Intrigued? Read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from An Auction of Souls by Amber Chen, which releases on October 20th 2026.

Meng Lingxi and her grandmother run a legendary auction house, Meng Wu—the House of Dreams. But when a mysterious traveler arrives bearing a fragment of a soul, all that Lingxi knows changes in an instant. Her grandmother mysteriously vanishes, and restless spirits descend upon Meng Wu.

Then two unlikely allies—Yan Jun and Yan Shan, guardians of hell itself—come to Lingxi’s aid, revealing a shocking secret about the only home she’s ever known: Meng Wu sits upon the gateway to hell, and her grandmother serves the god of the underworld himself.

Soon, Lingxi joins her two companions on a perilous journey to find her grandmother and unravel the mystery behind the dangerous fragment of soul. Along the way, the trio must outsmart humans, gods, and demons alike who try to stand in their way—before hell is let loose on earth.

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Intrigued? Read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from The House of Gardenias by Isabel Cañas, which releases on September 29th 2026.

Growing up in a city wracked by political violence and a home where she’s more likely to receive a beating than a meal, Minerva Treviño’s cowardice has kept her alive for sixteen years. But even she has a limit. Hungry and desperate, she musters enough courage to run away and take a job as lady’s maid to a wealthy widow who supports the deposed viceroy.

Minerva is happy serving Encarnación del Valle. She has food in her belly and the safety of a warm house lit by magical chispa. Why should she care who runs the country or how her employer affords the magic?

When the viceroy sweeps back into power, Minerva retreats with her gleeful employer to the family’s mountainside stronghold to wait out the inevitable rebel slaughter. At la Casa de las Gardenias, Minerva faces new threats in the haughty servants and cruel, scheming del Valles.
But the living residents of the house are the least of her worries. As Minerva quickly discovers, the ancient estate is home to forces far older and more bloodthirsty than anything she could have imagined.

EXCERPT

CHAPTER 7

MINERVA

THE AROMA OF GARDENIAS ROSE FROM THE BUSHES like the steam from Señora Encarnación’s bath, so thick on the garden’s air I was half certain I should be able to see it. It slipped close to my skin, cloying and overcurious. Intrusive. Suffocating. Invasive. The air tasted different this high above the valley, still wet with mist at late morning. It felt as if the deeper I breathed, the more I was drowning.

Octaviana, Señora Encarnación’s middle-aged niece, inhaled deeply through her nose. The jeweled brooch at her throat glinted as it rose and fell.

“The House of Gardenias. It’s good to be back,” she said softly, as if to herself. To me, she snapped: “Hurry up.”

I pushed Señora Encarnación’s wheeled chair over uneven, mossy cobbles to the enormous double doors of the mansion, my arms and upper back burning from the effort.

La Casa de las Gardenias.

A house so large and imposing that Casa Azafrán could fit comfortably within its four walls. The stronghold of the del Valle family.

Where we will be safe, Octaviana wrote in the letter delivered to Casa Azafrán the day of the coup. Safe from the civil war that surged like a flood through the valley below.

But for a brief moment, an eerie sensation overwhelmed me: the awareness that I was a fly balancing on a thread of a spider’s web.

“Come along, Minerva,” Señora Encarnación chirped. Ever since the carriage pulled into the drive of Casa Azafrán, her excitement had been as palpable as the taste of gardenias on the air. “I’m eager to be home.”

I pushed Señora Encarnación into la Casa de las Gardenias.

THOUGH THE FOYER WAS FILLED with servants in green livery, with crisp movements and reverent sí, señoras, I felt as if the eyes of the dogs in the dump circled me as I faced the grand sweep of a central staircase.

A slender, elegant man called Cosme gave me directions to the suite that would belong to Señora Encarnación, and, by extension as her lady’s maid, to me. Up three flights. Count six doors on the left and pass them all—they are drawing rooms, music rooms, offices, studies—and turn right.

“The mistress of the House of Gardenias says that that wing has always been her aunt’s,” he said, referring to his señora, Octaviana. “It will please her. But if the steps prove too much, let me know. Discreetly,” he added, with emphasis. “Del Valles are proud.”

I took one of Señora Encarnación’s bags in each hand and ascended above the bustle of the ground floor. The steps of the grand staircase creaked beneath the house shoes I was given upon entering the mansion. I reached a landing and turned, and ascended still higher.

