Book review: Hunt the Ever Wild | S.E. Kiser

Hunt the Ever Wild by S.E. Kiser
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

King Edgard is offering a great prize to anyone who can catch the elusive phoenix and turn him into a bird, that is, someone who can find the spell to give him eternal life in order to extend his glorious reign over Gescany. Sylas (Sy) Cassirer, spellscribe to the King, jumps at this one chance to pay off his indenture and escape the King's whims. Anya Degen, a skilled huntress, needs to bind the phoenix to the witch in order to escape a curse. Both need the other to navigate Lichtenwald forest, evade other magicians, and capture the phoenix, but neither can actually split the prize, even though they agreed to. At least they're strangers, working together with the knowledge that they will eventually betray each other. Right?

Hunt the Ever Wild is a richly layered dark fairy tale (they use the term gaslamp fantasy, but idk, I'm giving up on genre terms and it does very much read like a fairy tale). Magic is powered by blood and words. The Forest has a will of its own. It feels very much like a story against Empire; not so much post-colonialism, but more of an angry Eat-the-Rich vibe.

Sy is the scholarship student who makes it, but finds himself in an untenable position - with an indenture (student debt) that hardly ever reduces no matter how hard he saves. He makes money from serving the nobility, but also performs "charity" (an act highly looked down on by his peers) by healing the ailments of the poor in the district (slum?) he grew up in. He's made it, but he will never fit in. His relationship with David is confusing at first - self-serving and selfish, amidst genuine care. It isn't until you learn that David, whilst secure in his own social class, is battling bankruptcy that you realise why the two of them, with Bernard (the failed spellscribe) and Sabina (the woman), end up pulling together, even if half the time they need to fight each other to stay afloat in society. Half-friends are better than no friends in a cut-throat society.

Kiser showcases in stark relief the attitudes of the rich nobility towards the poor and unfortunate, especially those who have managed to make something of themselves ("Oh, the poor indenture!"). Much of Sy's posturing is to hide his vulnerability from those who are supposed to be his peers, yet Anya sees them as an affectation put on to mock her. Funnily enough, Anya's secret origins may actually provide the acceptance in high society that Sy can never hope to gain.

The Forest itself is an active character in the book. It doesn't speak, of course, but it acts in subtle ways, changing every person who enters its domain - revealing the darkest secrets of those who came to hunt the phoenix, manipulating the actions of others to achieve its own goals. Even Anya, who has grown up in its shadow and knows how to navigate its whims, gets drawn into its plans without quite realising it. To be fair, she has other concerns on her mind - not just the curse that's transforming her, but her growing affection for and attraction to Sy, whom she knows she must eventually betray.

The slow burn romance between Sy and Anya works for me - a push and pull, a romantic tension that ebbs and flows. How much of it is the influence of the forest? And how much of it is the understanding that grows between two outcasts fighting for their lives? We'll never know, but it doesn't quite matter. What really nailed it for me, in the end, was Sy's intrinsic dignity and honour, the fact that his love was underscored with sacrifice - he accomplished what he meant to do, then he gave it away for her.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Angry Robot via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Book review: Green City Wars | Adrian Tchaikovsky

Green City Wars by Adrian Tchaikovsky
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Skotch, a freelance raccoon investigator is tasked by his former employers, big corp Uzco, to bring in the fugitive mouse scientist, Dr Meece. The problem is, every single animal faction in the city (and from the country) is also trying to get their hands on Meece. Not necessarily alive. Oh, AND they all think that Skotch knows where he is. What's a raccoon to do to stay alive?

The fun part of this story is obviously the world building. This isn't one of those completely anthropomorphic animal stories like Redwall or the Farthing Wood series where the animals are given human attributes and speech just because.

These animals are artificially engineered by humans to be smart and tasked to run human green cities from the shadows. All the undesirable jobs that are looked down upon? Animals do them, from turtles to rats to mice and racoons. But it's also nature vs artificial intelligence, where sometimes sheer animal instinct overrides the intelligence gifted to them by science (also known as plangent). There are scientific repercussions and rules that govern these societies - the most important of which, Rule Number One, is to not involve the humans.

It's first and foremost, though, a PI story - in a rather old-school, hard-boiled detective noir style. Dark, gritty, with a main protagonist that keeps talking at you. Which, unfortunately, is a style I rather dislike. Still, the plot itself, while simple, unfolds in a complex maze with revelation upon revelation, hooking you again at just the right time to go "hhmmm just a bit more". It also starts off slow, but picks up as more and more factions try to get in on the action. There's a "last stand" scene that reminds me of Colin Dann's Battle for the Park - beautiful and tragic and perfect.

