Kirkus: [I]t’s refreshing to read . . . A breezy, beachy teen love story
Feb 072023
February 7, 2023
Feb 032023
Publishers Weekly: In this twisting and pitch-black horror tale from Khaw (Nothing but Blackened Teeth), a voiceless mermaid plucked from the ocean ventures into a snowy forest alongside a melancholy plague doctor. These unlikely traveling companions soon encounter a village of mutilated children and uncover the architects of this bizarre encampment: three surgeons obsessed with immortality and the reconstitution of the body. As more of the village’s terrible secrets come to light, the mermaid and the plague doctor must rely on each other to survive. Khaw’s prose is rich and gorgeous (“In my dreams, I still swim that soundless black, still travel its eddies of salt and cold nothing”), and the surprising tenderness at the story’s heart is only magnified by the violence and gore that surround it. Both elements prove devastatingly effective in constructing a folklore-infused world that feels wholly unique for contemporary horror fiction. Expertly blending a gothic atmosphere with elements of splatterpunk, this brilliant novella is not to be missed.
February 3, 2023
Jan 172023
School Library Journal: Excellent insight on life and relationships in this debut that teens can take away from this beautiful, slow-burn contemporary romance…. Fans of Rachel Lynn Solomon and John Green will not be able to put this one down. It will fit right in with the YA collection of any public library.
January 17, 2023
Jan 122023
Library Journal: In the aftermath of the troubles from the previous book, The Queen’s Weapons, three young women must make decisions which will affect not only themselves, but those around them, as Witch provides them with guidance. Queen-in-training Zoey may now be safe within the walls of SaDiablo Hall, but she is still vulnerable to those with sharp tongues and dark thoughts. When a stranger arrives at the hall looking for sanctuary, Zoey’s attempts at friendship could put everyone around her in danger. Meanwhile, Jillian is preparing for her rite of passage that ensures she’ll keep her witch power and the jewels she wears, but a heart secret means facing her powerful family members and their lethally protective natures. Then there’s Saetien, who travels away to discover information, which may finally let her face her own truths as daughter of the High Lord of Hell.
VERDICT A fine continuation of the “Black Jewels” series, keeping the legacy alive with its tangled web of family and power. Bishop’s devoted fans will devour this, while readers of Nalini Singh and Ilona Andrews who enjoy high fantasy may want to start this series from the beginning.
January 12, 2023
Jan 102023
Publishers Weekly: [A] tech-driven debut about love, fate, and change.
January 10, 2023
Jan 052023
Library Journal: This is a thrilling combination of traditional SF space travel and forward-thinking examinations of what “humanity” will mean in the future. With its blend of science fiction and social justice concepts, this will appeal to advanced teen and adult readers alike who enjoy progressive science fiction.
January 5, 2023
Dec 142022
Entertainment Weekly: Making their adult fiction debut, Wibberley and Siegemund-Broka, a couple turned writing duo turned husband and wife, have crafted a book about two writing partners, Katrina Freeling and Nathan Van Huysen, who are themselves in denial about their romantic feelings for each other all while they write about other complicated couples. It’s a meta mind-trip that sets the stage (or the page, rather) for a meditation on writing, the power of prose, and the terrible cost of fear. Few books this year understood so deeply the thrall of books, and the freedom of only revealing one’s truest self in the pages of fiction. The Roughest Draft is an angsty tale of two emotionally blocked writers figuring out how to be honest with each other, but it’s also an ode to the ways in which stories can expose our vulnerabilities if we let them.
December 14, 2022
Dec 062022
Publishers Weekly: Romance readers will have a blast.
December 6, 2022
Nov 292022
Kirkus: The world presented here is rich and complicated, [and] the love story, plus plenty of jaw-dropping space scenes, will reward readers.
November 29, 2022
Nov 232022
Booklist: Divya’s latest (after Machinehood, 2021) is full of twists and turns to keep readers glued to the pages, with rich worldbuilding that will truly invest them in the character’s fates. MERU transcends genres and will appeal to fans of science fiction, philosophy, and fantasy.
November 23, 2022