Title: The Summer War Author: Naomi Novik Publisher: Del Rey Publication date: September 16, 2025 Length: 131 pages Genre: Fantasy Source: Library Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
In this poignant, heartfelt novella from the New York Times bestselling author of Spinning Silver and the Scholomance Trilogy, a young witch who has inadvertently cursed her brother to live a life without love must find a way to undo her spell.
Celia discovered her talent for magic on the day her beloved oldest brother Argent left home. Furious at him for abandoning her in a war-torn land, she lashed out, not realizing her childish, angry words would suddenly become imbued with the power of prophecy, dooming him to a life without love.
While Argent wanders the world, forced to seek only fame and glory instead of the love and belonging he truly desires, Celia attempts to undo the curse she placed on him. Yet even as she grows from a girl to a woman, she cannot find the solution—until she learns the truth about the centuries-old war between her own people and the summerlings, the immortal beings who hold a relentless grudge against their mortal neighbors.
Now, with the aid of her unwanted middle brother, Celia may be able to both undo her eldest brother’s curse and heal the lands so long torn apart by the Summer War.
In this fairy tale novella, a younger sister’s hurt feelings lead her to cast a terrible curse. At age twelve, Celia’s beloved oldest brother informs the family that’s he’s leaving for good. In her fury, she wishes upon him a life without love… and realizes too late that her sorceress powers have awakened, turning her childish wish into a spell with power.
As she grows up, Celia becomes a pawn in her father’s schemes within their kingdom, threatening the hard-won peace that ended the hundred-year Summer War between the mortals and the summerlings. When a betrayal leaves her in the hands of the kingdom’s enemy, the love between Celia and her brothers may be the only thing that can save her and her people.
The Summer War is at its best when we see the world around Celia, her experiences within her family, and the ways in which love and expectations can have lasting consequences. The writing can be truly lovely, casting a magical spell of sorts as we follow the story of revenge and magical consequences and betrayals.
I especially liked learning about the dynamics between Celia and her brothers, but felt less interested in the history of the Summer War. When the plot takes us into the Summer Lands, there’s an added edge of enchantment and danger, and the stakes become very high for Celia and everyone she cares about — and her actions can determine whether the peace between the kingdoms will be shattered once again.
The ending didn’t feel especially clear to me. The dramatic events are compelling, yet I didn’t quite see how the curse was broken, and we don’t really get to see Celia’s sorcery in action. The resolution seems muddled, but perhaps this is due to the novella length. The Summer War feels like a story that could have used a bit more breathing space. Maybe a fuller-length novel could have expanded the action and helped it make better sense. As a novella, it all seems a bit too condensed.
Overall, I enjoyed The Summer War and I’m glad I read it, even though I was left feeling like a bit more storytelling was needed to tie all the pieces together.
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Title: The Haunting of Paynes Hollow Author: Kelley Armstrong Publisher: St. Martin’s Press Publication date: October 14, 2025 Length: 288 pages Genre: Horror Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
From New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong comes a nail-biting supernatural horror about a haunted lakeside property and twisted family secrets.
When Samantha Payne’s grandfather dies, she figures she won’t even get a mention in the will. After all, she hasn’t seen him in fourteen years, not since her father took his own life after being accused of murdering a child at their lakefront cottage. Her grandfather always insisted her father was innocent, despite Sam having caught him burying the child’s body, his clothing streaked with blood.
But when she does attend the reading of the will at the behest of her aunt, she discovers that her grandfather left her the very valuable lakefront property where the family cottage sits. There’s one catch: Sam needs to stay in the cottage for a month. To finally face the fact she was wrong and her father was innocent, in her grandfather’s words.
Traveling to Paynes Hollow, Sam is faced with the realities of her childhood and the secrets kept hidden in the shadows of her memories. When her aunt goes missing a couple days into their stay, Sam begins to question everything again. Plagued by nightmares and paranoia, she begins hearing sounds in the forest and seeing shapes crawling from the water as the rippling waves of the lake promise something unspeakably dark lurking just below their surface.
The Haunting of Paynes Hollow — a stand-alone horror novel by the talented Kelley Armstrong — presents a fresh spin on the tale of the headless horseman, with a very conflicted main character trying to sort out the facts from her family’s trail of lies.
Sam (Samantha) has given up everything in her life except working to keep her mother, suffering from early-onset dementia, in a high quality care facility. Sam is deeply in debt, and has been informed that if she can’t pay up what she owes, she’ll have to find someplace else for her mother. Sam’s mother is all she has left: After her father murdered a child and then committed suicide when Sam was only twelve years old, they’ve been cast out from the Payne family and cut off from their wealth, struggling to make it on their own.
But now that her grandfather has died, Sam finally has an opportunity to provide for her mother for the rest of her life. Forced to attend her grandfather’s funeral and the reading of his will, she’s shocked to learn that he’s left her the family property in Paynes Hollow — 300 acres of prime lakefront land, which a developer is ready to offer millions to buy.
There’s a catch: To inherit the land, Sam must live there for a month — and there are rules to make sure she fulfills her obligations. She’ll be monitored, and is only allowed to leave the property for one hour each day. At the end of the month, the property will be hers, but if she fails, she get nothing. Hating everything about this, Sam agrees to do it anyway. Her mother’s care depends on her.
Accompanied by her aunt Gail, Sam heads to the family summer cottage, preserved exactly as it was the last time she was there, the summer when everything fell apart. From the start, Sam is confronted by sharp memories of her experiences as a child — good times with her father, but also, the fear caused by a boy who obsessively pursued her, and her fascination with the hoofbeats she’d hear at night. Her grandfather used to claim that Washington Irving spent time in Paynes Hollow and got his inspiration for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow there… but that’s just family folklore — isn’t it?
