A story of grief and loss mixed with contemporary romance and mythological fantasy flavor, Find My Way Down to You by Julian Winters is a wholesome and sweet YA novel covering somber topics. By exploring the long, individual road to healing while honoring loved ones lost, the book feels like a warm and supportive hug that maintains an uplifting and hopeful outlook even when the pain feels unending. Well‑intentioned and earnest, it sometimes plays things too safe and doesn’t push its strongest narrative elements far enough, but it remains an accessible read with strong YA appeal. Marketed as a YA romance with crossover elements in fiction, social issues, and fantasy, the book blends a wide range of narrative components into a story focused on grief and loss. Its greatest strength is its relatability for YA readers. Purposely flawed and immature to a fault, the main character August and his internal logic match his age, highlighting teenage shortsightedness and tunnel vision. Winters captures teenage angst well, especially in the wake of August’s catastrophic loss of his boyfriend London, around whom he built his entire world. The portrayal of grief is particularly strong, from August pushing away those around him, including his…

Paranormal dark ambiance, afterlife and lore-heavy epic fantasy framework, and resilient character-driven retribution all meet in Mark Lawrence’s Daughter of Crows, the first entry in the Academy of Kindness series. Featuring multiple timelines, POV, and narrators, Daughter of Crows is an ambitious and atmospheric read that isn’t for the faint of heart or casual readers, but is one that rewards patience and determination much like its elderly main character Rue and the many trials throughout her life. Though marketed as a dark academia adult novel, Daughter of Crows is a book that is truly dark and academy-based in only the simplest terms. There’s been a recent trend of endless academy trials and survival narratives lately across the fantasy genre that often feel repetitive and stale; this book is not one of those. Split across several timelines and narrators, the Academy of Kindness and its mix of training and trials play a major role in this story but is not the only focus. For better or for worse, this book utilizes the lost in the dark approach that drops the reader right in the middle of the story with little hand-holding to find their way. Early chapters are split between the…

In the near future, there’s a nation driven by technological advances, AI controllers, advanced cyber loopholes, and augmented dream-like sensory experiences. Generative work, entertainment, and crime intersect in an unpredictable web of connections that surrounds a young hacker Julia Z in Ken Liu’s All That We See Or Seem. Part investigative procedural drama and part technological and AI-focused commentary, All That We See Or Seem is an imaginative speculative fiction book filled with insightful discussions around future tech advances and cultural shifts that is held back by pacing issues and lackluster character work, a book whose conceptual brilliance is potentially mismatched with an underwhelming reading experience. Marketed as a scifi thriller and described by some as having cyberpunk and futuristic elements, All That We See Or Seem is a bit different from other similar sounding books in the genre. Unlike many other hacker or AI-driven books, Ken Liu’s take on the concept is considerably more grounded and realistic. Although set in the future given the technological advances featured, this story is one that could take place in the very near future as many of Liu’s scifi elements are based on hardware and software ideas that are conceptually credible. Instead of…

A floating city, foreign invading airships, an immigrant woman who longs to be a dragon rider, and a three-headed dragon who’s tired and wants to remind humankind that he is to be feared. Following a jaded three-headed dragon whose heads comically quarrel amongst themselves, John Wiswell’s the Dragon Has Some Complaints is a book pitched as a cozy fantasy meets epic fantasy story of battles, friendship, and reflections of being a monster. With earnest intentions, this book succeeds in the friendship department with lots of positive therapeutic empathy and inclusive queer representation. Yet, its other aspects feel less successful and cohesive resulting in a somewhat disjointed and underwhelming reading experience. Based on its premise and marketing as a light-hearted fantasy story, that one goofy three-headed dragon fanart meme instantly comes to mind. And though I can’t verify if this provided any inspiration for the book’s concept, it invokes a similar tone, at least initially. Garrodigh’s three heads act the three stooges; Centerhead being the leader and snarky one, Bottomhead who is feral one (the book’s description not mine, they seemed more like the impulsive child than feral to me), and Upperhead who is the anxious and slightly neurotic one who…

