It’s this kind of horror Sarah Gailey brings forth in their new novel, Make Me Better.

Celia lives a shadow of a life. With a long history of profound loss, broken relationships, and failed attempts working various pyramid schemes, she doesn’t have much to lose. So, she decides to take a chance and visit enigmatic Kindred Cove—a place many have heard of but few have ever seen.

Kindred Cove is a small island on tranquil Lake Vetiver surrounded by a great coral reef. Once each year, the community there allows a small number of visitors to participate in their annual Salt Festival. Rumours suggest this mysterious locale offers an opportunity like no other for a truly transformational, life-changing experience. Although visitors are not allowed to stay, Celia hopes to be the exception and start fresh with a group of people who know nothing about her. She hopes that, finally, this will be the way to break free from her hardened shell of a life and become the person she always wanted to be.

As the days unfold, Celia is invited to see Kindred Cove as its residents do: A place where people can heal, where no one needs to be sad or in pain. A place where no one is ever lost. A place that shuns the world’s propensity for selfishness, valuing community over all else and caring for its own in a way the outside world fails to understand. But we are talking horror here, so of course everything on this beautiful island isn’t quite what it seems to be on the surface.

A remote island populated by a group of people who work hard to keep themselves separate from the outside world? A group that claims to have all the answers to peace and happiness in life, if only you trust in them and follow their ways? In the real world, if it sounds too good to be true, it often is. In the world of Sarah’s Gailey’s darkly clever mind, if it sounds too good to be true, it just might be a cult. No one likes spoilers in a book review, though, so you’ll have to read to find out how Celia navigates this newfound community.

Make Me Better falls firmly in the slow burn category and this works really effectively to build tension throughout the novel. Although readers may sense where the story is going, it’s a deep dread of the inevitable that will keep your eyes glued to the page chapter after chapter.

The structure also really helps drive the narrative along, stringing the reader out. The novel is divided into six parts, jumping back and forth in time between present day Kindred Cove, Celia’s past, and the history of the island residents. With this, an incredible range of primary and secondary characters draws the reader into the story. Each one is intriguing in their own way—and you’ll find yourself alternating between loathing many of them and sympathising with them at various points throughout the book.

This is arguably Sarah Gailey’s best writing to date and Kindred Cove is perhaps the most full and complete world they’ve built on the page. So, if you’re looking for a quiet horror, a story with some speculative elements that is also insidious and realistic to our own world and experiences, you won’t want to miss Make Me Better.

*Trigger warning: If you decide to venture into the world of Make Me Better, please keep in mind pregnancy loss is part of this story, including some graphic and difficult to read scenes.

Make Me Better is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of May 12th 2026.

Will you be picking up Make Me Better? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Macmillan

Sarah Gailey’s MAKE ME BETTER is an eerily seductive look at the desire for community connection and self-improvement—and the darkest places inside us all. Urgent and yet timeless, this read is perfect for fans of Shirley Jackson, Ari Aster, and Patricia Highsmith.

An exclusive invitation.

A remote island infamous for its miraculous ecology.

A once-in-a-lifetime chance to fix everything that’s broken.

But sometimes growth requires sacrifice….

WELCOME TO KINDRED COVE.

Celia is so tired of being alone. All she wants is to have a family—to belong to someone. That’s why she’s going to Kindred Cove for the annual Salt Festival held by the secluded community that lives there. They promise that healing is possible. They promise that transformation is inevitable. There is no grief at Kindred Cove, because there is no suffering. Nothing is ever lost.

Celia knows that, at that mysterious island surrounded by that impossible, ever-growing reef — she will find herself.

She’s ready to be healed. She’s ready to be transformed.

She’s ready to believe.

The post Review: Make Me Better by Sarah Gailey appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

The USA Today bestselling author is back this May with a captivating new slow-burn horror. Make Me Better follows Celia to Kindred Cove, an isolated island community where she believes she can finally heal from the past and become the person she is meant to be. 

Keep reading to learn how Sarah Gailey’s desire to explore community turned into a novel about cults and how this story reflects the world around us today, plus check out the worst writing advice they’ve ever been given.

Hi Sarah and thanks so much for joining The Nerd Daily again to discuss your new book! To start, what have you been up to over the past few years, professionally speaking?

Trying to figure out a remotely sustainable pace of work. I know, not the sexiest answer I could give, but that’s my current project. I realized in mid-2024 that I was in a state of severe burnout, and I took a sort of sabbatical for the first few months of 2025 to try to fix it. I didn’t quite succeed at the part of the sabbatical that was supposed to involve not-working, but I worked quite a bit less than normal, and I learned a lot about myself as a creative person. I’m doing my damndest to apply what I’ve learned to my current practices, so I don’t die with my hands fused to my keyboard.

Tell readers a bit about the premise of your new novel, Make Me Better.

Make Me Better explores the dynamics of a high-control community on an isolated island. It’s a book that invites readers into the feeling of yearning and desperation that makes people seek out answers in dangerous places. If you’ve ever thought ‘I would never join a cult,’ this book is written for you.

You write quite broadly—from fiction to nonfiction and even comics—and each of your works brings something new and interesting to the table. What sparked the idea for writing about high-control groups, or cults as they’re often called in popular culture?

I started out not aiming directly at high-control groups, but at community in general. I was observing a pattern of community dynamics in my own circles, and I wanted to explore it more. As I learned more about how communities function, though, it became clear that the best setting for this story would be a high-control group. What better way to dive into a tight-knit community with limited variables and intense consequences around every corner?

Make Me Better has a sizable cast of characters, and readers may find themselves feeling both sympathy for and an aversion to many of these characters throughout the novel. Do you have a “favorite” character that you found most interesting to write? If so, what intrigued you about developing this character?

I loved writing Easy. She’s spent her whole life being labeled a disaster by her community, trying her best to hold onto who she is in a group that is determined to mold her in their own image. In this kind of system, that tension can really only have two outcomes. One of them is to be destroyed. The other is to become the person Easy is when we meet her.

I know a lot of research on high-control groups went into writing this novel and it pays off in how you portray the dynamics of these groups. What did the research process and your writing process look like? How long did the novel take to complete?

This novel is the most intensely-researched thing I’ve ever written. It took me six years of rewrites to finish, and I’m still not sure I managed to do justice to the research involved. I did a lot of reading up-front, before I even started to outline, about the attachment dynamics of authoritarian groups, the language of manipulation and control, the history of closed communities. And, not to say too much here, but I read a lot of grisly medical research about experiments grafting coral onto bone. I also immersed myself in folk horror media, knowing that this book would be in that conversation. Religious linguistic patterns by day, The Wicker Man by night.

Like any good horror story, Make Me Better has some definite social commentary woven into it. Without giving too much away, can you speak to how the novel reflects what is going on in the world around us today?

Living in this world is hard and getting harder every day. The systems that are meant to support us are being vaporized by people who don’t care if we live or die; sources of simple joy are increasingly hard to afford and access; danger seems to loom ever-closer with each breaking news item. Many of us feel powerless, helpless, and exhausted. And beyond the day-to-day logistics of survival – many of us feel increasingly bewildered by the question of how to be a good person. It feels increasingly difficult to know what the right thing to do is. It would be such a relief if someone could just offer some simple instructions.

That’s the draw of the high-control environment. We are all, especially right this moment, susceptible to that appeal.

Fill in the blank: If you liked (name a comparable book/books), you will definitely want to read Make Me Better.

I recently read Lauren Groff’s Matrix and thought: this book and my book are walking in the same direction. Whether I deserve to be on the same path as that title, though, I couldn’t say. I thought it was really stunning

What are some of your favorite books and/or authors that have inspired you in the horror genre?

Of course Shirley Jackson and Clive Barker are powerfully influential voices to me. Current horror authors I’ve been loving lately include Lee Mandelo, Hailey Piper, Alison Rumfitt, and Hiron Ennes. Those four are changing literature with their work.

Let’s Get Nerdy: Behind the Writer with 5 Quick Questions

(Since this isn’t Sarah’s first rodeo doing a Q&A with me, here are a few new and different questions to give readers a sneak peek behind the writer!)

• A book on your 2026 TBR: Headlights by CJ Leede.
• One of the best movies or TV series you’ve watched in the past year: Strip Law has a joke-to-frame ratio I haven’t seen since Blazing Saddles.
• An album you think everyone should own: TOXICITY by System of a Down is medically necessary for all humans
• An internet/social media rabbit hole you can’t avoid: I’m powerless in the face of niche community drama that doesn’t concern me or anyone I’ve ever met.
• The worst writing advice you’ve ever been given: GRIND OUT WORDS EVERY DAY. Absolutely not. You know what you should do every day? Look at a living thing other than yourself, in real life. Do something to care for your body. Seek art. Find an axis by which you can exercise your free will and disobedience. Sure, sometimes you gotta grind the words out, but even millstones wear down over time. The point of art is not to suffer in the making of it. The point of art is to give language to the human soul and allow it to speak. Making that into toil is a Calvinist scam, don’t fall for it.

