Summer is wrapping up but the good news is that peak reading season (Fall, obviously) is nigh and I’m ready to be curling up with a book on a rainy day already! I read five books this week and the week started out pretty rough, but they got better as the week went on so I’m not too mad about it. We have two new releases, two ARCs, and one audiobook to talk about so let’s get into it!
DNF – No Rating
This is a dark fantasy/gothic horror novel about a young woman who gets a position at a mysterious, magical lodge in the Appalachians, the guests of which are cruel beings known as the Winter folk. Decades after being
cast out, the woman returns with her family, called back to the hauntingly beautiful halls of Deerhaven.
This was unfortunately a DNF which is a shame because I was very on board for the premise. It sounds so whimsical and I think playing up the magic of Deerhaven and the cruel but beautiful fae folk would have been a great contrast when the horror really kicked in (see my essay The Magical Drought; I get a little more sad every time I have to link it to a review). I can’t really speak to the horror because I don’t think I made it far enough to really get any of that (maybe 40% before I dropped it?), but the part of the book I did read wasn’t very magical at all. Moth making the deal with Oslin was a good start but immediate Deerhaven seems like such a profoundly unpleasant place. It’s not scary, and the guests aren’t beautiful and dangerous, they’re just gross and annoying. The protagonist wasn’t interesting to me and I had zero motivation to pick up the book so I just dropped it.
It’s probably not a terrible book but it wasn’t what I wanted it to be and even if I had forced myself through it I doubt it would have been over 3 stars. DNFs happen, and I’m trying to be better about putting things down when I’m not enjoying them, so this is another casualty ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
This is a sci-fi/speculative novel about a man named Scott Treder who, out of the blue, begins to jump forward in time by exponentially increasing intervals. First 24 hours, then 48, soon
weeks, months, years, and centuries at a time. At each stop, he only has 24 hours to spend until the next jump, and the jumps seem unstoppable and inexplicable, even as he travels further into the future than he could ever imagine.
It’s an interesting premise and I think it started out really good. For at least the first third of the book I was really into it, but then it gets action-heavy which is a pretty good way to lose me and increasingly each jump feels kind of pointless and repetitive. Scott’s relationship with his son Lyle is a focal point of the story but obviously Lyle is only alive for a handful of Scott’s jumps and even when he reappears in the story later on their relationship just isn’t that compelling because they really didn’t know each other. Lyle is mostly characterized by his obsession with what’s happening to his father and Scott is kind of a nothing person. It makes sense that he is really consumed by grief and anger at what’s happening to him, but he doesn’t have much of a personality outside of that.
The ending was pretty meh. It’s not really a twist and I wouldn’t say Scott undergoes meaningful character development outside of maybe accepting his fate (which he has no choice but to do). Maybe you’d like it if you like more conceptual/action-heavy sci-fi, but I was pretty sick of it by the end.
Adam, Mine. by K. Ancrum (out 9/8/26)
This was an ARC so you can read my full review here! This is a Queer YA retelling of Frankenstein in which Victor Frankenstein is a brilliant young man studying the alchemical arts, but the scorn and
mockery of his classmates drives him to pursue human reanimation at any cost. After making a man named Elias Hilfiker into a monster and abandoning him, Victor travels across the continent in search of an alchemist that can help him reverse his misdeeds, all while Elias chases after him.
I’ve read a handful of K. Ancrum’s books, and this is neither my favorite nor my least favorite. They have this style with really short chapters that I enjoy and their premises are always super unique, plus in 10th grade I won my school’s fanfic contest for a piece of gay Frankenstein fanfic, so I definitely enjoyed this. The actual plot is pretty different from Frankenstein, but the conversations about morality and the intimate-but-adversarial relationship between Victor and Elias feel pretty true to the original. The plot events aren’t always super engaging but it’s definitely an emotional story and a unique take on a classic.
K. Ancrum is a consistently solid author for me and I enjoy her inventiveness, so I’ll always keep an eye out for what she’s coming out with next!
She’s a Doll by Barbara Truelove (out 9/8/26)
This was an ARC so you can read my full review here! This is a (pretty light) horror novel about a girl named Lucy who is murdered and wakes up possessing a doll, intent on avenging her death. She finds an ally in Nicola,
who has her own score to settle with Lucy’s killer and is the only one who can hear Lucy. Together they plot their revenge, facing the dismissiveness and denial of their small town in pursuit of retribution, because there are few things more dangerous than a promising young man.
This was easily the highlight of the week. I read Truelove’s debut Of Monsters and Mainframes at the end of last year, and She’s a Doll cements her as a talented author with really fun, unique ideas. Balancing humor with dark themes is really challenging, but in this story they feel like really natural compliments because Lucy and Nicola’s situation is both an absolutely horrifying and absolutely ridiculous situation to be in. On one hand, all the hijinks Lucy gets into as a doll like riding around in a remote control car and actively trying to freak people out at the thrift store is funny, but you also feel her intense frustration with the limitations of being a spirit possessing the body of a doll.
Lucy’s murder and Nicola’s own traumatic experience both feel very present in the story but it doesn’t feel like they’re characters are defined by them. The banter and little human moments help give them personality and keep you rooting for them. The pacing is also really solid and the book doesn’t go on too long (which was the one major issue I had with Monsters and Mainframes). There were some hints and plotlines that weirdly didn’t seem to go anywhere (see my full review for details) so if you read it let me know what you make of them. Overall, super enjoyable and satisfying!
Rise of the Evening Star by Brandon Mull (reread)
This is the second book in a middle grade fantasy series following siblings Kendra and Seth as their grandparents introduce them to the hidden magical world, made up of preserves like their own Fablehaven where magical creatures
and beings are kept protected. The second book follows the mounting threat of the Society of the Evening Star, a group that believes magical creatures should roam freely, their ultimate goal being to destroy the preserves and release the great demons from their prison.
I’m rereading this series on audiobook. It was one of my favorites as a kid and I’ve probably read the whole series a dozen times, but genuinely it really holds up. I think it can totally be enjoyed regardless of age, although I’m probably a little biased by nostalgia. Mull does a great job establishing a fantasy world that is both enchanting and horribly dangerous, the pacing is always perfect, and there are actual consequences including major character deaths (frankly, the same can’t be said for plenty of adult fantasy series). If you read YA/middle grade regularly, this is a must-read, and even if you don’t I would absolutely recommend it if you just want a simply well-crafted fantasy series. I have the next audiobook in the series and I can’t wait because I remember the third and fourth books being my favorites as a kid!
Alright week overall, definitely a rough start but the ARCs came through in the end and of course it’s just a joy to return to the world of Fablehaven. As for the plan for next week, I still have my ARC of Strange is the Light by Sarah Maria Griffin (out 9/8) which I mentioned at the end of my last wrap up to get to. I also have an ARC of Trad Wife by Sarah Langan (out 9/29) which I’m very excited for, since I caught trad wife fever after reading Girl Dinner and Yesteryear last year. Checked out from the library, I have The Demon Star by Jesse Aragon which is an epic fantasy/sci-fi that I’ve only heard good things about. I also still have The Revenant of Surolifia by Florence Chien checked out which is a queer political intrigue fantasy, and that’s really all you need to say to sell me on a book. I’ll be continuing Fablehaven with the third book on audio, and I randomly got the impulse to reread Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston which I haven’t done in years, so that’s also a possibility. Lots to look forward to!
Have you read any of these? Did I convince you to read one of them (or not to read one of them)? By all means, let me know what you’ve enjoyed recently or what you’re looking forward to!
Happy reading!
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