tl;dr
The plot takes some dizzying turns from the first book, but Vanja and Emeric remain at the center of a very satisfying story. YMMV with the teen drama.

Thoughts
Little Thieves effortlessly snagged my top spot in 2021, so I have been waiting for the sequel with rapt anticipation. I have since devoured the sequel in one day, and I feel like the best way to review this is in relation to the first book so that readers of the first can know if they want to jump into this one too. (I do not recommend reading this without context of the first, and I heartily recommend reading the first.)

First and foremost: Vanja. She was a gremlin in the first book, she remains a gremlin in this one, and I love everything about that. Her jokes, her attitude, and her ability to plan a very good heist are all here in spades, and I loved seeing her work her way through some sticky problems (albeit some that she created herself). I also loved seeing her grow as a person and work through a lot of her history.

Conrad remains excellent. His kindness, dedication to justice, and fondness for all things analytical are all in here. I'm a little disappointed we don't get nearly as much of his disarming clumsiness as the first book, but ugh, he's so good.

Vanja x Conrad: This will be divisive. I appreciated how real their teenage awkwardness came through. Their attempts to figure out how to get -ahem- physical are a painfully authentic mix of vulnerability, confusion, and excitement. Their mutual respect and dedication to communication are also big pluses. But truth be told, the awkward nights happened more than I personally needed. I would have been fine pushing most of it aside to a few summary sentences. Physical scenes in this book end in a fade to black style, so it's a safe read for anyone who prefers low spice.

Plot: Probably the biggest change. The stakes are higher, and the world is much more expansive. About halfway through, I started to wonder where the plot was going, as it felt like there were too many disparate pieces. But the ending snaps everything together into incredible clarity in a way that I think was more satisfying that the first book.

Overall: Vanja continues to be Vanja in all the ways I love, with a story bigger than the first book. The teenage drama was honest, but there was quite a lot of it.

I also did not expect the Backstreet Boys.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillian Children's Publishing Group for the advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

tl;dr
An incredible read, featuring dark magic, an engrossing plot, a strong lead, and a genuinely terrifying villain.

Thoughts
The Chinese novel plot line of "get summoned to the palace to compete for stuff" plot is so SO delicious to me, and I was delighted to see the author's notes even touch on the historical roots of this plot. And while the fact that it's one of my favorite tropes certainly didn't hurt, this book is also just very good. The narrative skips right over asking if we "should" raise the dead and leaps straight into the cost. The consequences are quiet at first, ramping up into a terrifying fallout and a high adrenaline ending that had me screaming. Zilan is firey, powerful, and often out of her depth. Her determination mixed with insecurity is palpable, and oftentimes utterly relatable. And the villain! WOW! It's rare to find one so clever and coldly terrifying. I'm breathless. That ending's going to be stuck in my head for a while, and I am counting down the days until the next book.

Edit: Countdown over! My review of the second book is here.

Thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard press for an advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

tl;dr
A cute easy read with a relatable heroine and a sweet potential love interest.

Thoughts
There's a certain subgenre of shoujo manga that I consider to be like cotton candy. Tastes great going down, very little substance, and when I crave it nothing else will do. "My Coworker Has a Secret!" very neatly slots into this cotton candy category. Cute uncomplicated artwork, a lively relatable heroine, and lightweight drama that goes down easy. While I've never fallen as hard as Akari, I definitely understand the panic of trying to hide my fandom from coworkers along with the warmth of having someone accept it, even if they don't understand it. Kazama is a sweet character as well - soft spoken and a great cook. Sounds like a great deal to me.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy. This book is published by LOVE x LOVE, an imprint of Tokyo Pop. All thoughts in this review are my own.

tl;dr
A beautiful gothic horror that combines stunning imagery and a genuinely creepy mystery. Strong recommend.

Thoughts
I devoured this in a day, and my heart is still pounding even as I write this review. I have a deep love for gothic horror and for stories about flowers and things that grow from the earth, so this book is my "reese's peanut butter cups" of storytelling. A quiet sense of dread permeates the story, with paranoia ramping up on each page, as literal gaslights light a beautiful house full of terrifying secrets. I loved the thorough world building, and the imagery and location are very clear in my mind. It can be easy for the heroines of gothic novels to feel a little too unaware of their surroundings, but Verity is a good balance between canny and trusting. She's definitely out of her depth, but never in way that seems like she is actively being a fool. While there is a romance in here, a lot of it develops off page and through time skips, so readers don't get to see much of it unfold in real time. The tradeoff is that we get to focus on the mystery, with plenty of clues and some incredibly creepy reveals. Strong recommend for anyone in the mood for some gothic horror.

