Fiction
ZOMROMCOM by Olivia Dade
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The publisher’s summary
Teaming up with your neighbor during a zombie outbreak is a no-brainer, but if it turns out he’s a vampire . . . the stakes couldn’t be higher, in this infectious new paranormal romance from the USA Today bestselling author of Spoiler Alert.
When Edie Brandstrup attempts to save her sweet, seemingly harmless human neighbor from the first major zombie breach in two decades, she’s stunned to be saved by him—and his ridiculously large sword—instead. As it turns out, he’s actually a super-old, super-surly vampire. But for all her neighbor’s newly revealed cynicism and lethality, Gaston “Max” Boucher (yes, Gaston) is unexpectedly protective. He wants her to stay in his safety bunker until the breach is resolved. Edie can’t risk more innocent people getting killed, though—and Max won’t let her save them alone.
As they unravel a sinister conspiracy to set zombies loose on the world (again), the duo meet a host of lovable allies and discover they’re not the only ones willing to fight for the future of humanity. Despite the awful timing, Edie finds herself falling for the vampire who’s helping her save the world . . . but all their dangerous plans could end their future before it even begins. As she and Max battle side by side, Edie must decide whether having a love worth living for also means having a love you’d die for—and, in a world that grows deadlier by the minute, whether that’s a risk she’s willing to take.
My recommendation
From the moment the burrito-wielding heroine launches herself at an attacking zombie, this steamy speculative rom com delivers! The banter sparkles, the sexy blood-drinking sizzles, and the grounded character motivations keep this novel as relatable and resonant as Dade’s non-speculative work. The open ending that hints at a sequel is icing on the cake. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a hilariously spicy fall read!
ALL THE NOISE AT ONCE by DeAndra Davis
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The publisher’s summary
In this compelling, moving story that “beautifully tackles race, social justice, and disability” (School Library Journal, starred review), a Black, autistic teen tries to figure out what happened the night his older brother was unjustly arrested.
All Aiden has ever wanted to do was play football just like his star quarterback brother, Brandon. An overstimulation meltdown gets in the way of Aiden making the team during summer tryouts, but when the school year starts and a spot unexpectedly needs to be filled, he finally gets a chance to play the game he loves.
However, not every player is happy about the new addition to the team, wary of how Aiden’s autism will present itself on game day. Tensions rise. A fight breaks out. Cops are called.
Brandon interferes on behalf of his brother, but is arrested by the very same cops who, just hours earlier, were chanting his name from the bleachers. When he’s wrongly charged for felony assault on an officer, everything Brandon has worked for starts to slip away, and the brothers’ relationship is tested. As Brandon’s trial inches closer, Aiden is desperate to figure out what really happened that night. Can he clear his brother’s name in time?
My recommendation
Davis’s prose shimmers while her keen ear for character voices lends a deep credibility to her broad cast of teens. I highlighted quote after quote from Aidan because every aspect of his self-reflection mirrored my autistic experiences with authenticity and often humor. In fact, one of the great strengths of this book are the pockets of humor, joy, and normal teenaged life as the characters navigate a horrifying and all-too-common trauma. Davis also highlights the intersectionality that puts Aidan (and by extension his brother) at a greater risk for police brutality due to the dual prejudices against autistic people and Black people. There are no easy answers for Aidan, Brandon, or their friends, but moments of growth and failed growth on the part of both teens and adults paint their Florida community in realistic yet hopeful tones. This is not a book to miss!
LOVE IN 280 CHARACTERS OR LESS by Ravynn K. Stringfield
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I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from the publisher in order to write this review.
The publisher’s summary
Black college student Sydney Ciara navigates academics, love, and the online space, in this coming-of-age told through her blog posts, messages, and more!
Sydney Ciara Warren is excited as she starts her first year of college, but also nervous. Despite her interests in writing and fashion, she has no idea what path will ultimately be right for her. As she tries to figure out her place on campus and in the world, she finds solace in blogging about her life, putting together outfits with meaning, and spending time online.
It’s within the digital space that she connects with someone who goes by YoungPrinceX. She may not know “X” in real life, but that doesn’t stop her from developing a crush on him. Except she’s also navigating her first romantic relationship, with a sweet boy on campus named Xavier (who maybe could be X???).
