And here are the rest of my July books! Pretty good book month, July.

The Faculty Lounge by Jennifer Mathieu
Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard
The Deading by Nicholas Belardes
Castle of the Cursed by Romina Garber
Time and Time Again by Chatham Greenfield

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The Faculty Lounge by Jennifer Mathieu
Published by Dutton on July 23, 2024
Pages: 304
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley

By the acclaimed author of Moxie, a funny, bighearted adult debut that is at once an ode to educators, a timely glimpse at today’s pressing school issues, and a tender character study, following a sprawling cast of teachers, administrators, and staff at a Texas high school

With its ensemble of warm and unforgettable characters, The Faculty Lounge shows readers a different side of school life. It all starts when an elderly substitute teacher at Baldwin High School is found dead in the faculty lounge. After a bit of a stir, life quickly returns to normal—it’s not like it’s the worst (or even most interesting) thing that has happened within the building’s walls. But when, a week later, the spontaneous scattering of his ashes on the school grounds catches the attention of some busybody parents, it sets in motion a year that can only be described as wild, bizarre, tragic, mundane, beautiful, and humorous all at once.

In the midst of the ensuing hysteria and threats of disciplinary action, the novel peeks into the lives of the implicated adults who, it turns out, actually have first names and continue to exist when the school day is done. We a former punk band front man, now a middle-aged principal who must battle it out with the schoolboard to keep his job; a no-nonsense school nurse willing to break the rules, despite the close watch on their campus, when a student arrives at her office with a dilemma; and a disgruntled English instructor who finds himself embroiled in even more controversy when he misfires a snarky email. Oh, and there’s also a teacher make-out session in a supply closet during a lockdown.

As these people continue to manage the messiness of this school year, there is the looming threat of what will become of their beloved Baldwin High.

Ultimately, at the heart of this unconventional workplace novel is a story of the power of human connection and of the joy of finding purpose in what it is we do every day.

Well, this was delightful and so, so relatable! If you have ever worked in a school, in any capacity, you will appreciate this book, no question. You will, inevitably, relate to at least one (but likely way more) of the characters, and the situations they find themselves in. I mean- you are, hopefully, not going to find an old colleague deceased in the lounge, I’ll give you that. But the other, more day-to-day stuff? Oh, you have no idea. 

And wow, the emotions! It ran the gamut, frankly. Many of the storylines pulled at my heartstrings, whereas others made me laugh out loud. Plenty did both, frankly. There is also a lot of fabulous commentary on the state of education. I also always felt such sadness for teachers in certain states, which of course, includes Texas. They tread on eggshells far sharper than those we have to worry about in bluer leaning areas, which, frankly, makes them even bigger superheroes in my book.

If you don’t have any particular experience in the education system, the story is still quite entertaining! We certainly all have experience being a student, holding jobs, dealing with bureaucracy, etc., so there is absolutely something for everyone to relate to. And hey, you just might feel a bit more camaraderie and empathy for those of us in the trenches. Frankly, it made me feel so seen, and I will absolutely be gifting this one to colleagues and friends!

Bottom Line: Heartfelt, warm, funny, and emotional, this book has something for everyone- and extra especially for anyone who has the experience of working in schools, trust that you need this in your life!

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Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard
Published by Tordotcom on July 30, 2024
Pages: 176
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley

Award-winning author Aliette de Bodard presents yet another innovative space opera that broadens the definition of the this time bringing xianxia-style martial arts to the stars.

Using the power of Shadows generated from their own bodies’ vitality, Navigators guide space ships safely across the a realm of unreality populated by unfathomable, dangerous creatures called Tanglers. In return for their service, the navigator clans get wealth and power―but they get the blame, too. So when a Tangler escapes the Hollows and goes missing, the empire calls on the jockeying clans to take responsibility and deal with the problem.

Việt Nhi is not good with people. Or politics. Which is rather unfortunate because, as a junior apprentice in the Rooster clan, when her elders send her on a joint-clan mission to locate the first escaped Tangler in living memory, she can’t exactly say no.

Hạc Cúc of the Snake clan usually likes people. It says so on her “information gathering”―right after “poisoning” and “stabbing.” So she’s pretty sure she’s got the measure of this they’re the screw-ups, the spares; there isn’t a single sharp tool in this shed.

But when their imperial envoy is found dead by clan poison, this crew of expendable apprentices will have to learn to work together―fast―before they end up cooling their heels in a jail cell while the invisible Tangler wreaks havoc on a civilian city and the reputation of all four clans.

Navigational Entanglements was creative, unique, and at times, a bit confusing. Look, I won’t pretend that I fully understood the world; I did not. It seems incredibly ambitious and well thought out, just perhaps not enough pages for the reader to fully grasp it? Which is unfortunate, but also… you do get the gist. So while I was a bit bummed that I wasn’t going to understand the complexities, it also didn’t really dampen the reading experience too much. Because really, I enjoyed the characters, and they seemed to be more the point, if you will.