With each passing day she spends at the Payne cottage, the sense of danger increases. Sam hears hoofbeats again at night and sees strange lights out at the lake… or is she sleepwalking? Someone leaves mutilated animals on her doorstep… but why is her own hatchet bloody? When Gail disappears, the sense of uneasiness turns to terror, and even with the property’s caretaker and local law enforcement offering help, Sam feels helpless. Is this a set-up by one of her greedy relatives, trying to spook her into leaving and giving up her inheritance? Or is something ancient and dire stalking Paynes Hollow, leaving death in its wake?
Be ready for chills and thrills if you pick up The Haunting of Paynes Hollow! This tightly told story features plenty of disturbing scenes, and the terror ratchets up with each passing day that Sam spends at the cottage. For much of the story, there’s room for doubt. We witness events through Sam’s eyes, and she can’t be certain about anything. What if she really did do terrible things in her sleep? What if the creatures she sees in the lake are hoaxes created to scare her away? On the other hand… what if there really is a deadly family secret, and she’s inextricably tied to it?
While the cover and title make it clear that yes, there are supernatural elements involved here, the revelations about Sam’s family are the truly breathtaking surprises in this book. Twists and turns galore steer the reader in all sorts of possible directions before the various hints and events come together to reveal shocking truths. The ending is harsh but fitting, and Sam’s final actions are brutally appropriate.
The Haunting of Paynes Hollow is a perfect book for October’s spooky season. The mix of scary horror and complex family entanglements makes this a deeply engaging read. Highly recommended!
The Haunting of Paynes Hollow is Kelley Armstrong’s third stand-alone horror novel. Her previous two are:
Hemlock Island (2023) — on my TBR!
I’ll Be Waiting (2024) — I gave this book 5 stars! Check out my review.
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Title: Lucy Undying Author: Kiersten White Publisher: Del Rey Publication date: September 10, 2024 Length: 464 pages Genre: Horror Source: Purchased Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
In this epic and seductive gothic fantasy, a vampire escapes the thrall of Dracula and embarks on her own search for self-discovery and true love.
Her name was written in the pages of someone else’s story: Lucy Westenra was one of Dracula’s first victims.
But her death was only the beginning. Lucy rose from the grave a vampire, and has spent her immortal life trying to escape from Dracula’s clutches–and trying to discover who she really is and what she truly wants.
Her undead life takes an unexpected turn when, in twenty-first-century London, she meets another woman who is also yearning to break free from her past. Iris’s family has built a health empire based on a sinister secret, and they’ll do anything to stay in power.
Lucy has long believed she would never love again. But she finds herself compelled by the charming Iris, while Iris is mesmerized by the confident and glamorous Lucy. But their intense connection and blossoming love is threatened by forces from without. Iris’s mother won’t let go of her without a fight, and Lucy’s past still has fangs: Dracula is on the prowl again.
Lucy Westenra has been a tragically murdered teen, a lonesome adventurer, and a fearsome hunter, but happiness always eluded her. Can she find the strength to destroy Dracula once and for all, or will her heart once again be her undoing?
Dracula stories never seem to go out of style, and it’s a pleasure to discover a new Dracula tale that remains faithful to the original in most details while also spinning the story out into new directions, with new interpretations of familiar events and characters.
“Lying about the existence of monsters never saved anyone from falling victim to them.”
Lucy Undying is set mainly in the present day, with flashbacks told through journal entries and other recorded documents. Surprisingly, the first character we meet in the modern era is not Lucy, but Iris, daughter of a recently deceased, utterly ruthless businesswoman. Iris is in London to take possession of a family property that she’s inherited, but it’s obvious from the start that there are an infinite number of strings attached. With her mother’s death, Iris is the sole heir to her family’s billion dollar business — but all she wants is out.
Crossing a busy street, American-raised Iris looks the wrong way and is saved from being flattened by a passing taxi by a beautiful stranger. She’s young, lovely, and kind, offers helpful tips on dealing with London traffic, and then disappears into a crowd. But their paths cross again: Iris discovers that the London property is in terrible shape, and she’s determined to sell whatever antiques or valuables she can find there, then attempt to disappear for good. When Iris calls a museum to ask for a referral to an appraiser, it’s that same stranger who shows up at Iris’s door — just as beautiful as Iris remembers, and more than willing to help Iris with her project.
Meanwhile, other narrative threads provide different storylines. The journals of Lucy Westenra take us back to Dracula’s time, as Lucy provides a first-person account of her life with a sickly, controlling mother, her secret love for her former governess Mina Murray, and the unwanted courtships of three men who seem to circle Lucy — John Seward, Quincey Morris, and Arthur Holmwood. And in still another thread, we have transcripts of Lucy’s sessions with a therapist… showing that Lucy is very much alive (or at least undead) in the present day, despite the version of events we may have learned from Bram Stoker.
As the various threads weave together, what emerges is a fascinating what-if: What if Lucy Westenra rose from her grave after being turned by Dracula — not to be staked and vanquished, as we’ve been told, but to roam the earth for over a century since then? Parallel to this is Iris’s journey, as she attempts to unravel the secrets of her family’s cult-like, multi-level marketing conglomerate, which has its own weird ties to Lucy’s world.
Without giving too much away, all I can say is that author Kiersten White has created a complicated, fascinating story that pulls together the essentials of Stoker’s novel and blends these with a chilling, modern day horror tale. The corporate entanglements of Iris’s family seem bizarre at first, but as the connections become clear, it all makes a hideous sort of sense.
I loved how faithfully the author depicts the core beats of the original Dracula story, then spins them into a version whose interpretations — while certainly different — never actually contradict the source material. I would highly recommend a basic familiarity with Dracula before reading Lucy Undying — yes, it could still be enjoyable without, but I think it would lose quite a bit of its “oomph” otherwise.
I did find it curious that in the world of Lucy Undying, the cultural/literary phenomenon of Dracula seems to be an unknown. This is a modern world where the Bram Stoker novel never existed? The name Dracula does not seem to have larger cultural connotations beyond the events unfolding in Iris’s world; he’s a figure from Lucy’s past whose influence is felt across the years, but that’s it. I kept waiting for Iris to say, “Dracula?? For real? Oh, you’re THAT Lucy??” — but it never happened.
