Book Review | THE FARAWAY INN by Sarah Beth Durst

THE FARAWAY INN

BY SARAH BETH DURST | PUBLICATION: MARCH 31, 2026
DELACORTE PRESS | GENRE: YA FANTASY
RATING: ★★★★

"Cozy, modern fairy tale • vivid imagery • gentle emotional truth."

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When sixteen-year-old Calisa arrives at her great-aunt’s B&B in rural Vermont for the summer, she’s shocked to find a rundown inn rather than the cozy bed-and-breakfast she was expecting. Grumpy and eccentric, Auntie Zee is determined to keep anyone from messing with her beloved inn . . . even though she clearly needs the help.

To convince her great-aunt to keep her around, Calisa sets to work fixing up the inn, enlisting extra help from the groundskeeper’s (handsome) son. But the longer she stays, the surer she is that there’s something strange about the B&B—and its guests. Something almost . . . otherworldly.

The inn is keeping a magical secret—but to protect the place she’s come to love, Calisa must unravel the truth before it’s too late.

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THE FARAWAY INN is one of those quiet, cozy books that doesn’t shout its magic — it hums it. Durst writes with a simplicity that’s deceptively vivid, creating scenes that feel warm, homey, and softly enchanted. This is the kind of modern fairy tale that awakens a sense of wonder without ever slipping into childishness. It’s magic for grown people who still believe in becoming.

What stayed with me most was how deeply human the story is. Beneath the whimsy and the enchantment lies a tender exploration of vulnerability — the courage it takes to ask for help, the way friendship can hold us steady, and the gentle acceptance of people who are quirky, odd, or beautifully different. Durst understands that magic isn’t just a power —it’s a responsibility. And she treats talents and gifts the same way — as things that shape us, challenge us, and sometimes burden us.

The book also touches on love with surprising softness: falling in, falling out, and finding your way back to something truer. It’s not dramatic or sweeping —it’s quiet, honest, and rooted in emotional growth.

One of the things I loved most about The Faraway Inn is how clearly it shows that becoming isn’t reserved for the young. Every character in this story is shifting, softening, learning, or opening up in their own way. Even Aunty Zee — stubborn old bat — eventually accepts change. She’s prickly, set in her ways, and hilariously resistant, but she still grows. Durst treats her with such tenderness, reminding us that transformation can happen at any age, and sometimes the people who fight it hardest end up changing the most.

Honestly, everyone in the book is becoming… except the Mirror.
She’s stubborn as hell and refuses to evolve, and that contrast makes everyone else’s growth shine even brighter.

This theme — that becoming is lifelong — is one of the quiet strengths of the novel. It’s gentle, hopeful, and deeply human.

Durst knows wonder.
And in The Faraway Inn, she uses it not to dazzle, but to comfort — reminding us that becoming isn’t loud. It’s gentle. Communal. And often requires letting others in.

A cozy, atmospheric read for anyone who loves modern fairy tales with heart.

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About the Author:
Sarah Beth Durst grew up in Northboro, MA, a town in central Massachusetts which (she claims) was temporarily transformed into a fairy-tale kingdom for several days in 1986. These events later inspired her novel, INTO THE WILD, as well as her paralyzing fear of glass footwear.Sarah has been writing fantasy stories since she was ten years old. She holds an English degree from Princeton University and currently resides in Stony Brook, NY, with her husband and daughter.

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Book Review | THE WITCHES OF CAMBRIDGE by Alice Hoffman

About the Book:

THE WITCHES OF CAMBRIDGE

The Witches of Cambridge, Vol. 1
BY ALICE HOFFMAN | PUBLICATION: SEPTEMBER 8, 2026
SCRIBNER | GENRE: FANTASY /HISTORICAL FICTION

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The brand-new series from the bestselling author of Practical Magic, following two brilliant young women in 1950s Cambridge, Massachusetts, as they become immersed in a mysterious secret group of witches at Radcliffe known as the Lilith Society.

Once upon a time, women were drowned in the river and the only witnesses were the crows in the trees. The Puritans blamed Eve for the sins of the world. That was when we began to meet in the name of Lilith, Adam’s first wife—banished for refusing to do as she was told.

We Fly Together…

By the 1950s, Cambridge, Massachusetts feels far removed from the legendary witch trials that marked its early days as a colony. Ava, a bright young woman from a small town in Maine, arrives for her first year at Radcliffe College. There, she meets Lauren, her opposite in every way—the wild and brazen daughter of a wealthy and well-established Cambridge family. But the two have more in common than they think. Both are recruited by the Lilith Society, a secret organization of witches at Radcliffe dating back to colonial times. As they learn more about their legacy, Ava and Lauren form a close bond that is put to the test as they learn to navigate their new power, friendship, and love.

While Radcliffe seems like a safe haven, the shadow of McCarthyism looms large, an ever-present threat to the flourishing creative and intellectual life in Cambridge. And as girls from the Lilith Society begin to go missing, Ava and Lauren realize the witch trials of the past may not be as deeply buried as they once believed.

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There’s a particular kind of magic returning to the world this year — the kind Alice Hoffman taught us to love. A magic that is both beautiful and terrible, a blessing and a curse, threaded through family, community, legacy, and love. With Practical Magic 2 on the horizon, readers are craving stories that carry that same emotional gravity: witchcraft with consequences, empowered women, and enchantment woven into life.

THE WITCHES OF CAMBRIDGE arrives at exactly the right moment.

Set against the charm of Cambridge’s cobblestone streets and scholarly quiet, this novel follows witches whose gifts are as burdensome as they are wondrous. It’s a story about the ties that bind — the secrets we inherit, the truths we fear, and the love that refuses to let go even when it hurts. The magic here isn’t sparkly or whimsical; it’s lived‑in, charged, and deeply human.