(The second worst writing advice I’ve ever been given, by the way, was “don’t use they/them pronouns for romantic leads, it’s unrealistic.” My response to that is less about the voice of the soul and more about that person and the horse they rode in on.)

Will you be picking up Make Me Better? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Sarah Gailey, Author of ‘Make Me Better’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

1. Undead Ghoul Meet-Cute by Kendare Blake: Frankenstein-esque “enemies to lovers” romance involving a lonely ghoul and a severed head.
2. A Thousand More by Chloe Gong: An immortal tries to reconnect with his mate after they are both reincarnated.
3. Who Will Save Me by Julian Winters: A guardian angel struggles to perform his duty whilst falling in love.
4. In the Eyes of Angels by Alexis Henderson: A romance blossoms after a recovering addict rescues a fallen angel.
5. My Demon Prince Charming by Sandhya Menon: In the hopes of securing a date to a party, a girl uses a love spell and accidentally summons a demon.
6. Katrine and Rowan’s Exit Interview by Sarah Gailey: Told in script, a shipwrecked couple is forced to give an interview before they are allowed to leave a cursed island.
7. Bride-Heart by Marie Rutkoski: To help provide for her family, an 18-year-old marries a mysterious stranger and, upon learning his secret, enlists the help of a goat farmer.
8. If You Give an Asura a Cookie by Akshaya Ramon: An asura (human by day and demon by night) hopes to discover the identity of the fellow asura she meets with annually whilst in demon form.
9. Kiss the Boy by Adib Khorram: A merman finds himself unexpectedly mated to the human boy who saved his life.
10. Piano Sonata No. 13 by Kalynn Bayron: A piano prodigy finds herself inexplicably drawn to a cursed piece of music and the killer demon that the music summons.
11. Once Upon a Time in Charleston by Melissa de la Cruz: A vampire questions the mating bond that was imposed upon her after she meets a handsome traveller.
12. Pierce My Soul by Kat Cho: A girl runs into a past love whilst hunting a vampire.
13. Banes and Blessings by Hafsah Faizal: A boy attempts to stop a siren-like creature’s killing spree.
14. Bloody, Lovely by Casey McQuiston: A teen gains the courage to come out as trans after bonding with the “bloody Mary” stuck in her bathroom mirror.
15. La Bruja y la Sirena by Anna-Marie McLemore: A sea witch and a mermaid seek revenge on an abusive and entitled human.

A multitude of themes and topics are discussed in this short story anthology, such as fate versus free will, love and heartbreak, revenge, desire to escape, companionship, identity, loneliness and isolation, life and death, and family. Eternally Yours may be best suited for teens and young adults who enjoy reading paranormal and fantasy romance, but may entice older readers who enjoy some paranormal, as well as those who enjoy reading short story anthologies like My True Love Gave to Me or Summer Days and Summer Nights by Stephanie Perkins et al. In my opinion, the ideal time to real this anthology would be in the autumn or around Halloween since all the stories include paranormal or spooky elements!

Since I’m not a fan of horror, I appreciated that, whilst being paranormal and spooky, none of the short stories were scary or overly gory. It was great that more than half of the short stories in this anthology included an LGBTQ+ couple. Additionally, the stories were quick reads (only around 30 pages each) and standalones (so you can skip any stories that aren’t of interest), but can sometimes be challenging to read as one doesn’t have time to connect with the characters and get invested in their storyline.

Lastly, my favourite short stories included in this anthology were A Thousand More by Chloe Gong, If You Give an Asura a Cookie by Akshaya Ramon, and Bloody, Lovely by Casey McQuiston. Furthermore, all the romance elements included in A Thousand More was delightful,  the mystery aspects in If You Give an Asura a Cookie intriguing, and quite the unique concept and heartwarming twist in Bloody, Lovely.

Overall, this paranormal romance anthology is a quick YA read that’s perfect for the upcoming autumn and Halloween season!

Eternally Yours is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.

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

Synopsis | Goodreads

Vampires and merpeople, angels and demons—the paranormal is full of unusual beings. The stories in this anthology imagine worlds where the only thing more powerful than the supernatural, is love.

Contributors include: Kalynn Bayron (Cinderella Is Dead); Kendare Blake (Three Dark Crowns); Kat Cho (Wicked Fox); Melissa de la Cruz (Blue Bloods); Sarah Gailey (When We Were Magic); Hafsah Faizal(We Hunt the Flame); Chloe Gong (These Violent Delights); Alexis Henderson (The Year of the Witching); Adib Khorram (Darius the Great Is Not Okay); Anna-Marie McLemore (When the Moon Was Ours, The Mirror Season); Casey McQuiston (Red, White, and Royal Blue; One Last Stop); Sandhya Menon (When Dimple Met Rishi); Akshaya Raman (The Ivory Key); Marie Rutkoski (The Winner’s Curse); Julian Winters (Running With Lions; Right Where I Left You)

The post Review: Eternally Yours, edited by Patrice Caldwell appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

From the first sentence, I loved Gailey’s writing style. It was mysterious, earthy and so damn Gothic. The sentences felt decadent and elongated, creating that mesmerising atmosphere. There is a clear sense of beauty and power here, but also intimate moments and flashbacks of a traumatic upbringing. Gailey keeps the tension razor-sharp with that creeping sense of something watching at all times. I found myself jumping at shadows while reading, caught up in that foreboding sense of something deeply deeply wrong in this story.

This is a book built on deception. The slower pace masks an array of horrors, with seemingly boring or throwaway details forming a vital part of the overall pictures. Pay attention to everything because nothing is as it seems. Guiding us through this tangled maze is Vera, who I could not help but root for. Her repetitions betray a mind twisted by trauma and years of repression. The secrets surrounding her are suffocating. The characterisation here of every major player is amazing, with none of them being likeable. Instead, these are flawed and often despicable people with self-serving motives and veiled in deadly lies. The dynamics between characters are fascinating and provide stark, bleak and deeply perturbing moments. Their interactions feel fragile and able to descend into chaos at any moment. Gailey’s control of atmosphere is deployed wonderfully in these interactions, with the tension building into a choking fog.

The way this story is woven together is masterful. On one hand, it is a haunting exploration of trauma, illness and fractured families. It delves into the unintended consequences of actions and the perpetuated cycle of violence and abuse. On the other hand, it is a disturbing Gothic mystery, full of gore, blood and death. The revelations are earth-shattering, particularly in the third act. The way this book is plotted is astonishing with surprises around every corner. Every time you think you have this book nailed down, trust me when I say you do not. This is an incredibly tricksy and bewitching book. Gailey ensures you follow down every last rabbit hole before the awful truth is finally laid bare.

I sat until the early hours of the morning pouring over this unsettling, spine-chilling and gorgeously serpentine book. This is the Gothic genre at its best, with the setting taking on a life of its own, haunting exploration of societal issues and the drop in your stomach at its menacing nature. Crowder House truly becomes its own character here, with every detail feeling menacing and fully fleshed out. The setting often parallels the crumbling interior state of our characters and that is realised to full effect here. Gailey also weaves in these quieter moments of reflection and introspection, allowing flashbacks to interrupt the central narrative and instead offer us glimpses into exactly what happened all those years ago. We are soon thrust back into the claustrophobic trepidation of the present day narrative, full of Gothic flourishes. I loved how Gailey took every last trope of the genre and spins them on their heads to squeeze fresh life out of them.

Just Like Home leaves you with a lump in your throat and a chill on your skin. It perfectly balances classic horror with an exploration of family, trauma and the uprooted returning home.

Just Like Home is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of July 19th 2022.

Will you be picking up Just Like Home? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

Just Like Home is a darkly gothic thriller from nationally bestselling author Sarah Gailey, perfect for fans of Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House as well as HBO’s true crime masterpiece I’ll Be Gone in the Dark.

“Come home.” Vera’s mother called and Vera obeyed. In spite of their long estrangement, in spite of the memories ― she’s come back to the home of a serial killer. Back to face the love she had for her father and the bodies he buried there, beneath the house he’d built for his family.