The sounds of the rest of the house faded behind me. The air outside tasted exposed, this high above the valley. It tasted the same in here.

Better than the air I would be breathing in a guano-strewn cave with the liberals.

I thrust the thought of Arnulfo from my mind. I was here, and I was safe, even if la Casa de las Gardenias echoed and creaked in the oddest places. Footsteps seemed to travel farther than they did in Casa Azafrán. At the top of the second flight, I paused.

An echo of footsteps followed. Each was crisp, articulated, as if one of the other maids was following just behind me. One, two, three steps.

Silence.

I took two more steps.

One, two. Silence.

The echo followed me to the third floor.

This was where the grand central staircase ended, though I had counted four floors of windows from the outside.

I looked to my right, then my left, down the corridor that stretched to each end of the house. The windows at either end seemed so far away. The gray light they let into the house was as flimsy as the mist that wreathed the mountains outside.

I followed Cosme’s instructions and counted doors, my breath coming short from the effort of carrying the bags. It and the creak of the floorboards were the only sound on these stories. As far as vanished entirely, sinking into the dark mountainside on which this house was perched.

Four doors. Five doors. At the end of the hall, I set the bags down with a relieved grunt. The handle of the sixth door was crystal—dusty, but set in fine brass. It was ice-like beneath my palm as I turned the sticking latch and forced it open. I should ask for the hinges to be oiled.

The dark room before me—a sitting room, I think—was a maze of furniture covered with white muslin. There were doors in the right of the room, and one to the left.

In Casa Azafrán, I heard birds singing outside. The rhythmic clop of hooves and the rattle of horse-drawn carriages making their way up and down the boulevard. The faint singing of a maid next door as she hung up washing to dry.

This house was a tomb.

My footsteps profaned sepulchral silence as I picked up the bags and made my way through the sitting room, navigating clumsily around covered tables and chairs arranged around a central fireplace.

Dust motes hovered on the gray light as if suspended in time. I placed the bags in Señora Encarnación’s room, my face and underarms warm and damp from the effort. The windows were covered with heavy, dark drapes; every piece of furniture was covered like in the sitting room, strangely shaped beasts lurking in a cave.

My skin crawled.

The feeling drove me toward the windows, where I snapped the shades open with brusque determination. Light poured in from one window. Another. A third. Next to go were the muslin cloths protecting the furniture. A dark green brocade bedspread gleamed in the light. Tables and a large chest carved from dark wood, their drawers ornamented with white gardenia-shaped handles, flanked the bed on either side and stood guard at its foot.

For a moment, I hovered in the doorway that led from Señora Encarnación’s bed chamber to the sitting room. I had to get her other bags from downstairs.

I stepped into the sitting room. No matter how large or small, every covered piece—from what looked like vases or statues on tables by the windows and in the corners of the room to the rect angular frame above the fireplace—loomed. Watchful. As if a predator lurked behind every innocent drape of cloth, every shadow cast. I felt as if I couldn’t see the corners of the space, or the back of it, or even the door on the far side. White forms morphed and bled into one another in the corners of my sight, looming ever taller, ever more threatening.

Enough.

I squared off with the nearest chair, grabbed the corner of the white fabric covering it, and yanked it away. An innocent arm chair. I dropped the muslin to the floor in a heap, not bothering to fold it. On to the next victim: I snatched the shroud away from a cedar side table. The fabric fell, deflated, defanged.

My steps were staccato, almost rising to a run, as I turned to the tall covered figures by the window. I snatched at cloths. Mar ble statues reached gracefully toward the ceiling. Ornamental glazed vases—covered in motifs of gardenias, of course—shone as if they were dusted this morning. Oil paintings of pale, pinchfaced nobility in old-fashioned clothing gleamed in the gray light. Love seats, chairs, lamps for chispa. All finer than the mothnipped upholstery of Casa Azafrán, all holding their breath, as if they had been waiting for me to free them. They continued to on the floorboards and on the plush, lustrous green rug before the fireplace.

I reached for the final piece of white fabric, the one that covered the large rectangle over the fireplace. I stood on tiptoe, reached, and pulled.

The fabric peeled delicately away from a mirror, framed in gold and larger than any I had ever seen. I took a step back, clam miness spreading at the base of my spine. It embraced the light from the windows opposite it and flung it back into the room, il luminating everything in a pale, ethereal glow.

The reflection showed the room behind me. Piles of white littered the ground, like that one brutal winter when it snowed. With the opulent furnishings laid bare, the room felt as if it were settling. Calm.

