tl;dr
A sometimes tragic, mostly hopeful story about the dreams we had as kids, and the courage it takes to make them come true as adults.

Thoughts
When a mysterious reclusive author invites people to his remote island to compete for a prize, the first thing my mind conjures up is backstabbing, cynically evil people, and a murder or two. And at first, it seems like we might be heading in that direction, but the Wishing Game willfully chooses a more hopeful voice. The competitors are all flawed, but sympathetic, with difficult (sometimes traumatic) and relatable histories that make it very easy to wish the best for everyone involved. The game creator in particular is incredibly human, and potentially the most sympathetic of the entire cast. I normally have a clear favorite character, but I found myself invested in everyone on the island. Hugo the artist perhaps squeaks out as my fave, but only because I have a soft spot in my heart for grumpy rebellious artists. The plot is fairly straightforward - a chocolate factory-esque competition, but for adults (or perhaps for kids who simply got older), and I appreciated the perspective of people who have lived long enough to understand what's really at stake. With the addition of some light romance and a few fun puzzles, this was far from the dark cynical book I expected, and I am immensely grateful for it. Strong recommend for anyone looking for an honest, but hopeful take on being an adult and making your wishes come true.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an advance copy. All thoughts here are my own.

tl;dr
A decidedly nuanced look at the "kids save the world" genre, with tons of fun and lore in a fast-paced adventure.

Thoughts
There's so much I want to gush about in this book, it's actually kind of hard to pick a starting point. Kids have to save the world a lot, it would seem. But what happens when those kids grow up, and the world continues to need saving? Nic Blake is a superfan of a popular book series about magical kids who go to magical school and have to save the world from an evil man. A series of events reveals that the books aren't quite as fictional as she thought, and she's next up when it comes to world-saving heroics. But her adventure isn't quite as rosy as the books, and it turns out even the books left out a couple details. It's the exact sort of thing I've always wanted to see discussed in MG. The kind of absolutely wild danger that characters in these novels go through has got to leave a mark. And in this case, it absolutely does. There's a very nuanced human element to all the characters in this, even the antagonists (especially the antagonists?), which I really appreciated, and I'm surprised how much I felt for everyone involved. Nic is a relatable MC, with her own goals, skills, cleverness, and personal fears, and she makes a believable hero that I really want to cheer for. (Also, her puppy is super cute.) Combine that with an honest look at what it means to be a black person in today's world, and you get an incredibly strong read that had me hooked all the way through.

Also! I KNOW that books in a series often have cliffhanger endings, but that didn't stop me from absolutely yelling when I got to the end of this book. What a setup, what a payoff, and what a cliffhanger. When's the next one coming out? Please, I need it.

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

tl;dr
An incredibly fast-paced adventure that hits all the right notes for fans of middle grade mythology.

Thoughts
I had a great time reading this book. Middle grade mythology books can be tricky - the structure is what makes them fun, but stick too close and you run the risk of seeming derivative. Ring of Solomon balances expectations with some great twists, and I especially enjoyed the friendship between Zach and Sandra devoid of any crushes or romantic leanings. A lot of people are going to talk about the strong rep in here, with good reason. I'm not Jewish, so I can't speak to the presentation of the folklore, but as a fellow queer who dislikes rainbows and face paint, my heart absolutely connected with Zach. I think the one thing that caught me off guard is how quickly the story moved. If I didn't know this was the start of a trilogy, I would have guessed that the author only had this one book to fit in everything. The ending ties off neatly enough that this can be considered a standalone, but I do look forward to seeing what comes next.

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

tl;dr
Hits all the right notes in the steampunk fantasy heist genre, but feels short comparatively speaking. Hoping for a sequel!

Thoughts
There's a sort of prequel-like vibe to this book. Like other books in the genre, we have a ragtag group of heroes from all walks of life, a fantasy-esque setting, and a thing they've stolen that's probably much more dangerous than they realize. But in this case, the gang isn't already assembled when the first chapter starts, and a lot of the book is dedicated to the origins of them getting together in the first place. It's an interesting tradeoff - the big heist and its fallout will have to be addressed in future books (if there are any, fingers crossed), but in return we get a lot of character development for our heroes, and plenty of time dedicated to forming their bonds. As a fan of character-driven narratives, I love this choice, but it does mean the stakes are pretty low for this installment, plot wise.