I'd actually recommend this more for noir readers than sci-fi, because whilst the science is important and underpins the whole thing (you cannot actually take out the science worldbuilding and be left with ANY story), it kind of comes second to the tone of the story.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from PanMacmillan/Tor via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Book Review: Valet: A Novel | J. P. Lacrampe

Valet: A Novel by J.P. Lacrampe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Valet is the sort of book that I would not have picked up on my own. It wouldn't even be on my radar. So imagine my surprise when I got a message on Edelweiss saying I've been granted access to read this... I don't always pick these up if I'm busy, but I had some time and it sounded interesting enough to try. (I did enjoy the rare Wodehouse I read in the past.)

Cy is a VALET, an android tasked to help Grayson St. Claire, his owner's 35-year-old son, start adulting. He's really very much the staff, beholden to his true owner and to his utility score, but Grayson treats him like a friend - or, more accurately, like a human. And, having "grown" up together with Grayson, Cy can read him and his moods the best - even better than his own mother.

Grayson is a mess of a human being, the stereotypical useless rich son who constantly fails at everything he puts his hand to, and yet is charming and kind enough to everyone that you really do want to see him succeed. He's both bumbling and earnest, and it's easy to see why Cy is loyal to him, more than Cy's guilt at stealing the late Mr St. Claire's praise and attention should account for.

Charlotte is exceptional as the competitive younger sister who's trying to prove herself by being the best at everything and looking down on her messed-up older brother. Mrs St. Claire is cold and grieving, and has mostly given up on her son. The other characters are in turns funny and weird, and though at times they seem a little too much, they also fit into the fabric of this future society well enough that you don't find it much more jarring than going "oh, those [rich/hippy/scheming] people..."

It's funny that throughout the novel, the two VALET characters, Cy and Larry, felt the most human in many ways. They worry about their ratings, they dread being made obsolete (which carries the repercussions of being destroyed, not just fired), they try to please the people around them (not just the humans, but the other androids they have to interact with - there's social status to be maintained!) and are most enterprising in how they try to get around the rules that govern them. Most of it is really being in Cy's POV and having insight into how androids fit into the fabric of society and what makes them tick.

But it really does make you think. What does it mean to be human? To be family? Charlotte is human, but she is so cold and calculating, with no sympathy or empathy for her own brother, that she might as well be an android herself. And Cy is very much a member of their family despite not being human - he feels like a butler from those old English movies that knows and keeps all the family secrets, yet remains ever so slightly worried about his position. I was surprised at how angry I was on his behalf when Mrs St. Claire and Charlotte threatened to have him decommissioned!

Overall, Valet was a fun and emotional read. It deals with humanity, family, grief, and love, and grapples with betrayal and jealousy, all while being part of a mad caper.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Simon & Schuster via Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Book Review: How Western Christianity Got It Wrong: Replacing the God of Fear with a Spirituality of Healing | Randy Woodley

How Western Christianity Got It Wrong: Replacing the God of Fear with a Spirituality of Healing by Randy Woodley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

How Western Christianity Got It Wrong: Replacing the God of Fear with a Spirituality of Healing is a very thought-provoking book, as you can tell from the very title itself. No one wants to hear that the way their religion is practiced is (almost) completely wrong, but sometimes it's what you need to hear.

I picked up this ARC from Edelweiss because I've been facing a dissonance for a while now between how Christianity is commonly practiced globally vs my understanding of Scripture (and the whole but What Would Jesus Do! thing) and I wanted to see what Woodley had to say. There are some bold statements in the book (especially re: Jesus' purpose with regards to religion) that would probably require further thought, but on the whole, Woodley's explanations on church history and how Western Christianity got to where it is today is eye-opening and resonates with a lot of things I've been working through (and that's been coming out of the woodwork with the whole MAGA thing). It's also very accessible reading, even whilst being heavy on historical details - so it feels both solid and in depth without turning into some academic slog.

One thing I am ambivalent about - and Woodley does address it briefly - is that reinterpreting Scripture through his Indigenous lens does at times feel a little like syncretism. Which, on one hand, is what Western Christianity has totally done through out history (while wiping out other cultures), so it probably balances back out somewhat. Part of it could just be verbiage, and how Woodley expresses himself, which feels jarring to me tonally. This is one of the things I think would work for his community - and indigenous groups specifically - but not for a large majority of urban and mostly displaced and/or already culturally-disconnected Christians.

Yet, looking at the examples given, what it really highlights is the fact that all cultures and all tribes have the knowledge of God hidden in their histories and understanding of the world - it's a matter of looking at them and seeing where they align with the Bible, even if the symbols used are something completely different.

Chapter 11: How We Recover from Western Christianity is where things get a little muddy for me. This chapter is very heavy on repatriations from White churches to Native American communities, and is very rooted in the American context. I understand that Woodley can only write from his context, but it's very weird to have, in the midst of how community is strength, and how we need unity and diversity, caveats about cultural appropriation. It also sometimes feels like there's a need to punish the current generation for the sins of the past. How that looks like in Malaysia is vastly different, so a lot of the examples in chapter are not directly applicable except in the broadest terms when reading this from a Malaysian context

But, as he points out, any movement forward must be "place-based, rooted in the specific lands, histories, and cultural contexts that shape community needs, rather than imposing one-size-fits-all solutions that ignore local Indigenous wisdom." This is something I'll need to contemplate on further.