Of note, this book is a follow-up to House of Salt and Sorrows, but you don't need the previous book to jump into this one (there will be some spoilers for it, though).

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's for an advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

tl;dr
Messy soapy teen drama with a paranormal twist. Hits a few of my personal peeves, including jealous boyfriend and miscommunication.

Thoughts
The author's notes at the end describe this book as a guilty pleasure soapy read, and I can see why. It's packed with messy teens, high drama, jealousy, dark family secrets, and a big paranormal twist partway through that almost seems to shift the genre. Unfortunately, it turns out guilty pleasures and soap are not my thing. Some of my least favorite storytelling flourishes are in here. He grabs her to keep from walking away when she wants to leave. He secretly follows her back to her room for her own safety. Sometimes he gets violent when other guys get too close. He just can't help himself. I don't vibe with that. Also, everyone jumps to a lot of conclusions. Both POV characters become wildly jealous seeing the other merely hanging out with someone. Misunderstandings propel a lot of the drama. I found myself yelling "what if you just talked to each other?" I'm just not clicking with the leads and their relationship, it seems. If you are unlike me and you enjoy the things I listed, feel free to get excited, because it's all in there. There're also some well-telegraphed paranormal twists and a lot of dark family mysteries hinted at, with a cliffhanger that promises even more drama in the next installment.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mogul Scarf Productions for the advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

tl;dr
Magical adventures that spark the imagination anchor a story about learning to embrace one's self in a very VERY fun read.

About
A prankster and a troublemaker, Rayleigh has always felt a little out of place. But on Halloween night, he's whisked away to an underground world full of magic and monsters. There he discovers that he's the son of the Bogey Mann himself, and that a new life of magic awaits him. Only problem is, his father has gone missing, and the magical world might fall apart unless Rayleigh can get him back.

Thoughts
What a fun book! Amidst all the scares and self-reflection, there is an exciting and joy-filled adventure about discovering magic in the world and embracing one's self. The narrative about learning to embrace one's identity, and also how we get to choose who we become, will resonate with any kid whose felt like they don't fit in. I'm sure I could have used this back then. Rayleigh's wonder as each new piece of magic he discovers was palpable, and there is a stunning amount of world building. Sentient apartments, weather witches, flight, and trials for kids to prove themselves. Ugh, it has all the things, and I love it. There was also a vast array of world mythology in it, with Bloody Mary instantly claiming top spot as my favorite character. I think my only frustration is Rayleigh's as well - I hate when adults won't be honest with kids. Please picture me yelling at the book "Hey, just tell him already!" I think Rayleigh would agree. 

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the advance copy. Continue to support the union!

tl;dr
Lovely artwork sets a solid foundation for a shoujo tale of high school romance and fun twin swap hijinks. Read the content warning first.

About
Despite having different personalities and attending different schools, twin sisters Himari and Mio are extremely close. After an event at school leaves Himari home and unwilling to return to school, Mio hatches a plan to help her sister by pulling the time-honored tradition of swapping places!

Thoughts
Content warning on the front end, here. It's assault.

Himari turns down a boy at her school, and he's rich enough to hire guys to beat her up in retaliation, and connected enough to make sure there's no investigation afterwards. The attack is so vicious that she passes out and wakes up in the hospital later.

It's no surprise that Himari doesn't want to go back to her school, and I wouldn't make her. Her twin sister Mio, worried that Himari is struggling, gets Himari to attend Mio's school instead, all while posing as Mio. This leads us to the bulk of the story - twin swap shenanigans. Himari is quieter and more stoic, while Mio is outgoing and cutesy, which leads to the usual hijinks of Himari attempting to mimic her sister's behaviors to varied success. (Mio's BFF is not fooled for a second.) It was very nice to see each sister's individual personality and interest shine through. There's a very fun arc about how the difference in the sisters' baking skills makes trouble for them maintaining the facade. There's also the added wrinkle of each of the sisters being interested in a different boy, which is that good tasty shoujo drama I adore. Both boys are interesting and kind with attractive designs, and I'm interested to see how this plays out. Himari's trauma makes it difficult for her to get close to boys now, and while the story doesn't spend too much time on it, it's definitely a part of her story. Even with that, the storytelling is soft and gentle shoujo fare: Sweet days in high school cheering for sports, doing club activities, and baking cookies. The artwork is clean and attractive with a very pleasant blend of classic and modern styles, with distinct looks for everyone involved. A handful of hints and the cliffhanger imply that things might get heavier in the future, but I am invested in seeing where these kids go from here.