We’re told most of the story through a third person perspective of Việt Nhi. Nhi is pretty salty that she has to go on this mission that, she feels, does not exactly pull to her strengths. She’s got to not only interact with and rely on other people, but people who are not from her clan. But go she must, and the story really jumps into gear when we see the lengths that Nhi and the others will have to go to. Lots of morally ambiguous choices to be made, danger, and figuring out who, if anyone, she can trust all become part of Nhi’s adventure. Basically, it is worth it for Nhi’s story, even though I think that more pages may have helped this one, it was still a satisfying story.

Bottom Line: Ambitious world building with some great characters made this novella a win, though I think it could have been an even bigger hit as a full length novel.

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The Deading by Nicholas Belardes
Published by Erewhon Books on July 23, 2024
Pages: 304
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley

Stephen King’s Under the Dome meets The Last of Us in this harrowing dystopian novel about the downward spiral of a seaside town that becomes infected by a mysterious ocean-borne contagion.

If you want to stay, you have to die.

In a small fishing town known for its aging birding community and the local oyster farm, a hidden evil emerges from the depths of the ocean. It begins with sea snails washing ashore, attacking whatever they cling to. This mysterious infection starts transforming the wildlife, the seascapes, and finally, the people.

Once infected, residents of Baywood start “deading”: collapsing and dying, only to rise again, changed in ways both fanatical and physical. As the government cuts the town off from the rest of the world, the uninfected, including the introverted bird-loving Blas and his jaded older brother Chango, realize their town could be ground zero for a fundamental shift in all living things.

Soon, disturbing beliefs and autocratic rituals emerge, overseen by the death-worshiping Risers. People must choose how to survive, how to find home, and whether or not to betray those closest to them. Stoked by paranoia and isolation, tensions escalate until Blas, Chango, and the survivors of Baywood must make their escape or become subsumed by this terrifying new normal.

At points claustrophobic and haunting, soulful and melancholic, The Deading lyrically explores the disintegration of society, the horror of survival and adaptation, and the unexpected solace found through connections in nature and between humans.

The Deading was… definitely unique. Let’s start with that. The concept of “deading”, in which young folks basically dropped in the middle of whatever they were doing to literally “play dead” was introduced at the start. Of course, like all things popular, eventually The Olds start doing it, and it becomes decidedly less cool. And then… things go off the rails, and right into bird watching. Look- I try not to punish books for how much I dislike birds, and how I’d rather watch paint dry than birds, and I can overlook a pretty reasonable amount of bird shenanigans. But what we have here is not a reasonable amount, I fear. Mostly because I don’t really understand what the point of the birds even was?

When the crux of the story starts, the “bad stuff” happens in the water, with an oyster farming operation. The first folks who fall to the “stuff” are in the water. The “stuff” are not birds and have nothing to do with birds, as far as I can tell. Anyway, when the “stuff” infects people, it’s like their minds are taken over, and they start deading. What does this have to do with the “deading” trend mentioned at the start of the book? Your guess is as good as mine. But this is a thing that happens to most of the town.

Some members of the local ornithological group, mostly older folks but one teen guy, find themselves immune. Is it because of bird watching? I don’t know, but probably not since all of them are not immune. And now they have to, in essence, try to fight back against the townspeople who are infected. We switch among several POVs, which maybe limited how much we’d be able to connect to any one character, unfortunately.

There are some definitely relevant commentaries that are present in the story, but for me, the extraneous topics muddied the waters a bit. There were some interesting pieces, but none of them really came together in any cohesive way. While I liked the concept of the uninfected trying to survive the town, because of all the other stuff, it just didn’t hit as hard. Also, how does this random infection cause “deading”, which, as we are meant to understand it, was basically a TikTok trend? So… I have questions, and most of them went unanswered. Also, too much bird talk.

Bottom Line: Unique and with some relevant commentary, but the various topics just didn’t mesh together in a way that flowed.

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Castle of the Cursed by Romina Garber
Published by Wednesday Books on July 30, 2024
Pages: 304
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley

A delicious and dark gothic romance from bestselling author Romina Garber!

THE HOUSE IS ALWAYS HUNGRY…

After a mysterious attack claims the lives of her parents, all Estela has left is her determination to solve the case. Suffering from survivor’s guilt so intense that she might be losing her grip on reality, she accepts an invitation to live overseas with an estranged aunt at their ancestral Spanish castle, la Sombra.

Beneath its gothic façade, la Sombra harbors a trove of family secrets, and Estela begins to suspect her parents’ deaths may be linked to their past. Her investigation takes a supernatural turn when she crosses paths with a silver-eyed boy only she can see. Estela worries Sebastián is a hallucination, but he claims he’s been trapped in the castle. They grudgingly team up to find answers and as their investigation ignites, so does a romance, mistrust twined with every caress.

As the mysteries pile up, it feels to Estela like everyone in the tiny town of Oscuro is lying and that whoever was behind the attack has followed her to Spain. The deeper she ventures into la Sombra’s secrets, the more certain she becomes that the suspect she’s chasing has already found her . . . and they’re closer than she ever realized.

TW Via Author’s Note: “Dear Reader, Castle of the Cursed is my darkest story and very different from my other books. This is a tale about grief. The narrative addresses suicide, mental health issues, death of a parent, sex, and violence. Please be certain you are in the right mindset to read on.”