In terms of characters, I love the entire cast (excepting the obvious villain of the piece). Ida makes a great lead - smart and capable with a small wash of moral gray. The rest of the cast is equally fun, with plenty of casual queer rep to be seen, and several intriguing side characters who I hope we'll get to know better. Anyone looking for a steampunk fantasy heist will find plenty to love here, and I really REALLY hope there's a sequel on the horizon.

tl;dr
A playful murder mystery with lots of layers starring two equally competent detectives in a very tongue-in-cheek narrative.

Thoughts
I'm pretty voracious for historical murder mysteries, especially the kind that play in Victorian and regency type settings, and this is one of the most playful books I've ever read in the genre. A clear tongue-in-cheek love letter to the genre, with references to Jane Austen and just a hint of Holmes. Chapters are interwoven with snippets like newspaper articles, letters between characters, and diary excerpts that help the reader get a more intimate look at all the characters.

Beatrice is a complicated lead. She's enthusiastic and clever, but seems to have absolutely terrible timing when it comes to speaking out. Drake makes a great counterpart to her, thoughtful and keen, and also incredibly bad at social skills. There's a good amount of actual detectiving going on in here, with interviews, searching for clues, puzzles, and a whole heap of red herrings and other threads to pull on. I would suggest that some of the other threads are more interesting than the actual mystery (are we going to talk about Mary???), but the final solution to the murder is very neatly tied up with a satisfying explanation, and the hint of more to come. Romance is very light, and largely implied. There's a bit of a haters-to-lovers mood on the front end, but the hatred melts away pretty fast in favor of solving the case.

This was a very fun read that I breezed through in a couple sessions, and anyone else who enjoys this genre will probably be entertained by this twist on it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the advance copy!

tl;dr
Less of a mystery and more of a story about a widow living with grief and finding healing by following her late husband's last case. Stream of consciousness style narration is intimate, but might not be for everyone.

Thoughts
There's a mystery in this book, but I struggle to classify this story as a mystery proper. Very little investigation is done, large portions of time pass with no progress, and most solutions are the result of Imogene being very easy to speak to rather than any deductive reasoning on her part. I think it'd more accurately be considered a story about Imogene's first year alone after the death of her husband Thaddeus. Narration is marked by frequent flashbacks to Thaddeus, bursts of grief, and a determination to solve the mystery rooted firmly in his last wishes. Even the ending is more focused on how she's taken the steps towards healing by solving the case, with less fanfare spent on the actual case. There's definitely a mystery at hand along with some serious reveals by the end, but don't come in expecting detective legwork and the unravelling of a web of clues.

Narration is done in first person present tense. As usual, present tense is really difficult for me, but I can understand the purpose here - The writing comes off as very stream of consciousness, as if Imogene is confiding the events of her day to a close friend over tea. There's a warmth to the confidentiality of it, but sometimes her own personal distractions distracted me as well. No one else seems to be bothered by this, so I'm going to assume that once again it's just the present tense problem coming for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hannah Byron for an advance copy!

tl;dr
One party cozy mystery, one part coming of age tale, with plenty of twists along the way.

Thoughts
Lots of fun twists in this one! The first chapter caught me off guard with it's immediate plunge into the murder case. We don't even get to know the victim first? Ah, as it turns out, we do get to know her through the used of well-timed, interlacing timelines. The main plot and the flashbacks move quickly, making this a really easy read for anyone looking to devour a book in a few sessions. Genre-wise, it's paced out like a cozy mystery, with our amateur detective heroine and her circle of friends solving a case that the local police seem largely uninterested in.

Katie is a scrappy protagonist, with just enough curiosity to get into trouble, and a genuine desire to do good. Her family is realistically frustrating without swinging all the way into Cartoonishly Terrible, with her brother being my absolute favorite character by far. Jamie fills the role of "hot and interesting police officer" very well, and I appreciated that he got a bit of his own story as well. Their relationship never shifts into romance, something I am genuinely grateful for.

