Summer is here, and it's hot. That's the bad news. The good news is, lots of summer reads are coming out! Fortunately, everything I'm reviewing here is 100% real. Which already puts most indie reviewers ahead of the curve.
Read on to sample romantasy, historical fiction for young readers, summery rom-coms, sexy noir comics, and a retelling of a classic ballet. Thanks as always to the authors and publishers who provide me with advance copies!
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Tea Pairing: Chapters is back in business! Right now, I'm keeping cool in my home library with iced Poetic Peach: a caffeine-free fruit tea with tart peach and hibiscus notes. Check out Chapters' full catalogue of bookish teas, and use my code KARA15 for 15% off your order!
Always Be My Bibi
by Priyanka Taslim
Available now16-year-old Bibi Hossain was convinced she wouldn't get to date for years, thanks to her father's rule: no boyfriends until Bibi's big sister Halima gets married. But things could be turning around, because Halima is engaged to tea garden heir Sunny, and the whole family is flying to Bangladesh for the wedding! For Bibi, though, this means splitting her time between wedding prep and putting in hours on her soon-to-be in-laws' tea garden. While there, she meets Sunny's younger brother Sohel. And while the two don't initially hit it off, they eventually become reluctant friends with a few shared goals in mind.
Goal 1? Break up Halima and Sunny so Halima doesn't have to give up on her law school dreams. Goal 2? Find Bibi a summer boyfriend from the local eligible bachelors. And, seemingly most impossible of all, find Bibi's grandmother's long lost college boyfriend. The first two of these goals are going swimmingly at first, but social and generational expectations threaten to cause a much bigger rift than either of them anticipated. Worst of all, Bibi might be catching feelings for Sohel.
While Always Be My Bibi does follow the teen rom-com novel format ("Boy meets girl, girl makes massive mistakes, rinse and repeat"), the novel's rooting in Bengali culture and tradition makes things a little less cut-and-tried than they might be in other books. The novel celebrates the beauty of the region while calling out its turbulent history; it praises the strength and importance of certain traditions while acknowledging that others could perhaps do more harm than good. This isn't the story of one teenager messing up constantly—it's the story of two families finding themselves at the intersection of their youngest members, and deciding what faith and tradition should look like at that intersection. This, presented through the eyes of a narrator who's imperfect but earnest and relatable, makes for a delightful summer romance.
A Dance of Lies
by Brittany Arena
Available nowOnce, Vasalie Moran was Prince Illian's Jewel—the prized dancer in his court. But two years shackled in prison, framed for a crime she didn't commit, have left her weak and ill. But Illian offers Vasalie another chance: be his right hand at the Gathering, six weeks of artistry and feasting attended by all the royals of the region, and she will go free.
Vasalie may no longer be enamored of Illian, but she craves her freedom and is willing to play her part as a dancer/spy. But the more she learns about the people she's hurting, the more she shies away from her duties. Torn between feelings for her new dance partner and Illian's brother Anton, she begins digging deeper into Illian's schemes. And what she discovers could tear apart the whole kingdom. As her own past comes back to haunt her, she navigates new loyalties and new prophecies, hoping to save multiple nations before she herself breaks.
As a novel, A Dance of Lies does suffer a bit from some late-stage exposition dumps. Most of the story is threaded through beautifully, with the different threads coming together in the final chapters. But there is a bit of villainous monologuing that trips up otherwise excellent pacing. As a metaphor for disability, this novel shines. In her foreword, Brittany Arena is open about her struggle with POTS and how it is reflected in Vasalie's post-incarceration condition. It's a powerful statement not just on how chronic conditions can bring a person down, but on how those conditions can be overcome with creativity and perseverance. Life may not be the same as before, but it can still be made beautiful.
Heat Seeker: Exposed #1
by Charles Ardai and Ace Continuado
Available nowPulp noir comic series Gun Honey continues its spinoff series Heat Seeker this month, focusing on the (not really) redheaded "mistress of misdirection" Dahlia Racers. Main series heroine Joanna Tan takes a back seat as Dahlia puts all her skills to the test to evade the most tenacious of foes: an online investigative journalist.