“There,” I panted. “Much be—”

But the word died on my lips. My heart stilled. Everything stilled as I fixated on the reflection.

In the back corner of the room, next to one of the gleaming marble statues, stood a dark figure.

My eye caught limbs. Shoulders. A head. Features deep in shadow, apart from a set of eyes.

Eyes that burned, black and hot as coal, as they stared at my turned back.

At me.

The hairs on my arms stood on end.

I pivoted on my heel and faced the corner. I stared at the statue, at the shadow it cast in the corner.

There was nothing there.

Silence stretched long, broken only by the fleshy pounding of my heart.

I came here because it was right. Because it was better to be in this house among strangers than freezing in the wet rainforest caves among outcast liberals, hunted like sport by the Viceroy’s men. La Casa de las Gardenias was everything I needed: warmth, a roof over my head, food. Wages and protection. A future.

But I could not tear my eyes from the corner. My body was sheathed in cold sweat. It shook, rooted to the spot. For it did not feel safe in this house.

Not at all.

THE HOUSE OF GARDENIAS By Isabel Cañas Copyright © 2026 by Dutton Books for Young Readers. Reprinted with permission.

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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.

The post #ReadWithPride: When the World Was Happy by Benjamin Alire Sáenz appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

About Kill Your Darlings: A teen girl faces the horrors of misogyny and racism—plus an evil witch and her horde of monsters—in this fun, fast-paced thriller. Released September 22nd 2026.

Sometimes, I’m asked, “why horror?” Underlying that question is a follow-up: “why horror for teenagers?”

Well, starting with the ‘horror’ of it all, I gravitated towards the genre because it was and is meant to be confrontational. It takes these concepts, your scary masks, haunted houses, monsters that are nightmare fodder, and it turns them back on us. Horror has a remarkable ability to dig deep and reveal something about each of us.

When I was a teenager, everything felt too big and too real and too insurmountable. Horror took those things that felt like the end of the world to me—the fears I had over growing up and losing what I thought were supposed to be the best years of my life, the contentious relationship I had with my body, how distant and awkward I felt compared to my peers, the values and the beliefs I was forming—and splashed them everywhere like blood stains so there was nowhere left to hide. There was a sense of freedom in that. And if it was all there for everyone to see, and I wasn’t alone in how I was feeling, that meant there was hope.

I think of what that meant for me, and what it might mean for teenagers today. I want that for them. We could all use some more hope.

So, here are five YA horror novels that belong in my own little start-up pack, which I think truly celebrate the multitudes of emotion at the heart of this genre:

My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

I think this should be on every single horror reader’s starting line-up. My Best Friend’s Exorcism follows two best friends, Abigail and Gretchen, through the evolution of their friendship. That is, until they reach high school, and Gretchen starts to change. Abby’s convinced this means she must be possessed by a demon.

This book is old-school horror nostalgia. It’s the 1980s, and Satanism is all the rage! It’s an exploration of so many things, including the social structure of the period, bodily autonomy and religion, but at the centre of this book is the tireless friendship between Abby and Gretchen and the lengths to which Abby would go to save and protect her best friend. As a teenager, I know I would’ve wanted my best friend to be this ride-or-die for me.

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson

Did you enjoy Carrie by Stephen King? If so, you’ll love (maybe even more) The Weight of Blood. Something happened on prom night, and the people of Springfield are convinced that resident outcast and social reject, Madison (Maddy) Washington, is responsible. Especially when Maddy is revealed as biracial and has been passing as white because her racist father required her to.

This book was striking and heart-wrenching and so visceral in the way I think only BIPOC horror and horror written by marginalised folks can achieve. Maddy’s experience as a biracial girl in this small, racist town is so thoughtfully detailed. That, coupled with the supernatural element and the mixed media that unfolds the impending horror and doom of what is such a powerful and furious climax, makes this an absolute must read in YA horror!

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

Readers looking for a bit of history to go alongside their horror will definitely enjoy The Spirit Bares Its Teeth. Sixteen-year-old Silas Bell wants nothing less than to be married off, until he is diagnosed with Veil Sickness and sent off to a sanatorium, where the dead have no intention of remaining silent.