If you’re looking for a book that captures the same emotional resonance as Hoffman’s legacy — that blend of tenderness, danger, and generational connection — The Witches of Cambridge is the perfect autumn read. Cozy, atmospheric, and quietly powerful, it’s a story that reminds us that magic is never just magic. It’s responsibility. It’s history. It’s love.

And this fall, it’s exactly what readers are reaching for.

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About the Author:

Alice Hoffman is the author of thirty works of fiction, including Practical Magic, Practical Magic 2, The Dovekeepers, and Magic Lessons. Visit her website: AliceHoffman.com.Photograph © Alyssa Peek

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Book Review | LIFE: A LOVE STORY by Elizabeth Berg

LIFE: A LOVE STORY

BY ELIZABETH BERG | PUBLICATION: MARCH 17, 2026
RANDOM HOUSE | GENRE: WOMEN'S FICTION
RATING: ★★★★★

"I read this slowly, painfully, gratefully.
It understood me."

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As ninety-two-year-old Florence "Flo" Greene nears the end of her life, she writes a letter to Ruthie, the woman who grew up next door to her, describing the items Flo is leaving Ruthie in her will. But as it goes on, telling surprising stories about those “little” things Flo will leave behind (What could possibly be the worth of a rubber band kept in a matchbox tied up in red ribbon?), an unforgettable portrait of the life she has lived emerges.

The letter starts off as an autobiography in things, but it turns out to do much more than that: ultimately, it will transform Flo and those around her. In the time she has left, Flo decides to take herself up on tiny dares. She encourages Ruthie to reconsider her impending divorce by sharing a startling, long-buried secret about her own perfect-seeming marriage. Flo has never had a pedicure before now, and as long as she's going to a beauty parlor, she arranges to have a blue streak put in her hair, too. And as these adventures lead her to make new friends, Flo helps them, too, find the fulfillment that living a full life has led her to understand.

Full of Elizabeth Berg's characteristic mix of warmth, humor, and poignancy, Life: A Love Story is a reminder that whatever your circumstances, as long as you're alive, you can keep on investing in life. The joy will inevitably follow.

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It took me a long time to finish Elizabeth Berg’s Life: A Love Story, and I’m grateful for every slow, deliberate day I spent with it. This isn’t a book you rush. It’s a book that asks you to breathe differently, to acknowledge yourself, and to sit with the parts of your life that still ache.

Flo’s story touched me in a way few novels ever have. She lived a long, imperfect, deeply human love with Terrence — the kind of love that shapes you so completely that losing it feels like losing the architecture of your own life. And yet, after Terrence’s death, Flo chooses to keep living. Not by “moving on,” not by erasing him, but by carrying him forward in the way she continues to love others, help others, and enrich the world around her.

Her final letter moved me — not written out of nostalgia, but out of devotion. Flo doesn’t write because she merely remembers Terrence; she writes so that others won’t forget. Their love wasn’t perfect, but it was lived — and lived love deserves witnesses.

Finishing this book in the quiet of the back garden my late husband tended, made the experience even more tender. I still hurt from losing him. I probably always will, and I don’t think I want that pain to disappear. But Berg reminded me that there are people who understand this kind of grief — the kind born from a love that shaped decades. And she reminded me that when I’m ready, I can choose to live fully again, not in spite of the hurt, but alongside it.

Flo chose Terrence every day, even after he was gone.
Not instead of living — but while living.
She chose the courage to keep choosing connection even when loss has already carved her open.
And at the end, when she had the whole span of her life to look back on, the story she wanted remembered was still his.

LIFE: A LOVE STORY is gentle, sad, hopeful, and profoundly human. It doesn’t offer easy answers. It simply shows that love — real love — continues in memory, in legacy, and in the lives shaped by it.

I finished this book feeling seen. And I finished it believing that choosing life, even after great loss, is its own quiet act of love.

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About the Author:

Elizabeth Berg is the New York Times bestselling author of many novels, including The Story of Arthur Truluv, Open House (an Oprah’s Book Club selection), Talk Before Sleep, and The Year of Pleasures, as well as the short story collection The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted. Durable Goods and Joy School were selected as ALA Best Books of the Year. She adapted The Pull of the Moon into a play that enjoyed sold-out performances in Chicago and Indianapolis. Berg’s work has been published in thirty-one countries, and three of her novels have been turned into television movies. She is the founder of Writing Matters, a quality reading series dedicated to serving author, audience, and community. She teaches one-day writing workshops and is a popular speaker at venues around the country. Some of her most popular Facebook postings have been collected in Make Someone Happy, Still Happy, and Happy to be Here. She lives outside Chicago.
Photo by Teresa Crawford

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Book Review | MORE THAN ENOUGH by Anna Quindlen

MORE THAN ENOUGH

BY ANNA QUINDLEN | PUBLICATION: FEBRUARY 24, 2026
RANDOM HOUSE | GENRE: WOMEN FICTION
RATING: ★★★★✬

"Ordinary life, ordinary women, made real."

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A woman finds herself asking surprising questions about her family and friends in this wise, wonderful novel of life, loss, and moving on—from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of After Annie.

High school English teacher Polly Goodman can talk about everything and anything with the women in her book club, which is why they’ve become her closest friends and, along with the support of her veterinarian husband, the bedrock of her life. Her private school students, her fraught relationship with mother, her struggles with IVF—Polly’s book club friends have heard it all.

But when they give Polly an ancestry test kit as a joke, the results match her with a stranger. Despite it seeming clear that this match is a mistake, Polly cannot help combing through her own family history for answers. Then, when it seems that the book club circle of four will become three, Polly learns how friendships can change your life in the most profound ways.