Overall, I think this book is important reading to understand what has shaped the current church, no matter where you are based, especially since a lot of Asian/Southeast Asian churches are heavily influenced by American churches through their former missionary work and mass media.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Broadleaf Books via Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Book Review: Murder at the Spirit Lounge | Jess Kidd

Murder at the Spirit Lounge by Jess Kidd
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nora Breen is settling in at Gore-on-Sea. Detective Inspector Hilary Rideout is getting into a habit of asking her to accompany him to cases, she stops by to listen to music and drink coffee with Hosmer of Hosmer's Photographic Studio, and she's been recommended for a writing gig with the Gore-on-Sea Herald. Then Dolores Chimes' reading goes disastrously wrong, leading to the death of the medium herself, followed by the people in attendance. Breen and Rideout must solve the mysterious killings before the last victim - Rideout - dies.

I enjoyed this one quite a bit more than the first book (Murder at Gulls Nest). I'm not sure whether it's because Breen is less unlikeable in this one, or because I'm somewhat familiar with her now. The third person present tense is still a little jarring at times, but it is what it is. (I cannot figure out why this irks me so much when I've read other stories in this style - maybe because those were usually short stories and not a full novel? idk)

I'm ambivalent about the love triangle subplot, even if it does add to some of the tension in the book. Rideout and Breen's relationship has progressed to a place where it feels more natural - and rather like a good partnership - even if Breen is a little oblivious to Rideout's feelings. Adding another suitor, which Breen is again rather oblivious about, felt rather awkward.

At any rate, the mystery itself is a tantalising morsel. There are so many threads to pull on, so many secrets and hidden relationships to reveal, and it's easy to get absorbed into the tragedies playing out in Gore-on-Nest. It snaps along at a good pace, full of tension.

Overall, another exciting whodunit!

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Atria Books via Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Book Blitz: Sins of the Fire: Purgatorio by Phoenix Ward

Sins of the Fire: Purgatorio
Phoenix Ward
(Sins of the Fire, #2)
Publication date: December 18th 2025
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult, Young Adult

The Church of New Haven extends its reach to those in need, however there are some lost souls that require more direct guidance, as their sins must be met with strong redirection. Thus, Jonah was created. Originally a man named M█████ ████, he contains over two-hundred thousand sinners. Until they reconcile with their offense to God, they are to fast and pray for their salvation for as long as it takes them to realize their folly, and call upon us.

The boy will be saved from the Dragon, even if he must waste away to understand their danger.

Kickstarter / Amazon

Sequel to:

Check out the Kickstarter here!!

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EXCERPT:

This morning was a reminder that not only was sleep important, but so was waking up before 10am.

Between the heads of bed hair, scruffy clothes and flip-flops, there were black suits, floral dresses and sweet smelling perfume clouding the entrance of the store. Conversations were held in front of the doorway, carts were being pushed around like they were going out of style, and somehow that wasn’t the thing that made us second guess our trip to getting our travel items here. No, that all paled in comparison to the white van-bus with the words “Destiny Baptist Church”, written in Times New Roman on the side.

It wasn’t the church we had a problem with— it was the fact that it was Destiny, a local mega church that made their way through the doors. The same Destiny that would play on my grandmother’s radio, from preaching almost twelve hours of gospel to choirs capable of going seven octaves without any pause for breath. For whatever reason, they were here. Maybe it was some food-based event, or some donation cause, or maybe someone felt the ‘Holy Spirit’ invade them to help out a few families with groceries— either way, it was crowded. Worse yet, the congregants brought their kids too. One wrong turn with a cart and we’d be anointed with oil and made to play the burning bush. Imani and I both shared wary gazed with one another as the chatting church folk mingled with folks that just wanted to get their groceries.

I was the first one to take the initiative, but Imani was quick to hold me back from going too far.

“Hang on, no plan?” She asked, “We’re just going to go in?”

I shrugged, scooting aside as a family of three slipped past us. “Yeah. We just gotta make it through the doors. We’ll probably just grab baskets and split. When we’re done, we’ll meet right by the self-checkout, next to the gift cards.”

Her eyebrows looked like they’d fly away. She released her gentle hold of my arm. “I guess I shoulda known you’d know how to handle yourself, considering the stuff you dealt with.”

“Is it weird to admit that the cult shenanigans actually wilder compared to this?”

Imani sped ahead of me, playfully pushing me out of the way. “Just pray you don’t get lost in here!”

“Ah, pray! Good one.”

The doors opened, our opportunity for a clear entry inside revealed itself. With clergy folk standing by the door, we said our ‘Good mornings’ and kept it moving. Basket procured, we both split up and went our separate ways. I immediately made a beeline to the deli. Three pre-packaged sandwiches were perfect carry-on for the long trip. From there, I shot for the snacks aisle. Chips, protein bars, and those salty peanut butter cracker packages were all loaded up in the basket with haste. I said my ‘hello’s, and my ‘excuse me’s to any passerby, some people greet me, others regard me with a nod.

