literary fiction

‘Playground’ Review: A Journey Through Technology and Humanity

by Stefani

Playground by Richard Powers

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Robin Siegerman, Eunice Wong, Run Bandhu, Krys Janae, Kevin R Free

Published: September 24, 2024 by W.W. Norton & Company

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

A magisterial new novel from the Pulitzer Prize–winning and New York Times best-selling author of The Overstory and Bewilderment.

Four lives are drawn together in a sweeping, panoramic new novel from Richard Powers, showcasing the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Overstory at the height of his skills. Twelve-year-old Evie Beaulieu sinks to the bottom of a swimming pool in Montreal strapped to one of the world’s first aqualungs. Ina Aroita grows up on naval bases across the Pacific with art as her only home. Two polar opposites at an elite Chicago high school bond over a three-thousand-year-old board game; Rafi Young will get lost in literature, while Todd Keane’s work will lead to a startling AI breakthrough.

They meet on the history-scarred island of Makatea in French Polynesia, whose deposits of phosphorus once helped to feed the world. Now the tiny atoll has been chosen for humanity’s next adventure: a plan to send floating, autonomous cities out onto the open sea. But first, the island’s residents must vote to greenlight the project or turn the seasteaders away.

Set in the world’s largest ocean, this awe-filled book explores that last wild place we have yet to colonize in a still-unfolding oceanic game, and interweaves beautiful writing, rich characterization, profound themes of technology and the environment, and a deep exploration of our shared humanity in a way only Richard Powers can.

Rating:

Review:

This book drew me in months ago with its beautiful cover. The reef, the colors, the manta ray, all of it was gorgeous. Anyone who reads my reviews knows that I am a sucker for a pretty cover. I was also intrigued by the synopsis of this book. This seems to be a trend in literary fiction at the moment. To use individual stories to weave together a larger story. This book does it very well.

I genuinely enjoyed all of the characters and all of their narratives. I felt empathy and compassion for them, I understood their motives and I wanted to cheer them on. Rafi and Todd were the highlights though. Their stories were intertwined from the beginning. I loved watching them bond over their games, and their competitive natures sometimes at odds with their friendship. It was deep and genuine. I hoped that they would remain friends forever, but I also recognized that eventually their differences would probably drive them apart.

The stories were also well done, albeit slow to advance sometimes. This was, perhaps, one of the only drawbacks to this book is that the plot started to drag a little in the middle. I wanted the story to get moving and it just didn’t happen for awhile. But when it did, it took me in a place that I never expected. I found the weaving of humans and their love of play very charming. The theme of playfulness is woven into every line of this book, and it’s wonderful. Up until one specific sentence I was fully prepared to give this book 3 stars and talk about how I enjoyed it, but it just moved too slowly.

One specific line that Rafi emailed to Todd. My jaw dropped to the floor. I could not believe it. I never expected a twist in this book, and I never imagined the twist to encompass one singular line. All at once the entire trajectory of the book was different. Not just the trajectory of the book though, it changed the entire premise of the beginning of the book too. I was glued to this book from that moment. I couldn’t stop listening. It was truly masterful. I’ve read a lot of books where the author attempts to do what Powers did, but none have done it as smoothly and perfectly as he did.

I can’t recommend this book enough. It’s beautiful. It’s tragic. It’s hopeful. It’s playful. It’s probably my book of the year.

Progress Update Friday – October 11, 2024

by Stefani

The Bitter Truth by Shanora Williams

Progress: 254 of 320 pages

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

An upstanding political candidate. A determined stalker. A shattering lost weekend. Now, when his worst secret comes calling, how far will one man’s elegant, all-too-devoted wife go to uncover the truth . . . or bury it?

For Jolene “Jo” Baker, the least she can do for her adoring husband, Dominic, is give unwavering support for his North Carolina gubernatorial run. He is not only the love of her life, he’s also helping her prove that she’s far more than just a pampered trophy wife. With huge crowds showing up at Dominic’s speeches and the polls consistently in his favor, she’s never been happier to stand proudly by his side . . .