This was definitely a unique take on the haunted house story, and I definitely enjoyed it! Estela finds herself shipped off to Spain, months after a terrible tragedy took the lives of her parents and everyone else who was on the subway with them- everyone, that is, except for Estela. She’s obviously going through it- survivor’s guilt, horrific grief, the unbearable pain of wondering if she could have somehow saved them. It’s bad. But after a stint at an inpatient facility, apparently some long-lost family of her mother’s is found- only, those folks are in Spain. And they live in a town that can best be described as… eerily unusual.

At the center of said town is the big ol’ titular castle. And as the title also clues us into, there is something cursed going on. Estela’s family isn’t exactly giving her the warm fuzzies, despite the fact that she’s been to hell and back, they just keep giving her vague warnings to basically tamp down her curiosity. It’s as if they never encountered teens before, and think that “don’t open any doors or investigate anything” won’t just make her do the exact opposite.

But obviously she’s going to dig, because who wouldn’t? I would, and I am an old. So. The townspeople are also a little… different, so Estela is really unsure of who, if anyone, she can trust. There are a lot of great twists and turns, which I appreciated, but also some more introspective moments for Estela to try to figure things out. There is a romance, which did seem a bit insta-lovey to me, and is probably my only complaint. There are times it is quite dark, but there is also some humor to balance it out. Basically, another solid novel from Romina Garber!

Bottom Line: Creepy and dark, but with enough humor and heart to balance it out, this was an atmospheric adventure that I quite enjoyed!

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Time and Time Again by Chatham Greenfield
Published by Bloomsbury YA on July 23, 2024
Pages: 336
Format:ARC, Hardcover
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review

Phoebe Mendel's day is never ending—literally.

On August 6th, she woke up to find herself stuck in a time loop. And for nearly a month of August 6ths since, Phoebe has relived the same day: pancakes with Mom in the morning, Scrabble with Dad in the afternoon, and constant research into how to reach tomorrow and make it to her appointment with a doctor who may actually take her IBS seriously. Everything is exactly, agonizingly the same.

That is, until the most mundane car crash ever sends Phoebe's childhood crush Jess crashing into the time loop.

Now also stuck, Jess convinces Phoebe to break out of her routine and take advantage of their consequence-free days to have fun. From splurging on concert tickets, to enacting (mostly) harmless revenge, to all-night road trips, Jess pulls Phoebe further and further out of her comfort zone—and deeper in love with them. But the more Phoebe falls for Jess, the more she worries about what's on the other side of the time loop. What if Jess is only giving her the time of day because they're trapped with no other options? What if Phoebe's new doctor dismisses her chronic pain? And perhaps worst of all: What if she never gets the chance to find out?

Time and Time Again is so very charming! I love a time loop book, so I had a feeling this would be a hit. I didn’t realize it would be such a feel-good hit, though, which it definitely was. Interestingly, this one starts out mid-loop, if you will. I don’t think I’ve encountered that before, and I enjoyed that take. When we meet Phoebe, she’s in it, and has been for almost a month of August 6ths. She’s almost resolved to it at this point, not that she’s happy about it. But then Jess crashes into the loop- both figuratively and literally, as Jess crashes into Phoebe, with their car, joining the loop.

This is just such a heartfelt book, I am not even sure where to begin! Okay first, there is a ton of great rep. Phoebe has a chronic illness (IBS) and anxiety. Jess is nonbinary, and also has a disability (RA) which they require mobility aids for. Both identify as lesbian, and are Jewish. The thing that I loved is that these are just pieces of what makes each character who they are. Not solely defining, but parts of a whole. They are incredibly well developed, and while they absolutely have flaws, they are also definitely likable and relatable.

Speaking of relatable, whooo boy did I relate to Phoebe. She is so exhausted from doctors not taking her seriously in regards to how much she suffers from her IBS. It broke my heart and made me mad at the same time, because as anyone (especially anyone non-male, and extra especially anyone overweight) knows, the medical world can do a bang-up job of being dismissive of chronic illness/symptoms. Phoebe is desperate to get out of the loop because doing so means she’ll finally get to her appointment with a specialist who she’s heard actually (gasp) listens to patients! But she’s also wayyy too scared to try in earnest to break the loop, which I feel in my bones. Also, when Jess enters the mix, and hints that maybe they have some feelings for Phoebe, Phoebe cannot compute. Which again, I feel on such a spiritual level that I cannot properly word.

Anyway, so these two get into some hijinks- I love that Jess cares so much about Phoebe that they want to get her out of her shell. Both characters have to navigate family issues, friendships, and their growing feelings in a day that simply will not end. Which of course makes all of this so much harder- how do you properly navigate relationships when most of the people in said relationships don’t remember having the conversation? It’s tough!

The book really is lovely, and obviously character is the biggest focus here. But also, time loop shenanigans! Romance! Making new friends, then having them forget they met you! There is just so much to love here, you probably just need to read it for yourself.

Bottom Line: So lovely and heartwarming and just… read the thing!

Have you read any of these books? Plan to? Let us chat about them!