I wanted to be away from the churchgoers. They didn’t take up the store, but they were too permeated— too mixed in.

Too indistinguishable.

I wanted to pretend that everything was back to normal. That after all of the conflict, the fears, the crying, the fighting, things were safe again. Two months of nothing should have been enough to convince me, but I knew better. Every aisle I walked down, there was a body dressed in black or white—formal clothing or just plain clothes. Without touching Mysherra, I couldn’t tell which was a Havenite and which wasn’t. Even outside of the store, regular people, clerks, judges, beggars, anyone could be a Remnant out to get me, or one to watch me.

I put my hand in my pocket and stood in front of the line of power-drinks. My fingers grazed over the surface of the pen.

The hairs on my neck stood up. Goosebumps bristled along my arms. Piercing spheres of heat sandwiched both sides of my sides.

I didn’t dare turn my head—Peripherals attuned to the presence of two white-robed Remnants on opposite sides of the aisle.

“Kane.”

“I know.”

Slowly, I inched my arm out of my pocket, pen wedged between my fingers. They wouldn’t be able to fight me, not with eyes watching them from the ceiling. They didn’t want their secret to be discovered just as I didn’t.

“Do not acknowledge their presence,” Mysherra spoke to me, “Walk with me down the aisle.”

My legs walked me sideways. I didn’t want my back turned to either one of these things. The power drinks transitioned to the flavored powders. Flavored powders to sparkling sodas. Neither one of the beings made a move.

“Once you get close, fire me.”

Senses were screaming at me to run or fight the closer I got to the remnant. My heart was thudding against my ribs.

“Just a little closer.”

Light conjured at the tip of the pen. The burning spread along my entire right side.

“Okay, the fires should be quiet enough to—”

“Excuse me.”

Someone bumped against my back, cutting off my focus. “Ah, sorry about th—”

All I did was turn my head. I had seconds, milliseconds, microseconds to process the burgeoning man unlatching his jaw in front of me. Ropes of saliva separated a hollow light at the back of his throat. Flesh, wet, and acrid already surrounded me, sounds of the outside muffled by the remnant’s mouth closing behind me. I must have fired four times— twice to the ribcage roof of the mouth and twice towards the light. Footing vanished, the dark closed in, and the door to the outside slammed shut behind stone teeth.

And I fell.

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Phoenix Ward is an indie black writer, and educator from Philadelphia. He has worked in the field of education for over five years, teaching all grades Mathematics and English. When he’s not writing, he is composing music using Logic Pro X, or tutoring children on subjects they struggle in. Currently, he lives in Philadelphia with his dog and cat.

 An avid world-builder, Phoenix has created many stories from youth to adulthood, but none have captivated him as much as his latest work Sins of the Fire, which combines his passion for storytelling with his deep understanding of human nature. He draws inspiration from the vibrant city life of Philadelphia and his own experiences as an educator, infusing his narratives with authenticity and depth.

In addition to his work as a writer and educator, Phoenix is committed to supporting young creatives in their journeys. He actively encourages students and adults alike to seek a way to create their own stories. Everyone has a message to share, and doing so in story is the best way to do so.

Website / Instagram

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Review: Dua Darah

 

When a Malay-Chinese Muslim returns to attend his aunt’s Chinese funeral during the COVID lockdown, buried memories and inner conflicts begin to surface — questioning where he truly belongs.

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It's been about two years since I reviewed a theatre show. Have I watched anything in between? Uh... the Internet tells me that the two shows I remember watching but not reviewing were staged before Yam Seng Lah so no, I have apparently not watched a theatre show in two years! 

Anyway, Dua Darah. I caught the 8.30pm show in Penang on Saturday, 11 April 2026 with members of the Ka-Ki Baca group. It has taken me this long to write this review because I have been procrastinating and being generally lazy. 

I don't think I have much to say about the acting side of things - all three performers fit their roles really well. At least, there was nothing I felt really nitpicky about, especially since their accents fit the characters so well (this is the thing that usually bugs me a lot). There's something to be said for the fact that, whilst primarily in Malay, this is a multilingual show. I ended up not reading the surtitles as much as I expected to because Hilyati's (playing the protagonist) enunciation is superbly clear and understandable (I have problems processing Malay slang/patois). The funeral medium (played by Teoh Chee Lin) spoke in a hilariously apt bahasa pasar and Chinese (Hokkien? Maybe? idk—I read the surtitles for those), whilst the Mother (played by Ho Sheau Fung) spoke a very Chinese-accented vernacular English/Manglish/rojak. The only thing that jarred me was when Ho started singing and I thought it was a Chinese song until I stared at the surtitles and realised she was... singing in Malay. Oops.