Coming home is hard enough for Vera, and to make things worse, she and her mother aren’t alone. A parasitic artist has moved into the guest house out back and is slowly stripping Vera’s childhood for spare parts. He insists that he isn’t the one leaving notes around the house in her father’s handwriting… but who else could it possibly be?

There are secrets yet undiscovered in the foundations of the notorious Crowder House. Vera must face them and find out for herself just how deep the rot goes.

The post Review: Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Hello second half of 2022 and hello to all the incredible upcoming book releases we can look forward to!

In this round up, we take a look at some of the most exciting titles to be released between the months of July and December with releases from the likes of Sarah Gailey, Ruth Ware, Alexis Hall, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Courtney Summers, and many more, along with delightful debuts from new authors you should keep on your radar!

Read on to discover just a few of our favourite July to December 2022 releases and tell us in the comments if you’re looking forward to any of them! 

JULY

Violet Made of Thorns by Gina Chen
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A darkly enchanting fantasy debut about a morally gray witch, a cursed prince, and a prophecy that ignites their fate-twisted destinies—perfect for fans of The Cruel Prince and Serpent & Dove.

Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Just Like Home is a darkly gothic thriller from nationally bestselling author Sarah Gailey, perfect for fans of Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House as well as HBO’s true crime masterpiece I’ll Be Gone in the Dark.

The Accidental Pinup by Danielle Jackson
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Rival photographers are forced to collaborate on a body-positive lingerie campaign, but they might have to readjust their focus when sparks fly.

Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The masterful story of a lifelong friendship between two very different women with shared histories and buried secrets, tested in the twilight of their lives, set across the arc of the 20th century.

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The It Girl by Ruth Ware
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the “claustrophobic spine-tingler” (People) One by One returns with an unputdownable mystery following a woman on the search for answers a decade after her friend’s murder.

Youngblood by Sasha Laurens
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

For fans of Vampire Diaries and dark academia, two queer teen bloodsuckers at an elite vampire-only boarding school must go up against all of Vampirdom when they uncover a frightening conspiracy on campus.

Acts of Violet by Margarita Montimore
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From Margarita Montimore, the author of GMA Book Club pick and national bestseller Oona Out of Order, Acts of Violet is a dazzling and twisty new novel about a famous magician who disappears, leaving her sister to figure out what really happened.

The Book of Gothel by Mary McMyne
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Everyone knows the story of Rapunzel in the tower, but do you know the story of the witch who put her there? Told from her own perspective, The Book of Gothel is a lush, historical retelling filled with dark magic, crumbling towers, mysterious woods, and evil princes. This is the truth they never wanted you to know, as only a witch might tell it.

What Souls Are Made Of: A Wuthering Heights Remix by Tasha Suri
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

What Souls Are Made Of, British Fantasy Award-winning author Tasha Suri’s masterful new take on Brontë’s Wuthering Heights and fourth book in the Remixed Classics, will leave readers breathless.

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic and Velvet Was the Night comes a dreamy reimagining of The Island of Doctor Moreau set against the backdrop of nineteenth-century Mexico.

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

New York Times bestselling author Katherine Center’s The Bodyguard is unabashedly romantic, laugh-out-loud funny, and the perfect summer read.

AUGUST

Husband Material by Alexis Hall
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Luc and Oliver met, pretended to fall in love, fell in love for real, dealt with heartbreak and disappointment and family and friends…and somehow figured out a way to make it work. Now it seems like everyone around them is getting married, and Luc’s feeling the social pressure to propose. But it’ll take more than four weddings, a funeral, and a bowl full of special curry to get these two from I don’t know what I’m doing to I do.

These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The Haunting of Hill House meets Knives Out in a bid for an inheritance that will leave Helen Vaughan either rich…or dead.

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

New York Times bestselling author Adalyn Grace brings to life a highly romantic, Gothic-infused world of wealth, desire, and betrayal.

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Sunyi Dean’s The Book Eaters is “a darkly sweet pastry of a book about family, betrayal, and the lengths we go to for the ones we love. A delicious modern fairy tale.”― Christopher Buehlman, Shirley Jackson Award-winning author

Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

In this powerful novel about the cost of greatness, a legendary athlete attempts a comeback when the world considers her past her prime—from the New York Times bestselling author of Malibu Rising.

Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club by Roselle Lim
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A new heartfelt novel about the power of loneliness and the strength of love that overcomes it by critically acclaimed author Roselle Lim.

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

With a wicked wink to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, Daisy Darker’s unforgettable twists will leave readers reeling.

The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A “superb fantasy saga” (Helene Wecker) of martial arts and magic, about what happens when a prophesied hero is not the chosen one after all—but has to work with a band of unlikely allies to save the kingdom anyway, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lives of Tao

You’re Invited by Amanda Jayatissa
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

What could be worse than your ex-boyfriend marrying your childhood best friend? Getting accused of her murder… From the author of My Sweet Girl comes a dangerously addictive new thriller about a lavish Sri Lankan wedding celebration that not everyone will survive.

The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From the author of the acclaimed In My Dreams I Hold a Knife comes a pitch-black thriller about a woman determined to destroy a powerful cult and avenge the deaths of the women taken in by it, no matter the cost.

Luck and Last Resorts by Sarah Grunder Ruiz
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

They have a second chance at love, but there are some rough seas ahead in the new contemporary romance from the acclaimed author of Love, Lists, and Fancy Ships.

The First Binding by R.R. Virdi
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A thrilling new take on Epic Fantasy, inspired by the many culturally divergent stops along a fantastical Silk Road, that follows a storyteller and a singer on the run from their old lives and secrets. 

SEPTEMBER

I’m the Girl by Courtney Summers
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match by Sally Thorne
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game Sally Thorne comes something a little unexpected… a historical rom-com that imagines Victor Frankenstein’s sheltered younger sister, and her attempts to create the perfect man.

Ithaca by Claire North
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

This is the story of Penelope of Ithaca, famed wife of Odysseus, as it has never been told before. Beyond Ithaca’s shores, the whims of gods dictate the wars of men. But on the isle, it is the choices of the abandoned women—and their goddesses—that will change the course of the world.

The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From New York Times Bestselling author Kwame Alexander comes the first book in a searing, breathtaking trilogy that tells the story of a boy, a village, and the epic odyssey of an African family.

Princess of Souls by Alexandra Christo
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From the author of To Kill a Kingdom comes Princess of Souls, a Rapunzel-inspired YA fantasy romance about a teen witch groomed to steal souls for an immortal king and the reckless, rebellious boy to whom her fate is tied.

Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Tamsyn Muir’s New York Times and USA Today bestselling Locked Tomb Series continues with Nona …the Ninth?

The Gathering Dark: An Anthology of Folk Horror
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From New York Times bestselling author Adrienne Young comes a deeply atmospheric story about ancestral magic, an unsolved murder, and a second chance at true love.

People Person by Candice Carty-Williams
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From an author with “a flair for storytelling that appears effortlessly authentic” (Time), People Person is a vibrant and charming celebration of discovering family as an adult.

Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends comes the first book in a captivating new duology following an ill-matched pair of spies posing as a married couple to investigate a series of brutal murders in 1930s Shanghai.

Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Full of court intrigue, queer romance, and terrifying monsters—this gothic epic fantasy will appeal to fans of Samantha Shannon’s The Priory of the Orange Tree and the adult animated series Castlevania.

Direwood by Catherine Yu
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

In this velvet-clad 1990s gothic horror, Aja encounters a charming vampire who wants to lure her into the woods―just like her missing sister.

OCTOBER

Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove by Rati Mehrotra
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

In Rati Mehrotra’s Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove, a young guardswoman struggles with her unwitting role as a major pawn in the deadly games between two kingdoms in a monster-infested alternate medieval India.

Sign Here by Claudia Lux
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A darkly humorous, surprisingly poignant, and utterly gripping debut novel about a guy who works in Hell (literally) and is on the cusp of a big promotion if only he can get one more member of the wealthy Harrison family to sell their soul.

A Cosmic Kind of Love by Samantha Young
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Space is the last thing an event planner and an astronaut need in this charming new romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Samantha Young.

Just Like Magic by Sarah Hogle
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From the author of Twice Shy comes a sprightly Christmas novel, a rollicking romp through the absurdity of family holidays and the hope of new love.

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From the number one bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere, a deeply suspenseful and heartrending novel about the unbreakable love between a mother and child in a society consumed by fear.

The Storyteller’s Death by Ann Dávila Cardinal
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From International Latino Book Award-winning author Ann Dávila Cardinal comes a gorgeously written family saga about a Puerto Rican teenager who finds herself gifted (or cursed?) with a strange ability.