Written with Quindlen’s trademark warmth, humor, and insight into the power of love and hope, More Than Enough explores how we find ourselves again and again through the relationships that define us.

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Polly is part of a book club — a lively group of women who buy the book but never actually read it. That’s their rule. They gather to talk about everything except the assigned title. Not very bookish, but deeply relatable. It’s the kind of detail Quindlen writes so well: ordinary life, ordinary women, made real.

The DNA storyline didn’t interest me as much. What held me was Polly herself — her journey, her longing to be a mother, and the quiet ache beneath her hope. And Mark… the patience he shows her reminded me starkly of my own late husband. That tenderness, that steady presence, that willingness to keep believing even when life gives you difficult news — Quindlen captured something I’ve lived.

I like Quindlen’s writing. She makes her characters as real as people you could meet, or remember.

Reading MORE THAN ENOUGH was slow for me, not because the story lacked momentum, but because it touched parts of my life I’m still learning to carry. Quindlen writes with a tenderness that makes ordinary women feel extraordinary, and Polly’s journey reminded me that hope, even when fragile, is still worth holding. This book didn’t just tell a story — it made me remember my own.

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About the Author:

Anna Quindlen is a novelist and journalist whose work has appeared on fiction, nonfiction, and self-help bestseller lists. She is the author of many novels: Object Lessons, One True Thing, Black and Blue, Blessings, Rise and Shine, Every Last One, Still Life with Bread Crumbs, and Miller’s Valley. Her memoir Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, published in 2012, was a #1 New York Times bestseller. Her book A Short Guide to a Happy Life has sold more than a million copies. While a columnist at The New York Times she won the Pulitzer Prize and published two collections, Living Out Loud and Thinking Out Loud. Her Newsweek columns were collected in Loud and Clear. Photo by Maria Krovatin

*My thanks to Will Lyman of Penguin Random House
for providing the eARC in exchange for this unbiased review.
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Book Review | LIAR'S DICE by Juliet Faithfull

LIAR'S DICE

BY JULIET FAITHFULL | PUBLICATION: APRIL 28, 2026
RANDOM HOUSE | GENRE: LITERARY FICTION
RATING: ★★★✬

"...the novel is undeniably heartbreaking."

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A heart-rending and hopeful debut about a teenage girl in 1970s Brazil who is unexpectedly torn away from her disabled twin sister—and who must learn what it means to fight for those we love when all the odds are stacked against us.

Everyone knows, but no one talks.

Identical twins Dolores and Mita grow up in lockstep in rural Brazil, speaking their own secret language, dancing together, inseparable even when they sleep. But at age seven, they discover that Mita has a degenerative condition—and Dolores does not. On the cusp of adolescence, Mita's illness becomes debilitating, and without telling Dolores, their parents send Mita across the Atlantic Ocean to a hospital in their father’s native London.

The rest of the family moves to Rio and begins to live a bourgeouis lifestyle, but Dolores is miserable there. She misses her small-town and most especially her twin, who her parents seem to have forgot ever existed. And she has no way to contact Mita—particularly since, at twelve years old, Dolores still cannot read or write. She is desperate to speak to her again—and desperately alone and unhappy at her posh new school. But everything begins to change when she meets a brave, headstrong girl from the favelas who shows Dolores a new side of Rio, and how to survive it.

Tensions are on the rise with the dictatorial government cracking down on protesters and dissenters. Both at home and in the country at large, there are cover-ups at play—and Dolores pushes to find the truth about right and wrong, her lost sister and her place in life. In a setting where repression and silencing were part of everyday life, Liar’s Dice is about the secrets we hold, both personal and political, and the consequences of keeping them. Atmospheric and intimate, Juliet Faithfull's coming of age novel captures the intensity of forming your own identity, and the courage and love required to forge a different life.

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LIAR'S DICE is a poignant coming of age novel that explores the shifting dynamics of a family in turmoil and the struggle to hold on to one’s sense of self amid profound change. It is not a light or fast read, but it is undeniably resonant.

The first half took some time to draw me in, yet by the midpoint the narrative had fully captured my attention. Juliet Faithfull weaves Portuguese into the text with care, offering cultural depth without distancing readers unfamiliar with the language. What struck me most was the author’s ability to convey Dolores’s tangled emotions—her guilt, love, confusion, and longing—with such clarity. The author’s note suggests that elements of the story may be autobiographical, which adds an additional layer of emotional weight.

While beautifully written, the novel is undeniably heartbreaking. It challenges the assumption that children experience emotions more lightly than adults; in fact, it shows how deeply and seriously they feel the world around them.

Overall, Liar’s Dice is an affecting and worthwhile read. Though it begins slowly and occasionally lacks fluidity, its emotional depth and thoughtful exploration of identity, family, and silence make it a memorable novel.

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About the Author:

JULIET FAITHFULL is a Spanish-British-American writer who grew up in Brazil. Liar’s Dice, her first novel, was a winner of the 2024 Irish Writers Centre’s Novel Fair and a semifinalist for the James Jones First Novel Fellowship. She was awarded a Pauline Scheer Fellowship by GrubStreet’s Novel Incubator program and her short stories have been published in the Bellevue Literary Review and Urbanus Magazine. A graduate of Harvard University and Smith College School for Social Work, Juliet works as a trilingual psychotherapist and currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her two sons. Photo: © Sharona Jacobs

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Book Review | LUCKY SEED by Justinian Huang

LUCKY SEED

BY JUSTINIAN HUANG | PUBLICATION: NOVEMBER 11, 2025
MIRA | GENRE: GENERAL FICTION
RATING: ★★★✬

"Messy, Magnificent, and Unapologetic"

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The billionaire Sun Clan of Greater Los Angeles is your typical American family, with power-struggling aunties, emasculated uncles, scheming cousins, scandalous secrets and a fortune teller on retainer. But at the end of each combative day, the Suns are chained together with golden handcuffs, whether they like it or not.