(Note: Even though the character was played by a woman, I'm going to stick with 'he' pronouns in the review per the synopsis since technically the funeral rites are supposed to be carried out by a male relative.)

The staging was minimalist, and it worked to focus the audience on the actors themselves, with the judicious use of lighting. Scene changes (to indicate the start of a new day) were marked by chanting (both Chinese ritual prayers and Arabic verses/prayers) and reflections in a sort of Greek-chorus type thing, punctuated by choreography. There's probably a better or more technical term to describe it, but I don't have the vocabulary for that. At any rate, I liked it because it solved Auditorium A's problem of not really having a proper backstage for actors to go in and out. So all three of them were onstage for the duration of the show. 

Overall, the show was fascinating—and thought-provoking—but the more I think about it, the more I feel that the ending was a little emotionally flat. There was a build up of sorts, with the thing about the nails. It rises and then it falls, it's really dramatic, and then I am left a little confused about what I'm supposed to take from that. I chalked this down to not actually understanding the significance of the events at the cremation. As I said after the show, I'm not actually Chinese enough for this.  

I connected much more with the Chinese-Malay protagonist, even though I am, as far as I can trace, 100% Chinese. For me, Dua Darah is no so much about racial tension, but about religious conflict or the dilemma of the recently converted—especially when one converts to a monotheistic religion that says performing another religion's rites are a sin in and of itself, no matter how pure your motives are. It can only be framed as a conflict between two bloodlines in Malaysia because of our problem of conflating race and religion here. If you're Malay, you are Muslim. If you're Chinese, you are Buddhist or Taoist. And yet everything the protagonist wrestles with around the funeral rites are things that have come up over and over again in the Chinese Christian community in Malaysia. They even directly mentioned the shared problem of Cheng Beng. I mean, obviously the Christians don't have it as bad—no halal or dressing laws to address—but there's still that tension of what you can and can't do, what you should and shouldn't. Because what's truly cultural and what's religious at this point?

In the end, Dua Darah was, for me, a reflection on the realities of colonialistic religions and how it tears you from your cultural roots in many ways, whether due to mixed blood (there's some unspoken racism to be unpacked there) or just due to conversion. It's recognition of yes, this happens, this happens all the time in various communities. It's an acknowledgement of the dissonance that racial alignment to religion causes in global/multicultural communities. For Christian converts, there's that need to distance yourself from Chinese culture, to become overly Western/White-presenting. For Muslim reverts, there's a need to prove yourself more Malay than the Malays. 

But how do you resolve it? It feels like there should be a middle ground somewhere, to be able to follow the tenets of the religion you now adhere to (or have chosen for yourself) while still honouring and respecting where you come from. The show does not offer any solutions. The aunt is cremated, the protagonist returns home, having completed the rituals for his beloved aunt whilst bearing the guilt of having sinned in doing so—and even if God can forgive him, I'm pretty sure society won't. 

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DUA DARAH

A Drama in Bahasa Melayu by Johan Othman (with English and Chinese surtitles)

Director: Chee Sek Thim

Playwright: Johan Othman

Music Director and Composer: Kang Su Kheng

Choreographer: Teoh Chee Lin

Performers: Hilyati Ramli, Ho Sheau Fung, Teoh Chee Lin.

Producer: Tan Hock Kheng

👉A ZXC Theatre Troupe production.

👉KL venue supported by Five Arts Centre

If you're in KL this weekend, you can catch Dua Darah at Five Arts Centre, GMBB.

 Kuala Lumpur
Date/Time:​
17 & 18 April 2026 @ 8:30pm
18 & 19 April 2026 @ 3:00pm
Venue: Five Arts Centre, 9th floor, GMBB, KL

 Ticketing
Individual Ticket: RM55
Group of Four: RM180

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Book Review: A River From the Sky | Ai Jiang

A River from the Sky by Ai Jiang
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A River from the Sky picks up right after A Palace Near the Wind. Liu Lufeng is escaping the Palace near Feng with her younger siblings Chuiliu and Changqing, along with Geyser, also known as Exile Song. They are to meet Sangshu in Gear, but an encounter with the rebels disrupts all their plans.

This second novella of the Natural Engines duology is told in two POVs: Lufeng and Sangshu. On one hand, this gives us a deeper perspective of all the things that Lufeng has been completely unaware of. On the other, it makes for another confusing ride - we're not just grappling with the present, we're also having to come to terms with everything Sangshu has gone through in the years since she left Feng.

Where Lufeng had been almost passive, only stirring at last to try to save her younger siblings, Sangshu's story is one of both great ambition and betrayal. Sangshu caught up in all that progress and science seems to offer, only to find that gaining what she wants means giving up other things just as precious to her. These are presented as hard choices in the struggle for survival, and it's just not progress versus tradition, old vs new.

