Book Review | KIKI AND THE NEW MAGIC by Eiko Kadono

KIKI AND THE NEW MAGIC

魔女の宅急便 [Majo no Takkyūbin], Vol. 2
BY EIKO KADONO
ILLUSTRATOR: YUTA ONODA | TRANSLATOR: EMILY BALISTRIERI
PUBLICATION: APRIL 29, 2025 | HQ DIGITAL
GENRE: WOMEN FICTION | RATING: ★★★★

"A story about growing up, listening deeply, and learning the sounds of the world."

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It has been a year since Kiki started her new life as an honest-to-goodness witch, and the—not quite so—little courier has become a real celebrity. But fame comes with its own set of challenges. As Kiki faces increasingly perilous tasks, her friendships with Jiji and Tombo are put to the test. Doubts creep in, leading her to question her purpose. Determined to overcome her fears, Kiki must summon all her courage and perhaps even explore a new kind of magic. Will she find the strength to navigate her evolving world?

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In KIKI AND THE NEW MAGIC, Eiko Kadono gives us a Kiki who is no longer the wide‑eyed girl of Koriko’s early days. She’s a year older now — not yet an adult, but no longer a child — and Kadono lets her step into the full emotional weather of adolescence. What makes this installment remarkable isn’t just the new magic Kiki discovers, but the way she learns to listen.

This book is, at its heart, about the sounds of the world.

Kadono shows us that magic isn’t only broomsticks and flying. Magic is attention. Magic is perception. Magic is the ability to hear what you once overlooked — the wind shifting, the hum of a town, the emotional rhythm of people’s hearts. As Kiki expands her environment beyond Koriko, she also expands her inner world. She begins to hear things she never noticed before.

And with that listening comes growth.

Kiki experiences the full spectrum of teenage emotion: jealousy, insecurity, impatience, angst. Her doubts about her chosen profession — once tucked away — burst open. She wonders if she’s good enough, if her magic is enough, if she is enough. These moments don’t weaken her — they humanize her. They make her real.

Kadono writes adolescence with tenderness. She doesn’t punish Kiki for doubting. She lets her explore, question, and widen her world. The “new magic” isn’t flashy — it’s emotional truth. It’s the magic of hearing the world more clearly and hearing herself more honestly.

For readers who grew up with Miyazaki’s gentle, pastel version of Kiki, this book feels like watching a beloved character step into the next chapter of life. And for mothers — especially those who raised daughters who grew up with Kiki — this story carries an extra resonance. My own daughter grew up with Miyazaki’s Kiki, and admired her resilience, her curiosity, her independence — all of it echoes the same quiet courage Kiki shows here.

KIKI AND THE NEW MAGIC is a story about listening. About growing. About expanding. About finding your place in a world that suddenly feels bigger than you expected.

It’s a gentle, thoughtful continuation of Kiki’s journey — one that reminds us that magic isn’t always loud. Sometimes, it’s the softest sound in the world.

I highly recommend the audiobook version for a fuller experience. Kim Mai Guest did a great job narrating.

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About the Author:

Eiko Kadono has published nearly two hundred original works and received many accolades, including but not limited to the Hans Christian Andersen Award and a place on the IBBY Honor List for Kiki’s Delivery Service. She lives in the Kanagawa prefecture of Japan.
Photo: © Japanese Board on Books for Young People (JBBY)

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Book Review | FIRE TO THE STARS by Morgan J. Watchorn

FIRE TO THE STARS

BY MORGAN J. WATCHORN | PUBLICATION: AUGUST 4, 2026
KNOPF BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS | GENRE: YA FANTASY
RATING: ★★★★

"The romance works because it’s built on emotional risk, not just trope mechanics."

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In a kingdom cursed to turn people into dragons, two teens from opposite worlds, each with nothing left to lose, form an uneasy alliance. Told in dual perspectives, this sweeping debut follows their search for redemption and the slow-burning bond that could save them both. Now available in paperback!