Yet strange storms are a-brewing. Their matriarch, Roses Sun, is grappling with an existential she must produce a male heir that bears the clan's surname. She fears that if her generation is the one in which their esteemed lineage ends, they will be punished as "hungry ghosts" in the afterlife—an ancient but very real Asian superstition.

Faced with this terrifying fate, Roses summons her favorite nephew, Wayward. Believing him to possess the "lucky seed," Roses presents Wayward with a mandatory to father a baby boy who will inherit everything. When the other members of the Sun Clan catch wind of Roses's plot, all hells break loose. Wayward's family will now clash like never before in an epic war over the future of the Suns…if there is a future at all.

Yet through the chaos, Wayward sees opportunity. What if he can leverage all the conflict into a solution for his problematic family? What if he can reunite the Sun Clan by healing them? And what if the tumultuous Suns can finally learn how to love each other for the first time?

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LUCKY SEED by Justinian Huang is a richly layered exploration of a powerful yet deeply fractured family. While the novel delivers all the hallmarks of a high stakes, wealthy family drama—constant conflict, outrageous antics, and an ensemble of vividly drawn characters—it also offers a thoughtful examination of the bonds and burdens that shape the Sun Clan.

What stands out most is the novel’s unapologetic boldness. It is unabashedly messy, dramatic, queer, and culturally specific, yet it balances its humor and chaos with meaningful reflections on intergenerational trauma and the complexities of familial loyalty. As one line aptly states: “Just when you think you’ve figured us out, we will surprise you. The thing about a family with no moral compass is that there’s no predicting where we’re headed.” This sentiment captures the unpredictable energy that drives the story.

The narrative’s cinematic quality makes it easy to imagine an adaptation for television or film. Its fast paced plot, memorable characters, and striking final twist lend themselves naturally to the screen.

Though it is a longer read, LUCKY SEED remains consistently engaging—a wild, entertaining, and ultimately rewarding journey.

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About the Author:

JUSTINIAN HUANG’s debut novel, The Emperor and the Endless Palace, was an Indie Next Pick and a 2025 Stonewall Honor Book. It was hailed by Booklist as “a sweeping triumph,” and as “page-turning and deeply thoughtful,” in a starred review by Publishers Weekly. He lives in Los Angeles, where he also works as a film executive, most recently on KPop Demon Hunters. Justinian’s second novel, Lucky Seed, is a USA Today bestseller.

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Book Review | ROBOT ISLAND by Cary Fagan

ROBOT ISLAND

BY CARY FAGAN | PUBLICATION: OCTOBER 14, 2025
TUNDRA BOOKS | GENRE: MIDDLE-GRADE
RATING: ★★★★

“Robot Island is more than a whimsical adventure—it’s a celebration of books, friendship, and the families we create for ourselves.”

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Forced into stealing valuable books from a rich widow, Willis takes refuge on an abandoned island populated by robots in this new middle-grade novel by acclaimed writer Cary Fagan. For fans of The Wild Robot.

It isn’t bad enough that Willis has to live with his cold uncle Tod in a dusty old house of used books. He can’t even spend time with his friends Harrison and Galaxi because of the nasty after-school jobs his uncle makes him take on. But then his uncle asks him to visit an old widow lady in the mansion on the hill.

To his surprise, Willis likes Mrs. Shorthouse and even the books they read together (Little Women, Great Expectations). Meanwhile, taking a rowboat ride, Willis discovers an abandoned town from the 1950s populated by square-headed robots. What is the connection between Mrs. Shorthouse and Robot Island? What will happen after the police find out that Willis has been stealing rare books from the mansion? And when Willis turns on the electricity and the robots of Robot Island come to life, will they turn out to be friends or enemies?

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"Books, Robots, and the Families We Choose"

Cary Fagan’s Robot Island is a middle-grade adventure that blends whimsy with heart, asking what it means to belong, and reminding us that families can be found in the most unexpected places.

Willis lives under the stern watch of his uncle Tod, surrounded by dusty shelves of used books and weighed down by endless chores. When Tod sends him to visit Mrs. Shorthouse, a wealthy widow in her hilltop mansion, Willis unexpectedly discovers both companionship and the joy of reading classics like Little Women and Great Expectations. But his uncle’s schemes force Willis into stealing rare books, setting off a chain of events that lead him to a mysterious abandoned town from the 1950s—Robot Island. When Willis awakens its square-headed inhabitants, he must face questions of loyalty, friendship, and belonging.

As fantastic as an island of robots sounds, Cary Fagan’s novel is more compelling than its premise suggests. Robot Island is, at its heart, a book for book lovers—especially young readers who recognize the thrill of discovering that stories can change them. It captures that first spark of falling in love with reading, and the way books can become companions in difficult times.

The “found family” trope is woven beautifully into the narrative. Mrs. Shorthouse, the robots, and Willis’s circle of friends remind us that family can be chosen and built through kindness. The friendship arc is particularly moving, even when Willis tries to push Harrison, Galaxi, and Daphne away, they refuse to abandon him. Their loyalty and courage shine, offering a model of empathy and resilience.

Fagan’s storytelling radiates warmth. Though the novel nods to modern technology, it ultimately celebrates human connection, kindness, and the timeless comfort of books. It’s a heartwarming middle-grade adventure that will inspire readers to treasure both their friendships and their stories.

Robot Island is more than a whimsical adventure—it’s a celebration of books, friendship, and the families we create for ourselves. Cary Fagan has crafted a tale that will resonate with young readers and remind adults of the moment they first fell in love with stories.