It's progress, but at what cost? Who (not just what) are you willing to sacrifice to get richer and more powerful? And is it truly worth it? But, as with the world we live in, everyone is complicit in the system and breaking away completely may have a higher cost than maintaining the status quo, no matter how terrible the system is.

There's layer upon layer of deception slowly being laid bare, and it should be exhilarating to finally discover what drives this world. And yet... after the build up in A Palace Near the Wind, the reveal here wasn't half as devastating as I was led to believe it would be. I found myself going, "Oh, that's it?"

Still, it's a gripping tale of surrender and sacrifice, and the desire to make the world a better place, not only for yourselves but for everyone - including your perceived enemies. Ai Jiang points out the interconnectedness of Feng, Glace, Clay, Engine; Wind Walkers and Water Shifters, Cogs and Land Wanderers, Natural Titans. Just like our world, no one place or people truly stands on their own.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Titan Books via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Book Review: Strange Familiars | Keshe Chow

Strange Familiars by Keshe Chow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Gwendolynne Chan really needs to make Dux to get that cushy ministry job and help save her family's struggling restaurant. Harrisford Briggs also really needs to make Dux, both because his father expects it, and to provide him an out from working at Magecorp after graduation. The two academic rivals hate the sight of each other... or do they? Either way, they need to work together to figure out the strange magical surges that's causing chaos and threatening their final year exams (and the rest of London).

Strange Familiars was a romp of a read. There's witty banter and snark, academic rivalry with close score-keeping, a grumpy talking cat (and other more exotic familiars), exploding magic, and lots of chemistry.

Chow does especially well in showcasing Gwen's troubles as a second-generation immigrant in the UK - being Manchester-born and raised, and yet expected to know everything about her Chinese ancestry, even rare mythological creatures like the qilin. Gwen deals with both subtle and not-so-subtle racism, plus the problems of being poor and trying to scrape by. She has tremendous drive (and pride), which plays off perfectly against Harrisford's ego.

But whilst Harrisford is rich and proud, he's also rather socially aware, or woke if you want to put it that way. Since Chow also writes in his POV, you get to know the real Harrisford behind the mask that he puts up for the public, getting both the insecurities and blindspots that plague him. And you can't help but like him because he's actually rather earnest and nice. And also rather vulnerable.

At any rate, the TENSION. (Also, reader note: this is firmly very New Adult, so there is on-page sex.)

Before you think this is just a romance, there ARE a lot of things going on in the background - magical surges, political intrigue, government coverups, and exploitation, all in the name of keeping the magic (and the money) flowing. Both mystery and romance have their parts to play and they feel perfectly balanced in drawing me further and further into the story.

I kinda missed this was a duology when I picked it up, so when I got to the end I was like no, nooo why? Oh, there's book 2. So. Now I gotta wait for book 2 *sobs*

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Ace via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Book review: Death Bringer | Sonia Tagliareni

Deathbringer by Sonia Tagliareni
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Viola Corvi hates her magic. The death magic has only ever taken from her - her father, her grandmother, and now her sister. Sylas Ronin, a poison mage, also hates death magic - for taking his mother from them. And then the two are thrown together in Gorhail Institute of Magic and must learn to work together if they are to achieve their goal - to find and stop the serial killer who's coming after Viola.

Despite the academia setting, Deathbringer is more enemies-to-lovers than academic rivalry. Besides Lyria's desperate attempt to master lifedrain theory, there is little actual studying going on in the book; everyone's too busy panicking when students start turning up dead. Besides, Viola is adamantly refusing to actually learn anything about magic, even if it will eventually help her, whilst Sylas is pretty much an insufferable, reckless, know-it-all with anger issues. Okay, both of them have anger issues, but Viola is just a smidge better at using her anger to further her goals.

Tagliareni is deft with her knife, whether it's the twisty murders that keep happening or the devastating secrets that stab like a knife to the gut. To be honest, there are (a lot of) times where Sylas' bullheaded recklessness makes me want to slap him, but Tagliareni layers on the emotions and the painful backstory so well that it often feels forgivable or, at the least, understandable. The dual POVs work exceptionally well for this - giving readers both sides of the story, so to speak, and presenting a sympathetic point of contact/information for both rival houses instead of making one better than the other. There's no clear "evil" house or strand of magic in this one, even if death magic is often seen as dark and scary.

Loyalty is a theme that's explored with great depth - whether personal loyalty to one's friends and loved ones or loyalty to one's house/magic. Blind loyalty is both encouraged and called out at differing times, but where it's most wrenching is when it's pitted against love. Sylas has to decide whether to act with blind loyalty to the House of Poison, or if his growing love for Viola will force him change his beliefs. Viola has no loyalty to any mage or house, but it's the various loyalties of family, friends, and lovers in the past that has placed her in this current situation - as the one person sought after for her unwanted magic and relic.

