2/5 stars Somewhere Beyond the Sea , by T.J. Klune (2024) I wanted this to be great, because The House in the Cerulean Sea was great. In the end, though, we really did not need this sequel. I'll just say at the top here - if you loved Cerulean Sea , don't bother with this one. Just treasure your happy memories of the first book! Here, we return to Marsyas island to rejoin Arthur and Linus and their ragtag gaggle of magical children, who are all up to the same old antics. A

3/5 stars Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil , by V.E. Schwab (2025) This is a story about three women. In 1532 in Spain, Maria, a young tomboy who has begun to blossom into a beautiful young woman, is forced to marry an older man who cares nothing for her. She dreams of escape, and finds that dream realized when she meets a mysterious, seemingly immortal widow, Sabine, who shows her a way out. Maria accepts, and, in so doing, takes more from Sabine than was on offer. In 18

3/5 stars Model Home , by Rivers Solomon (2024) TW: Racism, homophobia & transphobia, child sexual abuse, emotional abuse, parent death,...

4/5 stars Witchmark and Stormsong , by C.L. Polk (2018 and 2020) A great one-sentence summary from a post on Goodreads:...

5/5 stars Falling Back in Love with Being Human: Letters to Lost Souls , by Kai Cheng Thom (2023) "from the depths of my rage and...

4/5 stars Even Though I Knew the End, by C.L. Polk (2022) At barely over 100 pages, this was a quick read, but Polk manages to create an...

3/5 stars When We Were Sisters, by Fatimah Asghar (2022) Asghar is a poet, and this book reflects that, as it is written in short bursts...

2/5 stars When Women Were Dragons, by Kelly Barnhill (2022) This would have been a fantastic short story! Like, really compelling and fun...

4/5 stars True Biz, by Sara Nović (2022) So many thoughts! I really enjoyed this book, but it also has some issues. Since I am...

2/5 stars The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2017) TW: Domestic abuse and rape I enjoyed this more than a 2-star...

4/5 stars Olga Dies Dreaming , by Xóchitl González (2022) TW: Mention of suicide and rape (not graphic), drug use, hurricane damage Olga...

5/5 stars The Book Eaters, by Sunyi Dean (2022) Vampires for book lovers! (with zombies too, kind of). I was planning to wait until next...

3/5 stars Sorrowland, by Rivers Solomon (2021) The first 3/4 of this book were pretty masterful, in my opinion. The final 1/4 -...

3/5 stars The Liar's Dictionary, by Eley Williams (2020) You need to love learning about language and, more specifically, the etymology...

5/5 stars Clap When You Land, by Elizabeth Acevedo (2020) Sixteen year old Camino Rios has grown up in the Dominican Republic (DR) with...

3/5 stars Redemptor (Raybearer Book #2), by Jordan Ifueko (2021) This is the second book in Ifueko's duology, and since I have a terrible...

5/5 stars The Deep , by Rivers Solomon (2019) Decades back, pregnant African slaves were thrown from slave ships into the ocean. Their...

1/5 stars Pet, by Akwaeke Emezi (2019) UGH. I really didn't enjoy this book. I'm so confused by all the praise it has received (including...

4/5 stars Tongues: On Longing and Belonging through Language, edited by Eufemia Fantetti, Leonarda Carranza, & Ayelet Tsabari (2021) I...

5/5 stars In This Moment: Revolution, Reckoning, Reparation, a chapbook series curated by Amanda Chestnut, coordinated by Jeanne...