Format: eBook

Atmospheric, imaginative, but most importantly emotionally heartfelt, Don’t Let the Forest In is a stunning book that effortlessly mixes genres to tell its tale of teenage fears, longing, and pain. Blending dark fantasy, psychological horror, and romance wrapped up with a literary fiction touch, C.G. Drews’ novel takes the best elements of each genre and connects them to a grounded, character-centric story that’s as compelling as it is nuanced. Despite being classified as a YA book due to its characters’ ages and high school academy setting, this novel is a master class example of delivering a complex and impactful story without dumbing down its content for its intended readers. Ambitiously written, well-plotted, and featuring an ending that is both devastating and open to interpretation, Don’t Let the Forest In is easily one of the most impressive books I’ve read this year. Before breaking down the book’s more technical elements, there’s a few important points worth mentioning for those that are considering reading this book. Are you a sensitive reader that finds triggers upsetting? I’m not mentioning them specifically for spoilers here but do check your triggers as there are some difficult ones included. How about mild body horror and moderate…

Fake dating, friends to lovers, trans and queer Asian representation oh my! Mason Deaver’s adult romance novel debut is a really wholesome and cute read that’s both lighthearted and well-meaning. Although the story utilizes several familiar romance tropes, Deaver’s clever ideas meshed with authentically honest discussions of identity give the book a refreshingly different feeling and intention to it. Written in the style and prose of a YA novel filled with more new adult content, The Build-A-Boyfriend Project is a fun book worth reading for the vibes as long as one doesn’t expect too much from it. The fake dating trope is a narrative that has been utilized to death across the romance genre, and that’s no different when you narrow it further to queer literature. While the dating coach storyline utilized in this book is nothing new on its own, what is new is its application to the queer love and dating. Easily one of the best and most noteworthy elements of this novel is Deaver’s wonderful representation of minority groups, specifically trans male, queer Asian, and late-age exploration and dating. Besides Eli’s writing aspirations and romance history that I’ll be getting into shortly, this book heavily hinges on…

The paranormal episodes of Scooby Doo crossed with Holly Jackson’s A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Susan Dennard’s The Executioners Three is a really fun and entertaining mystery thriller read that has the perfect tone. Campy in all the right places, yet surprisingly compelling and mysterious when it chooses to be, this YA novel skillfully blends its murder mystery, light paranormal spooks, and high school hijinks, all while serving as a nostalgic love letter to the late 90’s (particularly the X Files). While narratively and tonally slotting in as a YA novel, the Executioners Three is a peculiar case of mismatched references and storylines that ironically give it a lot of crossover appeal. Following the adventures of Freddie Gellar in her senior year of high school (plus occasional short chapters that cut to rival high school student Theo Porter’s perspective), the story is very much a YA book with school prank wars, classmate crushes, ditching class, elements that are very teenage-centered. However, this book has a clever asset that surprisingly isn’t really highlighted in its book blurb synopsis, that being its complete commitment to 90’s camp. From quoting the X-Files repeatedly, to featuring cutting edge Nokia cell phones, Backstreet Boys…

Devoid of mortals, the world of Lightfall is filled with vampires, werewolves, and sorcerers boxed in by dangerous and mysterious beings called the Grays. Despite the familiar setup that would typically be used for an action-packed fantasy warfare story, Ed Crocker’s debut novel is instead a sprawling and imaginative epic fantasy story focused on the political power struggle and socio-economic dynamics within the city of First Light’s walls. Full of extensive world-building, Lightfall is an ambitiously imagined novel that has all the right ideas to be a slow burn fantasy mystery thriller. Unfortunately, the presentation and execution of its ideas didn’t work for me, and I struggled with the book’s pacing and narrative. Easily the most impressive aspect of Lightfall is Crocker’s detailed and complex world-building and lore that for better or for worse, makes up the bulk of the novel’s content. Apart from the initial discovery of the First Lord’s younger son is dead, the book’s story falls into a period of relative lull. Preceding the last hundred years, Lightfall’s world and history is full of conflict that is written in great detail. Covering various topics including the origin of the three main groups of immortals, the mystery and…

Massively popular and trending online, Silver Elite is the start of a new series marketed as a dystopian romance, a “sizzling” story of distrust and self-preservation for those that possess innate psychic gifts. As is often the case with books that take off on social media, one’s enjoyment of this book likely comes down to one’s expectations and hopes for the book. If you’re looking for the next exciting dystopian action thriller like the Hunger Games or strong social commentary featured in the Giver, Silver Elite is definitely going to be a frustrating disappointment. However, for those looking for a booktok-style romance novel set within a vague dystopian world, Silver Elite is a lot more compelling. Expecting the latter going into it, Silver Elite more or less met my expectations of being a messy, yet decent read if one can overlook its many rough edges. At first glance at its premise and opening, Silver Elite appears to be a cool modern take on the dystopian genre. Despite the addition of various psychic powers, in many ways the story feels like an aged up take on Veronica Roth’s Divergent series, featuring adult characters instead of minors and their frequent wandering lusty…