There comes a point in the story where Lucy’s past (and connection to the origin story) has been fully explored, and the narrative focus shifts primarily to the modern-day storyline. That’s the point in the book where I started feeling a little less invested. It’s still a good story, but unravelling the sinister corporate secrets behind Iris’s family fortune is slightly less compelling than learning how Lucy evolved over the many years since her transformation.
Lucy Undying is a long book, but my attention never wavered. At times, the story becomes almost too complicated… but fear not! With a bit of focus and patience, it all makes sense by the end, and answers that were hidden or withheld for much of the book are finally provided.
The writing is engaging, sometimes dwelling on the horror — lots of body parts and gore — but often with funny, sly twists or clever phrasing to offer a bit of light-hearted relief.
Then I sat and thought of Mina and had a nice, self-indulgent cry. Sometimes a girl finds herself alone at the feet of an unknown land, covered in grime, having just decapitated a stranger, and it’s all too much.
I truly enjoyed Lucy Undying, and while I strongly recommend reading Dracula first, I’m sure Lucy Undying could be enjoyed on its own as well. This is a fast-paced, deeply detailed story that skillfully weaves different timelines and narrative approaches into one cohesive, compelling whole. Fans of horror and vampire fiction should not miss this one!
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Title: Green Rider Series: Green Rider, #1 Author: Kristen Britain Publisher: DAW Publication date: 1998 Length: 481 pages Genre: Fantasy Source: Purchased Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Magic, danger, and adventure abound for messenger Karigan G’ladheon in the first book of the New York Times-bestselling Green Rider fantasy series
On her long journey home from school after a fight that will surely lead to her expulsion, Karigan G’ladheon ponders her uncertain future. As she trudges through the immense Green Cloak forest, her thoughts are interrupted by the clattering of hooves, as a galloping horse bursts from the woods.
The rider is slumped over his mount’s neck, impaled by two black-shafted arrows. As the young man lies dying on the road, he tells Karigan he is a Green Rider, one of the legendary messengers of the king of Sacoridia.
Before he dies, he begs Karigan to deliver the “life and death” message he bears to King Zachary. When she reluctantly he agrees, he makes her swear on his sword to complete his mission, whispering with his dying breath, “Beware the shadow man…”
Taking on the golden-winged horse brooch that is the symbol of the Green Riders, Karigan is swept into a world of deadly danger and complex magic, her life forever changed. Compelled by forces she cannot understand, Karigan is accompanied by the silent specter of the fallen messenger and hounded by dark beings bent on seeing that the message, and its reluctant carrier, never reach their destination.
With memorable characters, unique magic, and a story that will keep readers on the edge of their seats, this action-packed, feminist fantasy is a must-read for lovers of the genre.
Where has Green Rider been all my (reading) life? I only became aware of this series in 2023, after stumbling across a promo for a soon-to-be released novella set in the world of the larger series. I don’t know why I wasn’t aware of Green Rider sooner… but I suppose this falls into the category of “better late than never” books!
Green Rider is a high fantasy series involving magic, legacies of ancient battles, rivalry for the throne, struggles between the nobility, merchant, and lower classes, and so much more. Our main character is Karigan G’ladheon, teenaged daughter of a successful shipping merchant. Karigan has just been suspended from school after humiliating a nobleman’s son at swordplay. On her trek home, Karigan encounters a Green Rider — a member of the King’s elite messenger corps — who’s been mortally wounded. Dying in front of Karigan, he begs her to complete his mission. Although she has no training in such matters, she swears to do so, and takes up his green cloak, his mysterious horse-shaped gold brooch, and his horse (whom Karigan proceeds to name The Horse).
Almost immediately, Karigan discovers that her own life is now in danger. She’s pursued by a variety of bad guys, who are clearly willing to hurt or kill her in order to get their hands on the message she carries. But Karigan is committed to keeping her promise, and has the dead Rider’s ghost to encourage her onward when she falters.
Much of Green Rider focuses on Karigan’s journey along dangerous roads, fighting off threats while also meeting intriguing others who seem to wield magical gifts and are willing to offer her help. Karigan learns that wearing the cloak and brooch of a Green Rider imbues her with certain powers — and while she keeps insisting that she’s not really a Rider herself, her actions seem to prove otherwise.
The stakes and tension escalate further when she finally reaches the kingdom’s capitol and finds her way to the court. Meanwhile, scattered throughout are chapters showing a devious plot to overthrow the king, with nefarious parties willing to allow the blackest magic back into the kingdom in order to promote their own power plays. A dramatic, deadly face-off between the forces of good and evil provides a thrilling climax to the story — and the ripple effects are sure to be felt throughout the next books in the series.
Green Rider is an absorbing, complicated book, with intricate world-building and a wide cast of characters. I think I hesitated to start because of the length and size of the book — my edition is an oversized paperback, and it really looks and feels like a doorstop! Fortunately, it’s fast-moving, and I never felt bogged down or overwhelmed.
Karigan is a terrific character, as are so many of the others we meet. I’m curious to learn more about the king and the other riders, and would love to know more about certain of the unusual people Karigan meets during her journey.
A map of the kingdom and surrounding lands would have been helpful! My edition does not include this, although a quick Google search leads to several fan-made versions, as well as a map drawn by the author when book #6 was released.
As for the series as a whole, it currently consists of eight novels plus two shorter works. The eighth novel was just published this week! The main novels are all pretty massive, well over 500 pages each. No wonder I was hesitant about starting!
Will I continue? Absolutely! I loved Green Rider, and can’t wait to see what’s next for Karigan. There’s clearly so much more to explore about this rich fantasy world. Given the length of the books, I’m not sure when I’ll actually dive into book #2 (596 pages!), but at the very latest, it will be a priority read for me in 2026.
