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Being a fan of the general true crime genre, I had heard of In Cold Blood, but really knew nothing about it. I decided it was time to go ahead and listen to the audiobook, and it's clearly a classic for a reason. With gorgeous writing and a compelling story, In Cold Blood is a fantastic book.

One of the things that stands out most to me about this book is the incredible descriptions of the Kansas farmland and life that was so familiar to the Clutter family. Capote has a gift for setting the scene and really creating a sense of place for his readers. His work in showing the life that the Clutters would have lived and who they knew really helps set the scene for their tragic story.

The book is divided between the story of the murders — and the subsequent investigation — and what the killers did while on the run from the police. Capote got access to not only the investigators and townspeople for this book, he spend hours interviewing the killers themselves. The result is a deep and intricate narrative that should be taken with a grain of salt (there is a huge amount of manufactured conversations, for example), but the facts of the case are there as far as I can tell.

This 'non-fiction' novel is a gorgeous and brutal read that will be perfect for true crime and literary readers alike. I'd highly recommend picking up the audiobook!

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Content warnings: misogynistic and racist language, murder, gore

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I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This review is spoiler-free.


I am a huge fan of Tasha Suri's books so The Jasmine Throne was, of course, one of my most anticipated books of the year. Unsurprisingly, I absolutely loved it!

When I think of Suri's books, there are a few things that leap to mind:

- Gorgeous worldbuilding
- Beautiful and unique magic systems
- Amazing female characters
- Fantastic, slow burn romances

All of these things are featured in The Jasmine Throne, and I couldn't be more in love with this book.

Suri builds a beautiful, yet tumultuous world with conflicts across politics, religion, social class, and the colonial government. This world is so lush that it comes to life on the page -- this is one of those rare fantasy books where, despite the magic, it genuinely feels like a real place. The magic infused in this world is haunting and gorgeous -- I love nature horror and this book surprisingly scratched that itch. Between the rot and the deathless waters, Suri has once again proved she's one of the best worldbuilders in the business.

The Jasmine Throne showcases strong female characters, but each woman is so individual and different. They are complicated, morally grey, and fantastic women that are willing to fight for what they believe is right. Suri showcases different kinds of strength through her characters: they are physically strong (Priya), have the emotional fortitude to prop up empires (Malani), and willing to do whatever it takes to save the people they love, no matter the personal cost (Bhumika). The relationships, both romantic and familial, are so incredibly intricate and Suri weaves incredibly connections between her characters.

I could go on and on (and on) about how much I loved this book. If you're a fan of Tasha Suri's previous books, you'll love this ambitious and bold fantasy book. I could not recommend it more highly!

I am very much not the right reader for this book.

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse is basically a collection of short, uplifting quotes on life and friendship -- it's the 'Live, Laugh, Love' of books. I'm too much of a cynical old cow to really enjoy something like this, despite clinical depression.

The illustrations are gorgeous, especially the ones in colour. The writing, presumably the illustrator's handwriting, is nearly incomprehensible. I'm good at deciphering poor handwriting -- it actually used to be part of my job many years ago (don't ask) -- but I found myself squinting at the pages trying to figure out what the words were.

I'd advise getting a copy from the library to see what you think before investing.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

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This whole series has been super cute and wholesome, but Heartstopper volume 4 goes into more emotional depth, which I really enjoyed. Nick and Charlie continue to be the cutest, but this volume dives deep into mental health in such an effective way. This is my favourite book in the series so far and I can't wait for volume 5!

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

CW: eating disorder, mental health, homophobia

Spotted this on the new AudiblePlus catalogue and decided to give it a bash. It’s a good not quite fantasy, not quite horror short story about a troubled girl and her friend on the other side of the mirror. Would recommend if you want a nice, short listen.

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I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This review is spoiler-free.

I am a huge fan of Clark’s books. I discovered him during the pandemic while scrolling through Scribd and he quickly became one of my favourite authors — I totally fell in love with his lush worlds and amazing characters. My favourite of his works are his Cairo stories, so you can imagine how excited I was to hear that A Master of Djinn would be a full length novel!

First things first, you may be wondering if you need to read the other books in this series in order to understand and enjoy A Master of Djinn — I don’t think you do. If you’re on the fence, I’d recommend picking up the short story A Dead Djinn in Cairo, as it introduces Fatma and Siti, and there are some references to that story in A Master of Djinn (and it’s fabulous!). But you really can dive into this novel without reading the first two stories.

There’s a lot to love about Clark’s vision of an alternate Cairo — he creates a gorgeous world filled with djinn and everyday people with a touch of magic. What I loved about A Master of Djinn is the way he seamlessly blends familiar, real-world history with fantasy elements. In this world, conflicts and politics evolve with the introduction of the Djinn in Egypt in a way that felt realistic, and he wove these elements into the conflicts of the story, along with folklore and magic. I’ve been craving more of this world ever since finished The Haunting of Tram Car 015, and A Master of Djinn delivered.

Where Clark shines is his wonderful characters and dialogue. This novel is filled with wonderful primary and secondary characters from various walks of life, adding to the richness of the story. Fatma is a character I totally fell in love with from the moment she strutted onto the page in A Dead Djinn in Cairo, and she continues to be one of my absolute favourite characters ever. Not only is she a supremely snarky and sarcastic woman (which I will always love), she’s an incredibly savvy investigator. I loved watching her piece together this mystery! Two of my other favourites are Siti, Fatma’s lover, and Hadia, Fatma’s enthusiastic and unwanted new partner. Siti is someone we met in the initial short story and I adored seeing the two of them in an established relationship, as well as watching that relationship grow and evolve. Hadia was a fabulous addition to this series. She’s not just a device to reflect Fatma’s own prejudices, which I feel she could be in the hands of a less capable writer, she’s an incredibly brilliant investigator in her own right. I loved their banter and watching them settle into a partnership.