Until she and Dominic start seeing the same, strangely ominous woman turning up all along the campaign trail. Until their tour starts becoming a nightmare of botched events, crucial missed information, and increasingly dangerous “accidents.” Suddenly Jo can’t get any answers from Dominic—or understand why he is acting so paranoid and terrified . . .

What Jo can do is start digging into his past—one she’s never really questioned beyond his perfect image and dazzling accomplishments. What results is an alarming series of events that leave her Good friends turn into enemies, truths are revealed to be lies, and all clues lead back to one secret, shattering weekend that changes Jo’s entire life. With her world splintering into pieces, can Jo risk trying to set things right? Or will hiding the bitter truth by any means necessary destroy her as well?

How it’s going:

This book is really cooking now and I am completely invested. I wouldn’t be surprised if I finish it in one sitting. I am really hoping for a strong ending where the bad guy gets his comeuppance. Fingers crossed.

Playground by Richard Powers

Progress: 9:18 of 13:51

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Twelve-year-old Evie Beaulieu sinks to the bottom of a swimming pool in Montreal strapped to one of the world’s first aqualungs. Ina Aroita grows up on naval bases across the Pacific with art as her only home. Two polar opposites at an elite Chicago high school bond over a three-thousand-year-old board game; Rafi Young will get lost in literature, while Todd Keane’s work will lead to a startling AI breakthrough.

They meet on the history-scarred island of Makatea in French Polynesia, whose deposits of phosphorus once helped to feed the world. Now the tiny atoll has been chosen for humanity’s next adventure: a plan to send floating, autonomous cities out onto the open sea. But first, the island’s residents must vote to greenlight the project or turn the seasteaders away.

How it’s going:

This is my current audiobook. With the craziness of kids and work lately I have found audiobooks a lot easier to get through because I can multitask. So expect quite a few audiobook reviews in the near future. The writing of this book is beautiful. Powers weaves these stories together so flawlessly. The main two narrators (there are 6 altogether) are wonderful too. They have distinct voices but at the same time their voices mesh very well. It’s an interesting dynamic that not all audiobooks get right. As for the story, I am really loving it. There was a portion of the book that dragged quite a bit and I felt myself tuning out, but it pulled me back in and has been very compelling ever since.

Audiobook review: There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak

by Stefani

There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak

Narrated by: Olivia Vinall and Elif Shafak

Published: August 20, 2024 by Knopf

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

In the ancient city of Nineveh, on the bank of the River Tigris, King Ashurbanipal of Mesopotamia, erudite but ruthless, built a great library that would crumble with the end of his reign. From its ruins, however, emerged a poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh, that would infuse the existence of two rivers and bind together three lives.

In 1840 London, Arthur is born beside the stinking, sewage-filled River Thames. With an abusive, alcoholic father and a mentally ill mother, Arthur’s only chance of escaping destitution is his brilliant memory. When his gift earns him a spot as an apprentice at a leading publisher, Arthur’s world opens up far beyond the slums, and one book in particular catches his interest: Nineveh and Its Remains.

In 2014 Turkey, Narin, a ten-year-old Yazidi girl, is diagnosed with a rare disorder that will soon cause her to go deaf. Before that happens, her grandmother is determined to baptize her in a sacred Iraqi temple. But with the rising presence of ISIS and the destruction of the family’s ancestral lands along the Tigris, Narin is running out of time.

In 2018 London, the newly divorced Zaleekah, a hydrologist, moves into a houseboat on the Thames to escape her husband. Orphaned and raised by her wealthy uncle, Zaleekah had made the decision to take her own life in one month, until a curious book about her homeland changes everything.

A dazzling feat of storytelling, There Are Rivers in the Sky entwines these outsiders with a single drop of water, a drop which remanifests across the centuries. Both a source of life and harbinger of death, rivers—the Tigris and the Thames—transcend history, transcend fate: “Water remembers. It is humans who forget.”

Rating:

Review:

This book was written beautifully. I was interested by the idea of all of these stories being intertwined by water. Water that affects the lives of these people across centuries as it goes through its cycle over and over again. It’s such a beautiful idea and an ingenuous storytelling device if you can pull it off. The author definitely pulled it off. These stories intertwined in ways I didn’t see coming and I loved it. The narrator did a wonderful job of telling these stories, her voice was so soothing that I almost fell asleep a few times. She was the perfect choice for this book.

