Guys, this was such a great batch of books! I recommend each of these, and for like, way different reasons. We’ve got creepy end-of-the-world horror, romantic self-discovery, and everything in between! So find you some books, friends!
American Rapture by C.J. Leede
Us Against the Likes by Marie Voinson
Under the Heron’s Light by Randi Pink
It Will Only Hurt for a Moment by Delilah S. Dawson
Tangleroot by Kalela Williams
Run by Blake Crouch
Remember You Will Die by Eden Robins
American Rapture by C.J. Leede
Published by Tor Nightfire on October 15, 2024
Pages: 384
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley 
A virus is spreading across America, transforming the infected and making them feral with lust. Sophie, a good Catholic girl, must traverse the hellscape of the midwest to try to find her family while the world around her burns. Along the way she discovers there are far worse fates than dying a virgin.
I loved Maeve Fly, the author’s debut. And then she comes out with an apocalypse book!? Come on, like I would ever not! And then bonus, one of the best covers ever? How would this live up to the hype I made up in my head?! Idk friends, but it did. It somehow did. Know what else I love? That the synopsis tells you almost nothing. This is good, more of this please, publishers! I love to go into a book without anything given away, except the bare essentials. So here, we know a couple of things: It’s a bad time for Americans, specifically our main character Sophie, and also, her family and background is pretty batshit.
Now, Sophie and the fam in this book are Catholic. I feel like there are several varieties of Catholic folks, one of which is the nun who taught at my high school and told us about how she got felt up at the movies, and one of which is Sophie’s parents with the shame and guilt and purity rings. I also assume there are a ton of levels in between, but reading has expanded my Catholicism world view, as I thought Catholic people were more chill than your run of the mill evangelical nutbag, but see, this is why we read!
Anyway, this apocalypse is so delightfully messed up, just as I knew it would be from the author’s previous work. I did not expect how very heartfelt and emotional it would be, too! I ended up falling in love with the characters, and of course could not stop reading because of the intense plot and excitement, either. And the commentary? Absolutely ::chef’s kiss::.
Bottom Line: You don’t need any more of my weird digressions, but you do need to read this book. It is one of my favorites of the year!
Us Against the Likes by Marie Voinson
Published by Marie Voinson on October 20, 2024
Pages: 336
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by author for review
An (anxious) travel influencer, a sister (first and forever), a (hopefully) future award winner.
Against her mother’s wishes, Abby Martins drops out of university to follow her dream: share her travel stories with the world.
With over 90 000 followers and her sister’s help, a talented photographer and her forever best friend, Abby’s thriving on this new path. She’s managing her anxiety (for the most part) and she’s (almost) making a living out of her passion.Winning a prestigious travel influencer award might just be the thing to push her off that ledge.
Desperate to prove herself, Abby steps out of her comfort zone. From Scotland to Italy, from unexpected influencer trips to thrilling collaborations, Abby stretches herself and her own mental health thin for the likes.
But what, and most importantly, who, will she risk to lose on her way?
Us Against The Likes is a heartwarming college-aged YA book about how social media shapes us - and changes us. Perfect for fans of Amelia Diane Coombs and Kara McDowell.
CW at start: “Us Against the Likes is a work of fiction, but it deals with many real mental health issues such as anxiety and panic attacks. Take care of yourselves, first and always.”
I won’t lie, I was so thrilled when Marie was looking for early reviewers, because I have loved reading her blog and chatting back and forth with her for many years now. Then, I was nervous, because how do you review books by people you actually like? (This, I assume, is why most authors end up not reviewing after they become friendly with other authors!) And this book felt quite personal, in fact- though far as I can tell, Marie isn’t risking her life dangling off of bridges, it is very clear that she poured her soul into this one. Happily, I report that I quite adored this book!
