The Only Good Indians tells the tale of four Blackfeet friends who make the mistake of killing a young, pregnant elk. For a decade, the spirit of this elk bides its time, waiting to find a way back into the world to seek revenge on them. The result: A novel where each section tells the twisted tale of these men meeting their fate, a story that grows more horrific with the turning of each page.

Off the Reservation picks up in the same world five years later, and while supernatural elements are once again wreaking havoc on humans, it isn’t exactly a sequel.

Nate Yellow Tail—a secondary character, one of just two survivors of the massacre at the heart of The Only Good Indians—takes center stage in this new story. After Nate and his friend Sebby Spear Woman are in a car accident that nearly kills them both, Nate’s entire world feels off-kilter. However, his hospital nurse, Seine Plenty Wolf, convinces Nate that he has the power to restore balance. All he has to do is join her “holy mission.”

It may sound naive, but it’s the only chance he’s got. So, with some hesitation, Nate piles into an ‘80s-model Sundancer RV with Seine—and two other very interesting traveling companions—for a road trip to the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania. The goal of Seine’s so-called holy mission? Find the remains of a boy who was kidnapped and murdered there over a century ago to bring him back home where he belongs. Perhaps by bringing one Blackfoot boy back home, Nate can bring another—his best friend Sebby—back from the brink of death too.

This is a horror novel, though. And one written by Stephen Graham Jones, no less. That means things absolutely will not go smoothly. You can’t mess around with the past without expecting it to snap right back. So when this crew tries to resurrect the remains of the Blackfoot boy, they dredge up much more than they expected.

Off the Reservation is an absolute rollercoaster ride! If you’ve read anything by Jones before, you know he has a really unique brand of horror. Things can get a bit weird. And then get even weirder. He’s a master at using small details to create the most unsettling feeling in the reader … and then just lets it stew. Yet he balances this out with a signature dry, pithy humor. You don’t necessarily expect to laugh out loud while reading a horror novel, but it’s guaranteed with this one.

Jones’s editor warns that “every detail matters” in this story and he’s not wrong. It is one of those novels where hints are dropped all along the way, going unnoticed until the pieces suddenly snap into place. There’s an entire section titled “Hindsight” and readers will feel that deeply when this journey comes to an end. All I’m saying is, get ready for a few jaw-dropping plot twists. Literally. My mouth hung wide open for a good minute at one point.

As always, Jones goes past the flashy horror elements to build rich characters and then sets them down within the framework of this country’s long history of colonisation, which is horrific in its own right. Mile after mile passes on this wild ride of a road trip and it becomes increasingly clear that each passenger in the RV is hiding something. Jones takes time with each of them, allowing the reader into their innermost thoughts and experiences, making them more than just a cast of characters—each one is a core component of his story.

So, if you’re looking for a new spooky season read with no shortage of action and gore, but also plenty of depth, you don’t want to miss Off the Reservation.

Off the Reservation is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.

Will you be picking up Off the Reservation? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis

A ragtag group of activists sets out to repatriate the bones of a Blackfeet boy taken to the infamous Carlisle Indian Industrial School in author Stephen Graham Jones’s return to the Blackfeet reservation of his award-winning New York Times bestsellers The Only Good Indians and The Buffalo Hunter Hunter.

Five years have passed since the massacre on the Blackfeet reservation in Stephen Graham Jones’s breakout bestseller The Only Good Indians. Nathan Yellow Tail, one of the survivors of the revenge murders, finds himself in the hospital after a terrible accident that should’ve killed him and that nearly killed his best friend, Sebby, who is hanging on to life in a room a few doors down.

Nate’s life is out of balance, so when he is given the chance to reset his life, and maybe save Sebby in the process, Nate steps up, again. This time it’s into a camper van that is almost as run down as his broken body, filled with three older Blackfeet, to find the bones of the lone Blackfeet boy who died at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School—where many Indigenous children were abused—and repatriate this boy home. The problem is, when they get the bones, something terrible has escaped with them.

By turns terrifying and deeply moving, Off the Reservation is a haunting American Indian novel of survival, reckoning, and redemption, shining light on the dark corners of this country’s history while also showing the desperate choices people make when they’re put up against a wall.

The post Review: Off the Reservation by Stephen Graham Jones appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

This is one of my favourite YA horror series – it just has everything with great characterisation, tight plotting and a wonderful balance of heart, humour and horrific moments. It has buckets of blood and genuinely feels scary but also has plenty of dark comedy and warmth. Wood toes the line expertly and that initial pitch of Scream meets Scooby Doo still holds up for me.

We open with quite a campy cold open of another case (which did feel very tongue-in-cheek Scooby-Doo-esque) and immediately you feel like you are home. The characterisation in this trilogy has always been stellar but Wood goes up another gear in this book. These are not the same people we met at the start of Let’s Split Up, for better or for worse. Their friendship is a brilliant bond, but it is also fracturing as they each try and live with the events of the previous two books. The ramifications are keenly felt here and I liked that Wood very much grapples with the concept of guilt as a central theme. They are dealing with the weight of lives lost and the personal consequences of certain actions, but ultimately what happened was not their fault. Survivor’s guilt is devastating and Wood explores this with nuance.