I have to say that my favorite of these four stories was Arthur. I felt like he had the most depth and that we explored his world more deeply than the others. We explore his entire world and as he became more intrigued by the cuneiform tablets and the ancient city. I was so wrapped up with him that I got a little disappointed when we switched to another narrative. This was another piece that the author got right. We didn’t switch POV often. We spent considerable time with each of these people before switching, so it was easier to empathize and connect with them.

Narin was a heartbreaking story. From the very beginning of her diagnosis and her grandmother’s desperation to baptize her in their sacred river, despite knowing that they would likely be slaughtered by ISIS if they were caught. Or worse. As her story played out I found myself even more heartbroken. I won’t say too much more or it would give away the plot.

Zaleekah was probably the weakest narrative of the book. I had a hard time connecting with her because the glimpses we get of her life seemed so unimportant. I wasn’t sure what she was there for until the very end. Eventually that story tied together with the others just as seamlessly but overall her story seemed like an afterthought.

My biggest negative of this book was the length. There were a lot of things that happen that didn’t feel necessary. There were long stretches where nothing happens at all. The middle of the book dragged on and on. I honestly considered putting the book down because it was just so dull. But I decided to soldier on, and I’m glad I did because the ending was magnificent. I certainly recommend this book, but just be aware that the middle is not as interesting as the beginning and end.

Progress Update – September 30, 2024

by Stefani

The Bitter Truth by Shanora Williams

Progress: 151 of 320 pages

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

An upstanding political candidate. A determined stalker. A shattering lost weekend. Now, when his worst secret comes calling, how far will one man’s elegant, all-too-devoted wife go to uncover the truth . . . or bury it?

For Jolene “Jo” Baker, the least she can do for her adoring husband, Dominic, is give unwavering support for his North Carolina gubernatorial run. He is not only the love of her life, he’s also helping her prove that she’s far more than just a pampered trophy wife. With huge crowds showing up at Dominic’s speeches and the polls consistently in his favor, she’s never been happier to stand proudly by his side . . .

Until she and Dominic start seeing the same, strangely ominous woman turning up all along the campaign trail. Until their tour starts becoming a nightmare of botched events, crucial missed information, and increasingly dangerous “accidents.” Suddenly Jo can’t get any answers from Dominic—or understand why he is acting so paranoid and terrified . . .

What Jo can do is start digging into his past—one she’s never really questioned beyond his perfect image and dazzling accomplishments. What results is an alarming series of events that leave her Good friends turn into enemies, truths are revealed to be lies, and all clues lead back to one secret, shattering weekend that changes Jo’s entire life. With her world splintering into pieces, can Jo risk trying to set things right? Or will hiding the bitter truth by any means necessary destroy her as well?

How it’s going:

I put this one down for awhile, but not because I didn’t enjoy it. The ARC I received has VERY small print, so even though I was enjoying the story that aspect was a bit offputting and made it difficult to read. But, this is a perfect popcorn thriller. If you wanted to, you could read it in an afternoon. It’s also getting pretty dark. I expected this to be about bad people who do bad things, but these are really bad things. I wasn’t entirely prepared for how bad. I am also getting an idea about who is stalking Dominic, we’ll see if my theory pans out.

There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak

Audio progress: 4.5 of 16.5 hours

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synosis:

In the ancient city of Nineveh, on the bank of the River Tigris, King Ashurbanipal of Mesopotamia, erudite but ruthless, built a great library that would crumble with the end of his reign. From its ruins, however, emerged a poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh, that would infuse the existence of two rivers and bind together three lives.

In 1840 London, Arthur is born beside the stinking, sewage-filled River Thames. With an abusive, alcoholic father and a mentally ill mother, Arthur’s only chance of escaping destitution is his brilliant memory. When his gift earns him a spot as an apprentice at a leading publisher, Arthur’s world opens up far beyond the slums, and one book in particular catches his interest: Nineveh and Its Remains.

