My partner and I always keep our eyes peeled for more sapphic Jewish books, and Season of Love’s premise is too cute to ignore. Literally who can say no to a tree butch.

Cassandra Carrigan loved few people, so she set up a Christmas tree farm. Then she only had to deal with them for three months out of the year. The irony that she was proudly Jewish just added the right zest. A generation later, Cass is gone and the farm is struggling. When granddaughter Miriam returns to sit shiva for Cass, she finds a once tight-knit family in disarray and still hurting from how she left. The head arborist Noelle is especially upset with her–which is awkward because the only way to save the farm is to work together. 

Before I cracked the first page, Season of Love was familiar: it follows the typical pacing and character beats of a romance novel, and this familiarity and the cozy setting make for a fantastically comfy reading experience. While Miriam and Noelle start as “enemies” (I use the term incredibly loosely), it’s more that they’ve misunderstood each other’s choices. Within context, the choices are understandable. It was a toe-curling delight to watch them find each other and that understanding. The “let’s save the small business” arc/trope is a treat. Mental health, trauma, and grief are gentle seasonings to a lovely, comfort food of a novel.

The weakest part of the book was the Christmas aspect. It generated plot holes. For example, Miriam says she was responsible for decorating Christmasland, which of course means lots of tree decorating. Later, she says she’s never decorated a tree. The repeated jokes about Noelle’s name, the mountain of twee Xmas merch, and Miriam’s “Christmas elf” looks landed awkwardly on the ear. I couldn’t quite put my finger on why. Nuances spun in my head. These are Jewish women forced to live a Christian-dominate society–yet the book didn’t quite let them be Jewish and inhabit that outsider point-of-view. I’m not sure if I’m articulating this thought correctly. Miriam, Noelle, and others are ethnically Jewish the entire book. Each Jewish person has their own relationship with Judaism, and sometimes that relationship is very casual. Maybe I’m way out of line because Helena Greer is Jewish(?). Maybe Greer had to “tone down” the Jewish-ness to get Season of Love published by a Christian-normative publishing industry. Still, there was a niggling in my brain that incredibly little would change if Miriam and Noelle were Catholic or Protestant. By the end, I wished this book more centered the Jewish experience and a Jewish holiday. Looking at other reviews, I feel bolstered. Some Jewish readers deeply enjoyed Season of Love and its depiction of Judaism and Jewish characters; others’ experience was more like mine.

In any case, if you’re in the mood for a sapphic holiday romance but want something different in your Christmas Town, I still do recommend Season of Love. 

What Moves the Dead is my first book by T. Kingfisher, despite having followed her on social media for awhile. Fungi make me ridiculously happy with their absurd ways, I like Poe, and horror is nice, so color me unsurprised that I liked this book.

When Madeline Usher writes to her childhood friend Easton, she knows ka will come. Ka is a loyal solider (occupation: solider; gender: solider) and friend. And quite polite about the multitude of horrors that have wiggled out of the lake and infected the house and the wildlife. Ka compliments the smelly, fleshy mushrooms. Ka (along with a feminist mycologist and doctor) will fix everything, and we can get back to what really matters: growth.

Kingfisher’s narrative borrows from Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” and plays in the tradition of Ruritanian romances. I’m familiar with Poe, but the Ruritania was new to me, and I appreciated Kingfisher’s explanation of the trope in the back matter. Basically, it’s a literary trope of a fictional Central or Eastern European country with different traditions and cultural norms than Western Europe. Think Genovia from The Princess Diaries, Marvel Comics’ Latveria, or Cohdopia from the Ace Attorney video games. I don’t know if these Ruritania elements were needed in the narrative, but they were quite good fun. At its best, What Moves the Dead weaves together Poe, fake country world-building, and the badass characters to create quality horror comedy.

I continue to love fungal horror. If you want queer mushroom shenanigans, pick up What Moves the Dead. 

After reading Rin Chupeco’s Bone Witch Trilogy, I was eager to read their Castlevania-inspired adult series. Silver Under Nightfall’s gorgeous cover caught my eye at the library and I snapped it up!

Remy is nothing but a body trained to defend his kingdom from vampires. He’ll do whatever he has to for a combative edge; for any investigative leads. When a new Rot seems to be infecting the kingdom and all suspicions point to vampires, he’s on high alert. What he finds doesn’t make sense though. The luminous, vampiric Xiaodan Song and her sword-wielding fiancé Zidan Malekh are fighting the same strange contagion. They ask for his help, treat him with kindness, and even…why is his heart beating so fast y’all

I LOVED THIS. Again, Chupeco gifts us with an expansive world, with many courts and nations. Unlike in the Bone Witch though, I never got lost in the building of the world, and the narrative paces itself on the inter- and intra- court politics. The mystery was great and kept me guessing until the end. Fight scenes were vivid and easy to follow, which is especially impressive considering Remy’s massive weapon. The characters and their arcs were mwah! Witnessing Remy’s blossoming was a special treat. 

If you like vampires in love, you’ll love Silver Under Nightfall. If you like the Lore & Lust series, but want more serious mystery and action, you’ll love Silver Under Nightfall (and the reverse–if you want a modern romance with lighter plot, themes of cultural exchange, and heavier character work: check out Lore and Lust). If you liked the Castlevania TV series and wanted that OT3 ending, you’ll love Silver Under Nightfall. I’m glad the sequel is already here. 

I really enjoyed this collection. It explained what it wanted to do in the front matter and did it. A breath of fresh, comforting air, and an invaluable resource.

I’ve followed Ridley’s newsletter for awhile, but I think this is the first book of hers I’ve read?? Listen. I can’t resist Gothic vampire stories. This was a fun premise, where they fall in lust AND THEN find out they’re enemies AND THEN choose love. Fun little ditty.