I started this book knowing it would be great, but I was unprepared for just how enthralling it would be. As author Gerry Andersen recovers from an accident, he begins to lose his grip on reality, believing himself to be a victim of a cruel prank. You’ll fall down the rabbit hole with Gerry, trying to discern dreams from reality. Because how could the fictional character from his novel be standing at the window?
-Reviewed by Olivia
Fans of Casey McQuiston and Ruth Reichl: rejoice! T.J. Alexander’s new culinary romance is ready to be devoured. When uptight pastry chef Simone’s boss demands that she make cooking videos alongside boisterous nonbinary home brewer Ray, Simone sees a recipe for disaster…but could Ray be the much-needed sugar to her cinnamon? Enjoy this sweet and occasionally spicy read with a snack close at hand.
-Reviewed by Milo
Top-tier weirdo sci-fi with massive literary prowess churning it forward. You've never seen humans referred to as "meat machines" so many times. A tour of the 20th century through the dispassionate eyes of darkly angelic space beings who infiltrate every corner of the world in order to achieve their apocalyptic goal, Ice Trilogy is unlike almost any other book. Perfect for those of us who tend to feel a bit inhuman.
-Reviewed by Nick
The unique premise drew me in, but it was the increasingly bold and sinister plot that made this debut impossible to set down. With an important but often playful dialogue, this book does a great job of simultaneously educating and enticing readers.
-Reviewed by Negar
Fragile mortals, fallen heroes, depraved gods, and a trail of women in their wake. Ariadne, Princess of Crete and sister to the Minotaur has a few things to say on sisterhood, Theseus, and the gods. Emboldened to action against her tyrannical father, she sets off a chain of events which are the stuff of myth and legend. But she is the teller of her own tale now, and she will command your attention.
-Reviewed by Elizabeth
This is the perfect summer read. It’s been fifteen years since teenagers Eva and Shane spent seven days together, cementing a surprisingly deep bond. And when fate brings them together again, their intense feelings for one another rush back to the surface. But can the pair find happiness in this new summer romance? Or are they doomed to repeat the past? You won’t want to miss this sexy smart read!
-Reviewed by Olivia
This book takes its time yet never grows old. This is the highest praise I can offer to a work of fantasy. It is utterly natural, and this is the highest praise I can offer a work of science fiction. This book is both, it is medieval and it is alien. It is of the most intimate emotions and of the grandest expressions of power. Gene Wolf demands patience, luckily, the work is addictive.
-Reviewed by Micah
Red and Blue are assassin-spy-soldiers on opposite sides of a war of epic scale. The battlefield: time itself. When the two begin writing to one another, what starts as a rivalry between foes blossoms into an unlikely connection. This brilliant experimental novella transcends expectations surrounding time travel, epistolary writing, and the science fiction genre. Beautiful, poetic, and riveting.
-Reviewed by Milo
What does it take to pass? Twins Stella and Desiree lead parallel lives, until Stella one day disappears without a trace. While a tad slow to start, this novel swept through me as it swept through the years, with both women living with the ramifications of their choices. Brit Bennett’s writing keeps getting better and better, making her one to watch. Highly recommended for fans of Little Fires Everywhere.
-Reviewed by Olivia
A woman sees herself in a painting of a princess in a tower, by the end of novel she is searching a post-modern californian desert for indeterminable reasons of hidden truth or conspiracy theory. This is a piece of well-worked literature chock full of black humor and unanswerable offenses. It is about the modern American search for meaning, and has only grown more relevant over time.
-Reviewed by Micah
Arkady Martine is trained as a historian and a city planner — and it shows. This book has it all: Incredible worldbuilding! Secret technologies! Romance! Political intrigue! Poetry! Sabotage! It’s a space opera, a coming-of-age story, and a dialogue about empire, power, and assimilation. All of these ingredients mingle in a tour-de-force sci-fi sundae you won’t forget in a hurry.
-Reviewed by Milo
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is a deeply emotionally evocative novel of a young man navigating childhood and adolescence. Vuong brings to life all the intensity of those years in a beautiful and painful way. Vuong’s protagonist deals with complex familial relationships, cross-cultural experience, his sexuality, young love, and so much more. This is a very richly written and touching novel.
-Reviewed by Peter
The Word For World Is Forest imagines a utopia of ecologically and socially minded people living in peace, with no concept of murder or violence, being introduced to the aggressive and extractive culture of a colonial logging team from Earth. This novel explores our relationship with the land, peace and violence, and the introduction of damaging social technology with the insight that Ursula Le Guin brings to all her work.
-Reviewed by Peter