In 2014 Turkey, Narin, a ten-year-old Yazidi girl, is diagnosed with a rare disorder that will soon cause her to go deaf. Before that happens, her grandmother is determined to baptize her in a sacred Iraqi temple. But with the rising presence of ISIS and the destruction of the family’s ancestral lands along the Tigris, Narin is running out of time.

In 2018 London, the newly divorced Zaleekah, a hydrologist, moves into a houseboat on the Thames to escape her husband. Orphaned and raised by her wealthy uncle, Zaleekah had made the decision to take her own life in one month, until a curious book about her homeland changes everything.

How it’s going:

The writing in this book is absolutely beautiful. The author uses a single drop of water as a vehicle to weave these diverse stories together. What was a raindrop that fell upon the Mesopotamian king became a snowflake that fell on Arthur’s face at his birth, that became a tear shed for Narin, that later fell on Zaleekah. Water is the vehicle for describing these humans and it’s just perfect. I love this story so much so far. It is beautiful and moving. So far Arthur is my favorite story but Narin is very compelling too.

New Releases Wednesday – September 25, 2024

by Stefani

The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel

Published: September 24, 2024 by Berkley

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Alfred Smettle is not your average Hitchcock fan. He is the founder, owner, and manager of The Hitchcock Hotel, a sprawling Victorian house in the White Mountains dedicated to the Master of Suspense. There, Alfred offers his guests round-the-clock film screenings, movie props and memorabilia in every room, plus an aviary with fifty crows.

To celebrate the hotel’s first anniversary, he invites his former best friends from his college Film Club for a reunion. He hasn’t spoken to any of them in sixteen years, not after what happened.

But who better than them to appreciate Alfred’s creation? And to help him finish it.

After all, no Hitchcock set is complete without a body.

Why this caught my eye:

I am a big fan of Hitchcock. I would find the offering of a Hitchcock themed hotel irresistible. Even if a body was necessary, I would take that risk. A few years ago I also read and reviewed this author’s debut novel, Darling Rose Gold. And I really loved it! I made a promise that I would keep an eye out for this author in the future and here she is. The review for Darling Rose Gold is here.

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

Published: September 24, 2024 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common.

Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties—successful, competent, and apparently unassailable. But in the wake of their father’s death, he’s medicating himself to sleep and struggling to manage his relationships with two very different women—his enduring first love, Sylvia, and Naomi, a college student for whom life is one long joke.

Ivan is a twenty-two-year-old competitive chess player. He has always seen himself as socially awkward, a loner, the antithesis of his glib elder brother. Now, in the early weeks of his bereavement, Ivan meets Margaret, an older woman emerging from her own turbulent past, and their lives become rapidly and intensely intertwined.

For two grieving brothers and the people they love, this is a new interlude—a period of desire, despair, and possibility; a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking.

Why this caught my eye:

Lately, I find myself drawn to books that discuss grieving and loss. I’m not entirely sure why, but I am compelled by those kinds of stories lately. This one sounds profound and moving.

I’m Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom by Jason Pargin

Published: September 24, 2024 by St. Martin’s Press

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Outside Los Angeles, a driver pulls up to find a young woman sitting on a large black box. She offers him $200,000 cash to transport her and that box across the country, to Washington, DC.

But there are rules:

He cannot look inside the box.
He cannot ask questions.
He cannot tell anyone.
They must leave immediately.
He must leave all trackable devices behind.

As these eccentric misfits hit the road, rumors spread on social media that the box is part of a carefully orchestrated terror attack intended to plunge the USA into civil war.

The truth promises to be even stranger, and may change how you see the world.

Why this caught my eye:

Obviously the title and the cover is what initially drew my attention. But this just sounds fun! It sounds like a great adventure through insecurity and anxiety over the unknown.

Review: The Delicate Beast by Roger Celestin

by Stefani

The Delicate Beast by Roger Celestin

Expected publication: February 4, 2025 by Bellevue Literary Press

Pre-order this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:

A novel of a life built on the ashes of childhood

In the 1950s Tropical Republic, a boy lives amid opulence and privilege, spending days at the beach or in the cool hills above the sweltering capital, enjoying leisurely Sunday lunches around the family compound’s swimming pool. That is, until the reign of The Mortician begins, unleashing unimaginable horrors that bring his childhood idyll to an end. Narrowly escaping the violent fate visited on so many of his fellow citizens, he and his brother follow their parents into exile in the United States where they must start a new life. But as he grows, he never feels at home, and leaves his family to travel across Europe and outrun the ghosts of the past.

