I've been digging myself out of quite the NetGalley hole. I'm about 40 ARCs deep on NetGalley (yikes!) and I have a few physical ARCs to catch up on as well. However, I've been making some progress on some of my longest overdue reads—and reading some other stellar releases that deserve shoutouts!
I couldn't put this down once I started. It was so engrossing! I found the characters really captivating and the reveals at the end of the book were heartbreakingly satisfying. This was a really powerful exploration of trauma and violence and power. I really enjoyed the end message being that Terren is human, is a victim, and yet he *cannot* be allowed to take the throne. There isn't redemption - but there is understanding and empathy, and I haven't read many books lately that take that angle. I also thought Terran and his brother finding peace in death and returning to each other was a beautiful way to end the book. I was sad that Wei didn't return to her family in the end but it was clear that she'd been too changed to fit back into her old life - which is another theme that I find both satisfying and heartbreaking. I love that Bramble wants this to be a cornerstone of their imprint because this book *is* about love, even if it isn't a romance or romantasy, and I love that Bramble is providing space for this kind of story. Overall, I really loved this and I can't believe it's a debut - I can't wait to see what she writes next.
This absolutely destroyed me. I don't want to say too much in my review because I think the less you know going in, the better it is. But I will say that this successfully maximized the heartbreak of the time travel and loops and I'm SO impressed that Harrow was able to string together so many beautiful little details and foreshadowing moments so effectively. Every little detail and comment is important!! Getting to the end was like watching a very complex tapestry be woven. I think this book will haunt me long after finishing it. Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I was in love with the concept of this cozy fantasy from the start! A necromancy-based world where an undead Death Knight orc sheds his duty and becomes a chef?? My kind of read, through and through. It was ultimately held back by a large ensemble cast that lacked deeper characterization + a sometimes juvenile writing style for my taste. However, this was a heartwarming story of an orc reconnecting with his people, his culture, and his life - with a hefty dash of chosen family themes to pull at your heartstrings. Thank you to Bindery and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I couldn't put this down once I started it. This was an absolutely gutting read, and while it is a zombie apocalypse book, the true horror isn't just the zombies. The horror is in the things we do to other people, the choices we make to try and survive, the things we endure to make it just one more day. This new republication with "Please Remain Calm" included is sharp, focused, and heart-wrenching. I cried through the end of Rhys's story, but for all its horror, I was still so proud of Sloane. Summers mentions that she's known for writing unlikeable female leads—I can see how people would dislike Sloane, but I loved her so much as our lead character. If you enjoy zombie stories, horror, or stories about what we do to survive, you have to pick this one up. Thank you to Bindery and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is another book where I want to say less rather than more so that readers go in pretty blind! I can tell you that if a cross between The Yellow Wallpaper and a psychological horror haunted house mystery, then this is for you.
Without spoilers, there is a villain by the end—and yet I found myself with sympathy despite it all. Drews walks a tight line, writing two fascinatingly complex and toxic leads in Elodie and Bren, and watching them fall apart through this horror novel was a wild ride. This was a gutting exploration of the horror of the traditional family unit, the way we fail autistic children when we refuse to provide them the support they need, and the way many mothers drown under the burdens of child-raising. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I was so excited at the idea of a queer Celtic mythology novel! This was right up my alley but unfortunately, it fell flat for me. The dialog felt very one-dimensional at times and didn't pull me into the characters or the world. While I enjoyed the mythology, I ultimately didn't connect with Mallt and Belis. I think it make just be a disconnect with O'Neill's writing style for me! Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was a slow read for me. From the start, the world-building was incredibly dense and technical. This was intentional, as we follow characters who work in the "skunkworks", the machinery that keeps the physics of our universe working. I'll be the first to admit that a lot of the physics jargon went completely over my head because that's not my strong suit—and I do think you can read and enjoy this book without any extra knowledge in that area. However, it really slowed down the first section of the book for me and made it a lot harder to get into it.
Additionally, the characters in the first half felt flat and almost cartoonish at times. Thankfully, the story picked up in the second half and the characterization felt much more natural as it went on! I enjoyed the food descriptions the most, and this story does a wonderful job exploring a unique sci-fi premise alongside generational trauma and immigrant diaspora. Daniel and Ahdi were really fun characters but I struggled with Chris, who felt like a cartoon villain rather than an abusive sibling.
If you like hard science fiction, this might be a good fit for you! Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Have you read anything you've loved lately?