Every month, the kingdom of Florent braces for the Ignition: a solar event that turns ordinary humans into vicious dragon shifters. And anyone can be a dragon’s next victim.

Claire knows this all too well because the Ignition consumed her and her father, her town, and the life she thought she’d have. Now, she’s scraping by on her wits as part of a sisterhood of thieves—lying, stealing, her heart locked tight—until she tracks down a disgraced dragon slayer who may be the one person who can give her back the life she once had.

Abel has been shunned by the prestigious Slayers Guild for conducting research that’s too…unorthodox to condone. But there’s no one Claire trusts more than a rulebreaker, and that research might be the one thing that could help her. So when Abel reveals he is hunting again, Claire tries to hire him under false pretenses. Abel, however, is reluctant to accept a job from a criminal, no matter how charming she is. And yet…he really needs the money.

Together, Claire and Abel will race through Florent and uncover dangerous secrets in their quests for forgiveness—and survival. But that knowledge may cost them the very thing they’ve grown desperate to protect: each other.

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Finally followed Gillian Cosgriff advise and read a book about sexy dragons.
...just kidding. Penguin Random House Canada was generous and shared access to the book.

Might as well sit down and relax, because this is probably one of the longest book review I've written.

~~~~~~~~~~

FIRE TO THE STARS presents itself as a YA fantasy romance — enemies to lovers, cursed dragons, danger, heat. But beneath the trope friendly surface, the author reaches for something far more difficult: a story about divine mistakes, mortal suffering, and the thin line between mercy and resignation.

Claire: Brave, Enduring… and Chosen for Her Strength
What struck me most was Claire’s curse — not born from greed, recklessness, or wrongdoing, but from virtue. She is chosen precisely because she is brave, enduring, defiant. The kind of person who steps forward when others step back. And that’s the tragedy.

Her strength becomes the justification for her suffering.

Claire’s anger isn’t petty; it’s righteous. Her defiance isn’t attitude; it’s survival. She is heroic, yes — but she is also a pawn in a divine mistake the world has learned to call fate.

The Dragon Pit: Mercy or Resignation?
The worldbuilding around the dragon pits is one of the book’s most haunting elements. These pits exist so cursed humans can die in dragon form without harming anyone — a “humane” solution, a controlled place for an uncontrollable transformation.

But the more you sit with it, the more you realize:
this isn’t mercy.

It’s damage control dressed up as compassion.
It’s the world trying to manage a divine error.

When gods err, mortals suffer — and we call the least painful option mercy. That tension sits at the heart of the story, and it’s where the book’s emotional weight truly lives.

Romance Woven Through Moral Dilemma
Yes, there is romance — tension, heat, the pull between hunter and dragon, danger threaded with desire. But the book never lets you forget the ethical cost of the curse. The love story is shaped by:

• memory loss
• identity fracture
• the fear of transformation
• the inevitability of sacrifice

The romance works because it’s built on emotional risk, not just trope mechanics.

Ignition Day: Beauty and Tragedy
This solar events — the moment of transformation — is written with a mix of awe and dread. It’s beautiful, terrifying, and deeply unfair. The author captures that duality well: the spectacle of magic and the cost of being chosen by it.

Pacing & Structure
The book opens boldly, settles into a tense middle, and crescendos toward an emotional final act. The pacing is confident, though a few moments could have lingered longer. Still, the momentum carries you through with a steady pull.

Humor in the Heat
I wasn’t expecting the dragons to be this… charismatic. There are moments of humor — scandalous, bold, delightfully unexpected — that break the tension in the best way. It’s a welcome contrast to the heavier themes.

Final Reflection
Fire to the Stars is more than a romance. It’s a story about the cost of being strong, the cruelty of being chosen, and the rituals we invent to survive divine mistakes. It asks what mercy really means — and whether the world’s “humane” solutions are anything more than resignation.

And I want to congratulate the author for reaching beyond trope and spectacle. She didn’t just bring a charismatic dragon to life; she gave these dragons justice. In a world that sees them as fire, blood, and destruction, she offered them dignity and a complicated kind of mercy. It’s a bold, thoughtful achievement — one that lingers long after the last page.

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About the Author:
Morgan J. Watchorn writes stories that feature unapologetic girls at the heart of cataclysms—either fighting or causing them. A Southern California native, she graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of California Irvine with a bachelor’s degree in Japanese Language and Literature. Her manga and novel translations can be found in most major bookstores. When she’s not writing, she’s usually at the barn with her spoiled horses. Fire to the Stars is her debut novel.

*Penguin Random House provided the eARC
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Book Review | THE NEVERFEAR by Katherine Rundell

THE NEVERFEAR

Impossible Creatures Series, Book 3
BY KATHERINE RUNDELL
ART BY ASHLEY MACKENZIE | PUBLICATION: SEPTEMBER 1, 2026
PUFFIN CANADA | GENRE: CHILDREN'S MIDDLE GRADE BOOKS
RATING: ★★★★★

"This sequel is everything I hoped for — great adventure, new challenges, enduring loyalty, and wonder. "

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It’s the Midsummer Feast on the islet of Glimt, and on this magical moonlit evening, the word on everyone’s lips is bandits. Reports of masked men wreaking havoc are spreading throughout the Archipelago.

Christopher and Anya have faced danger before; they think they are prepared for this threat—until they are ambushed and someone very close to them is kidnapped.

Their frantic quest to pay the ransom will take them on a wild journey across Glimouria. Together they must face giants, duel with pirates, and race against deadly karkadanns.

But just when they think they might succeed, there will come the most Herculean task of all . . . -PRH

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There was a moment, while reading THE NEVERFEAR, when I realized something about myself as a reader: I still read with wonder. I still fall into stories the way I did when I was young — with curiosity, with awe, with that feeling of stepping into a world that welcomes me back like an old friend. Meeting Christopher, Anya, Nighthand, Irian, and Teren again felt less like picking up a sequel and more like returning to people I’ve missed.

This sequel is everything I hoped for — great adventure, new challenges, enduring loyalty, and wonder. The challenges asked so much from our characters, but they stood to the task. Every single one of them was tested and passed with flying colors. Their loyalty, love, and morals were pushed to the edge, and where there was anger, hurt, or guilt, there was also love — unconditional love and profound understanding.

One of the most beautiful truths in Neverfear is the way Nighthand rebuilds his boat after every storm, every loss, every hardship — always carrying a piece of the old into the new, and always naming it Neverfear. It’s not just a name. It’s an act of courage. A promise to himself that fear will not define him, and that renewal is always possible. Naming it Neverfear is continuity — not because the boat stays the same, but because he stays true.

This idea echoes through the entire Archipelago. The islands are home to everyone — the strange, the oddball, the different, the ones who don’t fit neatly anywhere else. The Archipelago welcomes them not by asking them to change, but by giving them space to grow. It’s a world that says: you belong here, exactly as you are.

And just like Nighthand’s boat, the people of the Archipelago rebuild themselves after hardship. They carry their past forward, but they don’t let it trap them. They learn, they change, they discover new strengths. Their renewal is quiet, brave, and deeply human.

The threat to the Archipelago is terrifying — deathly terrifying — and I found myself anxious for everyone… and yet hopeful. If there’s one great takeaway, it’s that hope can be pulled from different places, different directions. It’s there, even in the darkest corners, waiting to be found.

This book is a whole lesson on its own. I would recommend it to any child or adult alike. It reminds us that wonder is not something we outgrow. Curiosity is not something we lose. Renewal is not something reserved for stories. And belonging is not something we have to earn.

Stories like this remind me that I never lost that part of myself — I just had to remember it.

Impossible Creatures, Book 1

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About the Author:

KATHERINE RUNDELL is the internationally bestselling author of Impossible Creatures. Her other books for children include Rooftoppers, Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms, The Wolf Wilder, The Explorer, and The Good Thieves. She grew up in Zimbabwe, Brussels, and London, and is currently a Fellow of St. Catherine’s College, Oxford. For adult readers, Rundell has written Vanishing Treasures: A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures and Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne, which won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. She was the recipient of the British Book Award for Book of the Year and Author of the Year.
Photo by Nina Subin

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Book Review | HOW TO FIND LOVE IN THE CEREAL AISLE by Alissa DeRogatis

HOW TO FIND LOVE IN THE CEREAL AISLE

BY ALISSA DEROGATIS | PUBLICATION: AUGUST 4, 2026