A searing novel of a life lived in the shadow of history, The Delicate Beast portrays the persistent, pernicious legacy of political violence.

Rating:

Review:

***Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Bellevue Literary Press and Edelweiss!***

I began reading this book 64 days ago. I tried to like it. I really really tried to like it. But I just don’t. After reaching the halfway point I decided that I just couldn’t go any further, the writing style was giving me a migraine. In the end this is yet another case of the synopsis selling me a completely different book than the one I read.

The synopsis told me that I would be reading a rich story, set in a lush tropical environment and watching a boy’s life crumble around him in the anarchy of political violence. And then I would be watching as his family picked up the pieces and started a new life. That could very well be what the last 214 pages are about, but the first 200 pages definitely were not. The entire first half is filled with vague stories about the history of this boy, his family, the Tropical Republic, and the townspeople. At first it was interesting and it felt like good worldbuilding. But after awhile I wondered when we were going to get to the point. Ultimately, we never did. When I left off we were just barely seeing the beginning of The Mortician’s reign. I think. Because of the writing style I’m not entirely sure that’s what was happened, but more on that in a minute. All we had read was some vague paragraphs about militias and people being beaten or arrested. I have no idea what happened apart from that. Was this a coup of some sort? A military takeover? An election gone wrong? I have no idea because the author was too busy telling me, yet another, story about the boy going to confession to confess about watching the maids bathing naked.

This was a wordy book. At 414 pages I knew it would be a long book, but it is WORDY. There’s so many words. Superfluous words. Unnecessary words. Words that were so vaguely conveyed that they no longer had meaning, Words that were used in such odd ways that I wasn’t sure that they were being used correctly. This author lives in purple prose. I am not sure he wrote anything but purple prose in the entire 200 pages that I read. Except that typically purple prose displays excessive emotion and is often melodramatic. This book was neither of those things. Just incredibly, pedantically wordy. The emotion and explanation displayed was more in line with beige prose, except for the excessive wordiness that is typically absent in examples of beige prose. It was quite strange, I find that I can’t quite describe it accurately.

Now, imagine the excessive and emotionless wordiness of the book. And then imagine that the topic changes every 3-4 sentences. Different characters, different timelines, different situations, different stories. Rarely was a single topic followed for more than a paragraph or two. The writing was already difficult to decipher, but then I couldn’t figure out who, what, where, or when we were talking about either. I didn’t even realize that The Mortician had arrived for about 10 pages, because we just changed the topic so frequently.

The writing style also didn’t help this book. It was written from an omniscient point of view. We do not venture into the heads or emotions of any of the characters, we remain zoomed out and watching the scene like a movie. The problem with this is that it made it difficult to connect with any of the characters. Because they were explored with such little depth I didn’t care about any of them. They also don’t have names. The Mortician is the closest thing we got to a name in the whole book. All of the characters are “the boy”, “the grandfather”, “the fortunate son”, “the eldest daughter”, “the young aunt”, etc. It was emotionless. These were not real people that I was reading about. They were cardboard cutouts of characters. They had no emotion, no depth, no story, and were completely irrelevant.

I end this review disappointed. Based on the synopsis there was so much promise in this story. I just couldn’t wait to find any longer.

New Releases – July 4, 2024

by Stefani

Happy Independence Day to my American readers! Welcome to this week’s New Releases….Not Wednesday! Oopsie. My week got away from me and all of a sudden it was Thursday, where did the time go? I found a really good bunch of new releases this week. All of them are on my TBR list. Any that I missed?

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

Published: July 2, 2024 by Riverhead Books

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collide

Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.

As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet.

The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali

Published: July 2, 2024 by Gallery Books

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

From the nationally bestselling author of the “powerful, heartbreaking” (Shelf Awareness) The Stationery Shop, a heartfelt, epic new novel of friendship, betrayal, and redemption set against three transformative decades in Tehran, Iran.