A charity owner who has trouble lying and cares too much, a dark magician who just wants to be left alone, a shop that smells like fresh pastries in the morning, and an endless variety of adorable cats. Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett feels like it was specially crafted to hit every cozy fantasy reader’s must-have’s checklist and to appease cat lovers. Yet outside of its obvious cat motif and well-pitched warm vibes, this book has a surprisingly solid urban fantasy story based around magical artifacts that’s good enough to appeal to SFF readers who are less enthusiastic about cats or the cozy fantasy genre (on Goodreads, 4.5 stars rounded down) On paper, this book has all the cards stacked against it for my personal reading tastes. Cozy fantasy tends to be very hit or miss for me if they’re too low stakes or directionless, I am not a cat person (I’m a dog guy in addition to both my Mom and my late dog being allergic to them), and I’m not a vibe reader, instead gravitating towards books with strong narratives or character work. Perhaps the nicest thing I can say about Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat…

As charming and delightful as a speculative fiction/scifi novel can be, J.P. Lacrampe’s Valet is a lighthearted and breezy read that covers a concise and effective story about androids, their human owners, and a lot of fun shenanigans in between. Full of witty humor and sharp yet cheeky social commentary, this book effortlessly blends its lighthearted absurdist tone with unexpectedly heartfelt and effective character writing, telling a story that’s far more human than robotic. Mixing together relevant cyber topic discussions with a snappy and well-crafted story of an attempted corporate succession turned tech hostage negotiation, Valet is an excellent and fun read that’s as intelligent as it is whimsical. Following an advanced robotic scientific assistant turned personal butler assistant, Cy is an aging Verified Artificial-Learning-Enhanced Techbot seeking to please his owners and raise his operating utility score, a benchmark that determines whether he gets future feature programming updates or is retired to manufacturing facility monotony. Once the esteemed assistant to the CEO of Ai+, the developer of cutting-edge robotic technology, he is tasked by the late CEO’s widow Mrs. St. Claire to right her son Grayson’s wayward life, lack of motivation, and to marry him off. Unlike his CEO sister…

Strained and conflicting scifi tv show actors faking a friendship as a publicity stunt to save their acting career is an incredibly fun concept that serves as the premise for Cat Sebastian’s contemporary queer romance novel Star Shipped. Entertainment industry expectations, social media and online fandom engagement, a fake friendship road trip across the American southwest, this book has no shortage of good narrative hooks. A comfy and safe space of a romance novel, unfortunately the execution across the board hinders its great potential and results in a book that feels like it lacks a purpose or direction. One of my highly anticipated queer literature reads of 2026, this book wasn’t for me and was quite the disappointment at every turn despite it having good intentions and nice mental health representation. Star Shipped follows television actor Simon Devereaux who’s attempting to depart from the popular long-running TV-show Out There whose simplistic and limited acting opportunities have left him feeling uninspired and artistically constrained. It doesn’t help that he’s spent the last seven years co-starring against Charlie Blake, a built and handsome man who has less impressive acting and an unprofessional history on set. With the impending end of his contract…

A story of survival, power, political strategy, and family, Shen Tao’s The Poet Empress is a stunning epic fantasy book with strong historical Chinese-inspired flavor and culture. While the story is one of power succession and imperial palace politics, this book goes beyond that through its complex familial relationships and important contextual backstories. It isn’t a simple story about a resourceful betrothed navigating court survival but is just as much about the events and pressure that led to the making of a tyrant and how the potential for power can destroy everything. Tense, brutal, beautifully poignant, and NOT a romantasy, this is easily one of my favorite reads so far of the year and one of the most ambitious debut novels most authors would dream to have under their name While featuring a fictional land and dynasty, the Poet Empress tells a sweeping fantasy story that is heavily inspired by Chinese culture and one that could’ve easily taken place in history sans the fantasy and magic. The book incorporates familiar historical elements of male heirs, large groups of female concubines, eunuchs, and a taxation and imperial system much like other well-known established dynasties. While the majority of the book covers…