Thanks to NetGalley and Yen Press for an advance copy! All thoughts in this review are my own.

tl;dr
High action and big plot points propel the story forward in a book packed with magic and Korean lore. No romance(?), and supporting cast don't receive much attention.

Thoughts
There's a lot going on in this one. We've got politics, warring nations, prophecies, magic, mysterious histories, backstabbing, Korean mythology, and a variation on time travel that promises things are going to get a lot more complicated in the future. The time travel in particular makes the story feel like the first episode in a long and sprawling epic. Mirae is a confident lead with power to spare, and dedication to her loved ones. She refuses to compromise, a point that I (and the other characters) love and hate in equal measure. She also has a lot to learn, as the myriad of plot twists and big reveals show that her life and her world aren't as cut and dry as she was raised to believe. I appreciated the moments where the narrative slows down a bit to let her sort through these revelations, because the rest of the story moves fast. And yet for all the things packed in here, there is - weirdly - no romance. That's not a dealbreaker for me by any means, and I wouldn't even call it weird except for the fact that the narrative seems to imply there SHOULD be a romance. A handful of characters look like romantic candidates until they don't. The main character might have a lover in the future, or maybe she doesn't. It's a strange bit of non-committal writing for a book that otherwise seems incredibly confident in its choices. Aside from that, expect a book filled with magical lore, action, and many many twisty twists in the plot.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for an advance copy. All thoughts here are my own. Please support the union. https://linktr.ee/hcpunion

tl;dr
Sisterhood sits at the core of this story about fae bargains and the danger of relying too much on magic.

Thoughts
I typically don't enjoy slow-paced novels, but there's something about the creeping dread of this book that kept me invested even as the story slowly unfurled. Seemingly innocent events lead into each other, ramping up the tension until the final piece drops into place about halfway through, and by then I was screaming. Unlike lots of books that take place primarily in the fae lands, the bulk of the story takes place on the human side with very human stories and concerns. While the story revolved around making bargains with fae, the heart of it was a carefully wrought tale of sisters trying to find their way in the world. The balance between love and resentment was a very realistic family portrayal, and my heart ached for them both. The portions about keeping the farm and orchard going also appealed very much to my love of all things that grow in the ground. For anyone looking for a book about fair folk that doesn't revolve entirely around romance, this is a very strong entry in the genre.

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for an advance copy. All thoughts in here are my own.

tl;dr
Fae, magic and intrigue are all in here, but the reader's enjoyment will hang almost entirely on how they feel about the instalove trope.

Thoughts
MC and LI fall in instalove. I'm putting this here at the front because I wish I'd known. I saw "fantasy heist" and dove in headfirst, and I really should have looked before I leapt. Big oof on my part. This goes in the "it's not you, it's me" category, but instalove truly doesn't do it for me, and it is utterly baked into the plot. From the moment the MC and LI lay eyes on each other, they can't stop having feelings. Physical attraction, lust, and overwhelming longings. MC abandons her lifelong dream of a simple life in the hopes she can be useful to him. LI endangers a mission involving his friends and family just to make sure she's taken care of. Other characters even point out that this is very strange and somewhat dangerous behavior, but our leads simply cannot be apart. The narrative implies there's a magical connection about them being fated lovers that fuels this. I know it seems like I'm really hung up on this one plot point, but it permeates the book. Narration from both their POVs consistently dedicate time to their physical attraction and their desire to be together. Plot slows down in spaces just to gaze longingly at lips or rake eyes salaciously down the other person's body. The book does not want you to forget this is happening, and I surely did not.

Anyway, there is a daring heist in this, and I liked the rest of the cast a good deal. They've all got interesting personalities and varied backstories. There's also some twisty plot stuff near the end. So if you like soulmates/fated lovers and instantaneous attraction, you'll probably have a pretty good time.

Thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for an advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own!