Dead Man’s Hand by James J. Butcher
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In the tradition of his renowned father, James J. Butcher’s debut novel is a brilliant urban fantasy about a young man who must throw out the magical rule book to solve the murder of his former mentor.

A Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo
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Award-winning author Malinda Lo returns to the Bay Area with another masterful coming-of-queer-age story, this time set against the backdrop of the first major Supreme Court decisions legalizing gay marriage. And almost sixty years after the end of Last Night at the Telegraph Club, Lo’s new novel also offers a glimpse into Lily and Kath’s lives since 1955.

Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty
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Amateur detective Mallory Viridian’s talent for solving murders ruined her life on Earth and drove her to live on an alien space station, but her problems still follow her in this witty, self-aware novel that puts a speculative spin on murder mysteries, from the Hugo-nominated author of Six Wakes.

Jackal by Erin E. Adams
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A young Black girl goes missing in the woods outside her white Rust Belt town. But she’s not the first—and she may not be the last. . . .

Lavender House by Lev A.C. Rosen
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A delicious story from a new voice in suspense, Lev AC Rosen’s Lavender House is Knives Out with a queer historical twist.

Strike the Zither by Joan He
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A dazzling new fantasy from New York Times and Indie bestselling author Joan He, Strike the Zither is a powerful, inventive, and sweeping fantasy that reimagines the Chinese classic tale of the Three Kingdoms.

NOVEMBER

The Ones We Burn by Rebecca Mix
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Love and duty collide in this richly imagined, atmospheric young adult debut about a witch whose dark powers put her at the center of a brewing war between the only family she’s ever known and the enemy who makes her question everything.

She’s Gone by David Bell
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When 17-year-old Hunter Gifford wakes in the hospital on the night of homecoming, he’s shocked to learn he and his girlfriend, Chloe Summers, have been in a terrible car accident. Hunter has no memory of the crash, and his shock turns to horror when he is told Chloe’s blood has been found in the car—but she has disappeared.

Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade
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After All the Feels and Spoiler Alert, Olivia Dade once again delivers a warm and wonderful romantic comedy about two co-stars who once had an incredible one-night stand—and after years of filming on the same remote island, are finally ready to yield to temptation again…

The Luminaries by Susan Dennard
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From Susan Dennard, the New York Times bestselling author of the Witchlands series, comes a haunting and high-octane contemporary fantasy, about the magic it takes to face your fears in a nightmare-filled forest, and the mettle required to face the secrets hiding in the dark corners of your own family.

White Horse by Erika T. Wurth
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White Horse is a gritty, vibrant debut from Erika T. Wurth about an Indigenous woman who must face her past when she discovers a bracelet haunted by her mother’s spirit.

Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun
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The author of the “swoon-worthy debut” (Harper’s Bazaar) The Charm Offensive returns with a festive romantic comedy about a woman who fakes an engagement with her landlord…only to fall for his sister.

Into the Forest: Tales of the Baba Yaga by Lindy Ryan and Christina Henry
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A collection of new and exclusive short stories inspired by the Baba Yaga. Featuring Gwendolyn Kiste, Stephanie M. Wytovich, Mercedes M. Yardley, Monique Snyman, Donna Lynch, Lisa Quigley, and R. J. Joseph, with a foreword by Christina Henry.

Someday, Maybe by Onyi Nwabineli
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A stunning and witty debut novel about a young woman’s emotional journey through unimaginable loss, pulled along by her tight-knit Nigerian family, a posse of new friends, and the love and laughter she shared with her husband. Onyi Nwabineli is a fresh new voice for fans of Yaa Gyasi, Queenie and I May Destroy You.

The Cloisters by Katy Hays
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The Secret History meets Ninth House in this sinister, atmospheric novel following a circle of researchers as they uncover a mysterious deck of tarot cards and shocking secrets in New York’s famed Met Cloisters.

Wait For Me by Sara Shepard
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Dating New York socialite Marcus Coleman, Casey has had trouble recognizing herself lately. But things only get stranger when she begins to hear a voice in her head: one that warns her of danger and leads her to the sleepy town of Avon, where she recognizes people and places she couldn’t possibly know, including a beguiling local boy who seems important to her past—and her present.

Two Wrongs Make a Right by Chloe Liese
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Opposites become allies to fool their matchmaking friends in this swoony reimagining of Shakespeare’s beloved comedy, Much Ado About Nothing.

The Family Game by Catherine Steadman
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A rich, eccentric family. A time-honored tradition. Or a lethal game of survival? One woman is about to find out if she has what it takes to join her husband’s family in this riveting, must-read thriller from the author of Something in the Water, Mr. Nobody, and The Disappearing Act.

DECEMBER

Queen of Myth and Monsters by Scarlett St. Clair
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Queen becomes conqueror in this powerful follow-up to King of Battle and Blood where Queen Isolde de Lara has come into her own as the newly coronated queen of Cordova.  She and her mate, the vampire King Adrian, battle insurrection from the Nine Kingdoms…and a mysterious plague that turns humans to monsters. But hell hath no fury like Isolde’s wrath when she discovers that one of the vassal kings has enslaved her mother’s people.

A Million to One by Adiba Jaigirdar
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Adiba Jaigirdar, author of one of Time‘s Best YA books of all time, gives Titanic an Ocean’s 8 makeover in this nail-biting heist set onboard the infamous ship.

Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales
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A girl enters a reality dating competition to get revenge on her cheating, royal-adjacent ex-boyfriend, and ends up falling for another girl on the show—in fact, the girl he cheated on her with.

The Widowmaker by Hannah Morrissey
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A wealthy family shrouded in scandal; a detective tasked with solving an impossible cold case; and a woman with a dark past collide in Hannah Morrissey’s stunning new Black Harbor mystery, The Widowmaker.

A Dash of Salt and Pepper by Kosoko Jackson
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Sometimes two cooks in the kitchen are better than one in this swoony romantic comedy from the author of I’m So (Not) Over You.

The Last Invitation by Darby Kane
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Darby Kane, the author of the critically acclaimed and #1 International Bestseller Pretty Little Wife, has crafted another gripping and twisty suspense about an invitation to an exclusive club that comes with deadly consequences.

Acting the Part by Z.R. Ellor
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This delightfully tropey teen romance perfect for fans of Ashley Poston and Lyla Lee follows a queer teen actor navigating their gender identity—while pretending to date their co-star.  

All the Dark Places by Terri Parlato
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A savage murder rocks a quiet Massachusetts suburb, revealing the dark secrets at the center of a group of friends and setting two women – one with a traumatic past, the other a Boston police detective – on a hunt for truth in this stylish debut thriller for fans of Megan Miranda and Shari Lapena…

The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton
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For readers of Station Eleven and Where the Crawdads Sing comes a hopeful, sweeping story of survival and resilience spanning one extraordinary woman’s lifetime as she navigates the uncertainty, brutality, and arresting beauty of a rapidly changing world.

The Key to My Heart: A Novel by Lia Louis
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A heartwarming novel about hope after loss as a young widow receives mysterious messages of love from the “must-buy author” (Jodi Picoult) of Eight Perfect Hours.

The Ingenue by Rachel Kapelke-Dale
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My Dark Vanessa meets The Queen’s Gambit in this new novel of suspense about the bonds of family, the limits of talent, the risks of ambition, and the rewards of revenge.

Witcha Gonna Do by Avery Flynn
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An unlucky witch and her know-it-all nemesis must team up in the first of a new, spicy romantic comedy series from USA Today bestselling author Avery Flynn.

What July to December releases are you looking forward to? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Get Your Hands On These Anticipated July To December 2022 Book Releases appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

After coming up with book recommendations inspired by Taylor Swift’s folklore in this post, I thought it would be fitting to give evermore a similar treatment since this album is just as imaginative and evocative. These two albums were incredibly poignant and the stories they told easily made me connect them with various books that had similar themes and evoked strong emotions in me just like Swift’s music. Down below are 17 books, one for each of the songs from the deluxe version of evermore, hopefully you will find some new favourites among them.

willow – Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan

Willow is a song that reminds me a lot of Percy and Annabeth because it’s mainly about soulmates finding each other and trying to overcome difficulties in order to stay together. Something that I adore about their love story was their devotion to each other—no matter how many creatures they’ve had to face, how many difficult quests and trials, they still made it work (The more that you say, the less I know/Wherever you stray, I follow/I’m begging for you to take my hand/Wreck my plans, that’s my man/Wait for the signal, and I’ll meet you after dark/Show me the places where the others gave you scars).