Can Sydney Ciara not only make it through her first semester, but thrive in real life, as much as she seems to be thriving online?
My recommendation
Through a lens of digital privacy vs. public platform, Stringfield probes the murky line between online honesty and activism. Although Syd remains confident of her writing’s value and meaning, she must learn to communicate that value to the important people in her life, all while navigating the mundane yet thrilling experiences of her first year of college independence. The engaging story of one young writer’s journey to find her voice will connect with college students and high schoolers alike.
(S)KIN by Ibi Zoboi
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The publisher’s summary
From award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Ibi Zoboi comes her groundbreaking contemporary fantasy debut—a novel in verse based on Caribbean folklore—about the power of inherited magic and the price we must pay to live the life we yearn for.
“Our new home with its
thick walls and locked doors
wants me to stay trapped in my skin—
but I am fury and flame.”
Fifteen-year-old Marisol is the daughter of a soucouyant. Every new moon, she sheds her skin like the many women before her, shifting into a fireball witch who must fly into the night and slowly sip from the lives of others to sustain her own. But Brooklyn is no place for fireball witches with all its bright lights, shut windows, and bolt-locked doors.… While Marisol hoped they would leave their old traditions behind when they emigrated from the islands, she knows this will never happen while she remains ensnared by the one person who keeps her chained to her magical past—her mother.
Seventeen-year-old Genevieve is the daughter of a college professor and a newly minted older half sister of twins. Her worsening skin condition and the babies’ constant wailing keep her up at night, when she stares at the dark sky with a deep longing to inhale it all. She hopes to quench the hunger that gnaws at her, one that seems to reach for some memory of her estranged mother. When a new nanny arrives to help with the twins, a family secret connecting her to Marisol is revealed, and Gen begins to find answers to questions she hasn’t even thought to ask.
But the girls soon discover that the very skin keeping their flames locked beneath the surface may be more explosive to the relationships around them than any ancient magic.
My recommendation
Zoboi’s poetry sizzles, clarity of storytelling and resonant emotions and themes pulsing through her evocative verse. The lore of the soucouyant is just one essential thread in a tapestry exploring race, xenophobia, colorism, colonialism, and the mundane, universal tensions of family–the pressure parents put on their children, connection and tension between siblings, and the complexity of blended family dynamics. I highly recommend this one to teen and adult readers who enjoy high stakes fantasies with a literary bent.
EVER SINCE by Alena Bruzas
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Content warning from the publisher: Contains descriptions of sexual assault, child sexual abuse, suicidal ideation, and drug and alcohol use/abuse.
Ever since she was 11-years-old, Virginia has been searching for a safe haven, away from her belligerent father, her emotionally unavailable mother, and of course, Him, the man who once made her believe he was her friend before revealing himself to be a monster, a beast worthy of the darkest fairytales and myths. Of her four close friends in the neighborhood, Virginia most often seeks refuge with Poppy, but when Poppy unexpectedly leaves for the summer, Virginia is desperate for another ally. After years escaping traumatic memories through drugs and alcohol and accepting that her body will be used by boys for sex, Virginia is surprised when Poppy’s boyfriend Rumi takes an interest in her as a person and expresses disgust at the way another boy is using her. Virginia struggles to reconcile the way Rumi sees her with the way she’s always seen herself–as a bad person and a slut, a view that she feels is confirmed by her growing attraction to her best friend’s boyfriend. But when Virginia recognizes that Rumi’s 11-year old sister is being groomed by a predator, she finds the drive to dig past the myths she and others have built around her and find the strength to tell her true story so that she can save another little girl from having to live it.
Gorgeous poetic prose and embedded fairytales and myths carry readers through Virginia’s intense experience of childhood sexual assault and its aftermath. At times graphic and deeply disturbing, all of the assaults by the adult “Him” occurred in Virginia’s past, allowing Bruzas to show (realistically) how children often lack the power and agency to escape their abusers but also to give Virginia power and agency at the moment of this story so that she can rediscover her voice and a supportive community of peers and adults to help her find safety and heal. In this novel, storytelling is not only a catalyst for healing but a bridge of connection between isolated survivors which will no doubt reach readers as well. Bruzas concludes with an author’s note acknowledging her lived experience with CSA. An impactful read for fans of heavy YA/NA contemporary fiction.