Because you have taken these characters into your heart, there is so much more to lose in this final chapter. The story Wood has crafted is tense and spine-chilling. I mean an abandoned theme park in the cold and darkness is eerie enough on its own, before you add in isolation and bodies starting to stack up. Every page is drenched in blood and you can really feel the evolution of the trilogy as the core four face possibly their darkest times yet.

The twists in this book are next-level. It dials up the stakes to eleven and somehow makes the atmosphere even more terrifying than the previous books. Nothing and no one is safe as this isolated scarefest starts to bring the nightmares to life for real.

A throughline in this trilogy that I have really enjoyed is an exploration of the true crime industry and how it exploits real-life suffering into neatly packaged and sensationalist tales. Since Let’s Split Up, it has been present through the media interest in these cases and in a meta way with the in-universe books about their previous stories. We go one step further here with the choice of location and the secrets buried within there. While I won’t reveal exactly what Wood is discussing, there is a really nuanced thread about the ongoing impact of trauma and the different ways people may confront it. Our core four have stared into the face of evil and lived to tell the tale but the scars it has left on each of them are still throbbing. How each of them has chosen to continue their life after the events of book two is fascinating, particularly as they come back together for this final adventure. By choosing to set this trilogy before the incredible rise of the Internet, Wood shows the groundwork for the true crime stories we are all familiar with now. There is plenty to delve into around the power of the press, the manipulation of narratives but primarily the way in which we confront real-life horrors.

One Last Scare is an excellent conclusion to a standout trilogy, packed full of thrillers and chills. I have thoroughly loved this series and am sad to bid goodbye to the Sanera Four. Wood is an exceptional talent and I cannot wait to see what he turns his hand to next.

Will you be picking up One Last Scare? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis

When Cam, Jonesy, Amber and Buffy are invited to experience a new theme park called Chillshore, the gang jump at the chance of some down-time together. They can kick back on this remote island, check out the rides, no chance of any gruesome murders or mystery-solving in sight. Right? Wrong.

Death has come to Chillshore, with creepy cabins in the woods, gruesome discoveries lurking beneath frozen water, decades-old secrets cracking open like black ice. None of their fellow guests can be trusted and no-one is safe.

As the body count rises, can the Sanera Four survive, or will this be their One Last Scare?

The post Review: One Last Scare by Bill Wood appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Eda and Kit burst off the page and straight into your heart. The characterisation is such a strength of this book, feeling three-dimensional and well-crafted. You can very much see the journeys each of them embarks on in this book and time is given for particular character beats to play out and breathe a little. Both of them are complicated characters, forced to become what they are by a cruel and unrelenting world. The dynamic between the two of them is immediately electrifying and it grows and shifts in exciting ways. Plumb keeps you on your toes but there is plenty of excellent dialogue and flirty moments between the two. It is an actual enemies to lovers to something else arc with stakes, tension and hatred seeping through their skin.

I loved how Gothic this book was with a wonderful command of darkness in the story. You are grappling with the corrosive nature of power, all-consuming ambition and the prices people might be willing to pay to hold onto their power. There is a ripple effect and plenty of the monstrosity on display is that of humanity with those they deem lesser in some way. It is a book with plenty of bloodshed and truly terrifying moments that stick with you long after the final page. Plumb balances that darkness perfectly, ensuring you understand this world and the stakes but also keeping it within a crossover space.

At the heart of it all are the Pacts that Eda and her brothers have as their only way of survival. These are a fascinating concept and an interesting take on the classic devil’s bargain, trading away years of your life for a boon. However there is precision needed or you will be deeply disappointed with the details. This is a world that despises weakness and will stop at nothing to get what it wants. It is brutal and we explore the consequences of some of these Pacts throughout the story. They speak to the wider world-building Plumb is deftly crafting, which was one of the highlights for me. There is a bigger magic system and indeed political power plays in store that have ripple effects that will carry over. I really enjoyed drilling down into this, while also leaving plenty of intrigue for future stories. There is a particular character bound up in this that I cannot wait for readers to fall in love with and I demand to know more of their story, if Plumb ever decides to share. It is a richly imagined world and I adore the level of detail and lore we get here. This feels like a world that has truly been inhabited.

It is a tense read with palpable stakes at all times and even in the moments of levity, you are keenly aware of the ticking clock. Plumb creates a paranoid atmosphere dominated by this religious fanaticism that Eda has been crushed under for her whole life. She has had to pay the price for the decisions of those who came before her and now her brothers are in deadly peril too. There is this sense of history repeating itself that feels chilling. Everything builds to a fantastic and heart-wrenching finale but do not allow yourself to relax until after the final page. Without giving anything away, it is a brutal ending and the final lines of the story have rung in my head ever since. I was delighted to hear that there is a sequel coming but I also fear what Plumb might have up her sleeve.

