Genre: Fiction

Featuring a genius title that fits the story both literally and metaphorically, Seeing Other People by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka is a wholesome and cute contemporary romance novel with trace elements of magical realism and speculative fiction elements. While clearly intended to be an opposites-attract romance story haunted by the literal ghosts of their exes, Seeing Other People is also a heartwarming story about grief and unexpected friendships that’s simple, easy to read, and tackles an emotional premise without being depressing or difficult for sensitive readers to get through. Though this book didn’t have the strongest introspective and reflective writing chops I was hoping for, it’s still a cute book that has a lot of mass appeal, perfectly suited for light-hearted romance readers looking for something with a bit more weight than their usual. “Maybe no one ever really leaves. They just…change. From souls to soil, shattered pieces to loving completion, dreams to dust to memory. They live on, the ghosts of past lives made new forever.” As a reader that loves ghost stories, I was intrigued by Seeing Other People’s premise that’s genius on paper. Presented in a dual-perspective presentation, the book follows landscape and gardening enthusiast Morgan…

An abstract exploration around perception and traditional gender roles of young women, Xenobe Purvis’s debut novel the Hounding is an atmospheric story that feels like a grounded and historical fairy tale expanded into a full length book. Featuring a free-flowing 3rd person multiple POV presentation and effective use of unreliable narration, the Hounding is an interesting read conducive to bookclub/literary discussions due to its clever plotting and open-ended nature. While I felt the book’s overall trajectory could’ve been developed further and its abruptly occurring just when it felt like it was hitting its stride, this book is nonetheless an interesting read that matches the unsettling feel and tone of its cover well. “Girls—normal human girls—people could contend with; they were weak and small. And dogs too could be trained. But girls who became dogs, or who let the world believe they were dogs, were either powerful or mad: both monstrous possibilities.” Set in the fictional rural village of Little Nettlebed in an unspecified but clearly historic age, the Hounding follows various residents, their impressions, and thoughts about five sisters referred to as the Mansfield girls. Having lost both parents and living with their ailing grandfather who is going blind, the…

What if the Ghost of Christmas Past was a rugged Irish sailor whose latest assignment is to haunt a festive antique shop owner who appears far from the typical charge in need of a drastic ghostly intervention. The first book in her new winter-set series, B.K. Borison’s Good Spirits is a fun holiday romance book that has a nice balance of wintery magic, self-reflection and character growth. Embracing the sugary and over the top haphazard holiday trends that are sure to delight, this book is highly accessible like a Hallmark channel movie flavored with added spice. Although I personally found the overall execution and focus of the book to be a bit disappointing compared to Borison’s other works, it’s still a fun time and a generally strong holiday read. While marketed and intended to be a holiday book given its premise surrounding the Ghost of Christmas Past, one of the book’s best aspects is that its story is one that has a lot of substance and character work outside of the typical material of most holiday genre books. The story’s premise involves Nolan Callahan observing and walking Harriet York through past memories, moments where her decisions may have affected the…

An incredibly meta and satirical novel, Lincoln Michel’s Metallic Realms is an ambitiously written story that defies conventional genre classifications. Featuring a collection of scifi-based short stories within a larger memoir-esque story, Metallic Realms recaps the highs and lows of the Orb4 writing collective group on their real and grounded struggles in creating cosmic literary art. Full of real-world metaphors, social commentary, and sharp jabs at the publishing and online communities, this book is an incredible experience written for hardcore SFF geeks and struggling millennials.   Note: For greater clarity for those who have not read this book, I will be referring to the author by his first name “Lincoln” instead of my usual review format where I would use his last name instead. When I drafted this review, I felt it might be confusing and too easy to misread the character Michael and Michel back-to-back.  Before I get into why I found this book so incredible, I feel the need to address some of the confusion about this book and offer some respectful advice for those potentially interested in it. First and foremost, Metallic Realms is a book full of satire, far-reaching scifi and fantasy references (and by that, I mean affectionately dragging fantasy), and general…

This review is based on a complimentary Advanced Reader Copy provided by St. Martin’s Press. Love, guilt, judgement, and paranoia, all within the four walls that may or may not be alive and angry, You Did Nothing Wrong is psychological thriller and explores Elodie’s twisted descent into madness. C.G. Drews’s adult novel debut, rather than simply serving as a straightforward haunted house narrative, this book instead is a horror story of an entirely different monster. Compared to Drews’s past books that had a more paranormal and fantasy angle to their stories, You Did Nothing Wrong instead plays off the monsters in our head and the horrifying ways love and devotion can spiral into something dark and unrecognizable. While featuring Drews’s signature macabre metaphors and stylistic prose, this book is very different from past YA books for those that enjoyed their past books. Marketed as a pulse-pounding and clever take on the haunted house novel, I went into this book expecting something along the lines of Drews’s past books that mixed elements of paranormal horror with fantasy flair. As a strong cautionary disclaimer upfront, You Did Nothing Wrong is very different and was not at all what I was expecting. While…