3/5 stars The Everlasting , by Alix Harrow (2025) If you like the Arthurian legend then you'll either love this, because it's an homage, or you'll hate this, because it's derivative. The Everlasting is a time travel fantasy novel. Owen Mallory is a historian living in the nation of Dominion. His field of study is the legend of Una Everlasting, the Lady Knight (or the Red Knight), whose valiant stories of conquest in the name of the Queen form the very bedrock of the nation. As legend has...

4/5 stars The Memory of Animals , by Claire Fuller (2023) I'm always surprised when a post-apocalyptic novel surprises me. There are so many ways to do and say and show the same things that others have already done and said and shown. The Memory of Animals doesn't escape all of this sort of repetition, but it is a unique take on the story. The main character is Neffy (Nefeli), a former marine biologist specializing in octopuses, who was let go and is now disgraced and strapped for cash....

3/5 stars Play Nice , by Rachel Harrison (2025) I think I really like books about haunted houses - but I don't mean, like, a house that is haunted by a ghost. I mean like the house is haunted. The house wants things and does things and may hurt you. Play Nice is horror-lite, with a haunting and, even more so, a very dysfunctional family. Clio is a social media influencer living in NYC. Her two older sisters, Leda and Daphne, are also off living their lives, and they all have a sisters...