Reap & Sow was such a gorgeous romantasy with a real sense of darkness and heart.

Reap & Sow is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.

Will you be picking up Reap & Sow? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis

A young woman bargains with a demon to save her brothers, only to lose her heart in this slow-burn romantasy about dark magic, unlikely love, and the imperfect beauty of mortality.

The penniless in Blackbridge have only two choices: Sell the body or sell the soul. And thanks to Eda Shaw, business is booming.

Indentured to a capricious demon known as Mr. Night, Eda and her brothers arrange illicit Pacts on his behalf, luring the city’s most desperate into trading years of their lives for their deepest desires. When a Pact goes awry and her brothers are arrested, Eda realizes she’ll need an infernal ally of her own: Kit’rath, an infuriating demon with a curious penchant for humanity and the only being in Blackbridge that Mr. Night seems to fear. As they race to rescue her family and save the city from ruin, an undeniable connection sparks between mortal and demon.

But Kit’s help doesn’t come cheap. Now Eda risks losing her heart to the one who claims her years—and saving herself may prove the steepest cost of all.

Rich with gothic atmosphere, sharp wit, and simmering romantic tension, Reap & Sow is a fantasy debut and the first in a duology, perfect for fans of Rachel Gillig, Hannah Whitten, and Heather Fawcett.

The post Review: Reap & Sow by Charlotte B. Plumb appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Fans of Veronica Roth’s YA dystopian phenomenon, the Divergent series, are sure to be thrilled with her return to post-apocalyptic Chicago this fall. The first in a new duology, The Sixth Faction reworks this bestselling story from a different angle: How would Tris’s life—and the entire world around her—unfold if she chose a different path?

Just like in Divergent, 16-year-old Beatrice Prior faces the most important decision of her life. In a society where the population is separated into five distinct groups, each young adult must decide for themself which faction to spend the rest of their life with. Beatrice was raised in Abnegation, with principles of sharing, helping, and selflessness—principles she knows are good, yet she doesn’t truly feel at home there.

After taking the simulation that should reveal which faction is her match, Beatrice learns why she’s never felt like she fit in: She doesn’t fall into just one faction like she’s supposed to. She’s Divergent, different from those around her because she exhibits the traits of multiple factions. And Divergent is a dangerous thing to be in this world.

This news makes Beatrice’s decision all the more difficult. She doesn’t feel particularly drawn to Amity, known for their kindness, or Candor, known for their honesty; and the results of the simulation support this. But she does wonder how she may fit with the Erudite, who value knowledge and intelligence, or the thrilling prospect of Dauntless, protectors of the city. And, of course, there is always the option to remain with her family in Abnegation. So, Beatrice heads into the Choosing Ceremony uncertain of which faction to pick.

This all sounds pretty familiar, right? Then Roth turns everything we know about this world upside down.

The excitement of reading a retelling like The Sixth Faction lies in all the ways it parallels and diverges, if you will, from the original series. The story starts just like Divergent does, down to the details: Beatrice Prior in front of the reflection she’s only allowed to see four times each year, as her mother prepares to cut her hair. The premise holds the same basic thread, however within two pages the details already begin to spin off in a different direction.

Although she doesn’t choose to join Dauntless, Beatrice still evolves into Tris—but a different version of Tris. While she struggles with the same overarching question of who she is, and therefore what choices she should make for her life, there is a different air about her from the start. The storyline still feels authentic to her character, though. And it’s not just the fact that she makes different choices in this novel. The plot also unfolds in a different way, allowing her options that would never have existed in Divergent.

Roth also makes this story about more than just Tris. Whereas Divergent was told entirely from her point of view, not branching out until later in the series, The Sixth Faction begins alternating perspectives early on. Divided into six parts, the narration incorporates the perspectives of two other characters, which keeps the momentum driving forward. (Sorry, you’ll have to read to find out which two characters!)

It’s difficult to say too much more about the plot without completely spoiling the fun. However, here’s a hint: The title gives a big clue to the story ahead. And if you’re worried about whether or not Four will still be part of that story, don’t. Take a closer look at the cover. Roth does a great job of echoing pieces of Divergent across this alternate universe, calling up many of the memorable characters and scenes to play a role in this story, just in new ways.

Many readers were upset by the way Roth chose to end the original Divergent series, so they see this new duology as a chance to find a better ending. I’m not, however, one of those readers. Unhappy endings sometimes come with the territory in this genre, as they should. I’ve had a soft spot for dystopian fiction since reading Lois Lowry’s The Giver as a child and the world of the Divergent series—both past and in this new imagining—nails all the hallmarks you’d expect: a broken down society, opposing groups, power grabs, control of knowledge and communication, and more.

The Sixth Faction is intriguing from the start because the reader can’t wait to find out how Tris’s story will change in this alternate universe. It’s a fantastic premise. There’s also a clear evolution of Roth’s writing from the original; it has definitely grown, along with her readers. So, be prepared to suspend time when you pick this one up—you won’t be putting it back down until you turn the last pages, and those last pages will leave you in pure shock.