To me, the real horror in The Spirits Bares Its Teeth wasn’t even in the supernatural/paranormal elements (although, those were delightfully spooky), but in the way it draws out the horrific treatment experienced by queer people, even teenagers, in the 19^th century all for being queer. The story does not shy away from those experiences. It’s a gut-punch, but there’s still a tender undercurrent that truly makes this book shine. If there’s ever a YA horror novel that embodies the ideal of hope, even in such pitch darkness, it’s this one!

Bad Witch Burning by Jessica Lewis

I’m not sure if there’s anything more synonymous with horror than witches! Bad Witch Burning is your witchy YA horror, featuring teenage Katrell who can speak to the dead and uses that ability to make enough money so that she can escape her neglectful mother. That is, until she gets into hot water and suddenly, she can bring the dead back to life.

I think the reason this one struck me is very similar to why all the others did. If you’re someone who likes your horror to say something deeper than just gore and blood splatters, Bad Witch Burning will not disappoint. As someone who often felt like I had to grow up too quickly (and whose debut features much of the same theme), Katrell was such a phenomenal protagonist. Hurt and grief-stricken and desperate, but also tough and resilient and compassionate in equal measure. I wish I could read this book again for the first time; it made me feel so much!

The Dark We Know by Wen-Yi Lee

I remember being on the verge of keyboard smashing when I first read this book, that’s how much I enjoyed it! The Dark We Know is about Isadora, a teenage girl who returns to her hometown, Slater, following the loss of her father, as she grapples with the deaths of two of her childhood friends and what really happened to them. This is book is so difficult to describe, but I think the most iconic part is the use of second-person POV, which isn’t easy to get right. I was submerged in this raw, hungry, hurt, eerie book from start to finish. This is just such a beautiful, unrestrained story, and those who like their YA horror more on the uncanny side than outright gory will definitely enjoy this one.

The post Five Book YA Horror Starter Pack: Recommendations from Author Yuvashri Harish appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

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 . . .

The post Review: This Divine Revelry by Bea Fitzgerald appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Intrigued? Read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from The Velvet Knife by Maureen Johnson, which releases on September 29th 2026.

Stevie might be the greatest teenage detective Ellingham Academy and the world has ever seen, but even she can’t figure out what happened with her boyfriend, David. What she needs is a distraction: a good old-fashioned murder. Stevie is much happier dealing with dead people. They’re a lot less confusing—they don’t send cryptic texts and make out with other girls in British pubs.

But then Stevie gets exactly what she wanted when a dead body turns up in the middle of a Manhattan apartment complex, and this one is . . . complicated. Caught in a web of messy alive-people feelings, Stevie finds herself questioning all human connection. Is magnetism only manipulation? Can you trust anyone? Does anyone realize that they’re joining a cult—before it’s too late? And are things with David really over?

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If I’ve piqued your interest at all, take a seat. Our Strange Duet is a thoughtful reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera. It’s centered around Christine Daaé, a young naive starlet who becomes torn between love and ambition, and the masked figure and secrets that lurk beneath the Opera House. If you’re feeling like setting a mood, I would recommend playing the soundtrack as you read (if you’re someone who can), it will be a bit more of an immersive experience.

My initial thoughts was how similar the musical and the book are, and yet, it felt as though we were getting more than that. Craig took us inside Christine’s head, her heart, and her feelings. I think it gave us further insight into the young ingénue in a way that I wasn’t truly expecting. We see her innocence yes, but also that spark of ambition that is driving her to make the choices that could lead to disastrous consequences. Tangled within it is her desire to be loved, and it creates a dangerous combination that leaves readers wanting to see the story through to the end, even if they know how it ends.

One of my favourite aspects of the book is that each character is given proper care and respect, going beyond superficial descriptions and giving reasons for their behaviours. The Phantom’s vulnerability, despite his fearsome reputation, just cemented that inner dark romantic that wanted Christine to stay in the darkness with him. However, Carlotta also comes to mind, a lead soprano that is past her prime, but clinging to that fame. Although we see it from Christine’s perspective specifically, I love that we see human nature behind some of her “villainy”. We get to see beyond the signora’s great vanity and some into her insecurities. Some might argue that it detracts from the drama, but I think that it adds the right light to the story. The character who fell flat for me at times was Raoul, but perhaps it was because he felt very much like a mirror of Christine in some ways.

If you’re looking for a grand departure from the original work, you will not find that here, as it stays very close to the original story. This wasn’t a problem for me, but I do think some might approach the book looking for that, so let this be your caution.