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About the Author:

CARY FAGAN's kids' books include Robot Island; Hans Christian Andersen Lives Next Door; Water, Water (winner of the Vine National Canadian Jewish Book Award); The Collected Works of Gretchen Oyster; the Kaspar Snit novels; and the Wolfie and Fly chapter book series. He is also the author of many picture books, including Mr. Zinger's Hat (Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award winner), Little Blue Chair, and Bear Wants to Sing. Cary has received the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People for his body of work. He lives in Toronto, Canada.
Photo by Josh Levine

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Book Review | MY MOTHER, THE MERMAID CHASER by Jamie Jo Hoang

MY MOTHER, THE MERMAID CHASER

BY JAMIE JO HOANG | PUBLICATION: SEPTEMBER 23, 2025
CROWN BOOKS | GENRE: YA FICTION
RATING: ★★★★

"It holds space for forgiveness, for healing, for the limits of what people can endure."

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Told in dual POV, this gripping companion piece to My Father, the Panda Killer, follows a teenage son who defies his sister's wishes by searching for more information about their absent mother. Meanwhile, his mother's poignant backstory reveals her struggle with grief and longing, culminating in her heart-wrenching decision to leave her children.

San Jose, 2008: Paul yearns to know more about the mother who abandoned his family, but she is the only topic no one discusses. Now’s he’s in Vietnam, feeling displaced and considered an outsider. Plus, a ghost is haunting him even though he doesn’t believe in ghosts. His cousin and the grandmother he’s never met before now keep telling him that he’ll get answers only if he’s willing to open his ears.

Vũng Tâu, 1975: Ngọc Lan is eleven when her family breaks her brother is drafted into the army; her father leaves on the last helicopter to the US. She and her sister are sent from Vietnam on a harrowing journey by boat. Only Ngọc Lan will survive. But what is the American dream when you are haunted by the death of your sister, missing your homeland; seeing ghostly mermaid sightings; lost in an abusive marriage; struggling as a parent?

Told in the alternating perspectives of Paul and Ngọc Lan, My Mother, the Mermaid Chaser is a haunting story about the intergenerational effects of war, estranged family bonds, and how a teenager discovers a new connection to a lost part of himself.

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I came to this book without having read its companion, My Father, the Panda Killer. And maybe that’s fitting—because this story, too, begins with absence. With the ache of not knowing. With a boy named Paul, who chooses to seek the truth about his mother, even when that truth might hurt.

This is a poignant novel. It blends adventure and humor with the quiet devastation of wanting to understand your parents. Beneath the surrealism and whimsy lies something raw: the longing to make sense of abandonment, of trauma, of choices that ripple across generations.

Paul is the heart of this story. He’s like an open vessel—willing to receive, willing to give, willing to believe. His openness stands in sharp contrast to his sister Jane, whose guardedness feels like a shield forged from years of disappointment. Watching Paul navigate this emotional terrain is deeply moving. He steps into adult shoes, yes—but he never stops being a boy.

Hoàng has a gift for writing complex family dynamics. She doesn’t shy away from pain, but she also doesn’t drown in it. Her prose carries trauma and tenderness in equal measure, often laced with humor and surreal imagery that make the emotional weight bearable.

As a mother myself, I found myself asking: How could a mother abandon her children to an abusive father? It’s a question that lingers. And yet, Hoàng invites empathy—not just for the children, but for the flawed adults who made impossible choices. The story doesn’t excuse, but it understands. It holds space for forgiveness, for healing, for the limits of what people can endure.

There are slow parts, yes. But I stayed. Because some stories deserve patience. And this one, with its quiet bravery and emotional honesty, is worth every page.

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About the Author:
Jamie Jo Hoang is the daughter of Vietnamese refugees. She grew up in Orange County, CA—not the rich part—and worked as a docuseries producer before shifting to writing full-time. Her debut young adult novel, My Father, The Panda Killer, was named one of NPR’s Books We Love and received an Honorable Mention from the Freeman Book Awards. Hoang is also the author of the award-winning adult novel Blue Sun, Yellow Sky, which was named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews and won a silver medal at the Independent Publishers Awards. Her work has been published in TIME, SALON, and Tiny Buddha. When she’s not writing, Hoang loves to take long walks, travel, and scuba dive. She lives in house covered in Post-It Notes with her husband and son.

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Book Review | SCARLET MORNING by N.D. Stevenson

SCARLET MORNING

Scarlet Morning series , Vol. 1
BY N.D. STEVENSON | PUBLICATION: SEP 23, 2025
QUILL TREE BOOKS | GENRE: JUVENILE FICTION
RATING: ★★★★★

"A salt-swept masterpiece of pirates, puzzles, and found family."

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From the powerhouse creator of Nimona comes a breathtaking illustrated novel following two orphans who leave the only home they’ve ever known to sail with an eccentric crew of pirates.

Viola and Wilmur have been waiting for their parents for fifteen boring years in the colorless town of Caveat. Their lives are a drudge of salt, trash, pirate stories, and what-ifs . . . until one very stormy night, when Captain Cadence Chase breaks down their door. They cut a deal with the Chase can take their most prized possession, a mysterious book, but only if she takes them, too. After all, if their parents aren’t coming, Viola and Wilmur might as well have a grand adventure to find them.

Setting sail into the treacherous and beautiful world beyond Caveat, the two inseparable friends must uncover the facts behind legend—and the key to saving all of Dickerson’s Sea from obliteration—before the truth tears them apart.

Wickedly funny, deeply emotional, and sharply incisive, Scarlet Morning is a tale of love, betrayal, and the extraordinary lengths we’d go to save a world broken beyond repair.

