable real world countries, I would recommend To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose instead. 

Nicked

Nicked by M.T. Anderson, 220 pages.

In 1087 the path to wealth and prestige was often through holy relics and the pilgrims they brought. So when Brother Nicephorus has a dream a St. Nicholas that he interprets as a call to minister to the pox-stricken in the city of Bari, the powers that be instead decide that obviously this dream instead means that St. Nicholas would like his bones removed from Myra and brought to Bari. So Nicephorus is introduced to Tyun the relic hunter and his international crew, both as the "dreamer" and as a valuable witness of authenticity, due to his complete inability and unwillingness to lie. What follows is a swashbuckling adventure that goes in a whole lot of unexpected directions. 

This was a great book, and a great work of historical fiction! I feel like a lot of historical fiction feels like it uses history as a setting rather than something that impacts characters and worldview, but this book felt immersive. One of the characters is a dog-headed man, and in the author's note he mentions that he included this because they were in virtually every travelogue published at the time. I feel like this really nails the commitment to living within this medieval worldview. Beyond all of that, it was just a really fun book! This feels like the kind of adventure story that is begging to be turned into a movie. It was twisty and engaging, and I loved how all of the threads kept coming together. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a heist that's a little different, swashbuckling, or great medieval historical fiction. 

Fun for the Whole Family

Fun for the Whole Family by Jennifer E. Smith, 368 pages

The four Endicott siblings didn't have the best relationship with their mom, who was mostly absent from their lives. However, every summer, she'd arrive and take them on a road trip to random states across the country, staying in crappy hotels, eating diner food, and stopping for odd roadside attractions. This continued until a fire at a hotel forced their dad to put a stop to their annual travels, and the siblings slowly drifted apart. Now estranged adults, straitlaced Gemma is trying to get pregnant (even though she's not really sure she wants to be a mom, after shepherding her younger siblings her whole life); author Connor has alienated his family with his largely autobiographical debut novel and is now fighting writer's block on his follow-up novel; and twins Roddy and Jude have excelled at their chosen professions, gaining fame and fortune as a professional soccer player and acclaimed actress, respectively. But when Jude calls them all for a final family vacation in snowy North Dakota, Gemma, Connor, and Roddy show up ready for a tense and hopefully cathartic reunion.

I'm a sucker for a dysfunctional family story, and this one had all the hallmarks of a great one, with well-developed characters, slightly unrealistic complications, and a lot of heart to tie it all together. As someone whose parents dragged her all over the country in an attempt to visit all 50 states (I just have Alaska left!), this book was particularly poignant for me, and I'll freely admit that the epilogue left me ugly-crying for a solid 10 minutes. However, unless you're a member of my immediate family, that probably won't happen to you. Highly recommended!

Of Monsters and Mainframes

 Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove, 407 pages.

Demeter is a dependable spaceship. She has successfully shuttled lots of humans between Earth and Alpha Centauri, and had no complaints. That is, until Dracula sneaks on board, murders all of her humans, and gets her branded a ghost ship. This seems to mark some sort of metaphysical unsealing, because from then on she seems inundated with supernatural creatures determined to kill her humans. Spaceships aren't programmed for vengeance, but Demeter has already had to make lots of adjustments to her code, and she'll make one more to take the people she's gathered closest to her and go kill the monster who started all of this.

This is a really unusual book! It's sort of Dracula meets the League of Extraordinary Gentleman (complete with vampire Mina Murray), with a heavy dose of pulpy sci-fi thrown in for good measure. The first half of this book felt more like a collection of short stories than the unified novel I was expecting, but I enjoyed myself the entire time, so I really can't complain. Similarly, the found family elements seem less prevalent than I expected from the premise, but I really enjoyed all of the characters. This book was a romp! I would definitely recommend it to fans of classic movie monsters. 

We Used to Live Here

 We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer, 312 pages.

Eve is a chronic people-pleaser, so when a family shows up politely asking to show their kids around the father's childhood home she reluctantly agrees, despite her misgivings. Everything starts pretty normal, except that the fifteen minute tour keeps getting longer, and the family doesn't seem in any hurry to leave. Soon little things seem to start changing, and Eve can't tell what is her anxiety and what is something much more sinister. The horrors keep multiplying, and Eve is increasingly unsure what she can trust. 