A Master of Djinn solidifies Clark’s (already incredibly stable) place as one of my absolute favourite authors. A fast-paced, action-packed mystery with lots of depth, A Master of Djinn is an absolute must-read for fantasy fans. I’d highly recommend this to any fans of historical fantasy, but especially those who enjoyed the Daevabad series.

CW: Colourism, colonialism, police brutality, some gore

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I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This review is spoiler-free.

Fairy tales meet the multiverse? Sign me up.

I've always loved fairy tales — it doesn't matter if they're the darker, older versions or the sanitised Disney stories — despite their flaws. Alix E. Harrow's upcoming novella, A Spindle Splintered, is simultaneously a celebration and critique of fairy tales, all while dragging old stories into the modern world. It's clever and snarky and fun, subverting fairytale tropes and our expectations and shows how two women seize control of their destinies.

Real talk: Sleeping Beauty is the most boring fairy tale. She's passive (I mean, she's literally asleep for almost the entire story so it's not entirely her fault) and she has no agency. Unlike other women who are active in their stories, Sleeping Beauty is really just a pretty prize for the prince to win and not much more. Harrow acknowledges this at the very beginning of the novella, and then manages to inject so much life into the tired (ha ha) story.

I loved the characters in this book and the way they're their own special subversion of Sleeping Beauty's classic character. Zinnia is a sparky, sarcastic, modern woman with a serious illness that she has always known will kill her. She uses humour to hide the deep sadness she faces due to her illness. Primrose fits the mould of the classic Sleeping Beauty princess — she's beautiful and perfect and seems to be the perfect fairy tale princess. These two seem so different, but I loved the way they grew into their friendship and subverted each other's (and our own) expectations through their adventures.

A Spindle Splintered is a different kind of retelling — one that makes us think critically about fairy tales, how we consume them, ultimately how we can break the mould of our own stories. I cannot recommend this more highly to fans of fairy tales, portal fantasy, or feminist stories. I certainly hope this is the start of a series exploring more fairy tales!

Content warnings: mention of rape (off page), terminal illness, misogyny

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I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This review is spoiler-free.

I wont lie, the first thing that caught my eye about The Maleficent Seven is that fantastic title. While it’s not the kind of fantasy that I typically read these days, I ended up being won over by this ragtag band of villains. Oh , and the fact that it happens to contain some of my favourite tropes:

-One last job
-Small group defending against an overwhelming enemy
-Villains as heroes
-Reluctant alliances
-Ageing characters who are still badasses

A quick fun fact about me: The Seven Samurai is one of my absolute favourite movies of all time (seriously, watch it if you haven’t seen it yet). It inspired the Western film The Magnificent Seven, which you have probably already guessed is connected to this very book. Johnston takes the bones of this plot (small town defended by a ragtag group of warriors against considerable odds) and spins it into a rollicking fantasy tale. This book is packed with action and banter — it feels like a chaotic DnD campaign with your best and weirdest friends.

I wont lie, it took me awhile to get into this book — I just wasn’t sold on it until about 30-40% of the way through. However, once we got to know some of the characters and the greater world better, I got more and more attached. Johnston does a great job of creating refreshing lore and culture around classic fantasy races and themes — the orcs were my absolute favourite — and I’ll always be won over by the ‘one last job’ and ‘greatly outnumbered group working against a huge army’ tropes. While there are really no ‘good’ characters and everyone has their own, selfish motivations, the enemy in this book is horrifying. The Falcon Prince and his army of fanatics were absolutely terrifying in their zealousness and power. If I had to choose between them, I’d probably side with the demonologist and her captains too.

In terms of characters, I didn’t think I’d end up liking any of them very much, but I was totally won over by a surprising number of them. Amogg the orc chieftan and Lorimer Fell the vampire lord were fabulous characters, but my favourite was the fallen war god Tiarnach. His character arc throughout the book is just fantastic and I just adored him. None of the characters in this book are perfect (nor would you want them to be, they’re villains for a reason), however Johnston gave them a surprising amount of depth. You can’t help but root for them.

The Maleficent Seven is a popcorn-y fantasy book — it’s fast paced, action packed, and wildly entertaining. Will it change your life? Probably not. But if you’re looking for a fun fantasy book filled with battles and banter that you can devour in a weekend, I’d definitely recommend picking it up.

CW: violence and gore, animal death

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I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This review is spoiler-free.

The Wolf and the Woodsman was a bit of a mixed bag for me. While there was a lot to love -- especially around the rich worldbuilding -- I just couldn't connect with the characters.

The world that Reid creates is lush and gorgeous, but far from perfect. The themes of antisemitism in the book are powerful, and seeing the way Yehuli are treated was incredibly moving and infuriating. I really appreciated the way that the culture in the book very much mirrored our own history (and in terms of the antisemitism, our present). I also adored the magic. I'm always here for magic systems that demand sacrifice, and Reid did a fantastic job creating a powerful, fascinating, and intricate magic system.

In terms of the characters, I just couldn't get on with Évike or Gáspár. Their interactions and dialogue were so volatile and it just didn't make sense to me that they could even like each other -- romantically or otherwise. Évike is one of those 'shoot first, ask questions later' (or less charitably, 'too stubborn to live') characters. Her actions are only the result of getting angry that someone is being sensible and telling her what she shouldn't do, so she does the opposite. This is one of my biggest pet peeves in books, so I really struggled with her. Gáspár was basically just a blank slate -- the only thing I remember about him is that he maybe had an eye patch.

I can absolutely see other people loving The Wolf and the Woodsman! But it leans so heavily on the characters that I just didn't like, which definitely impacted my enjoyment of the book.