The marine and mythical motifs also make me think of Percy and Annabeth’s heritages, both of them having godly parents and being warriors (I’m like the water when your ship rolled in that night/Rough on the surface, but you cut through like a knife/As if you were a mythical thing/Like you were a trophy or a champion ring/And there was one prize I’d cheat to win).

champagne problems – The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Many people pointed out the similarities between Little Women and champagne problems, but I can’t attest to that because I haven’t read the second part of the book yet. But when I heard the line “This dorm was once a madhouse”/I made a joke, “Well, it’s made for me”, it instantly made me think of Esther refusing Buddy’s marriage proposal and him telling her she’s crazy for never wanting to marry.

The Bell Jar is a touching tale about mental health, the story focusing on Esther and her desire to write a novel, to be someone special, to achieve great things in life. But as she graduates and completes her internship, she doesn’t feel quite ready to face the real world. The societal pressures to get married, to have an amazing career, it all overwhelms her and her mental health worsens as a consequence (I never was ready so I watch you go/Sometimes you just don’t know the answer/’Til someone’s on their knees and asks you/”She would’ve made such a lovely bride/What a shame she’s fucked in the head,” they said/But you’ll find the real thing instead/She’ll patch up your tapestry that I shred).

gold rush – House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

Wharton’s protagonist, Lily Bart, knows the hardships and the advantages of being extraordinarily beautiful. She gets plenty of opportunities to marry rich and escape poverty once and for all due to her looks and charm. But she’s also thrown into horrendous scandals because of the same qualities.

When I listen to gold rush, I imagine this might be how Lawrence Selden sees Lily Bart (Gleaming, twinkling/Eyes like sinking ships on waters/So inviting, I almost jump in/ I don’t like that anyone would die to feel your touch/Everybody wants you/Everybody wonders what it would be like to love you/What must it be like to grow up that beautiful?/With your hair falling into place like dominoes)—a great beauty that he can’t quite stay away from even though he understands that she’s not meant for him, that they wouldn’t fit well together because she has high aspirations of becoming rich and securing her place in the high society while he’s satisfied with a quiet, not-quite-as-shiny life. Their love story is essentially a will-they-won’t-they romance and it fits Swift’s song like a glove (At dinner parties I call you out on your contrarian shit/And the coastal town we wandered round had never seen a love as pure as it/And then it fades into the gray of my day-old tea/’Cause it could never be).

‘tis the damn season – Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell

Pumpkinheads is the story of Deja and Josiah who are seasonal best friends. They work together from the beginning of September until the end of October at the same pumpkin patch and they never really interact with each other after Halloween.The book starts with their last year together as they are both going away for college and deals with the nostalgic feelings they have about their friendship, their autumns spent at the patch and everything they did and didn’t. Deja is determined not to let the blues destroy their last night at the patch, so she tries to take Josiah to all the good rides, eat the most delicious sweets and help him talk to the girl he has a crush on.

Their adventure is exciting and will definitely give you happy feelings, you will also root for these two to explore the hidden feelings they harbour for each other (‘Tis the damn season, write this down/I’m stayin’ at my parents’ house/And the road not taken looks real good now/Time flies, messy as the mud on your truck tires/Now I’m missing your smile, hear me out/We could just ride around/And the road not taken looks real good now/And it always leads to you and my hometown). But even though it’s a light book, it’s also filled with wistfulness and homesickness just like Swift’s song (And wonder about the only soul/Who can tell which smiles I’m fakin’/And the heart I know I’m breakin’ is my own).

tolerate it – The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

This is my favourite song off the album, it tells the story of a strained marriage – the wife is very dedicated and loving while the husband just tolerates her. The Penelopiad is a retelling of The Odyssey from the perspective of Penelope, the faithful wife of Odysseus who waited for him to come back from Troy year after year without losing hope in him. Atwood challenges the mythical image of the loyal, patient, and uncomplaining wife and tries to dig deeper into her character showing some unseen sides of her—that she was perhaps bitter, jealous and angry with her husband for his infidelity (I greet you with a battle hero’s welcome/I take your indiscretions all in good fun/I sit and listеn, I polish plates until they gleam and glistеn/You’re so much older and wiser and I).

I also think the relationship between Penelope and Odysseus fits this song so well because they are both incredibly clever, but only Odysseus gets real recognition for his skills while Penelope ends up being known for her dedication rather than her shrewdness. She also has to trick the suitors years upon years, yet Odysseus gets the credit for dealing with them (While you were out building other worlds, where was I?/Where’s that man who’d throw blankets over my barbed wire?/I made you my temple, my mural, my sky/Now I’m begging for footnotes in the story of your life/Drawing hearts in the byline/Always taking up too much space or time/You assume I’m fine, but what would you do if I/Break free and leave us in ruins/Took this dagger in me and removed it/Gain the weight of you, then lose it/Believe me, I could do it). A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes has a very similar vibe and you should definitely check it out!

no body, no crime – The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

There’s a whole sub-genre dedicated to marriage thrillers and probably most of those books would match Swift’s haunting and very bold song perfectly (off the top of my head, Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train could fit the bill very well). But I believe The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey is the best match for this song. At its heart, this book has a deadly love triangle with a shocking spin to it.

Evelyn’s husband has been cheating on her with her genetically cloned replica (Her husband’s actin’ different, and it smells like infidelity/She says, “That ain’t my Merlot on his mouth/That ain’t my jewelry on our joint account”/ I think he did it, but I just can’t prove it) and now Evelyn doesn’t have to face only the consequences of the affair, but also the fact that her clone had murdered her husband and they now have to cover up the whole thing (Good thing my daddy made me get a boating license when I was fifteen/And I’ve cleaned enough houses to know how to cover up a scene/Good thing his mistress took out a big life insurance policy/They think she did it, but they just can’t prove it/No body, no crime). This is a very thrilling novel that will keep you on the edge until the very end.

happiness – My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

I’ve recently read Ferrante’s highly acclaimed tetralogy and I really adored how gritty the first book is. While it tackles very important themes like violence, poverty, sexism, abusive relationships, at its very core it is about the tumultuous, long-lasting friendship between Elena and Lila (Past the blood and bruise/Past the curses and cries/Beyond the terror in the nightfall/Haunted by the look in my eyes/That would’ve loved you for a lifetime/Leave it all behind/And there is happiness). It’s fascinating to watch these two girls grow up and see how their friendship also changes and matures in time. Their connection is very complex—while they are loyal to each other to a fault, there is also an insidious envy between these two. They are always competing with each other and because of this, end up hurting one another more than once (Tell me, when did your winning smile/Begin to look like a smirk?/When did all our lessons start to look like weapons/Pointed at my deepest hurt?/ I can’t make it go away by making you a villain/I guess it’s the price I paid for seven years in Heaven).

The lyrics in happiness remind me a lot of their struggle to get out of their brutal, very poor neighbourhood and how they find solace into each other even as Elena continues to learn and seemingly has a brilliant future ahead while Lila is forced by her parents to go to work instead and marry young (But now I’m right down in it, all the years I’ve given/Is just shit we’re dividin’ up/Showed you all of my hiding spots/I was dancing when the music stopped/And in the disbelief, I can’t face reinvention/I haven’t met the new me/ There’ll be happiness after you/But there was happiness because of you/Both of these things can be true/There is happiness).

dorothea – Beautiful World, Where Are You? by Sally Rooney

Alice and Eileen were once roommates in Dublin and best friends. Now Alice is a renowned author with numerous awards and accolades, and retreated in a more secluded part of Ireland to get away from fame while Eileen is stuck in her job as a literary assistant at a literary magazine that pays her close to nothing. Despite how different their lives are, they still communicate via long emails about politics, relationships, and the (awful) current state of the world (do you ever stop and think about me?/When we were younger down in the park/Honey, making a lark of the misery/A tiny screen’s the only place I see you now/And I got nothing but well wishes for ya).

Eileen would definitely love to have Alice back in Dublin, by her side (Ooh, this place is the same as it ever was/Ooh, but you won’t like it that way/It’s never too late to come back to my side/The stars in your eyes shined brighter in Tupelo), but she knows that what Alice needs is to be in a place where nobody knows her at least for a little while (Ooh, you’rе a queen sellin’ dreams/And if you’re ever tired of bеing known for who you know/You know that you’ll always know me, Dorothea). As it’s a Rooney book, this is full of uncertainty, miscommunication, feelings of insecurity, inadequacy, and whether anything matters in the end (But are you still the same soul I met under the bleachers?/Ooh, I guess I’ll never know/Ooh, and you’ll go on with the show).

coney island – Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Taylor Jenkins Reid’s latest book tells the story of the vibrant Riva clan – the marriage between June and Mick, the birth of their children, the many affairs, the separations and the reconciliations, and the tragedies that followed. Mick’s dream from the very start is to become a famous musician and give June the life she deserves with a beach house in Malibu and nothing to long for (And do you miss the rogue/Who coaxed you into paradise and left you there?), but as soon as those dreams come true, their relationship becomes to crumble in pieces.

