book reviews Review: Saltcrop by Yume Kitasei August 27, 2025 / January 26, 2026 by Eddie M. | Leave a Comment Saltcrop is a beautifully written eco-thriller that balances sweeping speculative world-building with intimate character drama. Yume Kitasei delivers a narrative that is both urgent and heartfelt—a story of survival, love, and the lengths we go to protect both family and planet. Fans of character-driven speculative fiction with ecological resonance—think Bannerless or Walkaway—will find much to […] Read more » eco-thriller Fiction Thriller
book reviews Review: Automatic Noodles August 24, 2025 / July 11, 2026 by nikatichi | Leave a Comment Author – Annalee Newitz Have you seen the hit show “The Bear”? You have? good. Now imagine that show taking place in a post-war U.S.A. and California has seceded from the U.S.. Replace the crew with bots, specifically H.E.E.I. (Human Equivalant Embodied Intelligence), and make the cuisine spicy noodles. Presto, you have Automatic Noodles. A […] Read more » Sci-Fi SF
book reviews Review: Summer War August 22, 2025 / August 27, 2025 by nikatichi | Leave a Comment Author – Naomi Novik Summer War is a once-upon-a-time epic fantasy told in under a hundred pages. It’s also my introduction to Naomi Novik. A bite sized sampler loaded with battles, royal family dynamics, sorcery, mythical beasts, and a race of immortal beings, this novella feels like a portal into Naomi Novik’s universe of works, […] Read more » Fairytale fantasy Novella
book reviews Katabasis August 22, 2025 / August 22, 2025 by Star Cat Books | Leave a Comment Katabasis, by R. F. Kuang, is a story about two graduate students who use “Magick” to venture to the uniquely imagined depths of hell crafted by Kuang in order to rescue their doctoral thesis advisor who was mysteriously found not just dead, but torn to pieces atop a chalked alchemical circle the main charater had […] Read more » Classical literature fantasy New Adult young adult
book reviews Review: Midnight Timetable August 22, 2025 / January 26, 2026 by Eddie M. | Leave a Comment The Midnight Timetable unfolds like a nocturnal dream—or perhaps a nightmare—set within the creeping corridors of a mysterious research institute where cursed objects aren’t just stored, they speak. Tasked with the night shift, our unnamed protagonist navigates echoing hallways and vanishing doors, cataloging relics that carry human emotions and histories far darker than they appear. […] Read more » Sci-Fi Thriller
book reviews Review: Lucky Day August 22, 2025 / January 26, 2026 by Eddie M. | Leave a Comment Lucky Day is a wild, existential horror‑thriller that throws you head‑first into the absurd. Vera, a brilliant bisexual statistics professor, is haunted by a world‑shattering “Low‑Probability Event” that kills eight million people in bizarre, improbable ways. Her grip on meaning vanishes—until Special Agent Layne, part of a shadowy government commission, turns her world around by recruiting […] Read more » LGBTQ Sci-Fi Thriller
book reviews Review: The Macabre August 20, 2025 / August 22, 2025 by nikatichi Author – Kosoko Jackson Delightfully dark while shining light on empathy, family, and selflessness, “The Macabre” isn’t specifically horror, or a gorefest of any kind, but some of the scenes depicted made my skin crawl. It’s a blend of Fantasy and Horror with several unforgettable moments. Unfortunately, while the story and characters were fun, it […] Read more » blackauthors booktok fantasy horror horror fantasy lgbtq authors
book reviews Review: “The Resurrectionist” August 20, 2025 / August 22, 2025 by nikatichi Author – Kathleen S. Allen “What exactly would happen when someone was resurrected? Would they lose their souls? Would they become less of a person?” “I had set out to conquer death, and instead became its best patron” Kathleen S. Allen makes it very clear that Mary Shelley is a direct inspiration, but “The Resurrectionist” […] Read more » Gothic horror young adult
book reviews Review: Hemlock & Silver August 19, 2025 / September 27, 2025 by Star Cat Books Part mystery, part very slight romance, part quite intricate and fascinating fantasy, and part horror. This book drew me in and I couldn’t stop reading. Read more » fantasy mystery
book reviews REVIEW: The Adventures of Mary Darling by Pat Murphy August 17, 2025 / August 17, 2025 by Star Cat Books | Leave a Comment Mary Darling is not the prim & proper young mother society and her neighbors thing she is. Mary Darling, for instance, belongs to a weekly “exercise” session for “umbrellas” (read: sabers) with other women like her. When she and her husband, George, who fecklessly left their giant protective dog Nanna tied outside while they went […] Read more » Fairy tale fantasy