Stay tuned for the conclusion of this duology, The Last Testimony, set to release February 2, 2027!

The Sixth Faction is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.

Will you be picking up The Sixth Faction? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis

The worldwide sensation as you’ve never seen it before. Step into a bold new Divergent series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth.

Beatrice Prior stands on the brink of a decision every person in her world must make: five factions, five futures, five lives.

She has a plan: she’s going to make the bravest choice and leave Abnegation to join Dauntless, even though it means abandoning her family.

But when tragedy strikes at her choosing ceremony, everything changes—her world, her plans, even Beatrice herself.

Her decision will thrust her into the crosshairs of an underground rebellion, where a boy with secrets as dangerous as her own—a boy with only a number for a name—may be the only person she can trust.

One choice will change everything.

The post Review: The Sixth Faction by Veronica Roth appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Livia Cable (née Bohusz) lives a simple life with her husband in rural Tennessee. Charlie works the family farmland while Livia teaches piano to the locals. Between lessons, and in the early morning hours when sleep evades her, she also faces the overwhelming task of sorting through her recently deceased mother’s home. Stacked top to bottom with decades of detritus, the process brings back difficult memories of her upbringing and her beloved brother, Cyrus, who left the world far too early in a way Livia still cannot make sense of.

This daily routine is interrupted one Sunday by an unexpected call, dragging the excruciating pain of the past even more so back into the present. Sigurd, a long lost love, is staying a few hours away in Nashville. He has been thinking about Livia and wants to see her. But for what possible reason, with all these years between them?

When they last spoke, nearly thirty years ago, Livia was on the path to a very different life. She was the most promising classical pianist in her program at the Indiana University School of Music. She fell in love with Sigurd, a passionate activist who showed her the world through a brand new lens. And she certainly never dreamed of moving back home. However, as Kingsolver shows us all too well, our lives don’t always turn out the way we hope.

Moving back and forth between Livia’s present and her past, Partita tells this story through a careful construction of musical movements. Each section is labeled, ranging from prelude and overture to allemande and fugue, chosen to reflect the tone and content of that portion of Livia’s story. A listening list of the pieces referenced throughout is even provided at the beginning of the book. As Livia works to perfect the challenging but beloved “Ondine” from Maurice Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit, for example, the reader can listen for themself, adding another dimension to the reading experience.

Beyond the music, this novel is about the depth of human relationships, both familial and romantic. Kingsolver makes a meaningful choice to frame the story with the death of Livia’s brother. This is where the novel literally begins and it remains an unbreakable thread woven throughout. It is an achingly accurate portrayal of the profundity of such loss and the way a family—each member individually and as a whole—is never the same after.

This is paralleled by another type of loss. Partita is also a story of the one who got away, raising the dangerous question of how life might look today if things had gone differently in the past. The present day portion of the novel begins on the day after Sigurd called. Each section is another day as Livia labors over the decision of whether or not to see him again. Rationally she knows there’s no need after all these years, especially considering the fallout of their relationship on her life, yet she still craves him in some inexplicable way. As she ponders this choice, their history unfolds in the alternating chapters of the past, amplifying the impact of their brief relationship on the storyline of her life.

Readers will feel the love Kingsolver poured into this novel. Did you know she too grew up in a rural, working-class family learning to play classical music—and still plays the piano today? No wonder she has such a gift: putting into words the emotions of a powerful piece, capturing the cadence, translating how the music both sparks and satiates.

Partita is masterfully written, from the composition as a whole down to the sentence level. In the end, it is a reflection on—or perhaps more accurately a reckoning with—the ghosts of one’s past. Livia must face the ways her parents, her brother, her lover, and her music have all shaped her life. But it is also a beautiful reminder that all of our lives are infinitely more complex than they may appear on the surface. Every human experience contains multitudes.

In short, I believe the message here is that life itself is a partita and it is a message worth receiving. As Kingsolver tells us, “When I told him it was a partita, I had to explain then what that is, a composition made of a lot of parts with different paces and moods. A partita will never be all happy rondos, or all andantes in a minor key. You’ll usually have a prelude, a thrilling allemande, maybe a slow, sexy sarabande—the contrast is the point. The parts are all different, and the artist’s work is to make them all add up to a something that feels whole.”

Partita is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of October 6th 2026.

Will you be picking up Partita? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis

The story of a brief, passionate, life-changing love affair, wrapped up in what might be the greatest romance of all: our eternal human longing for art and beauty.

Livia Cable has made her peace with her marriage and modest livelihood in the farm country where she grew up, until a shocking phone call from an old lover shakes her to the core. Decades earlier, this man knew her as Livia Bohusz, a music conservatory student estranged from her home and family, uncertain of anything except her passion for music and promise as an extraordinary pianist. His request, now, to see her again stirs up ghosts she’s kept at bay for a lifetime.