This book was an atmospheric master class. It was deeply unsettling even before there was anything concrete to be scarred of, which did a great job putting me in Eve's head. That being said, I do wish I understood better what was going on by the end of the book. Vaguely unsettling is very effective for building tension, but it's not a very satisfying payoff. This novel was clearly inspired by Mark Z Danielewski's House of Leaves, and while I didn't find the archival-style material particularly effective in this case, I do still think fans of that book will enjoy this one, as well as fans of the podcast Rabbits. Even feeling slightly disappointed in the tail end, I did still find this a really cool universe-slipping horror novel, and genuinely scary. 

Stop Me If You've Heard This One

Stop Me If You've Heard This One by Kristen Arnett, 272 pages

Professional clown Cherry Hendricks has yet to really make it in her chosen profession (currently she's barely making ends meet through kids' party appearances, a part-time job at an exotic pet store, and, regrettably, making a few bucks from clown fetishists). Doesn't help that her mom doesn't accept that her adult daughter is a clown, or that she still compares Cherry to her late brother. When Cherry has the chance to network with a big magician on the Orlando performers' circuit, she thinks she may finally get her big shot. If she doesn't screw it up first.

A book about a lesbian clown has the potential to be hilariously sarcastic and fun. Unfortunately, this one's mainly pretentious (well, once you get through the going-for-shock-value-only first chapter). Cherry isn't particularly likeable or relatable, and her actions in that first chapter REALLY undercut her later claims to professionalism. Feel free to skip this one.

Every Step She Takes

 Every Step She Takes by Alison Cochrun, 384 pages.

Sadie Wells doesn't have time for much of anything, but especially not for dating. And after a long list of dates with men with zero sparks (best not to think about why she's 35 and has maybe never been attracted to a man), she's desperate to get away from her life, and spontaneously agrees to take her influencer sister's place on a tour of the Camino de Santiago. When she is convinced the plane is going down she confesses all of her secrets to her seatmate, only to discover (to her horror) that said seatmate is named Mal, and is also on her tour. And also it's a tour specifically for queer women. Sadie has 100s of kilometers of self-discovery before her, whether she feels ready or not.

Alison Cochrun's books never miss for me! I really loved both Sadie and Mal, and the Camino itself wove its way through the narrative beautifully. That being said, I feel like the plot of this one was a little weaker than her standard. Mal agrees to help Sadie recapture the queer adolescence she missed out on, which ends up involving a lot of "practice" dating. Despite the fact that I feel like they were pretty upfront with their feelings at multiple points, the story still treated it like they were secretly pining, which I don't feel like made a lot of sense with what we had seen. Minor believability gripes aside, I still had a great time with this book, which I found both funny and sincere. 

The Hearth Witch's Guide to Magic and Murder

The Hearth Witch's Guide to Magic and Murder by Kiri Callaghan, 448 pages

Changeling Avery Hemlock was sentenced to 500 years of nightmares, but when London's fey notice an uptick in magical murders (they're literally fine on the outside but have plant matter instead of missing organs on the inside), she's pulled out of prison 300 years early to try to find the killer. She ends up pulling her downstairs neighbor, baker Saga, into the investigation with her, especially once Saga's close friends and family get involved in the mystery. Avery isn't allowed to tell Saga about her magical nature, though the longer they work together, the more clear it is that Saga has something magical about her too.

This cozy story mixes together fantasy, romance, mystery, and a few good recipes in a way that's an absolute delight to read. The location of Avery and Saga's apartments at 221 Baker Street keep readers wondering about their connection to Sherlock (was that actually Avery back before her sentencing?), and it's hopefully something that will be explored in future books about Avery and Saga. I know I'll happily read them!

*This book will be published Oct. 7, 2025.