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"A Salt-Swept Masterpiece"

From the creator of Nimona comes a story that feels like a storm cracking open the sky—SCARLET MORNING is everything I want in a YA fantasy and more. It’s a tale of orphans, pirates, and death-defying adventure, yes—but also of mystery, memory, and the kind of love that anchors you when the world is broken.

Viola and Wilmur have waited fifteen years in the colorless town of Caveat, clinging to stories and salt. When Captain Cadence Chase bursts through their door, they trade their most prized possession—a mysterious book—for a chance to chase legend and find their missing parents. What follows is a voyage across Dickerson’s Sea, where truth is slippery, betrayal cuts deep, and the world itself may be on the brink of unraveling.

📚 Why I loved it:
• It’s brilliant. And everything between that and a masterpiece.
• The recipe is perfect: orphans, pirates, fantastical phenomena, and a mystery worth solving.
• ND Stevenson’s illustrations are signature and stunning—each page feels alive.
• The world-building is vivid and vast. I could see it, feel it, get lost in it.
• The narrative is warm, witty, and emotionally grounded. No profanity, but plenty of reality checks.
• The characters are unforgettable —each one unique, fully developed, and deeply human.
• The names and places may boggle you, but they stick. They matter.
• The “found family” theme is handled with grace and heart. It reminded me why I love people.
• The mystery is a full puzzle, and I’m already desperate for the next book. How many? When?

This is a book that makes you wait for reading time like it’s treasure. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, even when life got in the way. It’s perfect for young readers, but it doesn’t talk down—it lifts up. It’s a story that believes in good people, in broken worlds worth saving, and in the power of stories to carry us home. I highly recommend SCARLET MORNING.

Video courtesy of Shelf Stuff, http://www.shelfstuff.com. No infringement intended.

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About the Author:

ND Stevenson is the award-winning, bestselling author and illustrator of Nimona and The Fire Never Goes Out and the cocreator of Lumberjanes and was the showrunner for the award-winning Netflix series She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. He currently lives in Los Angeles.
Photo by Derrick Boutté

*HarperCollins CA provided the ARC
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Book Review | TORCHFIRE by Moira Buffini

TORCHFIRE

The Torch Trilogy Series , Vol. 2
BY MOIRA BUFFINI | PUBLICATION: AUGUST 28, 2025
FABER AND FABER | GENRE: YOUNG ADULT FANTASY / DYSTOPIA
RATING: ★★★★

"Readers will be challenged, justified, and confronted,
often in the same chapter."

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Welcome to a world where songlight is either your greatest power—or your greatest curse.

Elsa is on the run and is urgently seeking a safe haven.
Nightingale is being held captive and forced to use her songlight against her own people.
Piper has been promoted up the ranks of the Airmen, where nothing but bloodshed is demanded of him.
Rye has stumbled across an incredible airship, the likes of which has never been seen before . . .
All four are united by their desire for peace. But peace between the Aylish and Brightland feels more fragile than ever.

And there is a new threat, not just to Brightland, but to Ayland and the world beyond. The airship that Rye has discovered is owned by a race of elite Torches, recently returned to Earth.

The future of civilisation is on a knife edge, with those from Brightland wanting to stamp out songlight, those from Ayland wanting harmony and those from Sealand wanting songlight to rein, whatever the costs . . .

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Moira Buffini’s TORCHFIRE plunges us straight into the fray where Songlight (2024) left off, wasting no time in rekindling the tension, heartbreak, and hope that defined the first installment. The stakes are higher, the world broader, and the emotional toll deeper.

Elsa, Nightingale, Piper, and Rye return with new scars and sharper edges, joined by fresh perspectives that expand the narrative’s reach. Buffini juggles multiple POVs with remarkable precision—never losing momentum, never wasting a page. The pacing is relentless yet deliberate, building a slow, desperate crescendo that left me breathless and hungry for more.

The plot development is rich and immersive, but it’s the thematic expansion that truly sets Torchfire ablaze. Buffini doesn’t shy away from the raw parts—grief, betrayal, complicity, survival. These themes aren’t just explored; they’re felt. Readers will be challenged, justified, and confronted, often in the same chapter.

The characters are fully realized, flaws and all. Buffini doesn’t deal in shades of gray so much as she paints with bruised color—characters who are not whitewashed, not villainized, but deeply human. Their pain is palpable, and their choices—however flawed—are rooted in survival and belief. Even the villains are affecting; you hold your breath when they enter the page, not out of fear alone, but out of recognition.

What lingers most after finishing Torchfire is the way Buffini interrogates the concept of humanity itself. In this world, those who carry songlight are branded as “unhuman”—a label meant to isolate, devalue, and erase. Yet the very act of songlight, of shared thought and feeling, is what binds people together. The joining of songlight is called “harmony”—and isn’t that exactly what our world needs right now?

Buffini doesn’t just pose the question; she lets it burn through the narrative. Why would a right-thinking society try to rip out harmony? What are we so afraid of when people connect deeply, vulnerably, and without violence?

The new characters introduced in TORCHFIRE stand in stark contrast to this archaic belief system. They challenge the status quo with their presence. They are bringing a new world with them.

Songlight started the tune, it blends the harmony. And it is TORCHFIRE that started the blaze and starts the march onwards.

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About the Author:

Moira Buffini is an Olivier Award–winning UK playwright and BAFTA-nominated screenwriter, writing many plays for the National Theatre and the West End. Films include Tamara Drewe, Jane Eyre, Byzantium, and The Dig. She cocreated and was showrunner of Hulu's Harlots. Songlight is her debut novel. She lives in London.