Shifting between past and present, Livia’s decision to meet or reject the reunion means confronting step by step, in memories framed as musical dances, the experiences of childhood loss, abandonment, self-immolating passion, and perilous attachment to a man who broke her belief in love and ruptured the course of her life.

With razor-sharp acuity and deep affection, Pulitzer Prize winner Barbara Kingsolver’s unforgettable new novel reflects on class barriers, the risks of ambition, and the timeless, life-changing power of art.

The post Review: Partita by Barbara Kingsolver appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Ava Reid takes a fantastic idea and imagines it in unexpected ways. This is really a rollercoaster of a book with surprises around every corner. You’ll be pulled in by the intrigue and backstabbing but you will stay because of the layered and interesting characters at the heart of the story.

In this book, the characters really shone for me. Klaudia, Julian, Giselle, and Nadiya feel distinctive and three-dimensional and I enjoyed moving between each of their perspectives. They all bring their own abilities to the table, but also shoulder their own secrets and traumas. These are deeply damaged teenagers forced to become weapons for their country. Their intellect is deadly but the situation they end up in might just cause the world to implode. I did have a particular love for Giselle’s ability, which is an eidetic memory. This is something so fascinating and I loved how Reid explored its uses and potential exploitation. It is a blessing and a curse, combined with a sharp mind and the way everyone makes assumptions about Giselle. In fact the story loves to play with expectations and go beneath the surface of the carefully constructed facade you may see at first.

Of course, this is fitting for a story often preoccupied with deceit and games within games. Not everything as it seems here. The primary story is very compelling within the walls of the shadowy and all-powerful Valeran Academy. A secret base that pushes its students to their limits and often forces them to attend to save themselves. The stakes are high but Reid pushes them even higher as this dangerous conspiracy starts to unfold. This is an alternative world where the paranoia and tension of the Cold War never ended. That heightened state of claustrophobia is palpable as this conflict continues to rage on in the background.

This is a fantastic book that takes me right back to the heyday of YA dystopian and I think might just usher in a renaissance. It is so cleverly put together, it really feels like a puzzle box for you to solve. There are so many layers to the story with the characters, the central mystery and the political machinations moving beneath it all. It is a refreshing take on the idea of gifted kids and speaks to the intense burnout and pressure. This is a pressure cooker like no other with the constant competition a microcosm of the warfare going on under the surface of the world. Reid weaves this in with political parallels to our own world and the increasingly polarised nature of society. Here, the truth shall come to light but the cost of it will not be light. I liked how Reid wove in these political elements, making the entire story feel like ripples in the water. These actions will have consequences, but who knows how far they may reach and what knock-on effects they will have. You feel like you’ve scratched the surface of this intense world and leaves plenty of room for an excellent sequel. Reid certainly leans towards this with a devastating and explosive ending that leaves you demanding answers immediately.

Winterveil is the whisper in the darkness, walking on a knife edge with intrigue, political moves and world-shattering revelations.

Winterveil is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.

Will you be picking up Winterveil? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis

Bestselling author of A Study in Drowning and Fable for the End of the World Ava Reid is back with a thrilling new duology unlike anything you’ve read before.

It’s a game—until it’s war.

• A disgraced politician from a powerful American dynasty.
• A coldly brilliant strategist who will sacrifice anything to win.
• A former pageant queen with a talent that could change the world.
• An expert female soldier with an enigmatic past—and a dangerous secret.

In an alternate future where the Cold War still rages, four precocious teenage criminals with dark skills and darker secrets are offered a fresh start at a secret military academy. But instead of training to end the war, they find themselves on a mysterious mission that will test loyalties, forge romances, and maybe end the world as they know it.

The post Review: Winterveil by Ava Reid appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman tells the story of Scharisse “Schar” Freeman, a young woman from the so-called wrong side of town whose entire world changes when she meets her husband. Marrying David, the handsome older pastor of the nationally-recognised megachurch Hope in Christ, gives Schar the stability she has always dreamed of packaged in a role she never imagined: First Lady Freeman.

Schar’s lifestyle quickly changes to one of designer clothes and lavish birthday celebrations; however, she isn’t exactly what you’d expect from the wife of one of America’s elite pastors. On the outside she tries hard to fulfill her assigned role, but inside she struggles: “For the record, I’ve never been a fan of the Black church’s insistence on treating pastors like heads of state and referring to their wives as First Ladies … I’m not a fan of hierarchies in general. And I’ve always felt conflicted about having my lifestyle funded by our congregation, some of whom can barely afford their rent, and who worship a god I’m not entirely sure I believe in.”

In order to fit the mold, she is forced to leave behind her lifelong friend, Petra. (Because, of course, the church wouldn’t be accepting of a First Lady who is best friends with a nonbelieving lesbian.) Yet even with all her efforts, Schar’s bubbly personality is not embraced by her church community. In fact, she finds her fellow First Ladies to be more mean girls than godly. Despite her best attempts to build friendships and play the role of the Proverbs 31 woman—the epitome of what a good Christian wife should be—it seems she will always be viewed as an outsider.