My Best Friend's Honeymoon

My Best Friend's Honeymoon by Meryl Wilsner, 304 pages

Elsie has always let her life be steered by others, going with whatever her parents, her siblings, even her college boyfriend (now fiancé, cuz she thought she should just say yes to his over-the-top public proposal) want to do. But when she learns that her fiance has fully planned the wedding she's been putting off, she realizes that she has to put her foot down. Because he's a good guy, he sends Elsie and her longtime bestie Ginny on what was supposed to be their honeymoon — a week at a tropical queer-friendly resort — to think things over. But while they're there, Elsie learns that Ginny has harbored a crush on her for 15 years and Elsie kinda feels the same way.

The premise to this book is fairly ridiculous, as many romance novels are, but what really made this one not great is the uneven pacing. Like nothing vaguely romantic happens for 100+ pages, and then BAM, 50 pages of sex. I liked the personal growth of both main characters, but I wish their romance had developed a bit more smoothly.

The Stand-In Dad

The Stand-In Dad by Alex Summers, 368 pages

Meg is newly engaged to Hannah, and since Hannah is always traveling for work, Meg has to do the wedding planning by herself. It would be great if Meg's mom showed any interest in helping out, but unfortunately, she's still hoping Meg will reunite with her high school boyfriend (who's as gay as Meg is). When florist David finds Meg crying in his shop, he vows to help her achieve her wedding dreams, in part because his own parents rejected him for coming out. Soon Meg and David are inseparable, despite their new friendship, and Meg learns that family doesn't necessarily mean blood relatives.

There's always something nice about found-family stories, and this is definitely that, as both Meg and David find people in the neighborhood to support them as people and business owners. That said, there's a mismatch between the realism of Meg and David's family stories (and David's business challenges) and the wishful-thinking insta-love of their friendship — as wonderful as David's partner might be, the amount of time and money that he spends on someone he literally just met while his business is on the verge of going under... well, I just couldn't buy it, nor could I see how David's long-suffering partner could either. A quick read and an OK story.

I Think They Love You

I Think They Love You by Julian Winters, 336 pages

Denz's workaholic dad has just announced his retirement from the family-run, super-successful party-planning business, and even though he's always been a bit flighty and unserious, Denz really wants to be named his father's successor as CEO. To convince the family that he's serious about the commitment that comes with the job, Denz decides to fake a relationship and is somehow forced into asking for help from his ex, Braylon, the man who dated him through college and then broke his heart. But Braylon needs Denz's connections to the mayor to make his own career succeed, so he agrees. Unsurprisingly, given that this is a romance novel, what starts as very fake turns very real when the pair starts to rediscover what drew them together in college.

Combining a second-chance romance with a fake-dating trope is a risky choice in a romance novel, but somehow the flashbacks to the messiness of the characters in college makes it much more believable — neither one was ready for the commitment then, though they certainly are more primed for it now. The flashbacks were a bit confusing at times (it wasn't always clear what was then and what is now), but otherwise this was a lovely contemporary romance.

The Case of the Missing Maid

The Case of the Missing Maid by Rob Osler, 320 pages

It's 1898 and Harriet Morrow has just left her secretarial job to become the first female detective at the prestigious Prescott Agency. Her first assignment is something of a throwaway: go visit the boss's batty neighbor, who seems to have misplaced her maid (much like she did with the jewelry and silver that was later found exactly where it belonged). But when Harriet arrives, she discovers the maid's room in disarray, and after conversations with other employees and the maid's family, it's clear that the she is indeed missing. Harriet is given one week to track her down, and puts her fledgling investigation skills to the test in what feels like a fruitless search.

Harriet is a lesbian who is still getting comfortable with herself and her desire to wear men's clothing instead of the elaborate dresses popular at the time (which make riding her trusty bicycle much more difficult), and that, more than anything else, is the most compelling part of this book. I loved seeing her become herself, which helped when the plot lagged or felt repetitive (which happened a lot when discussing Harriet's parents' political activism for women's rights and unions). The one thing that really bugged me was that Harriet has a 16-year-old brother who goes to high school and doesn't have a job to help contribute to household expenses, which seems really strange and unlikely given their reduced means and the era in which this book is set. However, the book was decent, and I'd recommend it for fans of Jacqueline Winspear or Amy Stewart.