Now, you’ll note, it is not my usual fare- it is much more… well-adjusted than you’re used to from me, but every so often I like to take a break from the doom, gloom, and general end of days and lighten things up! Especially if it contains some of my favorite contemporary topics, which this one does! I’m going to be fully up front and say that my one struggle was that it took me a bit of time to warm up to Abby. But I did, so if you find yourself there too, I really think you’ll come around to love the story like I did.
Abby is so relatable in her imperfection, and that was really the crux of this story for me. She makes some mistakes, no question. But I loved the reasons she makes them! They’re so valid. I cannot tell you how many times, as I was reading, I had to internally cringe- because I had done something so similar to Abby! There is something about reading a character with the same insecurities, who makes the same mistakes you have that feels so validating. Like yes, we all have our moments of doubt, our mistakes, our cringe-worthy moments, but it is all about the journey and coming out on the other side.
I also really loved the family focus here. I was unsurprised to see a sisterly bond here, but I loved it all the same. My favorite part is that it too felt very realistic- like relationships can grow and change but there is still that core love there. Oh, and the travel! My wanderlust knows no bounds, so while I’m stuck in my rinky-dink town, Abby let me explore the world for a bit and for that, I was quite appreciative!
A few more pluses: Super mental health positive, realistic character growth that doesn’t feel forced, and a lot of great side characters/relationships along the way!
Bottom Line: I closed this book with a smile on my face, and that’s worth everything.
Under the Heron's Light by Randi Pink
Published by Feiwel & Friends on October 15, 2024
Pages: 352
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley
Inspired by stories about the real-world Great Dismal Swamp, this dual POV Young Adult fantasy by Randi Pink explores alternate history, a family’s supernatural connections to the swamp, and the strength that comes in knowing your roots.
“Four-thousand-six-hundred-forty-two steps in,” Grannylou interrupted. “You remember that now, Baby. Four-thousand-six-hundred-forty-two steps to paradise.”On a damp night in 1722, Babylou Mac and her three siblings witness the murder of their mother at the hands of the preacher’s son—so Babylou kills him in retaliation. With plantation dogs now on their heels, the four siblings breach the treacherous confines of the Great Dismal Swamp. Deeper and deeper into Dismal they delve, amid the biting moccasins and pitch-black waters, eventually creating a refuge within the swamp’s natural—and supernatural—protection.Centuries later, college student Atlas comes home for the annual Bornday cookout and hog a celebration of the fact that she and her three cousins were all born on the same day almost nineteen years ago and share a birthday with their Grannylou. But this Bornday, Grannylou’s usual riddles and folktales about a marvelous paradise deep in the Great Dismal Swamp start to take on a tangible quality. Change coming.When Dismal calls, sucking Grannylou in, it’s up to Atlas and her cousins to uncover the history that the black waters hold. Centuries of family tension, with roots all over Virginia and North Carolina, are about to be dug up. Because Babylou and Grannylou are one and the same, and the power she helped cultivate—steeped in Black resistance, familial love, and the otherworldly mysteries of the Great Dismal Swamp—is bubbling back up. But so is a bitterness that runs deep as the swamp’s waters. And some are ready to take what they feel they’re owed.
There is so much to like about Under the Heron’s Light, so very much. Between the characters, both current and from the 1700s, as well as the historical and familial pieces that are woven together. I loved that this was based on true places and stories, and I loved how the past and present wove together, parallels the real world via this tale. The writing was also lovely, and had a lyrical quality to it.
Now, I will say that while I loved all of those elements, I felt a little lost at times with the magical part. That might be on me, honestly, because I do struggle with the magical and/or symbolic pieces in books sometimes. At times, it just felt that there were a lot of words to lead to not a lot of story, if that makes sense? A bit heavy handed at times, but overall, I really did appreciate what the story was doing. My only other complaint is that while I did really like the characters, I never felt like they were connecting to each other all that much. They were supposed to be very close, and I just didn’t always feel that.