*Faber and Faber provided the eARC
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Book Review | THE NIGHTBLOOD PRINCE by Molly X. Chang

THE NIGHTBLOOD PRINCE

The Nightblood Prince Series, Vol. 1
BY MOLLY X. CHANG | PUBLICATION: JULY 1, 2025
RANDOM HOUSE | GENRE: YOUNG ADULT FANTASY
RATING: ★★★★

"Fei’s defiance of the gods, her refusal to be a pawn, and the enigmatic premise kept me hooked."

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Two princes. One prophecy. A fate she cannot outrun.

The night Fei was born, a prophecy was made: she would one day become the Empress of All Empresses.

Torn from her family as a child and raised in the palace to one day marry the Crown Prince of the most powerful empire in the land, Fei has only ever known loneliness. When the opportunity arises to seize her own destiny for the first time in her life, Fei sets out to hunt a legendary tiger, knowing it might cost her everything. What she doesn’t expect is to fall under the mercy of Yexue, the beautiful runaway prince from a rival kingdom. Blessed by the night, harboring a dangerous magic, and capable of commanding an army of deadly vampires, Yexue could be the key to Fei gaining more than just her freedom.

But to outrun destiny, Fei must spark a wave of events that will change the world as she knows it. Torn between two princes and plagued by nightmares of bloodshed, she finds that the stars might be more inescapable—and more irresistible—than she ever considered before. . . .-PRH

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A prophecy. A tiger hunt. A prince cloaked in night. THE NIGHTBLOOD PRINCE delivers a sweeping tale of destiny, defiance, and blood-soaked magic that reads like a fever dream stitched from the histories of Vlad the Impaler and Genghis Khan.

Fei, the prophesied Empress of All Empresses, is a heroine who refuses to be confined by fate. Torn from her family and raised in a palace that treats her more as a symbol than a person, Fei’s journey is one of reclaiming agency—of choosing herself over the empire’s expectations. Her inner battle is compelling, though at times confusing. She longs to be chosen for who she is, not for what she represents. And while her arc is powerful, her inability to fully “let go” until it’s too late left me aching.

The story is fast-paced, with no dull chapters to slog through—a rare treat. The love triangle trope, which I usually avoid, didn’t bother me here. Perhaps because it’s woven into a larger tapestry of royal court intrigue, enemies-to-lovers tension, and slow-burning emotional stakes. Yexue, the rival prince with dangerous magic and a vampire army, is enigmatic and beautifully written. The romance simmers rather than scorches, and I appreciated that restraint.

Fei’s defiance of the gods, her refusal to be a pawn, and the enigmatic premise kept me hooked. There were moments that made me cringe—scenes that felt a bit too dramatic or forced—but they didn’t derail the experience. The familial connections and communal responsibilities added depth, grounding the fantasy in something tender and real. And the inclusion of Chinese proverbs throughout the story adds a quiet reverence for heritage, grounding the tale in cultural memory while honoring the wisdom passed down through generations.

Who Should Read This
Beyond its fantasy trappings, The Nightblood Prince feels eerily relevant and speaks to timely themes: autonomy, identity, and the cost of being a symbol. Fei’s struggle to define herself outside of prophecy mirrors the pressure many face today to live up to inherited expectations—whether cultural, familial, or societal. Her refusal to be used as a justification for conquest mirrors a deeper truth: power rooted in brutality is not strength—it’s cowardice dressed in armor.

In a world where war is still wielded as a tool of pride and dominance, I hope the younger generation reads The Nightblood Prince. Not just for the magic and monsters, but for the mirror it holds to history. This book invites readers to reflect—to see how power has been wielded, how symbols have been used, and how empires have risen on the backs of the unwilling.

We are living in a time that feels precarious. The world teeters between progress and regression, between civility and the savagery our ancestors tried to haul us from. I do not believe in “casualties of war.” Fiction like this reminds us that destiny is not fixed. I believe in stories that challenge the arrogance of empire and remind us that choosing wisely—choosing peace, truth, and autonomy—is the bravest act of all.

“Fate is not as strong as the human heart.”
(命不如心强 — Mìng bùrú xīn qiáng)

Final Reflection
As Fei learns, and as we must remember: Fate is not as strong as the human heart. Stories like THE NIGHTBLOOD PRINCE remind us that even in the shadow of prophecy, we can choose who we become.

I peeked at the hardbound cover art by Gollancz and loved how it captured the story’s haunting tone. I’ll be waiting for Book Two, curious to see how the stars shift next.

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About the Author:

Molly X. Chang is the bestselling author of To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods and the upcoming young adult fantasy The Nightblood Prince. She’s a first-generation immigrant born in Harbin, China. Photo by Katrina Wong

*Penguin Random House provided the eARC
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Book Review | THE LAST TIGER by Julia Riew; Brad Riew

THE LAST TIGER

BY JULIA RIEW, BRAD RIEW | PUBLICATION: JULY 29, 2025
KOKILA | GENRE: YA FANTASY
RATING: ★★★

"...the blush of first love and bridging impossible divides."

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Inspired by true stories from the authors’ grandparents’ lives during one of the darkest periods in Korean history, The Last Tiger is a debut young adult fantasy novel about the power of love to give voice to a silenced people.

In a colonized land where tigers are being hunted to extinction and ancient magic stirs, two star-crossed teens—Lee Seung, a servant yearning for freedom, and Choi Eunji, a noble girl defying tradition—join forces to try and reshape their respective fates.

But their relationship evolves from begrudging accomplices to bitter adversaries as they soon find themselves on opposite sides of a battle over the last tiger, a symbol of their people’s lost freedom and key to the liberation of their country. As the ties between Seung and Eunji are complicated by their conflicting loyalties, tensions rise—especially when a charming princeling of the empire begins to rival for Eunji's affection.