QUEEN BEE by Amalie Howard
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Heiress Miss Lyra Whitley has come to the London Season with one goal in mind: revenge.
Her first Season shouldn’t have been like this. Lady Ela Dalvi, daughter of an earl, should have arrived in London with every expectation of making a good match, maybe even to the boy she loved: Lord Keston Osborn, Marquess of Ridley, son and heir to the Duke of Harbridge, who moved near her family’s ancestral seat when they were fifteen. But that was before her childhood best friend Poppy, consumed with jealousy for Ela’s friendship with Kes, spread a vicious rumor that ruined her reputation and got Ela banished to a reform school for “ruined” girls in Cumbria. For years, Ela stewed in her desire for vengeance, and now with a benefactor’s fortune behind her and her true identity hidden, she is going to destroy the friend who wronged her and the boy who believed the lies and turned his back on her.
But revenge is more complex than she anticipated, and although her plans go well from the start, allowing her immediate access to her enemies’ inner circles, new friendships make her question how brutal she is willing to be to take Poppy down. Worse, every time she’s with Kes, her old feelings stir to the surface–and Kes seems to be falling in love with “Miss Whitley.” Could Kes be worth letting go of years of anger? And even if she forgives him, will he forgive her for a Season of lies?
Beckoning to fans of Netflix’s Bridgerton, Howard incorporates an “anti-history” of racial and ethnic diversity and tolerance into her Regency-esque world, although she doesn’t grapple with racism and colonialism in this work they way she typically does in her adult romances. Tailoring the Regency Romance genre for a younger audience, she also eschews steamy love scenes (and sex in general) and focuses not on the more mature themes of matrimony and parenthood typically on the minds of Regency teenaged heroines but instead on cliques, crushes, and more modern-feeling teen camaraderie. It is a compelling foray into the YA sphere, and I hope that Howard continues bringing her wonderful sense of humor and perspective as a biracial author to this age group.
TO SWOON AND TO SPAR by Martha Waters
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When Viscount Penvale’s uncle offers him the chance to buy Penvale’s childhood home–on the condition that he marry his uncle’s socially inept ward, Jane Spencer–Penvale feels it’s worth the sacrifice. The lady may be insufferable, and not particularly attracted to him, but she assures him she isn’t being coerced and agrees to a chaste marriage of convenience. It’s only after they are married that his uncle reveals the second catch: the estate Penvale has just purchased is haunted.
Jane’s scheme worked too well. When she began faking the haunting of Trethwick Abbey, she’d hoped to merely drive her odious guardian to spend more time in town, to free herself from his micromanagement while getting to stay in the beautiful estate she’d come to love. Unfortunately, the bloody christening gown in his bedchamber scared the man so badly he went and sold the manor–and Jane’s hand in marriage along with it. Now she has another wealthy, controling man to frighten out of her life. But Penvale doesn’t seem as easy to scare away as his uncle, and he may be as attached to Trethwick Abbey as she is. Determined to find out which of the staff is pretending to haunt–and why–Penvale begins nightly searches of the manor, dragging an increasingly anxious Jane along with him. The more time they spend together, however, the more Jane’s feelings of antagonism warm to friendship, and as Penvale comes to better understand his abrasive bride, their determination to remain married “in name only” begins to fade until ghosts aren’t the only secrets lurking between them.
This steamy enemies-to-lovers Regency romance continuation of Waters’ series that includes To Marry and to Meddle will delight fans of the series or newcomers to Waters’ work (although I recommend reading To Love and to Loathe first since it’s hero/heroine feature prominently as secondary characters in this one, and it is also my personal favorite in the series). The antagonism is believable, the premise deliciously absurd, and the sparring full of crackle. I recommend the whole “Regency Vows” series to fans of the genre!
A TEMPEST AT SEA by Sherry Thomas
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Following the events of Miss Moriarty, I Presume, Charlotte Doyle has spent months in hiding, isolated from her closest allies, even her lover Lord Ingram. Nothing tempts her to risk exposure to Moriarty’s numerous spies until Lord Remington offers his protection in exchange for Charlotte performing a service for the crown and retrieving a sensitive item from a possible spy. Remington’s protection might actually allow Charlotte to return to normal life, and so she reaches out to her allies and dons a new disguise to board a passenger vessel and hunt a spy. With Lord Ingram, Mrs. Watson, and Lydia aboard, Charlotte has plenty of allies to help achieve her mission, but the presence of a police inspector on board and the unexpected arrival of Lady Holmes throws a wrench into her plans and threatens her exposure. And when one of the passengers is murdered–and Lady Holmes a suspect–Charlotte must discover which of her fellow passengers is a murderer and which an agent of her most sinister enemy.