Mick makes his fame and his career his centrefold, forgetting all about his family (And I’m sitting on a bench in Coney Island/Wondering where did my baby go?/The fast times, the bright lights, the merry go/Sorry for not making you my centerfold/The question pounds my head/What’s a lifetime of achievement/If I pushed you to the edge?/But you were too polite to leave me). Their relationship is full of love and they seem completely meant to be, but the mistakes he makes give their love story a bitterness that is oddly familiar to the one described in coney island.

ivy – The Absolutist by John Boyne

Forbidden love, jealousy and betrayal are important themes in this tragic and haunting tale about two soldiers who fall in love while serving the British army in the World War I (How’s one to know?/I’d meet you where the spirit meets the bones/In a faith-forgotten land/In from the snow/Your touch brought forth an incandescent glow/Tarnished but so grand). Tristan and Will have very different outlooks when it comes to war—Tristan is trying to be pragmatic about it and make peace with the fact that there’s not much to do beside fighting and hoping he’d make it out alive (I just sit here and wait/Grieving for the living) while Will is becoming more and more fascinated with pacifistic ideas to the point where he doesn’t want to fight anymore because he thinks the war is completely meaningless (I wish to know/The fatal flaw that makes you long to be/Magnificently cursed).

Besides this, the fact that Will struggles with accepting his sexuality and the constantly hiding gives their relationship this inaccessible and forbidden aura that Taylor Swift is singing about in ivy (What would he do if he found us out?/Crescent moon, coast is clear/Spring breaks loose, but so does fear/He’s gonna burn this house to the ground/How’s one to know?/I’d live and die for moments that we stole/On begged and borrowed time/So tell me to run/Or dare to sit and watch what we’ll become). Even though there’s a lot of anguish and cruel words spoken on both side, these two can’t really stay away from each other (Oh, I can’t/Stop you putting roots in my dreamland/My house of stone, your ivy grows/And now I’m covered in you).

cowboy like me – These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever

These Violent Delights is a thrilling dark academia book, it has it all—twisted love story, crime and plot-twists that you will never see coming. It tells the story of Paul and Julian, two highly intelligent, kind of pretentious and very dark university freshmen. They become friends after discovering they have very similar ideas on research ethics and afterwards, they keep borrowing books from each other and discussing philosophy, literature and more. Their intellectual friendship soon evolves into obsessive love and the drama gets more and more explosive after Julian’s very rich family comes into the picture as well (Oh, I thought/This is gonna be one of those things/Now I know/I’m never gonna love again/Perched in the dark/Telling all the rich folks anything they wanna hear/Like it could be love/I could be the way forward/Only if they pay for it/You’re a bandit like me/I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve/Takes one to know one/You’re a cowboy like me/Never wanted love/Just a fancy car).

Paul’s constant self-loathing and the way he worships Julian makes their relationship feel suffocating for both of them. So, they have to do something to keep things working between them, something that will unite them forever. What they are going to come up with will definitely shock you (Never thought I’d meet you here/It could be love/We could be the way forward/And I know I’ll pay for it/And the skeletons in both our closets/Plotted hard to fuck this up/And the old men that I’ve swindled/Really did believe I was the one/And the ladies lunching have their stories about/When you passed through town/But that was all before I locked it down).

long story short – The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

I had a hard time coming up with a book for long story short because it seemed to allude to finding the right one after being through absolute hell and I couldn’t settle on one book to illustrate that theme. After much reflecting, I realised it reminds me a lot of June and Nick from The Handmaid’s Tale. June or Offred is a Handmaid in Gilead, a dystopian society where fertility rates have been going down and the regime decided to eradicate women’s rights and separate them in categories (wives, daughters, aunts, handmaids, unwomen, Marthas) with distinct roles.

Handmaids are an asset to the government only while they are fertile as their sole purpose is to give birth. On her third assignment as a Handmaid, June meets Nick who works as a driver for the Commander she’s been assigned to and they find solace and mutual understanding in each other. They are both trying to make the most out of their situations, rebelling in their own ways against a dystopian world that is very hard to escape from (Fatefully/I tried to pick my battles ’til the battle picked me/Misery/Like the war of words I shouted in my sleep/And you passed right by/I was in the alley, surrounded on all sides/The knife cuts both ways/If the shoe fits, walk in it ’til your high heels break/Long story short, I survived). Their love story is all about finding comfort in a kindred soul who can make you forget, at least temporary, about the chaos in your world (And he’s passing by/Rare as the glimmer of a comet in the sky/And he feels like home).

marjorie – Jane: A Murder by Maggie Nelson

Nelson’s Jane is a real story told in verse about the murder of her aunt who was just a student at the University of Michigan when it all happened. The author is trying to navigate both her grief and her family’s despair through the years as the search for the murderer hit a wall again and again. What’s interesting is that Nelson’s been told all her life that she’s very similar to her aunt, and as she starts to dig through Jane’s poems, correspondence, she gets a strange feeling of recognition even though her aunt was murdered a year before her birth (What died didn’t stay dead/What died didn’t stay dead/You’re alive, you’re alive in my head/ All your closets of backlogged dreams/And how you left them all to me). This is a hard-hitting read, very emotional, and definitely captures the grief that is so present in marjorie, but also those tender feelings of total admiration and longing for a loved person who is gone. 

closure – The End of the Affair by Graham Greene

This tragic story is closure on steroids, basically. As the title suggests, this book is about an affair that has come to an end which is very befitting of Swift’s song. Maurice thinks he has no tender feelings left for Sarah after they separated because of his jealousy and her refusal to divorce her husband. When Maurice meets Henry, Sarah’s husband, by chance and finds out that she might be seeing someone else, his jealousy is reignited and he soon discovers that the love or obsession he had for her might still be present. He attempts to find out whether Sarah still has feelings for him, but she maintains her position that they should stay apart despite the evident turmoil she’s going through (It’s been a long time/And seeing the shape of your name/Still spells out pain/It wasn’t right/The way it all went down/Looks like you know that now/ I know I’m just a wrinkle in your new life/Staying friends would iron it out so nice/Guilty, guilty, reaching out across the sea/That you put between you and me/But it’s fake and it’s oh so unnecessary).

There are so many twists and turns even though the story seems old as time on the first glance and Greene’s writing is incredibly powerful and beautiful (Don’t treat me like/Some situation that needs to be handled/I’m fine with my spite/And my tears, and my beers and my candles/I can feel you smoothing me over).

evermore – If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

This is the first Baldwin that I’ve read, but definitely not the last because he’s incredible and so masterful at writing poignant and emotional stories. If Beale Street Could Talk focuses on Tish and Fonny who are having a baby and want to get married when Fonny is falsely accused of rape and then imprisoned (Gray November/I’ve been down since July/Motion capture/Put me in a bad light/I replay my footsteps on each stepping stone/Trying to find the one where I went wrong/Writing letters). Tish and their families start to militate for his release, try to do anything possible to convince the jury that a racist policeman had set Fonny up for it and that the real culprit is free.

The similarities between book and song reside especially in how well they capture those opposite feelings of desperation and uselessness on one side (Hey December/Guess I’m feeling unmoored/Can’t remember/What I used to fight for/I rewind thе tape, but all it does is pause/On thе very moment all was lost/Sending signals) and then, hope and commitment on the other side that are very representative for the way Tish fights for Fonny, but also has moments when she feels like she can’t do it anymore—the pregnancy and this fight for justice, and she gets down and hopeless about the possibility of a future without Fonny in her life (Can’t not think of all the cost/And the things that will be lost/Oh, can we just get a pause?/To be certain, we’ll be tall again).

This is a hard-hitting story about love, devotion, and racism—it’s one of the most beautiful and saddest love stories I’ve ever read (And when I was shipwrecked/I thought of you/In the cracks of light/I dreamed of you/It was real enough/To get me through).

right where you left me – Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan

When Nolan’s unnamed narrator meets Ciaran at a gallery event, she instantly falls in love with him. She’s intrigued by his beauty and the way he carries himself with such ease, like he’s completely unaffected by his surroundings. She likes how cold he is and how much she has to work for his affection, his touch, everything. Their relationship is tumultuous and they break up, get back together, cheat on each other—it’s such a mess that the readers will invariably ask themselves how these two are still together. Even the narrator admits that their relationship is abusive, that if she had more self-esteem, she would give Ciaran up, but it takes very long for her to break it off once and for all and start her journey of healing and that’s mostly because of how directionless she feels after their break-ups (Help, I’m still at the restaurant/Still sitting in a corner I haunt/Cross-legged in the dim light/They say, “What a sad sight”/I, I swear you could hear a hair pin drop/Right when I felt the moment stop/Glass shattered on the white cloth/Everybody moved on, I, I stayed there/Dust collected on my pinned-up hair/They expected me to find somewhere/Some perspective, but I sat and stared/Right where you left me).