In this friends-to-enemies-to-lovers story of forbidden romance, antagonists turned allies, oppression and liberation, neither Seung nor Eunji can abandon their mission—or each other. And as they embark on separate quests to find the elusive creature, each must also find the power within themselves to make their own destiny. -PRH

____________________________________________________________________

I finished this book, but not without a fight.

The Last Tiger has all the ingredients of a compelling historical fantasy: a colonized Korea under Imperial Japan, magical realism rooted in dragon spirits and ki, and a symbolic quest to protect the last tiger—a living emblem of resistance and cultural identity. The premise is rich, and the authors’ inspiration from their grandparents’ real-life love story adds emotional weight.

But despite its potential, this story didn’t resonate with me.

The central romance—between a noble girl and a servant—leans heavily into the princess/poor trope, which I’ve never found appealing. The narrative still hinges on familiar beats: forbidden love, class defiance, and a princeling rival. It felt more like a YA fantasy checklist than a fresh take.

That said, the protagonist deserves credit. Choi Eunji didn’t wait to be saved. She climbed, she fought, and she earned her place through grit and determination. Her arc was the only thing that kept me coming back, even when the rest of the narrative felt like a chore. I huffed, I puffed, I put the book down more times than I can count—but I finished it.

I admire the historical context, especially the brutal depiction of tiger executions, which echoes the violence of cultural erasure. As someone whose own grandparents lived through the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, I felt a personal connection to the themes of oppression and survival. But even that couldn’t carry me through the story’s pacing and emotional tone.

This book might speak more deeply to younger readers—those drawn to the blush of first love and bridging impossible divides.

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About the Authors:

Julia Riew is a Korean-American composer-lyricist, librettist, and novelist from St. Louis and NYC. She is best known for her viral hit Dive, a reimagining of the Korean folktale Shimcheong, which has captivated millions online and is currently being developed for the stage at the American Repertory Theater with Tony-Award winning director Diane Paulus and GLAAD-Award winning playwright Diana Son.

Brad Riew is an MFA candidate in Fiction at New York University's creative writing program. He graduated from Harvard College in 2018 with a degree in Psychology, where he won the Ecker Short Story Prize. The Last Tiger, co-written with his younger sister Julia Riew, is his first novel. Brad lives in Brooklyn, New York.

*Penguin Random House provided the eARC
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Book Review | THE BOOK OF LOST HOURS by Hayley Gelfuso

THE BOOK OF LOST HOURS

BY HAYLEY GELFUSO | PUBLICATION: AUGUST 26, 2025
ATRIA | GENRE: HISTORICAL FICTION
RATING: ★★★★✬

"An incredible premise with a deeply moving message."

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For fans of The Ministry of Time and The Midnight Library, a sweeping, unforgettable novel moving from pre-WWII Germany to Cold War-era America to the mysterious time space, a library filled with books containing the memories of those who bore witness to history.

Nuremberg, 1938: On the night of Kristallnacht, eleven-year-old Lisavet Levy is hidden by her father from approaching forces in a mysterious place called the time space, a library where all the memories of the past are stored inside of books. When her father doesn’t return for her, she becomes trapped, spending her adolescence walking through the memories of those who lived before. When she discovers that living timekeepers are entering the time space to destroy memories and maintain their preferred version of history, Lisavet sets about trying to salvage the past, creating her own book of lost memories. Until one day in 1949, when she meets an American timekeeper named Ernest Duquesne, who is intent on keeping her from her task. What ensues sets her on a course to change history and the time space itself forever.

Boston, 1965: Amelia Duquesne is mourning the death of her uncle and guardian, Ernest, when she’s approached by Moira, the enigmatic head of the CIA’s highly secretive Temporal Reconnaissance Program. Moira tells her about the existence of the time space—accessed only by specially designed watches whose intricate mechanisms have been lost to time—and enlists her help in recovering a strange book her uncle had once sought. But Amelia quickly realizes that the past—and the truth—are not as straightforward as Moira would like her to believe.

A sweeping, cinematic love story, this feat of imagination explores memory, time, and the lengths we will go to in order to protect the existence of those we love.

____________________________________________________________________

"We Choose Love"

From the moment I saw the cover, I felt summoned. Some books whisper. This one beckons.

Hayley Gelfuso crafts a haunting, poetic timespace where memory is both sanctuary and battleground. Unlike typical multiverse narratives, this story unfolds in a library of lost hours—a purgatory of recollection, where time doesn’t bend but bruises. Azrael’s description of this realm lingers: it’s not a portal, it’s a reckoning.

The premise alone is a marvel. But it’s Gelfuso’s lyrical voice that elevates the experience. Despite the dual timelines and shifting perspectives, her prose remains fluid and evocative, never losing its emotional cadence.

Lisavet and Amelia are compelling, but it was Ernest Duquesne who pierced me most deeply. A man who loves through ruin, who chooses tenderness even when time itself conspires against him. His love story with Lisavet doesn’t just endure—it defies chronology.

Gelfuso also knows how to sculpt a villain. The antagonist is despicable in the most effective way, a force that makes the stakes feel real and raw.

"Time is the beast that makes mortals of all, one way or another.
It takes everything heedless of wealth or status."
I read this slowly. I didn’t want it to end. I left marginalias in the edges—my own memory etched into the pages. And while I won’t spoil the final chapters, I will say this: even in death, Time can still take everything. But love, when chosen again and again, leaves a trace.

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About the Author:

Hayley Gelfuso is an author and poet who works in the environmental nonprofit sector. As a writer, she is drawn to stories of the wild and wonderful that are rooted in real world history and science. Her poetry about her experiences working in the conservation field has been published in the Plumwood Mountain Journal. She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband.
Photograph by Angelo Gelfuso, Gelfocus Photography

*Simon & Schuster CA provided the ARC
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