In 1950s Tehran, seven-year-old Ellie lives in grand comfort until the untimely death of her father, forcing Ellie and her mother to move to a tiny home downtown. Lonely and bearing the brunt of her mother’s endless grievances, Ellie dreams of a friend to alleviate her isolation.

Luckily, on the first day of school, she meets Homa, a kind, passionate girl with a brave and irrepressible spirit. Together, the two girls play games, learn to cook in the stone kitchen of Homa’s warm home, wander through the colorful stalls of the Grand Bazaar, and share their ambitions for becoming “lion women.”

But their happiness is disrupted when Ellie and her mother are afforded the opportunity to return to their previous bourgeois life. Now a popular student at the best girls’ high school in Iran, Ellie’s memories of Homa begin to fade. Years later, however, her sudden reappearance in Ellie’s privileged world alters the course of both of their lives.

Together, the two young women come of age and pursue their own goals for meaningful futures. But as the political turmoil in Iran builds to a breaking point, one earth-shattering betrayal will have enormous consequences.

The Haters by Robyn Harding

Published: July 2, 2024 by Grand Central Publishing

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

The bestselling author of The Party and The Drowning Woman returns with a twisted tale of fame, obsession, and the dark recesses of social media.

Camryn Lane is living her dream. After years of struggle and rejection, her first novel has finally been published. Her editor is happy; her teenage daughter is proud; and her boyfriend and friends are all excited for her. She’s on top of the world—until she receives a disturbing message from an unknown sender.

Rattled by the accusations she finds there, Camryn swallows the sick feeling in her stomach and resolves to put the missive out of her mind. But when she checks her ratings on a popular book site, she finds a scathing one-star review. The reviewer is so articulate and convincing that soon, Camryn’s book is flooded with bad reviews. Could the reviewer be the same person who sent the ugly email? And why do they want to ruin her?

As the online harassment creeps into Camryn’s personal life, she vows to find out who’s behind it. Is it really a disgruntled reader? Or could it be someone she knows? The troll’s actions are escalating, and when the abuse turns deadly, it will take everything Camryn has to unmask the enemy so intent on destroying her—and finally learn why she’s being targeted

Upcoming Releases Sunday – June 23, 2024

by Stefani

The Sirens by Emilia Hart

Expected publication: February 13, 2025 by The Borough Press

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

From the critically-acclaimed, bestselling author of WEYWARD comes a story of sisters separated by hundreds of years, and yet bound together in more ways than they can imagine.

2019: Lucy awakens in her ex-lover’s room in the middle of the night with her hands around his throat. Horrified, she flees to her sister’s house on the coast of New South Wales, hoping Jess can help explain the vivid dreams that preceded the attack – but her sister is nowhere to be found.

As Lucy waits for her return, she starts to unearth strange rumours about Jess’s town. Tales of numerous missing men, spread over decades. A baby abandoned in a sea-swept cave. Whispers of women’s voices on the waves. All the while, her dreams start to feel closer than ever…

1800: Mary and Eliza are torn from their loving home in Ireland and forced onto a convict ship heading for Australia. As the boat bears them further and further from all they know, they begin to notice changes in their bodies that they can’t explain.

A breathtaking tale of female resilience, THE SIRENS is an extraordinary novel that captures the sheer power of sisterhood and the indefinable magic of the sea.

The Ravening by Daniel Church

Expected publication: November 12, 2024 by Angry Robot

Check this book out: Goodreads

Synopsis:

From the subversive mind behind The Hollows comes a new, page turning horror thriller, perfect for fans of The Only Good Indian by Stephen Graham Jones

Jenna’s life has always been a fight. From the traumatic and mysterious loss of her mother on a dark woodland road when she was fifteen, to the abusive and controlling boyfriend she’s recently escaped, she has learned that trust hurts you in the end.

Now Jenna’s found what she hopes is happiness with her new girlfriend, Holly. But the world is full of darkness – some of it ancient, some of it closer to home… Evil, and those who serve it, will not let Jenna go.