Altogether, it's a very tantalisingly twisty dark fantasy. Deathbringer has been one of the most enthralling reads of 2026 so far.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Atria Books via Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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#MusicMonday: Breathe | Jonny Diaz

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been obsessing with this song lately

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Breathe, just breathe
Come and rest at my feet
And be, just be
Chaos calls but all you really need

Is to take it in fill your lungs
The peace of God that overcomes
Just breathe
So let your weary spirit rest
Lay down what’s good and find what’s best
Just breathe

Book review: We Interrupt This Program | Randee Dawn

We Interrupt This Program by Randee Dawn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I saw Randee Dawn's post that We Interrupt This Program was up on NetGalley, I tell you, I clicked that request button so fast. I loved Tune in Tomorrow, and this is another novel in the same magical universe!

The TROPE town of Seaview Haven is breaking down and Finch, an SCN intern, has wrangled an assignment to figure out what's wrong with it - so that he can prove his Unseelieness by dismantling it forever. But Winnie Arrowmaker, Siggy, and Martin are doing their best to prove to him that the town can still be saved. Can it?

We Interrupt This Program is a wild romp into a fantastical world and - at the same time - an insightful look into what it takes to be creative. At times, it feels a little meta - Winnie Arrowmaker is a writer of mysteries, and the Muses are involved - but as the book blurb says, "Winnie and Finch are going to have to tell a Truly Great Tale. Because, as they realize, real power lies not in the stories we watch, but in the stories we tell ourselves."

In this day and age when the great Threads fight of the day is whether it's ok to use AI for covers and for writing, it's validating to read something that's so honest about the struggles of writing something. (I was going to say "something worth reading", but who's the arbiter of what's worth reading? Everything written by humans is worth being read by someone.) And how it feels when your best work still isn't good enough. Will it ever be good enough?

In that same vein, Finch is also struggling to be good enough any anything. He's so convinced that his one Hideous Deformity makes him an Unseelie, despite all other indications, that he's willing to destroy his life and his friendships to prove it. And yet, he's...not really good at being naturally destructive? Neither is he good at being, well, Seelie.

Behind the hilarity and light-heartedness is a thoughtful exploration of how our perceptions of ourselves - and what we think others think of us - affect our behaviour, whether for good or for bad. And how best friends spur us to be the best of ourselves - but can also bring out the worst. And maybe we're not always just one thing, but many, in all our humanness.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Solaris Nova via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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WE INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM releases on 3 March! Preorder here (affiliate link)

Book Review: The Shadow of His Hand | Benjamin Patterson

The Shadow of His Hand: Book One of the Markulian Prophecies by Benjamin Patterson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A princess, a soldier, and a baby set off to fulfil a prophecy that will save the Realm: The Mark must reach a place known as The Hand of God before Embracing's Day, or all is lost. The problem is, The Hand of God now lies in Jerikan territory-the same enemy who's trying to destroy them.

The Shadow of His Hand is an interesting read, but uses several tropes that annoy me greatly. YMMV, so ignore the star rating as you like.

As an epic fantasy, the novel delivers. Our heroes set off on an impossible quest and face all kinds of hardships. There's friendship and betrayal, love and loss, and politicking galore. They trek through what feels like the whole world - jungle, desert, and the open sea. It is quite a militaristic book, so if you're not one for battle descriptions, you may find some of that just a tad too detailed. As a medieval fantasy, it is, as expected, rather Euro-centric. There are weirdly modern-sounding words or phrases that pop up at times which, when set against some almost-archaic formal sentences, feels a little odd.

The most annoying bit about the worldbuilding is the racism. Because, of course, the dark-skinned foreigners are described as heathens, poor, uneducated, primitive, lacking in ambition, eat weird food, are possible cannibals, and none of them speak the common tongue. They are the plot device that turn up to help our travellers (at least twice!) out of the sheer goodness of their hearts. When all of them are captured by slavers - on a journey they are only on because they are helping them on the quest - only our heroes make it out. Fredrick never even thinks of saving the slaves caught in the hold. The worst thing about this is that the Princess herself has foreign blood - her mother (or maybe grandmother?) comes from the same geographic area.

Now we come to the part where YMMV. The characters and their relationships are the major pain points for me, mostly because I'm easily irritated by some of these characteristics or character flaws.

If Patterson intended us to very annoyed at (or even hate) High King Eldilin Mancott, then he did a superb job there. I have a thing for competent people in important roles, and the High King is NOT it. Eldilin is always whining about his duties and responsibilities and acts as if the whole Realm is on his shoulders, but he isn't even competent at carrying them out. It's his adviser who does practically everything for him, but he has the gall to complain that he can't be himself and he can't do ANYTHING for himself. He's pretty useless, imo, and probably thinks its a sin to be happy. And when people actually try to help him, like his wife, he rejects their help (You don't understand! It Is My Duty!).