It might have been difficult to keep momentum up in an enclosed setting, especially after the dramatic finale of Charlotte’s previous adventure, but Thomas does so with seeming ease, immediately reestablishing every delightful Lady Sherlock trope–from clandestine meetings between Charlotte and her allies to disguises and hidden identities–within a tightly plotted, Agatha Christie-esque mystery. Fans of the series will not be disappointed! Newcomers, however, will want to begin with book one to fully appreciate the tie-ins from previous Moriarty encounters.
UNDER A VEILED MOON by Karen Odden
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Inspector Michael Corravan has found his stride at Scotland Yard, although some will never accept him due to his Irish heritage and background as thief and boxer in Whitechapel. Corravan has tried to distance himself from his past, but that grows more difficult when murders and vandalism in his old neighborhood get dangerously close to his foster family–leading him to suspect that his foster brother Colin might be mixed up with the vicious gang that drove Corravan out of Whitechapel years earlier.
When a tragic boat crash on the Thames leaves hundreds dead, Corravan’s superiors suspect the Irish Republican Brotherhood might be involved. Corravan has his doubts, but when the papers get wind of a possible Irish scandal–with a Parliamentary bill for Irish Home Rule gaining traction–they’re quick to leap to conclusions. The only remedy is for Corravan to continue his detailed inquiry, to shake off the threats and suspicions of anti-Irish colleagues trying to get him thrown off the case, and find out what Colin’s gotten mixed up in before he’s just another body in the gutters of Whitechapel.
Character depth and cogent themes balance high-stakes in this Victorian mystery which will appeal to fans of police procedurals. Clues unfold at an even pace while the interwoven family drama ramps up intensity toward a thrilling climax. The second in the Inspector Corravan series, UNDER A VEILED MOON picks up where the previous book left off, but includes enough context (and a wealth of character development) that it will be easy for new readers to fall right into the well-developed historical world. Both this novel and its predecessor (DOWN A DARK RIVER) are perfectly plotted, character-rich procedurals for fans of the genre!
THE DUKE IN QUESTION by Amalie Howard
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Desperate to use her privilege as a white noblewoman to contribute to the fight for racial justice, Lady Bronwyn Chase accepted the clandestine identity as “the Kestrel,” a spy not exactly in the employment of the Crown. Unfortunately, she has caught the Crown’s notice, and on her first transatlantic mission to help turn the tide of the American Civil War, the Kestrel is pursued by one of their most stoic former agents, Lord Valentine Medford, the Duke of Thornbury and best friend to Bronwyn’s half brother, the mixed-race Duke of Ashvale.
Bronwyn has long been attracted to Lord Valentine. Valentine on the other hand can’t imagine being romantically interested in the superficial personality Bronwyn projects–and he would never guess that she was the elusive Kestrel. Yet, Valentine finds himself drawn inexplicably and inexorably to Bronwyn, and when her assignment goes wrong, he is there to save her life–and arrest her. Bound together by conflicting duties, Bronwyn can no longer escape their smoldering attraction to one another. But will they be able to let one another go to save their reputations–and Bronwyn’s neck?–or will an unavoidable, passionate affair ruin them both?
Immediately following RULES FOR HEIRESSES, this sizzling enemies-to-lovers romance continues Howard’s nuanced exploration of gender, class, and race in the Victorian Era with the same perfect execution of historical romance tropes that will thrill fans of the genre, plus a dash of romantic suspense a la Sherry Thomas’s HIS AT NIGHT and MY BEAUTIFUL ENEMY. Wrestling with their privilege and desire to be allies, the white hero and heroine consistently run up against barriers of systemic racism, while injustice constrains characters of color–even those advantaged by wealth and title. Yet like all satisfying romances, the plot ends with hope and love–plus a thick cloud of steam. Highly recommend to readers of the genre and fans of the Netflix adaptation of BRIDGERTON.
Susan the Librarian 