Overall, I highly recommend Green Rider, and I’m delighted that I’ve finally taken the time to start this series. A must-read for fantasy fans!
The Green Rider series:
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Title: A Pirate’s Life for Tea Series: Tomes & Tea, #2 Author: Rebecca Thorne Publisher: Bramble Publication date: February 23, 2023 Length: 444 pages Genre: Fantasy Source: Purchased Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
“You asked for this, Rain. Let’s go capture a pirate.”
While searching for stolen dragon eggs, newly engaged couple Kianthe and Reyna find themselves smack-dab in the middle of a swashbuckling love story.
On one side is Serina, a failed farmer turned river pirate. Her booty? Wheat, grains, and the occasional jar of imported tea leaves. It’s quite the embarrassment to Diarn Arlon, the powerful lord of the Nacean River, and he’ll conscript anyone to bring her to justice. Especially Kianthe, the elemental mage who just crashed his party, and her somewhat-scary fiancée.
Begrudgingly, the couple joins forces with Bobbie, one of Arlon’s constables–who happens to be Serina’s childhood friend. Bobbie is determined to capture the pirate before anyone else, but it would be a lot easier if Serina didn’t absolutely loathe her now.
As Kianthe and Reyna watch this relation-shipwreck from afar, it quickly becomes apparent that these disaster lesbians need all the help they can get. Luckily, matchmaking is Reyna’s favorite past time. The dragon eggs may have to wait.
When does cozy cross over into boring? I’m not exactly sure, but A Pirate’s Life for Tea definitely approaches the line.
While I enjoyed the first book in this series, Can’t Spell Treason without Tea, in which a Queensguard (highly skilled swordswoman sworn to protect a terrible Queen) and the Arcandor (a.k.a., the Mage of Ages, the most powerful mage in the land) fall in love and run off together to open a teahouse/bookshop… this second book lacks a lot of the charm, and spends entirely too much time moseying up and down a river.
Here, our heroes Reyna and Kianthe (the Queensguard and Arcandor, respectively) are off on an adventure, trying to chase down missing dragon eggs that they’ve sworn to find and return to the dragons (who otherwise threaten to burn down their newly adopted home town). Following clues that lead to the wealthy lands bordering the Nacean River, they discover a corrupt ruler, a pirate trying to mete out justice single-handedly, and a constable whose duty it is to stop the pirate… but whose heart is standing in the way.
The story follows Serina and Bobbie’s adventures up and down the river onboard various stolen ships, with a motley crew of deckhands and would-be pirates to aid and abet their schemes. Meanwhile, Reyna and Kianthe become involved, realizing that the pirates’ enemy is also the person most likely to have clues to the whereabouts of the missing eggs, if not the eggs themselves
There are plenty of action sequences — ship to ship combat, shipwrecks and raging rapids, exploding magical traps — and yet the storyline itself feels strangely stagnant. The action set-pieces are offset by the cozier elements of the book as a whole, including wine tastings, crocheting, dancing, and plenty of lovey-dovey flirting (as well as Kianthe’s never-ending puns, which are, I admit, kind of cute). The cozy side of things may be sweet, but it has a tendency to grind the action to a halt. The up-and-down pacing makes the whole book feel like a slog after a while.
Beyond that, the main problem for me is that I couldn’t quite bring myself to care about the pirate storyline, and Bobbie and Serina didn’t capture my imagination as a couple. They spend far too much time agonizing over their differences, and while we’re told that they’ve always deep-down loved one another despite their current antagonism, I didn’t feel their chemistry at all.
Reyna and Kianthe are often great together, but their story here feels lacking as well, perhaps because the entire book takes place away from their town and bookshop — which makes the story as a whole feel untethered. A lot of the first book’s charm revolves around seeing them settle into their new chosen home and build a life together; here, they’re off on an adventure, but it’s not nearly as engaging as I expected it to be.
I’ll be honest: I had a hard time staying interested in this book, and even considered walking away. Ultimately, I stuck with it, largely because I own the paperback edition of this book and wanted to see it through.
I’m feeling very ambivalent about continuing with the series… but since I also own #3 (yes, I bought all three on a whim on a bookstore visit earlier in the year), I’m guessing I’ll read it eventually. And honestly, the synopsis for #3 makes it sound like it’ll be an improvement!
Up next:
Tomes & Tea, #3: Tea You at the Altar
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Somewhat accidentally — I really didn’t plan for this to happen! — I ended up reading two light, cute, Austen-inspired romances during my recent vacation. Both were lots of fun. Let’s dive in!
Title:Emma of 83rd Street Series: For the Love of Austen, #1 Authors: Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding Narrators: Brittany Pressley and Teddy Hamilton Publisher: Gallery Books Publication date: May 23, 2023 Print length: 384 pages Audio length: 10 hours 40 minutes Genre: Contemporary romance Source: Library Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
In this witty and romantic debut novel, Jane Austen’s Emma meets the misadventures of Manhattan’s modern dating scene as two lifelong friends discover that, in the search for love, you sometimes don’t have to look any further than your own backyard.
Beautiful, clever, and rich, Emma Woodhouse has lived twenty-three years in her tight-knit Upper East Side neighborhood with very little to distress or vex her…that is, until her budding matchmaking hobby results in her sister’s marriage—and subsequent move downtown. Now, with her sister gone and all her friends traveling abroad, Emma must start her final year of grad school grappling with an entirely new emotion: boredom. So when she meets Nadine, a wide-eyed Ohio transplant with a heart of gold and drugstore blonde highlights to match, Emma not only sees a potential new friend but a new project. If only her overbearing neighbor George Knightley would get out of her way.
Handsome, smart, and successful, the only thing that frustrates Knightley more than a corked whiskey is his childhood friend, Emma. Whether it’s her shopping sprees between classes or her revolving door of ill-conceived hobbies, he is only too happy to lecture her on all the finer points of adulthood she’s so hell-bent on ignoring. But despite his gripes—and much to his own chagrin—Knightley can’t help but notice that the girl next door is a woman now…one who he suddenly can’t get out of his head.