Ciaran is very handsome and all of her friends think so, way out of her league, and considering she has a dead-end job and nothing interesting going on for herself, Ciaran seems to be the only thing that matters in her life, that sets her apart (Did you ever hear about the girl who got frozen?/Time went on for everybody else, she won’t know it/She’s still twenty-three inside her fantasy/How it was supposed to be/Did you hear about the girl who lives in delusion?/Breakups happen every day, you don’t have to lose it). A hard-hitting story about abuse, toxic relationships – the monologues are so well written that you won’t be able to put this down.

it’s time to go – The Project by Courtney Summers

This haunting song reminded me a lot of Courtney Summers’ latest release that focuses on the way a cult destroys the relationship between sisters. After their parents die in a car accident, Bea is the one who’s supposed to pick up the broken pieces and look for her younger sister, Lo, who’s gravely injured in the hospital. The fear that Bea will lose her sister as well and the pressure to be a grown-up all the sudden must have been too much for her as we find out that she left Lo and joined a cult (When the words of a sister come back in whispers/That prove she was not in fact what she seemed/Not a twin from your dreams/ That old familiar body ache/The snaps from the same little breaks in your soul).

As the years pass, Lo tries to connect with her sister and convince her to come back home, but it’s to no prevail and that intrigues her in a way. It makes her wonder what is so special about Lev’s charm and beliefs that he has her sister wrapped around his little finger. This is a fascinating look into cults, what it takes to join a cult and even more, to leave one (Fifteen years, fifteen million tears/Begging ’til my knees bled/I gave it my all, he gave me nothing at all/Then wondered why I left/Now he sits on his throne in his palace of bones/Praying to his greed/He’s got my past frozen behind glass/But I’ve got me/Sometimes to run is the brave thing/Sometimes walking out is the one thing/That will find you the right thing).

What recommendations do you have? Tell us in the comments below!

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Is your interest piqued? It should be! Read on to see what inspired Gailey to write a book about genetic cloning, their take on the science behind it, their amusing first “job” at a tender young age on the playground, and much more!

Hi Sarah, and thanks for answering a few questions for The Nerd Daily! To start, tell our readers a little bit about yourself.

Thank you so much for having me! I’m an author, currently living and working in Southern California with my family. I cook and I garden, but I spend most of my time writing too much.

How would you describe your latest novel, The Echo Wife (out February 16th 2021), in three sentences or less?

The Echo Wife is the story of a brilliant scientist, the husband who betrayed her, and the clone between them. It’s a deeply personal, very emotional exploration of identity, duality, and origins.

What inspired this idea to take on the intriguing, yet complex and controversial subject matter of genetic cloning in this book?

The Echo Wife is in many ways a book about how we become the people we are. Our personalities and identities are shaped by so many factors — I wanted to examine the paths we choose and the paths we avoid, the way we define ourselves and the way we allow others to define us. Cloning felt like a natural fit. It leaves so many doors open for a conversation about self-definition and how much of that we actually get to do.

As you were researching and writing The Echo Wife, what did you learn about the science behind cloning that stuck with you the most? How have your thoughts and opinions about the potential future of genetic cloning been shaped and influenced throughout this process?

I so love this question! The science in The Echo Wife is very intentionally divergent from existing cloning technology — I’d prefer to be inventive than to try to write about scientific processes that are evolving quicker than I can keep up with — but I did get to learn quite a lot about advances in the development of artificial womb environments. I find it so beautiful that humans dedicate their lives and livelihoods to helping others, even when the problems that need solving seem impossible. My thoughts on the future of genetic cloning remain mixed. As with any field of scientific exploration, the potential for great harm and the potential for great benefit are both limitless. I will say that my understanding of the potential for harm broadened significantly over the course of the writing process, but I suspect that reflects more on the kind of narrative I’m interested in than the direction the science will take.

Throughout the novel your protagonist, Evelyn, is trying to come to terms with the fact that her husband Nathan left her for another woman. She feels particularly betrayed because the woman (Martine) is a replica of her, Nathan’s attempt to create his “perfect” woman by tweaking Evelyn’s “flaws.” Despite this, Evelyn never hesitates to assist Martine when she comes seeking help. Could you talk a bit about these dissonant feelings you created in Evelyn and why this is an important part of her character?

In many ways this conflict is the core of the book. Evelyn considers herself superior to most people — she respects her own opinions and choices and trusts that her judgment is, in most things, correct. And yet, when she meets Martine, she sees a reflection of every way in which her husband — arguably the person who has known her best — found her lacking. Evelyn feels responsible for Martine, who was created largely as a response to Evelyn’s own shortcomings, and who wouldn’t exist without the technology which Evelyn pioneered. She sees, in this woman, everything she disdains, but she also sees all her insecurities. This, I think, is the nature of confronting the self that might have been: it’s almost impossible not to wonder if one chose the right path.

I really enjoyed your use of flashbacks to both Evelyn’s childhood and the earlier days of her relationship with Nathan throughout the novel. Without giving any spoilers, could you talk a bit about the use of this device to help flesh out the story?

I wanted to find a way to make it clear why Evelyn is the way she is. She tells herself constantly that she’s choosing to be the woman she has become, that she’s different from Martine because she has defined herself. By giving a window into her past, I wanted to give the reader the opportunity to question the narrative Evelyn has about her own life. It’s my hope that readers will come away with a deeper understanding of how complicated the process of becoming a Self can be.

What does your overall writing process look like? Do you have a certain schedule or routine you stick to? Any tips for burgeoning writers out there?

I write every weekday and on many weekends as a way to survive deadlines. I light a candle, get a mug of hot tea, put a warm blanket on my lap and instrumental music in my headphones, and dive in. I usually write until I hit a plot milestone that feels satisfying — usually at least a thousand words in a day.

This routine is absolutely not for everyone, though. “Write every day” is terrible advice that I wish people would stop giving out. I would tell burgeoning writers this: it shouldn’t feel lousy. Sometimes writing is hard because you’re challenging yourself, or digging into emotions, but sometimes it’s hard because you’re tired or hungry or sad. If writing feels like a punishment, don’t do it! It’s okay to walk away from projects, to take breaks and to move on to new things. Between the beautiful creature you are the beautiful book you want to write, you are the one who deserves the most care and consideration.

2020 has been a particularly strange year! How have you been making it through this difficult time? Have you been reading anything that you would recommend to others?

It has been an absolutely awful, disorienting, destabilizing year in so many ways. Fortunately, I was well-equipped for it: I have a loving household that is founded on mutual support and trust, I have the ability to work from home, I’m materially safe and comfortable. I’m also mentally ill in a way that means I’ve spent years learning to cope with destabilization and disorientation. My strongest recommendation to folks who are trying to deal with the continuing trauma of 2020 and beyond would be: try to give yourself as much credit as you’d give a friend who was struggling. Humans naturally acclimate to our circumstances quickly, and it’s easy to forget that things are still hard, and that you don’t need to have adjusted functionally to the circumstances your brain has grown accustomed to.

I just finished reading the incredible Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders, coming out from Tor Books in April 2021. It’s beautiful and just the book I needed. For readers who don’t want to wait until April: I’ve just started rereading K.A. Applegate’s iconic Animorphs books, and wow, do they ever hold up.

Are you currently working on any new projects that you can share with our readers?

Right now I’m focusing on editing my third novel for adults, which should come out from Tor Books in 2022. I can’t say too much about it right now beyond this: if you liked The Shape of Water, and if you’re scared to look under your bed at night, you’re going to love it.