It’s definitely atmospheric, and it was definitely emotionally compelling, especially seeing what Grannylou had to go through in her youth. And I did like the family connections that happened in regard to her and her siblings, as well as Atlas’s connection to Grannylou- those all felt much more cohesive to me.
Bottom Line: So atmospheric with lovely writing and a great tale woven through generations.
It Will Only Hurt for a Moment by Delilah S. Dawson
Published by Del Rey on October 22, 2024
Pages: 368
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley
In this highly atmospheric thriller from the Bram Stoker Award–nominated author of The Violence, a young woman hopes to reinvent herself at an isolated artists’ colony . . . only to be drawn into its dark, twisted past.
Sarah Carpenter is starting over.
She’s on the run—leaving behind her unsupportive, narcissistic ex-boyfriend and alcoholic, abusive mother—and headed for a new beginning at Tranquil Falls, a secluded artists’ colony on the grounds of a closed hotel. There, with no cell signal or internet to distract her, she hopes to rediscover her love for pottery and put the broken pieces of her life back together.
But when Sarah uncovers the body of a young woman while digging a hole for a pit kiln, things start to fall apart. Her fellow artists begin to act in troubling ways. The eccentric fiber artist knits an endless scarf. The musician plays the same carousel song over and over until his fingers bleed. The calligrapher grins with ink-stained teeth. Not to mention the haunting dreams Sarah has night after night.
When she discovers glass shards in her clay, Sarah wonders if someone is out to get her—or if she’s losing her grip on reality out here in the wilds, where the pounding of the waterfall never, ever fades. As she investigates the beautiful valley and the crumbling resort looming over them all, she unearths a chilling past that refuses to remain buried . . .
When a book opens with a woman leaving a terrible relationship with a crappy person to live her own life and do stuff for herself, I am obviously going to be hooked. Like that is all I need! Even if I don’t care about art and pottery and stuff, I’m down. Yes, go to this bizarro retreat in the woods that sounds sketchy as hell, you do you, girl! So what do you need to know here? Well. First, the atmosphere is on point. I mean sure it is an isolated retreat with cabins in the woods, but the author does an amazing job of making it feel the perfect amount of sketchy- like, it has to be believably habitable, otherwise no one would go there, yet it still has to be weird enough to give you the heebie jeebies. Nailed it.
Then, like okay, the art stuff was whatever, and I did have some trouble keeping track of some of the characters, but the story was great. Sarah is trying to find her sense of self again, and heal, after a really awful relationship. You cannot help but cheer her on, because it’s such a relatable and rough situation. And then when she starts finding all these things creeping up… well I won’t say too much because that is the fun of the book. I had a feeling that certain things would end up happening, but not in a way that took away any enjoyment. A few of the more paranormal bits probably weren’t my faves, but again, the story as a whole more than made up for it. I was so eager to figure out who was doing what, what the heck Sarah stumbled upon out there, and why this place was such a mess- and how it had flown under the radar so long. So many questions, and I craved answers- I imagine you will, too!
Bottom Line: Sarah runs from a relationship mess headfirst into another mess full of mysteries and mayhem.
Tangleroot by Kalela Williams
Published by Feiwel & Friends on October 15, 2024
Pages: 336
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley
Noni Reid has grown up in the shadow of her mother, Dr. Radiance Castine, renowned scholar of Black literature, who is alarmingly perfect at just about everything.
When Dr. Castine takes a job as the president of the prestigious Stonepost College in rural Virginia, Noni is forced to leave her New England home and, most importantly, a prime internship and her friends. She and her mother move into the “big house” on Tangleroot Plantation.
Tangleroot was built by one of Noni’s ancestors, an enslaved man named Cuffee Fortune―who Dr. Castine believes was also the original founder of Stonepost College, and that the school was originally formed for Black students. Dr. Castine spends much of her time trying to piece together enough undeniable truth in order to change the name of the school in Cuffee’s honor―and to force the university to reckon with its own racist past.