Something that kept coming up for me as I was reading was the way that I could vividly visualise what I was reading, but in the way that you’re watching a puppetmaster tell a story. The storytelling was masterful, and I was trapped within the confines of the book until the very end. The ending left me breathless, and looking up when the next time The Phantom of the Opera musical will be nearby so I could go watch it once again. At the very least, I’m planning to watch the movie as I go into October. This gives off the best moody weather reading vibes, and I honestly think everyone should either read or listen to this book as one of your fall reads. I think you’ll find a reason to fall in love with the Phantom once more. This read was a 8/10 for me (because of Raoul), but I still recommend it for everything else.

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

Will you be picking up Our Strange Duet? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, spotlighting Christine Daaé as she rises to fame while torn between love, ambition, and the haunting secrets of the opera house from #1 New York Times bestselling author Erin A. Craig.

She was never just the voice he shaped . . .

A rising soprano with a gift she is only just learning to embrace, Christine Daaé has moved through the glittering world of the Opera Populaire longing to find her purpose. Instead, she finds herself caught between two men who refuse to let her slip quietly into the chorus.

One is Raoul, her childhood friend turned devoted admirer, offering her a future filled with warmth, safety, and a love that feels like sunlight. The other is a mysterious masked figure who lurks beneath the Opera House: The Phantom. His brilliance, obsession, and dangerous devotion to nurturing Christine’s talents ignites a dark and complicated passion in her heart.

As Christine’s star ascends, so does the tension between Raoul and the Phantom. She must decide who she is when the curtain falls—and what she’s willing to risk for the life she wants.

Set against the sweeping, romantic world of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, Our Strange Duet allows Christine Daaé to take center stage to tell her own story: fierce, emotional, and unforgettable.

The post Review: Our Strange Duet by Erin A. Craig appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Never in my life have I felt my age as much as I did while I was reading Dead Girls.

In a way, this graphic novel felt like a study in humor and the way it changes and, dare I say, evolves from generation to generation.

So congrats to this graphic novel for a) making me feel old AF and b) making me appreciate how humour—just like language—is ever changing and expanding.

Some of the writing reminded me a lot of shows like Riverdale and Scream Queens which are masterpieces and horrible messes all wrapped into one neat package. They’re funny, over the top, ridiculous and even when you really, really want to take a step back, it feels like a trainwreck you can’t look away from. Reading Dead Girls felt exactly like that in the best of ways.

Multiple times I muttered to myself out loud how stupid characters can be or how ridiculous a plotline was (furries. I don’t even have words for seeing this in traditionally published fiction, I need to lie down…and also clear my Ao3 search history stat) and wanted to just chuck my tablet across the table to never look at it again because what in the world!?

Does this make it a bad graphic novel or bad humor? Absolutely not.

It actually speaks for how well Kubrick manages to bring the best and worst of slasher films into a whole new format and encapsulates the fine line between over the top dramatic and just downright bingeable. While hitting all the bases of a classic slasher film – the spooky woods, the missing people, the “for the love of God, don’t split up and why would you even think of going through that door!?”—Kubrick manages to bring something new to the table with gorgeous, atmospheric illustrations, hilarious one-liners and snappy dialogue that makes you fly through the pages.

Is it over the top? Yes. But that’s where the fun comes from in Dead Girls! It’s dark, reveng-y, funny and you truly never see what’s coming next to a level of unpredictability some episodes of Black Mirror could take some lessons from.

The characters are eccentric and relatable, and you absolutely root for them to not become the proverbial final girl while they do everything in their power to make the senseless killings stop. Meanwhile, other secondary characters (and especially the bad guys) make you want to rip your hair out (or their head off) to a degree that should not be spoken of in a review that could be read by psychologists…or police officers.

Sure, it might not appeal to everyone—if you’re not a fan of slasher films or shows like Scream Queens, this might not be your cup of tea—but sometimes it’s exactly these out of the ordinary stories that can make you fall in love with reading all over again.

It’s been a while since a graphic novel took me for a rollercoaster of emotions and for that alone, I would recommend reading it. This truly is a Gen-Z murder mystery and a love letter to slasher fiction wrapped in one stunning graphic novel that is guaranteed to make you feel things—what exactly those feelings are and what you’ll do with them will be entirely up to you.

Dead Girls is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of September 22nd 2026.