After nearly 20 years of marriage, and with her 40th birthday on the horizon, Schar knows what will cement her role as the consummate pastor’s wife: winning the annual First Lady USA Pageant. If she can just reach this pinnacle, she will know she has “made it” … and the other First Ladies will have no choice but to finally welcome her into their fold. Right?

When Schar finally receives this long-coveted invitation to compete in the pageant, a shocking scandal threatens to dismantle the life she’s worked so hard to build—But does she even really want this life anymore? Perhaps there is a whole different truth out there, just waiting for her to decide to live it.

As a reader, it’s the ultimate delight when a book turns out to be exactly what you wanted it to be. Deesha Philyaw delivers here in a big way, giving fans of her shorter fiction a healthy dose of the salacious church stories they’ve been waiting years to read. Philyaw is a writer with an undeniably bold voice. She holds no punches, first and foremost calling out all—and I mean all!—the hypocrisy of the church. The secrets, the judgment, the alliances, the control, the misogyny—it’s all here and you won’t be able to turn the pages fast enough!

Although there are plenty of laugh-out-loud, jaw-dropping moments, The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman is much more than just the drama. Schar is a masterfully written character. She’s a strong, smart (hello, Yale graduate!) female protagonist who is impossible not to root for. She’s a beautifully complex character who has faced many struggles, but refused to crumble in the face of it all.

Setting this story between the 1980s and early 2010s also gives Philyaw the ability to cover a range of topics that bring depth to the novel. Schar’s story is deeply impacted by the HIV/AIDS crisis and profound loss. Philyaw explores what it means to be left in the world without a mother—Schar’s died when she was just 13 years old. She probes what it feels like to be stuck in a life that may look perfect from the outside but feels empty from within. And she navigates the prescient issues women face in a male-dominated society, from finding independence to owning our own sexuality. As Schar herself says: “We’re all just collateral damage in men’s war for self-preservation and dominance.”

If there is one thing I can say to convince you to pick up this novel, it’s this: The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman has humour and heart in abundance. Philyaw’s writing is brilliant and pointed, funny and tender, and a little of everything in between. You will laugh out loud, scream in frustration, cheer on Schar, and, when you turn the final page, wish you could go back and do it all over again.

The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of September 29th 2026.

Will you be picking up The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis

From the moment Scharisse Freeman ditched her humble roots and married a megachurch pastor fifteen years her senior, she’s been labeled too brash and too “of the world” by church folks who grudgingly accepted her into their fold, and too holy by her estranged childhood bestie Petra. Schar doesn’t have many allies, but that hasn’t stopped her from building an enviable business empire spanning books to clothing to branded products, and living the comfortable life her husband’s power affords her.

On the eve of her 40th birthday, Schar gets the final bit of validation she’s always dreamt of: a coveted invitation to participate in the First Lady USA pageant. This is her chance to be accepted by the other pastors’ wives—First Ladies—who are “like Jesus’ disciples if they had been a group of mean girls.” Finally, blissfully, the ice between Schar and the other First Ladies begins to thaw.

But as the pageant nears, a sensational scandal breaks with Schar at its center, and her carefully curated life implodes. Schar faces down shame and terrible secrets from her childhood and is reminded that in the eyes of the church, optics can matter more than the truth.

Unflinchingly funny, frank, and splendidly unruly, The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman exults in the luscious, messy pleasure of finally feeling free.

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Along the way, CheChe begins to discover new sides of himself—from relearning how to walk to falling in love and forming unexpected friendships—and realises that even after tragedy, there can still be room for humor, kindness, love, and hope.

Writing this review is incredibly difficult, for a multitude of reasons. While I finished the book back in early July, I did not write the review until September… when the author had already passed away.

When the World Was Happy manages to do something that only a few books have managed to do for me—making me think how I would have reacted if this was an obligatory book to read for everyone in school. I didn’t expect how often I thought to myself “I wish we read this in school” or “I wonder how my teacher would have asked about CheChe’s emotional and physical trauma”—the subject matter, even beyond the school shooting, would lend itself so well to classroom discussions. Sáenz knows how to explore topics like racism, homophobia, and bigotry, and how all this can not only form violence but also infect a whole community. Yet paired with this is the incredible perseverance of hope and the power of family to help you survive in the aftermath of tragedy.

Sáenz’s prose is always incredibly beautiful, raw and real. Fans of Ari and Dante will find just as much heart and emotion packed into every sentence that sometimes feels like a hug and others like a gut punch.

We follow the characters in the aftermath of the school shooting and see not only how it has impacted their life, their physical and mental health, but also how it has changed the way they interact with the world and with each other. You get different glimpses at the school shooting itself, but the story is focused on how these characters manage to survive and try to move on. It’s as excruciating as it is healing to jump from CheChe to Emma’s perspective and to see how they approach just… living after everything that has happened.