Meanwhile, Noni hates everything about her new home, but finds herself morbidly fascinated by the white, slaveholding family who once lived in it. Slowly, she begins to unpeel the layers of sinister history that envelop her Virginia town, her mother’s workplace, her ancestry―and her life story as she knew it. Through it all, she must navigate the ancient prejudices of the citizens in her small town, and ultimately, she finds herself both affirming her mother’s position and her own―but also discovering a secret that changes everything.
Content Warning from the Author: Tangleroot is a work of fiction, but it’s inspired by history, as well as problematic parts of our present-day. So there are disturbing elements in this novel: ideology and language that is racist and otherwise offensive; sexual harassment and assault; and graphic violence. Please take care as you read. For a list of resources that might be helpful as you process this book, please visit my website, kalelawilliams.com.
This was quite the story, and I really enjoyed it. I will admit, it wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but that isn’t a bad thing! Noni is thriving, ready to head off to her dream college, and start and internship and basically ready to grab life by the horns. Until her parents split, and her mother insists she move with her to Virginia, upending all of Noni’s plans. I was flat out infuriated by this woman, frankly. We’ll get to that, but man, she can go float herself.
Anyway, Noni is distraught, as you’d imagine. But as she spends time in Virginia, she finds herself down a rabbit hole of ancestry and the history of the town, especially the house they’re living in. And look, I feel her, I end up down ancestry rabbit holes all the time, and I was glad that she found something to care about. Doesn’t excuse ol’ Mom’s nonsense, but we’ll go with it. I found myself very invested in Noni’s story, and the story she was researching. The historical bits were very compelling, and very readable. I also was very invested in all of her relationships with her parents, her friends, and the new people she meets in town.
Here’s the thing: while I really enjoyed reading this, and devoured the story, I still feel pretty squicky about how the whole controlling mother business was handled. In that it wasn’t. This is not okay, and my big issue is that I don’t want young women to think it is. View Spoiler »
Bottom Line: If we eliminate the controlling parent portion (or the lack of handling of it, perhaps) this would be a solid 4.5. But we can’t, and so I have to address that in the numerical rating.
Run by Blake Crouch
Published by Ballantine Books on October 22, 2024
Pages: 336
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley
No time to think. No time to ask why. Only time to run.
Five days ago, the epidemic of rage began.
Four days ago, the rash of senseless murders swept the nation.
Three days ago, the president addressed the country and begged for peace--even as the murders increased tenfold.
Two days ago, the killers began to mobilize.
One day ago, the power went out.
And tonight, the killers are reading the names of those to be killed over the Emergency Broadcast System.
Jack Colclough is listening over the battery-powered radio on his kitchen table in Albuquerque, and he just heard his name. People are coming to his house to kill him, his wife, his daughter, and his son.
He has no idea what's happening, or why, but the time for questions is long past.
His only chance is to run.
Following an ordinary family on a desperate race through an America that's destroying itself, Run is a terrifying, brutally stripped-down thriller from master storyteller Blake Crouch.
As with any Blake Crouch fare, I simply could not put this book down. Like, could not. I want to tell you everything about this, but I also want to tell you absolutely nothing about this because you should experience for yourself! So I will tell you a few things, and then it’s on you, okay? Great.
- This should be a show. I would watch it- nay, I’d devour it. It is all the best things- family and emotion and morally gray choices and apocalypses! Name things I like more, I’ll wait.
- Like I said, I could not stop reading. It was horrifically high stakes, and I needed to know everything.
- Action, yes, but also characters! Sometimes in thrilling fare like this, characters can get lost in the shuffle. Not so, here! The characters are beautifully flawed and relatable and fleshed out.
- So very thought provoking. I mean. How can it not be? How far would you go to save your loved ones? How would you react at the end of civility? Delicious.
Bottom Line: Stop reading this review, and start reading Run.