As Emma’s best laid plans collide with everyone from hipster baristas to meddling family members to flaky playboy millionaires, these two friends slowly realize their need to always be right has been usurped by a new need entirely, and it’s not long before they discover that even the most familiar stories still have some surprises.
Not all contemporary Austen retellings work — the emphasis on marriage can be jarring in a supposedly modern-day setting. And yet, Emma of 83rd Street manages to tell a familiar tale in a way that’s amusing and nicely tailored to today’s world of online dating, high-pressure jobs, and dressing to impress.
The Upper East Side is a natural location for rich, spoiled Emma Woodhouse. Sure, the designer name-dropping gets a bit tedious — but that’s Emma’s world, and feels right for who she is. She’s flighty and meddlesome, thinks she knows what’s best for everyone, and seems to be pursuing a master’s degree in art history mainly for the fun of it… but underneath that shallow exterior, we get to see Emma’s kind heart and her devotion to her friends and family.
I liked that the original cast of characters from Austen are repurposed here in ways that fit the story, given new names and occupations, but remaining true enough to certain essentials to make them recognizable (and fun to spot).
The Knightly relationship has a bit less of an age difference here… and yes, he can be overbearing, but the chemistry with Emma works well, and the progression to romance feels mostly organic. (We see it coming well before either of the characters do.)
A running complaint I have with contemporary Austen retellings is that it can be jarring to see well-loved characters — even modern-day versions of them — hopping into bed together, and that’s true here as well. I could have used a bit less of the details! She may be wearing today’s couture, but she’s still Emma Woodhouse! Closed door would have been better, is all I’m saying.
Overall, Emma of 83rd Street is quite a lot of fun, and the audiobook version’s narrators bring the characters and dialogues to life.
This is apparently the first in a series. I’m on the fence right now about continuing — the wealthy New York setting could get old after a while, I’m afraid. We’ll see; for now, these are on my TBR:
Title:The Austen Affair Author: Madeline Bell Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin Publication date: September 16, 2025 Length: 336 pages Genre: Contemporary romance Source: Library Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Two feuding co-stars in a Jane Austen film adaptation accidentally travel back in time to the Regency Era in this delightfully clever and riotously funny debut
Tess Bright just scored her dream role starring in an adaptation of Jane Austen’s NorthangerAbbey. It’s not just the role of a lifetime, but it’s also her last chance to prove herself as a serious actress (no easy feat after being fired from her last TV gig) and more importantly, it’s her opportunity to honor her mom, who was the biggest fan of Jane Austen ever. But one thing is standing in Tess’s way—well, one very tall, annoyingly handsome person, actually: Hugh Balfour.
A serious British method actor, Hugh wants nothing to do with Tess (whose Teen Choice Awards somehow don’t quite compare to his BAFTA nominations). Hugh is a type-A, no-nonsense, Royal Academy prodigy, whereas Tess is big-hearted, a little reckless, and admittedly, kind of a mess. But the film needs chemistry—and Tess’s career depends on it.
Sparks fly, but not in the way Tess hoped, when an electrical accident sends the two feuding co-stars back in time to Jane Austen’s era. 200 years in the past with only each other to rely on, Tess and Hugh need to ad-lib their way through the Regency period in order to make it back home, and hopefully not screw up history along the way. But if a certain someone looks particularly dashing in those 19th century breeches…well, Tess won’t be complaining.
A wickedly funny, delightfully charming story, The Austen Affair is a tribute to Jane Austen, second chances, and love across the space-time continuum.
The cover of The Austen Affair is what first caught my eye… and then I read the synopsis, and had to laugh out loud. An Austen retelling with time travel?? Yes, please!
In this entertaining story, Tess Bright is in England for the filming of Northanger Abbey. Playing Catherine Morland is her dream role, and also a tribute to her late mother, whose love of Jane Austen was a constant for Tess throughout her childhood. Mired in grief, Tess has all but tanked her career, and this film may be her very last chance to prove to herself (and all the vicious naysayers) that she’s worth taking seriously.
Filming does not get off to a good start, thanks to tension (and not the good kind!) with her costar, Hugh Balfour. Hugh is an uptight, classically trained Method actor who thinks Tess is flighty and chaotic, and doesn’t believe she knows her Austen from her elbow. When a freak electrical accident flings them back in time 200 years, Hugh and Tess are forced to rely on one another as they attempt to fit in in their new setting, convince Hugh’s ancestors that they’re who they say they are, and figure out how to get back to their real lives.
Tess and Hugh seem ill-suited at first, but as they adapt to their new circumstances, their animosity peels away. Each is revealed to have more depth than the other originally perceived, and their forced proximity turns into friendship, understanding, and a sense of support and respect.
The time travel conundrums are quite fun, as is Tess’s delight at finding herself living out her Regency-era dreams, down to the bonnets and gloves and games of whist. While there’s a lot of silliness on the surface, we see how Tess’s grief is a constant for her, and how living in Austen’s world helps her find joy in remembering her mother.
I didn’t necessarily buy everything in this story, especially Tess’s insistence that the universe and/or her mother intentionally caused the time travel… but overall, the romance, the family complications, and the focus on Jane Austen really work well.
The Austen Affair is a sweet, engaging, funny book with a warm heart. Sure, the time travel mechanics are worthy of a few eye-rolls… but this is romantic fiction, not sci-fi. Suspend your disbelief, and just go along for the ride!
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Title: Alone in the Wild Series: Rockton, #5 Author: Kelley Armstrong Publisher: Minotaur Books Publication date: February 4, 2020 Length: 369 pages Genre: Thriller/mystery Source: Purchased Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
In #1 New York Times bestseller Kelley Armstrong’s latest thriller, the hidden town of Rockton is about to face a challenge none of them saw coming: a baby.