There are so many passages that made me put down the book and just sit with the emotions it evoked. From the hopeful to the macabre, from finding spaces to still have humor and laughter when it feels almost illegal to feel joy, from the “how do I even live with what happened” to “I can’t believe I couldn’t protect my twin more than that”, it all just felt like an emotional rollercoaster I was loathe to get off of. Grief, healing and closure are at the core of this story and Sáenz manages to depict it in a realistic, yet comforting way.

Sure, there were moments where I didn’t really connect with the characters because they seemed wise beyond their years. Tragedy does have a way of doing that but I was missing the teen voices of uncertainty and anxiety a bit as they seemed to handle everything almost too much like it would be in a textbook, which took me a bit out of the narrative as I questioned whether teens would react like that. Nevertheless, this book absolutely took my heart by storm and will stay with me for a long time.

I think that, as far as last novels written go, Benjamin Alire Sáenz is leaving this world with a story that hopefully will shape generations to come.

Leaving a legacy with a book that is as much about the scary reality we live in and face every day as about how to find a way back to normal after horrendous hardship, When the World Was Happy is a poignant and relevant story that won’t soon be forgotten.

When the World Was Happy is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of October 13th 2026.

Will you be picking up When the World Was Happy? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis

A “heartrending yet beautiful” (School Library Journal, starred review) tale of twins and their group of friends who are forced to navigate life, relationships, and grief after their world is turned upside down from New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Benjamin Alire Sáenz.

CheChe knows that he and his twin sister Emma lead an unusual life. They enjoy spending time with their parents and grandparents, love to read, and don’t have a huge circle of friends—and they’re happy. Then, just a few months after they turn seventeen, three gunmen show up one morning at their El Paso, Texas, high school, and everything changes.

CheChe loses a leg, and both he and Emma have friends who die. Suddenly, the world feels like a very different place. But what they find hasn’t changed—or has only gotten deeper—is their love for their family, their close friends, and one another, and as they begin to heal, they create their own little community, one that wields the power of humor, kindness, and hope.

CheChe finds himself doing all kinds of things he never expected from his junior year: relearning to walk, falling in love with the boy he’s nursed a longtime crush on, making friends with a kid he always found intimidating. By the end of this life-changing school year, none of them will be the same, and many of them will have found their voices in ways they never imagined.

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Gerard has fled his life in the spotlight and is looking for a fresh start, only to discover that his new home already has a very mysterious occupant. Emory is invisible, hiding from the police, and definitely not interested in a roommate…or romance. But as forced proximity turns into unexpected feelings, keeping their secrets hidden becomes harder than either of them anticipated.

Overall it was a very sweet romance, with only low angst levels which—at least in my mind—made for a perfectly nice story to get into the cosy fall season. The set-up and the forced proximity set itself up nicely for something to read and not have to worry about bad outcomes. I really liked the progression of the romance as both Gerard and Emory are hiding very different secrets yet seem to find solace and comfort in each other.

Gerard and Emory also fit together really well—the chemistry was there from the get-go and the push-and-pull paired with nerdy meets artistic vibes kept my attention throughout the entire book. Gerard is just trying to get away from the pressures and stress of being in the spotlight and the constant fear of not being good enough, meanwhile Emory just wants to progress with his scientific experiments in time for a symposium because he wants to prove himself as more than people take him for.

Both are very driven, but there’s time for exploration of your own personal values and how they determine self-worth which I thought was such a nice combination. My favourite romances are those where the characters grow not just because of the romance but on their own and Gerard and Emory have their own journeys to take beyond their romance.

While this did veer sometimes in the direction of being the mad scientist meets the elusive star, it kept the story fresh rather than turning it into a caricature of a romance.

As always with these types of stories, you have to suspend your disbelief a bit when it comes to the scientific part (I mean, none of us read it for that aspect, or at the very least I don’t think so) and if you do, you’re in for a fun take on The Invisible Man meets Love Is Blind. Just like the comps promised, this story is for the most part lighthearted and sweet without accidentally veering into the superficial.

While I did enjoy the story, my gripe as with every book by Janovsky is the pacing. The Invisible Roommate definitely improved on the pacing in comparison to some of his other novels, but I still am left a bit dissatisfied with where the story drags and where it seems to run over the narrative instead of lingering for a potentially deeper connection with the characters. Take this with a grain of salt though, as this is very subjective and may not be the case for you.

One thing that took me by surprise was how big of a role religion played in the story, especially the second half. While I’m not religious and don’t really have an issue with reading about it, I did feel slightly blindsided. It’s not mentioned in the synopsis, which seems weird considering how much of the narrative it takes over and while there isn’t anything too negative and it’s more so moving from distancing yourself from the church to rediscovering it and its role in your life, I think some readers who struggle with this depiction might like a mention of it.

I’ve seen some reviews tag this as Christian fiction and while I don’t agree with that (while it is a closed-door romance so to speak, there are some intimate scenes that show a bit before cutting off), I do think this focus should have been made clearer.

That being said, I think Janovsky handled the anxiety and doubt of reconciling the role religion can play in your life when you’re queer quite nicely without sounding too—for the lack of a better term—preachy.