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

Synopsis

The teen daughter of an infamous serial killer must prove she isn’t the one behind recent copycat murders in this “tongue-in-cheek” (Booklist, starred review) graphic novel that’s a campy, feminist send-up of slashers that both celebrates and subverts classic tropes.

In the cozy town of Clossdale, a serial killer rampages! Five girls missing in as many weeks! Bodies turning up on the forest floor! And all fingers point to one vile fiend: Ash Hargreeves.

Except Ash didn’t do it. She may be the daughter of the infamous Clossdale Killer, and these copycat killings aren’t exactly convincing proof of her innocence—and okay, she’s kind of a weirdo who has two friends total, but when the murders strike a little too close to home, Ash decides to take a stand.

With the help of her besties, Ash is going to hunt down the killer, clear her mother’s name, and stop there from being any more dead girls—now and forever. After all, WWJLCD: what would Jamie Lee Curtis do?

The post Review: Dead Girls by Beck Kubrick appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Intrigued? Read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt (plus an introduction from the author!) from The Dragon & The Dove by Catherine Doyle, which released on September 10th 2026.

Sera and Ransom, their love stronger than ever, face a common enemy. But as the self-proclaimed People’s Saint rallies the realm to his dark cause, their volatile powers pull them apart once more.

Sera’s blazing Saint-maker gift comes at a terrible cost and threatens to consume her. Ransom, newly sainted and bound to nightmarish shadows, is on the brink of despair. What are they willing to lose? For the kingdom, for their friends, and for each other…

An introduction from the author:

The Dragon & the Dove is the final instalment in the City of Fantome Trilogy. The Age of Saints has dawned, and Sera has been imbued with the power to gift magic to others. Every time she makes a new saint, it comes at great personal cost. As the city unites against the insidious Silvertongue Saint, Sera has to choose what she is willing to sacrifice for the greater good, and whether her love with Ransom can withstand that decision. It’s epic, magical and achingly romantic.

With the City of Fantome trilogy, I have been truly blessed with some of the most beautiful covers I’ve ever seen. This is all down to the incredible talent of Micaela Alcaino, who works her singular magic every time to really bring this series to life.

The Dragon & the Dove is my favourite cover of the three (and that is really saying something!) It captures the epic romance between Ransom and Seraphine, the looming war, and how destiny pulls at each of them in different ways.

This short excerpt from The Dragon & the Dove shows the moment the dragon on the cover is born:

Alone in the black woods, Ransom became an artist again, and conjured something new. Death filled the clearing, the moss on the trees turning to ash as his shadows clumped like wet clay.

He crafted the body first, half an oak tall and ten times as wide, its barrel chest heaving with phantom breath. The legs were next, each one thick as a tree stump. Then arms, long and lithe, with claws so sharp they curved at the ends. He tunnelled deeper still, diving into the pool of his magic.

With more power, he conjured scales of charcoal and midnight, and a ridged tail that wound all the way around the clearing. The head then, and it was both mighty and terrifying, with orb- like eyes of silver mist. Last, he made the wings, each one wide enough to smother the sun.

With his back pressed to a tree at the edge of the clearing, Ransom had to tilt his chin to behold the entirety of his creation, this menacing portent of doom, this fearsome bringer of death.

It was beautiful, a thing of rage and teeth and power, made to strike fear into the hearts of his enemies. To soar and swoop and kill without remorse.

A creature that would make even the Strix of Urnica tremble.

A dragon spun from his darkest nightmare.

The post Read An Excerpt From ‘The Dragon & The Dove’ by Catherine Doyle appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Intrigued? Read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from Too Hexed to Handle by Charlotte Ingham, which releases on September 10th 2026 and is now available for preorder.

Daisy has a secret: she’s a Souleater, an outlawed magical being who feeds on emotions. She’s also hexed—her kiss cursed to kill. So she’s built a quiet life running a crumbling inn on the edge of town, matchmaking guests while keeping her own heart firmly off-limits.

But when a mysterious contest promises a cure for Souleater magic—and a reward big enough to save her inn—Daisy sets off on a perilous quest with Astin, her emotionally unavailable (and infuriatingly attractive) gardener. There’s just one problem: Astin hunts Souleaters. And he has absolutely no idea Daisy is one of them.

As secrets unravel and feelings get far too complicated, Daisy must choose: the cure, the truth…or the one man she just might love enough to kiss.

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The post Read An Excerpt From ‘Too Hexed To Handle’ by Charlotte Ingham appeared first on The Nerd Daily.