Every season in Rockton seems to bring a new challenge. At least that’s what Detective Casey Duncan has felt since she decided to call this place home. Between all the secretive residents, the sometimes-hostile settlers outside, and the surrounding wilderness, there’s always something to worry about.
While on a much needed camping vacation with her boyfriend, Sheriff Eric Dalton, Casey hears a baby crying in the woods. The sound leads them to a tragic scene: a woman buried under the snow, murdered, a baby still alive in her arms.
A town that doesn’t let anyone in under the age of eighteen, Rockton must take care of its youngest resident yet while solving another murder and finding out where the baby came from – and whether she’s better off where she is.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong again delivers an engaging, tense thriller set in perhaps the most interesting town in all of contemporary crime fiction.
I’m completely hooked on the Rockton series by Kelley Armstrong, and waited less than a month after finishing book 4, Watcher in the Woods, before diving back in with the 5th book, Alone in the Wild. Needless to say, book #5 provided yet another immersive, exciting reading experience — I couldn’t put it down!
Once again, a quick recap of the series premise:
Rockton is a secret hidden town in the Yukon wilderness, a haven for those seeking extreme shelter from dangers in their real lives — or those who’ve committed some sort of wrongdoing and need a place to start over. Rockton, population 200, is filled with an uneasy mix of crime victims and white-collar criminals — although as Sheriff Eric Dalton and Detective Casey Butler come to discover, the town council is willing to defy its own rules for a price and allow more dangerous people to take advantage of Rockton’s protection.
Alone in the Wild picks up the story about six months after the events of the previous books. Casey and Eric are taking a much-needed vacation from their policing duties in Rockton, enjoying a couple of nights of camping out in the wild, when Casey hears an unexpected sound: a baby crying. She makes a disturbing discovery: a dead woman cradling a living baby, both buried under the fresh snow. The death is obviously very recent, but there’s no time to investigate — the baby is alive, but barely; Casey and Eric rush the baby back to Rockton for immediate medical care before returning to the corpse to look for clues.
Their primary focus is identifying the baby, a girl who appears to be about a month old. From examining the dead woman, it’s clear that she is not the mother of the child… and it’s also clear that she’s been murdered. While crimes not related to the residents of Rockton are outside Casey and Eric’s jurisdiction, they realize that solving this woman’s murder might lead them to the baby’s family, and their priority is returning her to her rightful parents, if they can be found.
Meanwhile, Casey and Eric become the baby’s de facto foster parents, with the help of the rest of Rockton, raising important questions for them as a couple. Due to serious injuries sustained during a life-changing attack in her teens, Casey doesn’t know whether she’ll ever be able to carry a pregnancy to term. Caring for the baby forces Casey and Eric to discuss whether they could see themselves as parents, and what it might mean for them as a couple. Meanwhile, concerns about whether the baby’s parents are capable of raising her bring up uncomfortable memories from Eric’s own past. The complicated emotions brought on by confronting these issues move Eric and Casey’s relationship forward in important ways.
Of course, the investigation itself is fascinating, as it involves venturing far beyond Rockton’s borders and making contact with settler communities who abide by very different rules, beliefs, and ethical standards. This broadens the world of the series in new and interesting ways, and I’m sure will have important implications in future books.
As always, there are plenty of twists and turns, and every time I thought I had something figured out, I was surprised yet again by how inventive and unpredictable Kelley Armstrong’s mystery writing can be.
With two books left in the series, I’m trying to pace myself rather than rushing straight through. It’s a challenge! My goal is to finish the Rockton books in 2025, then start the spin-off series, Haven’s Rock, in 2026.
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Title: Silver and Lead Series: October Daye, #19 Author: Seanan McGuire Publisher: Tor Books Publication date: September 30, 2025 Print length: 400 pages Genre: Urban fantasy Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Seanan McGuire’s New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-nominated October Daye series continues as Toby Daye is thrust once again into danger… and this time she has more than ever to protect.
Something is rotten in Faerie. In the aftermath of Titania’s reality-warping enchantment, things are returning to what passes for normal in the Kingdom in the Mists―until it’s discovered that the royal vaults have been looted, and several powerful magical artifacts are missing. None are things that can be safely left unsecured, and some have the potential to do almost as much damage as Titania did, and having them in the wrong hands could prove just as disastrous
At least the theft means that Sir October “Toby” Daye, Knight errant and Hero of the Realm, finally has an excuse to get out of the house. Sure, she’s eight and a half months pregnant, but that doesn’t mean she can’t take care of herself. But with the sea witch offering to stand godmother to Toby’s child, maybe there are greater dangers ahead for Toby and her family than it appears….
Old enemies will resurface, new enemies will disguise themselves as friends, and Queen Windermere must try to keep her Hero on the case without getting herself gutted by the increasingly irritated local King of Cats. Sometimes, what’s been lost can be the most dangerous threat of all.
What can you say about a series that’s now 19 books long… and going strong? Quite a lot actually… but the short version is: The October Daye series remains sharp, exciting, and as immersive as ever — and it’s never too late to jump in! (But start at the beginning, of course.)
In 2023, author Seanan McGuire published TWO new volumes in the series (Sleep No More and The Innocent Sleep), focusing on the same set of cataclysmic events, but told first through the POV of our usual narrator, Toby (October) herself, and then through the POV of Toby’s husband, Tybalt. Both were excellent… and I suppose it’s understandable that we had a two-year wait for another book in the series. (Understandable — hey, get some rest, Seanan McGuire! — but painful as a reader to have to wait to see what happens next!!).
But now, Toby is back! The ripple effects of the disasters from the previous books are still being felt by our beloved characters, in all sorts of distressing ways. Quick recap: Toby is a changeling (part fae, part human), a knight and hero of the realm, and both daughter and niece of First Borns, the most powerful fae other than the big three (Oberon, Titania, and Maeve) themselves. When Titania reemerged into the world and decided to recraft it as she wished, Toby and all those around her were trapped in an illusion that transformed their lives and relationships. Now that Titania’s illusions have been broken, they’re all still recovering from what that experience did to them.