All in all, if you’re looking for an opposites-attract and forced-proximity romance paired with a slightly spooky, slightly magical story to get you into the right mood for fall, then The Invisible Roommate is sure to warm your heart!

The Invisible Roommate is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of September 29th 2026.

Will you be picking up The Invisible Roommate? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis

The Invisible Man meets Love is Blind in this autumnal love story.

Gerard Wells loves music but hates fame —not ideal when he’s the youngest member of the chart-topping band of brothers, We the Wells. Cracking under the spotlight, Gerard runs away to a small, remote island in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. There, he goes by “James” and takes up residence in a crumbling Victorian house on the island’s shrinking shoreline. Little does he know, he’s not the studio apartment’s only inhabitant…

Mysterious and moody Emory Griffin never planned to be a test subject for his own groundbreaking invisibility research. He also never planned on sharing a room with a world-famous pop star, but needs must when you’re an unemployed graduate school drop-out who’s wanted by the local police.

With nowhere else to turn, the unlikely pair agree to be temporary roommates. Their forced proximity and vulnerability lead to an unexpected romantic spark. As Halloween approaches, their secrets and feelings grow harder to keep hidden, testing the strength of their newfound bond. Could this be a love that neither of them saw coming or an experiment set to go horribly wrong?

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We focus on the story of Ariadne and Dionysus here. Both of them are fantastically three-dimensional characters that evolve over the course of the way in surprising and heartfelt ways. The characterisation truly shines, you are so connected to their voices and those glimpses of joy, love and vulnerability. You start from a familiar touchpoint and then where we go from there is a rollercoaster that you do not want to end. The dynamic that grows between the two of them is also stellar. It is so rich and complicated, with dialogue that zings off the page and an undeniable chemistry. This is a gorgeous relationship and I really loved the message Fitzgerald is conveying through their stories. This quartet has always played with established tropes so well with a cheeky wink in their eyes. There is clear love and respect but also a distinctive twist. It mirrors the way Fitzgerald plays with the original myths that inspire these tales too. You can recognise her distinctive style and instantly fall head over heels for each character, as well as the brilliant found family around them.

Alongside the heart and romance, there is true darkness in this story. It explores monstrosity in different forms, abuse of power and sexual assault. The cultural conversations around these mimic that of today’s society and there is a clear political message being shouted through these pages. It is anger-inducing but also reminds you of the power of collective action, hope and love. Both Aridane and Dionysus have endured true horrors and Fitzgerald explores this with sensitivity and nuance. A particular focus is the enduring impact of trauma and how it reverberates through someone’s life. I liked that love did not magically heal them but it did complement a healing journey they have both embarked on. There is such power in that commitment to each other, to stay together through the storm and be a true shelter for one another. Life will not be kind to them and tribulations will still come their way, but their love will endure and manifest in their care and support for one another. Mental health is such a key theme of this story, portrayed in different ways and a language that makes sense for this universe. It feels raw and poignant but also truthful in a way that readers will connect with.

Something I have always enjoyed about Fitzgerald’s work in the YA space is her active decision not to patronise her readers. These are difficult topics but ones that teenager readers might be grappling with and she delivers stories that are full of nuance, acknowledge the darkness but also give you hope. You leave them feeling inspired and with a wonderful new twist on a familiar tale that serves a modern day audience. They feel timeless but also very much of our current time, imbued with love, rage and passion. This quartet of stories together defines what YA retellings can do for me. They work as standalones but there’s also subtle details and cameos woven between them, which make it feel like a cohesive shared universe.

This Divine Revelry is a heartfelt story that lands with its readers and reminds you of light in the darkness. It may mark the end of an era but what an empowering and empathetic one.

This Divine Revelry is available from Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.

Will you be picking up This Divine Revelry? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis

When Ariadne, Princess of Crete, vows to help free the Athenian prince, Theseus, and his fellow tributes – sacrifices for the monster which allegedly lurks beneath her palace’s floors – she hopes she will free herself from the savage rule of her father, too.

Instead, she finds herself abandoned on an island the morning after Theseus has sworn love and marriage – watching his ship sail away without her.

In return, Ariadne swears revenge. Which is all very well – except for the aforementioned being abandoned on an island thing. Luckily for her though, the island happens to belong to a god. Alright, currently a fairly minor one (though only if you think wine and partying are minor concerns) – but it quickly turns out Dionysus and Ariadne may be able to help each other.

Dionysus needs followers to maintain his fragile, threatened power. Ariadne wants to stop Theseus from spreading rumours of his own greatness any further. Together, they may be able to make a story so powerful, it will elevate them both to the status of legends.

Ariadne isn’t interested in real love any more – of course – which is a shame, as there’s something irresistible about the pull between her and Dionysus – even if he is completely infuriating. And he is the first person to agree with her that women can be more than just footnotes in men’s myths.
They have a power of their own.

And once that power is unleashed – the men of Ariadne’s story, and even the gods themselves, should prepare to tremble . . .

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