Into the Drowning Deep

 Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant, 562 pages.

Seven years ago, Victoria Stewart's sister sailed off to film a mocumentary about mermaids. She never came back. The only thing that returned from the ship Atargatis was a lot of frightening footage that was widely decried as a hoax, bloody footage that appeared to show the crew being devoured by mermaids. Years later, the original film company is seeking redemption (or at least a boost for their damaged reputation), and Victoria still wants closure, so she signs on with dozens of other scientists to try to get proof of mermaids once and for all. They end up finding much more than proof. 

This was a spooky little book about mermaids. Mira Grant (a penname for Seanan McGuire) does a good job building fear on top of a situation whose outcome was more-or-less obvious from the beginning. This is a bloody book, but it doesn't feel like it is purely relying on gore for it's punch (although there are a couple of images that will stick with me). The large cast is well-developed, which makes it hurt more when many of them meet their inevitable ends. I would recommend it generally, but especially for fans of scientists walking themselves into horror. 

Running Close to the Wind

 Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland, 437 pages.

Avra Helvaçi has frankly stupid good luck. The kind of good luck that leaves him drunkenly wandering into a secure government building and stealing a state secret that's worth more than many countries, just to see if he can. Unfortunately, once he has it he has to figure out how not to get killed over it. Enter pirate Captain Teveri az-Ḥaffār, his ex who is rudely not even a little excited to see him, but nevertheless is willing to help work out how to sell the secret and make them both legends, even if it means sailing into dangerous seas. 
This is really the epitome of a fun fantasy pirate adventure. There's giant turtles, sea serpents, a giant stone skull, making fools of stuffy government officials, and even a plot relevant cake competition. This book knows exactly what it wants to be, and fulfills it to a tee. It's an extremely fun summer read, with very fun characters. My only major gripe is that the ending feels a little bit sudden and unsatisfactory, I feel like this novel would have been improved by an epilogue. 

Alice Isn't Dead

 Alice Isn't Dead by Joseph Fink, 323 pages. 

After Keisha's wife disappeared, the grief nearly destroyed her. When she starts seeing her in background of news reports across the country, looking into the camera at disaster sites and tragedies, Keisha decides that the only thing that matters is finding Alice. So she becomes a truck driver and scours the country for her wife, finding herself quickly sinking into a conspiracy of monsters.

This book was written by Joseph Fink, one of the co-creators of the hit podcast Welcome to Nightvale, and is based on a podcast also called Alice Isn't Dead. It was this podcast link that made me think this may be a good audiobook choice for me, but to be honest it mostly made me curious about the original podcast. That being said, I did still like this book. Keisha has anxiety, and the way it was handled was unusual and interesting. There are also some interesting, if not extremely original, meditations on the nature of hatred and collective action. I liked this book, but I'm not sure it's high on my recommendations list, and I suspect it's not better than it's source material. I suspect people who enjoy horror set on highways and in liminal spaces would enjoy this treatment of the topic. 

You Should Be So Lucky

 You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian, 400 pages.

Mark Bailey hasn't felt up to doing much since the partner he isn't allowed to talk about died more than a year ago. Mark may be able to live somewhat openly as an arts reporter, but being gay wasn't an option for lawyers in the 50s, so he was forced into secrecy for his partner's sake anyway. Openness is also not an option for Eddie O'Leary, professional baseball player turned professional disappointment. Eddie's been having a terrible season since his surprise transfer to New York, made even more terrible because both his team and all of New York hate him for badmouthing them in front of reporters when he found out about his transfer. When Mark is (reluctantly) forced into writing diary entries for Eddie for his newspaper the two are forced into proximity, and sparks fly immediately. Soon a relationship starts to develop, even though the path forward isn't obvious. 

This is loosely a sequel to We Could Be So Good which I wrote about a couple years ago. Unfortunately, I didn't find this book as compelling as that first book set in midcentury NYC. There wasn't anything wrong with the characters or the plot, but there also weren't any surprises. I found the supporting cast pretty flat, and there weren't any moments that really stood out to me. Not a bad book, but I don't know that I would call it a great one either.