Further complicating Toby’s life, as the book opens, is the fact that she’s in her final month of pregnancy, and her already traumatized family won’t let her do anything — not even get off the couch to grab her own snacks. For a woman who lives her life carrying out dangerous quests, being coddled and confined is beyond frustrating, and while she knows her family is acting from a place of love, she still can’t stand it.
“I’ve got another few weeks of this, you know,” I said. “You don’t want to use up all your fretting on me before the baby even gets here.”
“I promise, I have more fretting in me than you can imagine,” he said.
The action in Silver and Lead kicks off when Toby is summoned to Queen Arden’s court to give testimony against one of the more evil people in the series, the false Queen. Once there, Arden tells Toby that many dangerous artifacts were looted from the royal treasury while Titania’s illusions were in place, and while she’d love to wait until after Toby has the baby to send her back into action, these items could be disastrous in the wrong hands. There’s no time to lose in getting them back. Before Toby can commit one way or the other to this new quest, she discovers that the false Queen is actually someone enchanted to appear to be the false Queen, and that the actual false Queen herself is nowhere to be found.
From here, Toby sets out to gather evidence… cautiously. She won’t endanger herself or the baby; she’s just going to do a bit of detective work on behalf of the realm. Of course, nothing goes according to plan, and she and her household end up in mortal peril, facing unexpected adversaries with truly evil intentions.
The action in Silver and Lead escalates dramatically, and the sense of menace and danger go higher and higher with each chapter. I was on the edge of my seat and practically screaming by the time I got past the first third or so of the book and simply could not put it down. I was terrified for the characters, enthralled by each new development, and scared to death that this was finally something that Toby couldn’t get out of. (Well, I assumed she’d get out of it, as the series isn’t over… but it’s all definitely very tense and frightening!)
At the same time, Silver and Lead is actually very funny at times!
“Look. My hormones are all over the place. Yesterday I burnt a piece of toast and I started crying because what if I’d hurt the bread’s feelings.
Having Toby — eight and a half months pregnant — waddling off on a quest, needing to pee every few minutes, complaining about her aching knees, and in general suffering all the indignities and physical impacts of a late pregnancy is just so incredibly entertaining. This is a woman who’s practically indestructible, and yet people have to help her up the stairs. Good stuff.
The ending of Silver and Lead is quite satisfying, but leaves the door open for yet more drama — because in the world of October Daye, no one gets to just sit and be happy for very long. This book’s main plot is tied up well, but the final pages let us know that bad things — potentially, very bad things — are just around the corner.
As always, I’m left dying to see what’s next… and dreading a year of waiting for the next book.
Silver and Lead is an excellent edition to a can’t-miss fantasy series. I’ll give the same push I give every time I talk about these books: Go pick up a copy of Rosemary and Rue. I’m betting that once you get a taste of October’s world, you won’t want to stop.
As is the custom throughout this series, Silver and Lead includes a novella at the end. This one, Seas and Shores, focuses on Simon, Toby’s father figure — a man with whom Toby has one of the most complicated relationships in the series. The novella is narrated by Simon, and takes place at the same time as the events of Silver and Lead, as Simon heads back to his new home in the Undersea. Seas and Shores is a relatively quiet story, and it’s quite lovely. Simon is a man who’s been through a lot of trauma, and this novella shows the next stage in his attempts to build a good life for himself and those he loves. After the extreme dangers in Silver and Lead, it’s nice to finish on a sweet, happy note.
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Title: First-Time Caller Series: Heartstrings, #1 Author: B. K. Borison Narrators: E.J. Bingham & Hathaway Lee Publisher: Berkley Publication date: February 11, 2025 Print length: 420 pages Audio length: 11 hours 54 minutes Genre: Contemporary romance Source: Library Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
A hopeless romantic meets a jaded radio host in this cozy, Sleepless in Seattle-inspired love story from beloved author B.K. Borison.
Aiden Valentine has a secret: he’s fallen out of love with love. And as the host of Baltimore’s romance hotline, that’s a bit of a problem. But when a young girl calls in to the station asking for dating advice for her mom, the interview goes viral, thrusting Aiden and Heartstrings into the limelight.
Lucie Stone thought she was doing just fine. She has a good job; an incredible family; and a smart, slightly devious kid. But when all of Baltimore is suddenly scrutinizing her love life-or lack thereof—she begins to question if she’s as happy as she thought. Maybe a little more romance wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
Everyone wants Lucie to find her happy ending… even the handsome, temperamental man calling the shots. But when sparks start to fly behind the scenes, Lucie must make the final call between the radio-sponsored happily ever after or the man in the headphones next to her.
I’m going to keep this short. After seeing a bunch of positive reviews, as well as hearing good things about the author’s previous series (Lovelight), I thought I’d give First-Time Caller a try when I saw it available to borrow from the library. And while there are aspects I enjoyed, my overall impression is that this book is a pretty run-of-the-mill example of a contemporary romance. It’s fine… but nothing special.
Aiden is the disillusioned host of a romance radio show called Heartstrings. Lucie is the 29-year-old single mom of a 12-year-old named Maya, and Maya has decided that she wants her mom to be happier. Maya calls into Heartstrings late one night to ask for dating help for Lucie, and while Lucie is initially suspicious and furious, she ends up having an honest conversation (on the air) with Aiden about finding magic. The radio show segment goes viral, and the station manager asks Lucie to join Aiden as co-host three days a week, where they’ll take call from listeners and try to find a romantic match for Lucie.
Naturally, Aiden and Lucie develop feelings for one another, but it takes a while for them to admit it. Meanwhile, they have to navigate their working relationship, while keeping up the pretense of arranging dates for Lucie with other people (none of which actually pan out).