COSMO READS | GENRE: WOMEN FICTION
RATING: ★★★✬

"It’s a character driven narrative with good development and relatability in most aspects."

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If you can’t write a good meet-cute, maybe you need to live one first…

Ainsley Green writes happily-ever-afters for a rabid fanbase of hopeless romantics. In real life? Her boyfriend just broke up with her, her editor wanted a new book yesterday and she’s starting to wonder if love actually exists beyond the pages of her favorite novels.

So when Lucas, Ainsley’s best friend and biggest cheerleader, insists the best cure for writer’s block is real-life inspiration, she’s ready to try anything. Enter: the meet-cute plan, a mission to take her head out of her heartbreak and force meet-cutes IRL to spark some new ideas. But as failed missions bumping into strangers at the airport and spilling coffee on men at the cafe result in nothing but embarrassment and stained clothing, Ainsley begins to wonder if maybe the romance she’s been chasing already has a leading man.

Because the truth about falling in love? It never goes according to plan.

Equal parts heartbreak, humor, and hope, How to Find Love in the Cereal Aisle is a fresh, flirty send up of dating in the modern age and a reminder that love finds us when we stop performing and start living.

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Ainsley is so dramatic. There, I said it.
But to be fair — she’s a romance author. Big feelings are her brand.

This book is entirely centered on Ainsley and her emotional world: ME, MYSELF, AND I. And while I understand it — she’s reeling from a breakup — her voice had me exhausted at times. She spirals, she whines, she loops through the same insecurities. Yet despite my initial frustration with her, I found myself appreciating the parts of Ainsley that shine through the noise: the Ainsley who values her friends, who knows when to call for help, who tries her best to move forward, and who eventually recognizes her own worth. Those moments made her feel real.

What kept me reading was Alissa DeRogatis’s prose and execution. The pacing is smooth, the structure is clever, and there were no moments where I felt disengaged. The setup — alternating between the “NOW” chapters and the months leading up to her breakup — works beautifully. It’s a character driven narrative with good development and relatability in most aspects.

Lucas, meanwhile, is simply a bonus. A warm presence, a gentle addition, and ultimately someone I’m happy she has.

SPOILER AHEAD →

There’s a moment in the book where it talks about “keeping it real,” and the implication seems to be that authenticity requires a strong or engaged social media presence. That idea stopped me. It made me wonder: Does an author need a big online presence to be relatable? Is an author unrelatable without constant visibility?

To me, that part of the book does give the impression that social media is tied to authenticity — and I don’t agree. Many real authors today maintain tiny or nonexistent online footprints and still write deeply resonant, emotionally honest work. Authenticity comes from craft, vulnerability, and self awareness — not follower count.

So while I enjoyed the writing and appreciated the emotional arc, that modern publishing assumption is a bit of a conundrum. It’s not a flaw in the book, but it is a tension that shaped my view.

In the end, How to Find Love in the Cereal Aisle is heartfelt, well written, and often charming — but its emotional repetition and its nod to social media driven relatability kept it from reaching the full depth I hoped for.

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About the Author:
Alissa DeRogatis is the author of the viral debut Call It What You Want and How to Find Love in the Cereal Aisle. She lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she writes stories about modern love, self- discovery, and the people who help us put ourselves back together. When she’s not reading, she’s rewatching her favorite rom- coms, curating sad-girl playlists, or hang- ing out with her dogs, Asher and Oliver.

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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.

*Penguin Random House provided the eARC
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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

*Random House provided the eARC
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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 | 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.

*Harper Collins provided the eARC
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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

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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

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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

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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.

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