His wife, Jaithe, is another whole matter. Their marriage was the most insta-est case of (one-sided) instalove I have seen in a while. I mean, she sneaks into the hall to see him because she wants to laugh at her sister and the other hopefuls who want to be chosen as High Queen, and then SHE SEES HIM AND IMMEDIATELY FALLS IN LOVE. Because he's such a sad, sad man and just needs a woman to truly love him and then he'll get better. Um no. This is how women get trapped in bad marriages because they think they can change their husbands through the power of love. I guess if you like that trope you might like their "romance". Where, tbh, he spends most of the time ignoring her and shutting her down for even attempting conversation. At least they haven't even consummated the marriage because she refuses to sleep with a man who doesn't love her. Good for her, but also LMAO.

TBH, the other case of instalove in this book, is between Fredrick, our hapless soldier, and Princess Kathryn, who he saves, but at least Fredrick is aware enough to figure he's just crushing because she's rich and beautiful AND A PRINCESS. he's such a glorious mess anyway, so that just adds to his quirks. (He thinks he's crushing, but the text really wants to imply it's true love, so take from that what you will.)

Final bit! This is touted as Christian fiction, so let's look at it from the lens of faith. The faith set up is interesting (implied British tone), where there is a God - Elan - and twelve Guardians. The Realm is supposed to believe in Elan, but generally, worship practices have somewhat shifted from Elan to praying to/worshiping the Guardians instead (feels like a swipe at Catholics). It's a classic apocalyptic set up transplanted into a fantasy world - the world is ending, and the prophesied one must save the Realm. Jerika has summoners, who work with demons - so, very Good vs Evil, God vs Devil.

Patterson is daring in a sense that of the people sent on the quest, both Fredrick and Kathryn have shaky holds on their faith in Elan. Even High King Eldilin, who is supposed to uphold worship of the true God, only sends them on the quest because he can't deny the evidence of The Mark. Focusing on Fredrick's journey, you can see how his faith in and reliance on Elan grows. Fredrick comes across as a second-generation Christian-type, who knows generally what he's supposed to believe, but not why, and his relationship with God is affected by his circumstances growing up. He starts with a faith not his own, but grows in it through the hardships he faces in trying to fulfil the quest. Elan does step in to save the day several times (through various means), and the set up is good enough that it feels organic to the plot, with Elan as an active player instead of coming across as contrived/deus ex machina.

Final note on our heroes. At first, I was going to give them (both Fredrick and Kathryn) the Too Stupid To Live label, but honestly? They don't deserve it. They do try their best against the worst circumstances, so I'll just say that they work well together even if they're just Slightly Useless.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from the author. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Book review: Saltswept | Katalina Watt

Saltswept by Katalina Watt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Paranish has finally reopened its borders and returners and visitors alike are thronging into Umasa for the birth of the princess. But not all is as it seems.

Finlyr Pane has returned to Paranish - and finds himself barely escaping the gallows. Ris' daughter Biba has powerful magic she can no longer hide - and in an attempt to avoid the Temple, Ris sets out on the perilous quest of retrieving the treasure from the Lahon Maelstrom. Hanan achieves her wildest dreams - only to find out that the Bastion holds dark secrets.

Saltswept is a quest adventure on the high seas, but it's also a dark fantasy that dips into necromancy, which leads to... zombie sailors. A content warning here: the book may look and feel rather YA, but it does contain several sex scenes (not graphic). It is also categorised as Adult, but it's hard to tell from the blurb and/or cover (though don't ask me what would make a distinction).

The narrative switches between Finlyr, Ris, and Hanan's POVs in first person. I personally think that if you have more than two viewpoint characters, you really should be writing in third person. As it is, it flows well enough despite having to keep tracking down whose first person POV I'm in. (But would've been easier, just saying.) Finlyr and Ris' POVs intertwine quite a bit, and they switch off rather seamlessly since they join forces early on in the book. It's Hanan's POV that often feels jarring, like it's not quite connected to the rest of the story. That storyline is important because it gives us insight into what the stakes are, and what's going on with the Temple and the Bastion, but since the two don't actually intersect until near the end, it feels a little like you're also reading a side quest of some sort.

Overall, Saltswept was an highly enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to book 2!

Note: I received a digital ARC from the Hodder & Stoughton via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Book Review: Bouncing Back | Amber Gabriel

Bouncing Back by Amber Gabriel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Bouncing Back completes Elam Bentley's redemption arc - he's finishing his stint in the Supervillain Rehabilitation Project by serving a one-year term on the Reno team. If he gets through this, he'll be a full-fledged hero. If he doesn't, well, it's back to jail. He has his work cut out to earn the trust of the team, though. And his attraction to his team leader, single mom Rightcross, isn't helping matters.

I'm not sure what I thought about this one. I enjoyed Stretched Thin, and I think Bentley is a fun character with much to root for, but for some reason, Bouncing Back didn't quite hit the spot. There was a lot going on with the DOSA team, along with a child with epilepsy, and everything just felt a little messy going between the POVs of Rightcross and Elam.

The gospel message was also a bit more explicit and in your face than other SVR books, so it felt a bit odd.

At any rate, it was still a fun read!

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