Without going into a ton of detail, I’ll just say that neither of the characters particularly made sense to me. Their pasts are sketched in, leaving some major (to me) questions unanswered. We get an explanation for why Aiden no longer believes in love… but I didn’t buy it, at least not as presented. For Lucie as well, there’s little to no information about any sort of love life up to this point, and questions linger (again, at least for me) about her past relationship with Maya’s father.
There are elements that are supposed to be cute or funny that don’t always land, and overly long and detailed sex scenes are uncomfortable — particularly via audiobook, where it feels like they just won’t ever end. (I will say, though, that overall the narrators do a good job with Aiden and Lucie, and their delivery helps keep lighter moments upbeat and engaging.)
This isn’t a bad story — but my overall reaction by the last third or so was a resounding “meh”. I just didn’t buy the characters or their motivations, leaving some of their actions feeling arbitrary and with no clear reason other than (as a book group friend of mine likes to say) “because plot”.
I know a lot of readers (and listeners) loved this book. For me, it was just okay. Not a bad book, but not one I particularly felt drawn into or invested in.
First-Time Caller is the first in the Heartstrings series, with a second book (focused on Aiden’s best friend and coworker at the radio station) due out in 2026. Given my lack of interest in that character, as well as my ho-hum response to First-Time Caller, I doubt that I’ll be continuing with the series.
Next in series: And Now, Back to You (Feb. 2026)
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Anya Seton’s bestselling first novel, originally published in 1941, captures all the drama of the short life of Theodosia Burr (1783-1813).
Theodosia’s father is Aaron Burr–Thomas Jefferson’s vice president, most famous for his great duel with Alexander Hamilton. With charm and tenderness, he holds sway over young Theodosia’s heart, but his arrogance forces her to choose between the man he insists she marry and her love for a young soldier who will turn out to play a decisive role in her father’s fate. Persuaded by Aaron that she will soon be crowned princess of the Kingdom of Mexico as a result of his treasonable plans, she is received like royalty on Blennerhassett Island, only to end up trying to exonerate him as he awaits trial in a Richmond jail, repudiated by his fickle son-in-law and friends.
Theodosia remains a haunting figure in American history, still lovely, still imperious, never vanquished.
To be honest, the name Theodosia would have meant nothing to me before the Hamilton era… and of course, once my book group selected this historical novel about Aaron Burr’s daughter, this was all I could think of:
My Theodosia opens with Theodosia Burr’s 17th birthday. She’s the pretty, vivacious daughter of Aaron Burr, a man with unlimited ambitions and the highest of standards for his beloved daughter. He oversees every aspect of her upbringing, demanding excellence in her studies, perfect beauty, and social graces to help move all his own machinations forward.
She was flesh of his flesh, an infinitely dear projection of himself.
As Theo will soon learn, while he loves her immensely, he’s also keenly focused on making sure that her future marriage will be advantageous for him, including providing a source of wealth to keep his expensive lifestyle afloat and help propel him into the Presidency.
Theo, meanwhile, adores and idolizes her father, while also basking in the attention and admiration that surrounds her. While she may not want the marriage Aaron decides upon, she obeys her father’s wishes in this as in all things. By age 18, Theo is married to Joseph Alston, a wealthy plantation owner from South Carolina who has the funds and the political clout to further Aaron’s political ambitions.
My Theodosia follows Theo through the ten years between her marriage and her untimely death, with Aaron’s life and scandals as the backdrop to all of Theo’s own feelings, desires, and plans. No matter what else occurs in her life, her father always is her priority, to the detriment of her marriage and her security. Key events, such as the Hamilton duel, happen mainly off the page, and we experience these through Theo’s eyes, as she worries for Aaron, rushes to his defense whenever she can, and makes his well-being and reputation her primary objectives.
1941 edition
Reading this book over 80 years after its original publication, I found it difficult to enjoy. Theo and Aaron’s relationship is problematic and dysfunctional in so many ways. Theo’s overriding dedication to Aaron feels unhealthy, and his focus and molding of her is disturbing.
He did not quite admit it to himself, but he would have opposed any match with a man whom she passionately desired. He had no intention of transferring her devotion from himself to another. Her worship was the sweetest thing in life.
Most difficult for me as a modern reader is the casual racism that permeates the book. We might expect a slave-owner such as Joseph (and the rest of his family) to hold abhorrent views, but even Aaron and Theo, supposedly more enlightened New Yorkers, use the n-word freely and invoke all sorts of degrading and disparaging language in reference to the slaves and servants of color in their lives. I suppose some might argue that the author was attempting to evoke the prevailing attitudes of the time she was portraying, and perhaps that was more acceptable at the time of publication, but reading the book today, it’s awful — no two ways about it.
Portrait by John Vanderlyn, c. 1815–1820
While the storytelling style is immersive, I often found myself wondering about sources and historical accuracy. There’s a brief author’s note, but it doesn’t shed much light on how much of the story is substantiated through historical documentation and how much is embroidered or speculative. (For example, the idea that the passionate yet unfulfilled love of Theodosia’s life was Meriweather Lewis is, as far as I can tell, an invention of the author’s and is not supported by historical evidence.)
1976 paperback edition
My Theodosia was Anya Seton’s first novel. I understand that many of her subsequent books are quite beloved. However, based on my experiences with My Theodosia, I don’t feel particularly compelled to explore her works any further.
As for My Theodosia itself, I can’t say I particularly recommend it. On the one hand, it’s an informative look at the life of a woman I knew nothing about, and through her, a look into the character and life of Aaron Burr beyond his Hamilton-related infamy. On the other hand, the racism, sexism, and uncomfortable father-daughter relationship make this an unpleasant reading experience overall. If not for my upcoming book group discussion, I most likely would have put the book aside and not finished it.
I’d be curious to hear from anyone who’s read other books by Anya Seton. Are there any you recommend? And if you’ve read My Theodosia, I’d love to hear your perspective as well.
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Bookshelf Fantasies 