The Ravening is a gripping, claustrophobic horror novel that sets a timeless nightmare against one woman and her belief in herself, and the possibility that somewhere, somehow, there is love in the world.

Playground by Richard Powers

Expected publication: September 24, 2024 by W.W. Norton & Company

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Four lives are drawn together in a sweeping, panoramic new novel from Richard Powers, showcasing the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Overstory at the height of his skills. Twelve-year-old Evie Beaulieu sinks to the bottom of a swimming pool in Montreal strapped to one of the world’s first aqualungs. Ina Aroita grows up in naval bases across the Pacific with art as her only home. Two polar opposites at an elite Chicago high school bond over a three-thousand-year-old board game; Rafi Young will get lost in literature, while Todd Keane’s work will lead to a startling AI breakthrough.

They meet on the history-scarred island of Makatea in French Polynesia, whose deposits of phosphorus once helped feed the world. Now the tiny atoll has been chosen for humanity’s next a plan to send floating, autonomous cities out onto the open sea. But first, the island’s residents must vote to greenlight the project or turn the seasteaders away.

Set in the world’s largest ocean, this awe-filled book explores that last wild place we have yet to colonize in a still-unfolding oceanic game, and interweaves beautiful writing, rich characterization, profound themes of technology and the environment, and a deep exploration of our shared humanity in a way only Richard Powers can.

Upcoming Releases – June 16, 2024

by Stefani

Antenora by Dori Lumpkin

Expected publication: October 1, 2024 by Creature Publishing

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Antenora: Dante’s ninth circle of hell reserved for traitors to their country.

What really happened to Nora Willet? The religious community of Bethel, Alabama can’t agree on the truth. They always said she was trouble. Later, they said she was possessed. Maybe she lost her mind, killing three people and injuring many others.

In a part confessional, part plea for Nora to come home, Nora’s childhood friend Abigail Barnes tells of another girl’s gruesome eighteenth birthday, of the time Nora may have fully revived a snake, of the intimacy of their private encounters at the lakeside, of Nora’s deliverance ceremony. Where, Abigail wonders, is Nora now?

In this tender and horrific debut, religious dogmatism sniffs out two girls whose innocent affections threaten an entire town and way of life, making one a traitor to a homeland in which only Abigail and Nora know the bittersweet truth. A homeland in which Nora can only say, “There’s a snake speaking to me, Abby-girl.”

The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister

Expected publication: October 1, 2024 by Titan Books

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

In this atmospheric Appalachian gothic, the Haddesley siblings of West Virginia must unearth long-buried secrets to carve out a future when the supernatural bargain entwining their fate with their ancestral land is suddenly ruptured

Since time immemorial, the Haddesley family has tended the cranberry bog. In exchange, the bog sustains them. The staunch seasons of their lives are governed by a strict covenant that is renewed each generation with the ritual sacrifice of their patriarch, and in return, the bog produces a “bog-wife.” Brought to life from vegetation, this woman is meant to carry on the family line. But when the bog fails—or refuses—to honor the bargain, the Haddesleys, a group of discordant siblings still grieving the mother who mysteriously disappeared years earlier, face an unknown future.

Middle child Wenna, summoned back to the dilapidated family manor just as her marriage is collapsing, believes the Haddesleys must abandon their patrimony. Her siblings are not so easily persuaded. Eldest daughter Eda, de facto head of the household, seeks to salvage the compact by desecrating it. Younger son Percy retreats into the wilderness in a dangerous bid to summon his own bog-wife. And as youngest daughter Nora takes desperate measures to keep her warring siblings together, fledgling patriarch Charlie uncovers a disturbing secret that casts doubt over everything the family has ever believed about itself.

Brimming with aching loss and the universal struggle between honoring family commitments and the drive to strike out on one’s own, The Bog Wife is a haunting invocation of the arcane power of the habits and habitats that bound us.

And the Sky Bled by S. Hati

Expected publication: October 15, 2024 by Bindery Books

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

In the occupied city of Tejomaya, calor—a magical fossil fuel—is found only in the blood rains that fall from the sky. While a six-month drought has brought Tejomaya to a desperate standstill, rumors of a secret stash of magic propel three unlikely treasure seekers to risk everything.