Remember You Will Die by Eden Robins
Published by Sourcebooks Landmark on October 22, 2024
Pages: 336
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley
"Can the absence of words tell a story? Like a pattern in lace, the holes as important as the threads?"
A search. A puzzle. Sixty protagonists―all of whom are dead.
Told entirely through obituaries and ricocheting through time, Remember You Will Die is an innovative, genre-bending epic about the messy tapestry of human history and the threads that connect us, told through the eyes of Peregrine, an AI mother grappling with the unexpected death of her human daughter, Poppy.
And from the newspaper clippings of individual lives emerges something else unexpected: generations entwined through blood and art and the consequences of their actions, betrayals and redemptions that traverse our dying world and beyond.
Spanning continents, centuries, planets, and genres, and centering a diverse mix of human experiences, Remember You Will Die is a provocative exploration of who we are and what we could be.
I was worried when I picked this lovely book up, because the reviews have not been kind to it. But wow, I feel like I have read a whole different book because I was positively mesmerized by this one! Now, full disclosure: I was a weirdo child who read the obituaries every morning as I ate my bagel. This is what I did, for as long as I can remember. Heck, I remember frequently reading obits for folks born in the 1800s, so clearly I was young when I started this. Anyway, I still read them on my lunch break because honestly, I like reading people’s stories. It makes me sad to think that no one will. I digress, but it felt like I needed to explain this, since this is, quite literally, a book of obituaries.
But it isn’t just obituaries thrown into a book and slapped together! No, they connect to each other, and to a broader narrative that spans centuries! How fun! How clever! I seriously do not get what people do not like about this, but I guess that’s why there’s chocolate and vanilla, eh? But wait, there’s more! We have alt-history, quirky characters out the wazoo, and a lot of moments that made me smile, surprisingly enough. And yeah, obviously there are deeper, harder, even unfathomably sadder moments. Because it’s obituaries. But it doesn’t have an overall depressing tone- it has a… well, a realistic tone, that shows that life is full of the good and the bad. And you know, remember you will die.
Bottom Line: This surpassed all my expectations and left me feeling very… human.
Love seeing all the glowing reviews for Marie’s book. I am so excited for her!
Wow, this is a great bunch! I mean how can you not love American Rapture? It might make my top five books of the year. And I’m about to finish Run today and OMG what a stressful book! I’m like, what else can you do to these poor people??😬
oohhh so glad you had a streak of amazing books! Run intrigued me the most, although I’m ashamed to admit I still haven’t read Dark Matter 😂 Then there’s also the TV show…I have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to this author 😅
OOh nice! I was curious about Delilah Dawson’s new one but thought I’d wait for the paperback release, but it sounds like it’s right up my alley! Just saw her on tour for Guillotine which I still need to read, had loosely hoped they could’ve had this one two weeks early but I knew it was a stretch! Lol. Glad to hear it was a winner!
Ohhhhh an interesting collection here! Marie’s book strikes me as not just charming, but relatable in theme because how many of us *haven’t* had an instances where we followed a dream or expectation or something we thought we’d excel at, only to have our mental health take a dive? Being excited about a thing doesn’t mean that anxiety or depression or PTSD just evaporate…and in fact, you can be doing what you love and still Not OK, but nobody talks about that. So I’m excited to read it just for that small rep. <3
What part of Virginia does Tangleroot take place in? Moving here, I've discovered all sorts of historic craziness (the latest has been people trying to help genealogists when it comes to having a mass slave grave on your property, because records were rarely, if ever, kept about those buried, and they weren't marked at all). I can imagine struggling with finding your roots in this state as a Black person, all too easily. I'm sorry to hear that the mom's controlling nature is never addressed, though.
Remember You Will Die sounds like a tough sell, with its format. I'm feeling compelled to read it just because….told through obits, which aren't narratively lengthy or anything, is such a fresh take. And the fact that it wove a cohesive story and managed to remind us we're all united by our mortality, without being depressing AF, is intriguing.
Thanks for the reviews!