The mystery itself has a lot of twists in it, some less believable than others, but nothing that isn't reasonably foreshadowed by the clues provided. Woven within is also a thoughtful story about embracing yourself, and finding a way to succeed in a world that isn't one size fits all.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the advance copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and ECW press for an advance copy!

tl;dr
A very dreamlike story that focuses on a sister relationship and the difficulties of growing up. Easy to lose grasp of the plot in places.

About
The Ivyweather sisters couldn't be more different. Older sister Constance is the perfect picture of societal expectations on the outside and roiling anxiety on the inside. Energetic younger sister Ivory doesn't care in the slightest for societal expectations, and spends most of her time alone exploring nature. It's their last summer together before Constance has to leave for college, and they're spending it in the town of Quixx, a strange place where the fog never leaves and the residents whisper about monsters that live on the nearby mountain.

Thoughts
About halfway through the story, Ivory comments that the events in the book are "Curiouser and curiouser," and I feel like the reference to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is apt. There's a very slippery strange logic to the world and the people in it. Physics don't always work as expected, time seems a little out of joint, and no one in town seems to take notice of this. Events unfurl into each other with little direction as the two leads move through a very dreamlike story. The biggest difference in this case is that instead of Alice, we get Constance and Ivory. Ivory embraces the strangeness wholeheartedly, running directly toward adventure and danger. Constance attempts to play the logician, hoping that if she manages to control herself, the rest of the world will also fall into place. The friction between the sisters forms the foundation of the first third of the book, with the rest of the book about them slowly finding their common ground again. As this is the first book in a set of five, we don't get a lot of answers, so the development of their relationship is the core of the story's progression, to the point that the plot takes a back seat more often than not. The blurb for the book describes it as unabashedly queer, and I can confirm that is the case, with multiple sexualities and gender identities written into the canon and handled with respect. Also, there is definitely a monster romance in here. So if you like that, congrats! And if you don't, now you know.

Thanks to NetGalley and The Experiment for an advance copy.

tl;dr
Great illustrations and a lot of personal touches make this a compelling read. Should not be considered a field guide.

Thoughts
This is not a field guide. The opening paragraphs make this clear, but I feel like I should also open with this, because on the surface it looks like a field guide. There are detailed illustrations, scientific names, and descriptions of several fungi (along with other non-fungus things of interest). But this book reads more like a foraging journal than a field guide. The author includes stories of personal experiences and anecdotes shared by other mycology enthusiasts. Several scattered sections step out of the guidebook format to discuss things like organizing a mushroom hunt in the international district, mushroom events, and cultural relevance. It's a much more personal read than I expected, akin to listening to an enthusiast share their thoughts over coffee. This is not the kind of book you'd take out with you while foraging, but it's definitely the kind you'd read on a comfortable afternoon just for fun. The illustrations are absolutely stunning in their color and detail, and might be worth the price of admission alone. Would make a great read for any mushroom fan.

Thanks to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for an advance copy!

tl;dr
Endearing regency romance with two energetic leads, a fun plot, and plenty of kisses.

About
Genevieve Wilde has enough problems: Ever since her father passed away, she's been managing his estate herself, all while fending off the "advice" of men who think they know better. But when her father's pocket watch is stolen, she'll do anything to get it back - even hire the troublesome and frustratingly attractive thief taker, Jack Travers.

Thoughts
As a romance, this ticks all the boxes for a fun regency romp. Longing looks, gloveless touches, and oh goodness what WILL the neighbors think? Both Genevieve and Jack have complex back stories, and their growing interest in each other felt very natural. Jack's family is delightful (I can only hope his sister gets some focus in another book?), and I found myself pleasantly surprised by the nuance of Genevieve's relationship with her sister (I do not enjoy romances where every other woman is objectively terrible). Spice level for our couple tops out at some very passionate kisses. As a mystery, the plot is a solid one with clues laid out in intervals and several nice twists. I don't think any hardcore mystery fans are going to be that surprised, but even guessing the outcome, I enjoyed the ride all the same. A great read for fans of regency romance, and also a decent recommendation for someone looking for a strong plot to carry the leads.