Tenacious and street-smart Zain Jatav has been forced to steal calor for her slumlord bosses for years. Finding the magic reserve might be her only key to freedom. But she’ll have to contend with Iravan Khotar, a slumlord himself and an ambitious revolutionary hoping to use the same magic to save his people from the mysterious illness devastating the slums—and to bolster a fight against their oppressors. Meanwhile, heiress Anastasia Drakos leads the ruling council of Tejomaya from the safety of a nearby island. With the hidden magic, she could finally take full control of the city and crush the slums beneath her unyielding fist.

As Zain, Iravan, and Anastasia draw closer to finding the treasure, their paths tangle, and not for the first time—they met before, a decade ago, in a fire that destroyed each of their lives in different ways. Their reunion might bring the already-weakened city to its knees.

Exploring the devastating mechanisms of power, this searing climate fantasy breathes life into a crumbling world hovering on the brink of total destruction.

Advanced Reader Copies Received – May 2024

by Stefani

This will be a somewhat recurrent post, detailing some of the Advanced Reader’s Copies of books I’ve received recently. The frequency of this post will depend on what ARCs I get sent or approved for. Sometimes it might be often, sometimes not as often. Enjoy! I am looking forward to read these books, let me know if any of them have caught your eye too.

The Delicate Beast by Roger Celestin

Expected publication: February 4, 2025 by Bellevue Literary Press

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

A novel of a life built on the ashes of childhood

In the 1950s Tropical Republic, a boy lives amid opulence and privilege, spending days at the beach or in the cool hills above the sweltering capital, enjoying leisurely Sunday lunches around the family compound’s swimming pool. That is, until the reign of The Mortician begins, unleashing unimaginable horrors that bring his childhood idyll to an end. Narrowly escaping the violent fate visited on so many of his fellow citizens, he and his brother follow their parents into exile in the United States where they must start a new life. But as he grows, he never feels at home, and leaves his family to travel across Europe and outrun the ghosts of the past.

A searing novel of a life lived in the shadow of history, The Delicate Beast portrays the persistent, pernicious legacy of political violence.

Anticipation by Neil Taylor

Expected Publication: February 4, 2025 by Neem Tree Press

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

You are being played.

Your every move is being watched by businesses hoping to manipulate your behaviour. Every picture, every post, every like, every follow, every purchase, every search.

When 17-year-old Riya Sudame inherits her father’s secret AI algorithm, she and a handful of carefully selected Keyholders hold the power to predict people’s future using their online data. But with great power comes great responsibility, and they must safeguard it from falling into the wrong hands.

Enter Jim Booker, a powerful social media tycoon, who will stop at nothing to steal the technology for himself. Soon Riya faces a critical choice. Fighting ruthless tech giants seems like an impossible task—wouldn’t it be easier to relinquish her father’s creation in exchange for a normal teenage life?

But if she does, she will have to live with the knowledge that she is the reason that, like everyone, you are being played.

Neil Taylor marks his debut in this dark, twisty AI YA thriller.

Kree by Manuela Draeger

Expected Publication: October 22, 2024 by University of Minnesota Press

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

A warrior struggles through an apocalyptic landscape and the world after death

Kree Toronto has been raised as a warrior in a ravaged postapocalyptic, posthuman, the population decimated by wars and civilization long since collapsed. After her attempt to avenge the death of her dog, Loka, goes horribly wrong, Kree finds herself lost in a world after death and wanders into the city of the terrible mendicants.

Under the Brothers’ totalitarian rule, Kree can lead a quiet life and forget her violent past, even if needles grow in her skull and hallucinatory blood rains pour down now and then to remind her. She can make a shamanic healer with a shaking tent, a mysterious stranger hatched from an egg, and a gruff Tibetan electrician in a world without electricity. And she can have her Loka as long as she toes the Party line and does as she’s told. When she can’t—when her friends start to disappear and the Brothers turn against her—Kree sets out on a quest, searching for a new way forward.

Multiply reincarnated and unstuck in time, Kree is the characteristically marvelous creation of Manuela Draeger, whose extraordinary stories, in the words of author China Miéville, “are as close to dreams as fiction can be.”