Fandom culture, celebrity woes, teen heartthrob shows, and nerd-inspired paranormal romance, Fan Service by Rose Danan is a romance novel that’s both light-heartedly fun and relatably honest. Featuring a great premise and a very likable and wholesome FMC, this book is an easy and enjoyable read that smartly incorporates many popular romance tropes while also striving to do more through great queer representation and light socio-political commentary. Despite some reservations with its less impressive portrayal of its MMC and perhaps failing to do more with its compelling story, Fan Service is an otherwise safe and easy romance read with a nice geeky and quirky spin. I will be the first to admit that I’m quite an inexperienced reader when it comes to paranormal romance, this being one of my few forays into the genre and adjacent stories. That said, Fan Service initially caught my eye thanks to its premise of a former teen heartthrob actor teaming up with a jaded yet hardcore life-long fan set around an original tv-show that’s not so subtly inspired by the CW/MTV shows of the late 90’s and early 2000’s. This book is perfectly pitched for millennial readers who grew up during the community forums,…

Blending together Japanese samurai culture, time-travel speculative fiction, tense horror ambiance with mystery thriller intrigue, Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker is as ambitious of a novel as it is graphic and violent. One of the most anticipated horror releases of the year, like her inspirations and goals, this book crossovers between genres, storylines, and realities, telling a compelling and gripping story in just over three hundred pages. Steeped in Japanese folklore and culture but presented in a way that’s accessible, Japanese Gothic is an excellent mystery thriller/horror novel that’s powerfully written and creatively conceptualized. There’s a lot that could be said about Japanese Gothic’s story, but this is one book that’s best experienced on its own with minimal overview given the tension, mysterious intrigue, and unexpected narrative elements benefit from the reader being left in the dark. The book features a split POV and timeline perspective that’s similar to Lee’s presentation, a meeting of the East and West. In 2026, Lee Turner escapes to his father’s house in Japan following the murder of his college roommate that he can’t remember how or why he killed. Racked with anxiety and paranoia, his chapters follow his descent into borderline psychosis as…

What do a legendary cryptid, gods, angels and demons, the Hundred Year’s War, an immortal arcanist and his succubus housekeeper have in common? Ordinarily nothing at all unless it’s Cameron Sullivan’s novel The Red Winter. An ambitious book mixing together fantasy and historical fiction elements across the board heightened with touches of paranormal horror, the Red Winter is as entertaining as it is imaginative with a unique and quirky tongue in cheek tone. Unexpectedly humorous and endearing while describing French countrymen being viscously torn apart, Sullivan’s storytelling is an incredible vibe made all the more impressive as a debut novel. While its far-reaching story, slow pacing, and complex split timeline approach can make it a challenging read for some, this is otherwise a really fun and off-beat historical fantasy book. At its core, the story behind the Red Winter is one of French turmoil that cleverly provides plausible fantasy origins to mysterious historical events. Presented as a written recollection or memoir of the events by the immortal arcanist Sebastian Graves, the book follows Sebastian and his demon possession “guest” Sarmodel returning to impoverished province of Gévaudan after the deadly events around the famed beast nearly twenty years ago. In addition…

This review is based on a complimentary Advanced Reader Copy provided by Entangled: Mayhem Books. The faction-based training of Divergent crossed with the adrenaline rush and energy of storm chasing, Nisha J. Tuli’s YA debut Storm Breaker is an engaging dystopian book that successfully invokes all the elements that made the 2010’s post-apocalypse era so popular. Featuring a well-crafted plot and a unique take on Manhattan that’s both futuristic and retro, Storm Breaker is a solid story that nicely mixes cadet training, societal conflict, academy life, and some romance within a snappily paced book. While it inevitably also features some of the common drawbacks such as conflicting plot devices and perplexing dueling factions that many YA dystopian books struggle with, Storm Breaker is still a lot of fun to read and more importantly, does enough to differentiate itself from the excessive trend of YA trial stories. Set in a post-apocalyptic and futuristic version of Manhattan, Poet Graves is enrolled and set to attend Amery Academy. The last sanctuary in a world destroyed by ecological disaster and raging storms, the city is divided into four factions or houses that serve different roles in this constrained and resource limited city. The daughter of…