Let’s Get Nerdy: Behind the Writer with 9 Quick Questions

• First book that made you fall in love with reading: Bunnicula by James and Deborah Howe.
• 3 books you would take on a desert island: Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller, Jade City by Fonda Lee, and How To Survive On A Desert Island by Tim O’Shea (I am nothing if not pragmatic).
• Movie that you know by heart: The Fifth Element
• Song that makes you want to get up and dance: The Feeling by Sammy Rae.
• Place that everyone should see in their lifetime: Tam. Standing up on top of a mountain and looking out over the sea is a life-changing experience.
• Introvert or extrovert: A healthy mix of both, but I do love my alone-time.
• Coffee, tea, or neither: Tea all the way.
• First job: Shilling buttons I found on the playground to classmates. I accepted cold hard cash or fruit snacks. Profits were through the roof until I ran out of buttons.
• Person you admire most and why: Dolly Parton. I admire her for all the obvious reasons, but most of all, because she’s the very embodiment of one of her most famous quotes: “Figure out who you are and do it on purpose”.

Will you be picking up The Echo Wife? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Sarah Gailey, Author of ‘The Echo Wife’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A sensitive, funny, and painful coming-of-age story with a wry voice and tons of chisme, Fat Chance, Charlie Vega tackles our relationships to our parents, our bodies, our cultures, and ourselves.

The Project by Courtney Summers
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From Courtney Summers, the New York Times bestselling author of the 2019 Edgar Award Winner and breakout hit, Sadie, comes a sensational follow-up―another pulls-no-punches thriller about an aspiring young journalist determined to save her sister from a cult.

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The Echo Wife is a non-stop thrill ride, perfect for readers of Big Little Lies and enthusiasts of Killing Eve and Westworld­.

Make Up, Break Up by Lily Menon
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In Menon’s adult debut, two app developers and former flings butt heads as they find their offices right next to each other. 

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
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In this world, girls are outcasts by blood and warriors by choice. Get ready for battle. The start of a bold and immersive fantasy series for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Black Panther.

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano
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Edgar-Award nominee Elle Cosimano’s adult debut Finlay Donovan Is Killing It is the first in a witty, fast-paced mystery series, following struggling suspense novelist and single mom Finlay Donovan, whose fiction treads dangerously close to the truth as she becomes tangled in real-life murder investigations…

As Far as You’ll Take Me by Phil Stamper
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The author of The Gravity of Us crafts another heartfelt coming-of-age story about finding the people who become your home – perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli.

A ​Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
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Sarah J. Maas’s sexy, richly imagined series continues with the journey of Feyre’s fiery sister, Nesta.

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
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From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes an epic novel of love and heroism and hope, set against the backdrop of one of America’s most defining eras—the Great Depression.

The Bad Muslim Discount by Syed M. Masood
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Following two families from Pakistan and Iraq in the 1990s to San Francisco in 2016, Bad Muslim Discount is a hilarious, timely, and provocative comic novel about being Muslim immigrants in modern America. For fans of Hanif Kureshi, Mira Jacob, and Mohammed Hanif.

A Lady’s Formula for Love by Elizabeth Everett
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What is a Victorian lady’s formula for love? Mix one brilliant noblewoman and her enigmatic protection officer. Add in a measure of danger and attraction. Heat over the warmth of humour and friendship, and the result is more than simple chemistry—it’s elemental.

Muted by Tami Charles
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A ripped-from-the-headlines novel of ambition, music, and innocence lost, perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Jason Reynolds! Be bold. Get seen. Be Heard.

What February 2021 releases are you looking forward to? Tell us in the comments below!

The post February 2021 Book Releases appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

With the new year, booklovers around the world are looking forward to seeing what the year will bring with new books and authors to discover! So, we’ve rounded up 10 books that are currently the most anticipated science fiction and fantasy releases (excluding new instalments in a series) of 2021 according to Goodreads members!

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (March 2nd 2021)
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Klara and the Sun is a magnificent new novel from the Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro–author of Never Let Me Go and the Booker Prize-winning The Remains of the Day.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (May 4th 2021)
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A lone astronaut must save the earth from disaster in this incredible new science-based thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Martian.

Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer (April 6th 2021)
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Hummingbird Salamander is Jeff VanderMeer at his brilliant, cinematic best, wrapping profound questions about climate change, identity, and the world we live in into a tightly plotted thriller full of unexpected twists and elaborate conspiracy.

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo (June 1st 2021)
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Nghi Vo’s debut novel reinvents this classic of the American canon as a coming-of-age story full of magic, mystery, and glittering excess, and introduces a major new literary voice.

For the Wolf by Hannah F. Whitten (June 5th 2021)
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For fans of Uprooted and The Bear and the Nightingale comes a dark, sweeping debut fantasy novel about a young woman who must be sacrificed to the legendary Wolf of the Wood to save her kingdom. But not all legends are true, and the Wolf isn’t the only danger lurking in the Wilderwood.

Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune (March 2nd 2021) 
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Under the Whispering Door is a contemporary fantasy with TJ Klune’s signature “quirk and charm” (PW) about a ghost who refuses to cross over and the ferryman he falls in love with

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan (July 20th 2021)
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Mulan meets The Song of Achilles in Shelley Parker-Chan’s She Who Became the Sun, a bold, queer, and lyrical reimagining of the rise of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty from an amazing new voice in literary fantasy.

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff (September 7th 2021)
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From the New York Times bestselling author of the Nevernight Chronicle, Jay Kristoff, comes the first illustrated volume of an astonishing new dark fantasy saga.

The Last Watch by J.S. Dewes (April 20th 2021) 
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The Expanse meets Game of Thrones in J. S. Dewes’ fast-paced, sf adventure The Last Watch, where a handful of soldiers stand between humanity and annihilation.

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey (February 16th 2021)
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The Echo Wife is a non-stop thrill ride, perfect for readers of Big Little Lies and enthusiasts of “Killing Eve” and “Westworld­”

What SFF books are you looking forward to? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Most Anticipated SFF Books of 2021; According to Goodreads Members appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Evelyn Caldwell is at the peak of her professional career. She has just been awarded the Neufmann Prize, honouring her innovative work in genetic cloning. In particular, she is renowned for developing the “Caldwell Method,” as it has come to be known: a way to program the clone’s personality. Her personal life, however, is a completely different story. Years into their marriage, Evelyn and her husband Nathan begin to drift apart. Consumed by her work, she doesn’t think much of it, until one day she learns Nathan is having an affair with a woman named Martine. Correction: a clone named Martine. A replica of Evelyn herself.

Evelyn attempts to bury her sorrows in her work as she adjusts to the new “normal” of separating from her husband and living alone. Then, one day Evelyn receives a frantic call from Martine. Something has happened — an emergency — and Martine needs Evelyn’s help.

The emergency? Nathan is dead.

What begins as a seemingly straightforward story unspools from here, evolving chapter by chapter with unexpected plot twists and surprising revelations. Evelyn is accustomed to creating clones to be used for research, organ harvesting, even body doubles; but not clones intended to be used as real people. Not clones which are a mirror image of her, fine tuned to modify all the imperfections Nathan never liked. And certainly not clones she must help, must work alongside to resolve a dilemma after their shared love has died.

Threaded throughout the main narrative, Gailey also flashes back to Evelyn’s childhood, as well as the earlier days of her relationship with Nathan. This technique not only provides insight into how Evelyn became the woman she is today, but it also creates some interesting and surprising parallels for readers between her past and the present.

Gailey has done it again, creating an utterly unique sci-fi thriller. Equal parts unsettling and unputdownable, readers will cringe as they tear through this eerie tale, unable to look away from the ethical monstrosity that is The Echo Wife. Gailey raises question after question in their treatment of genetic cloning: How far away are we from a future that looks like this? Could something like this ever really even happen? If so, what are the ethical implications? The legal implications? Where do we draw the line between scientific advances and playing God? Should man be allowed such power? Is it “right” or “wrong” to disrupt the balance, to manipulate the fragile sanctity of life? This query and debate could go on and on, as Gailey provides an incredible amount of food for thought here.

Subtly scary and hauntingly realistic, Gailey has written with a quiet horror which slowly settles in, scratching at the back of the reader’s brain long after the last page has been turned. The Echo Wife is sure to be a genre-bending hit in early 2021 with fans of speculative fiction and thrillers alike.

The Echo Wife is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of February 16th 2021. Many thanks to Tor.com Publishing for providing me with an advance copy of this fantastic book. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Will you be picking up The Echo Wife? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

The Echo Wife is a non-stop thrill ride, perfect for readers of Big Little Lies and enthusiasts of Killing Eve and Westworld­ 

Martine is a genetically cloned replica made from Evelyn Caldwell’s award-winning research. She’s patient and gentle and obedient. She’s everything Evelyn swore she’d never be.

And she’s having an affair with Evelyn’s husband.

Now, the cheating bastard is dead, and the Caldwell wives have a mess to clean up.
Good thing Evelyn Caldwell is used to getting her hands dirty

When they said all happy families are alike, this can’t be what they meant…

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