What does "Bitch with a Bone" Jacqueline McGee want with Dahlia? Simply put, her next big story—which she plans to hype up to her one million followers. But Dahlia isn't just protecting herself. She has others at home: people who need to be out of the spotlight even more than she does. In this first issue of the new story arc, Dahlia uses all the skills at her disposal to evade McGee's all-seeing eyes. But as issue #1 closes, we learn that Racers may have met her match in McGee.
Readers not already familiar with the Gun Honey universe may feel a little adrift in the first few pages, but any backstory is secondary to the real draw of Heat Seeker: Exposed. Long-time fans and newcomers alike can appreciate the steamy art, action-packed scenes, and cat-and-mouse tension between Dahlia and her new foe. It's a fun and exciting way to immerse yourself in the Hard Case Crime line, and may just make you race back to the beginning of Gun Honey!
Threat of the Spider
by Michael P. Spradlin
Available June 24In this follow-up to last year's Rise of the Spider, we once again follow 12-year-old Ansel as he navigates life, friendship, and family in Germany circa 1929. Ansel loves his family, detective stories, and playing football with his friends. But as the Hitler Youth build an increasing presence in his town, everything he holds dear starts to fall apart.
Heinrich Himmler is preparing to make an appearance in town, and Ansel's journalist father intends to be present and report on the event. But after Ansel and his friends trounce some of the local Hitler Youth in a game of capture-the-flag, things turn dire when his father goes missing. It turns out the uprising in his hometown is more than just classmates in new uniforms and angry sympathizers throwing rocks through windows. Lives are on the line.
It's never easy to talk about turbulent times in history, and even more difficult to do so for young readers. But Spradlin's Web of the Spider series continues to thread the needle adeptly—presenting believable young people in a setting that meets middle-grade readers right where they are. It's never too dense (and indeed includes a glossary of important terms), nor does it talk down to readers. And while the book rests largely on detective aspirations and schoolyard games, it never shies away from the true terrors of fascism. This is a book worth reading, sharing, and talking about.
A Treachery of Swans
by A.B. Poranek
Available June 24Thrown away by her birth family for her status as a gold-blooded sorcier, Odile found purpose as the adopted daughter and right hand of Rothbarte: the scheming masked director of the local theatre. He wants to bring back magic, healing the land of its curse of withered flowers and black snow. But to do so will require one last job from Odile: infiltrate the palace in the guise of Marie d'Odette, the so-called "Swan Princess," and obtain the goddess-gold crown that gives the royal family its power.
But this is easier said than done, even leaving aside Odile's complicated feelings for her childhood friend. The palace is crawling with dark legends and treachery—and just as the disguised Odile arrives, the king is found brutally murdered, the Dauphin's guard (and her estranged brother) Damien the only suspect. To solve the murder, Odile will have to breath the spell hiding Odette away in the shape of a swan. But digging into the mysteries of the palace, and of the goddesses who allegedly abandoned their people, will unearth an even darker history and set off a deadly battle.
A.B. Poranek debuted with Where the Dark Stands Still, which I reviewed in early 2024. Just as that book wove an enchanting story based in Slavic folklore, A Treachery of Swans spins the threads of Swan Lake into something new. Told from the point of view of "black swan" Odile, the ballet becomes a dark romance steeped in ancient legend and stolen magic. The contrasting personalities of Odette and Odile become two pieces of a larger puzzle, meant to fit together rather than contrast. Too, Poranek does a wonderful job weaving imagery from the original ballet into the narrative, from choices of outfit to the masked characters seen throughout. Whether you're a fan of the ballet or new to the story, it's a beautiful read.
Dravenor: A Dragon-Vampire Romantasy
by Yajna Ramnath
Available June 26Nora knows relative few things about herself. She knows she is a daywalker: a vampire able to eat human food and stand in the sun. She knows she's about 100 years old. And she knows she's being horribly mistreated as a test subject in an institute overseen by ice dragon king Zayn Dravenor. When she escapes to the Firelands, ruled over by Zayn's brother Rhydian, she finds herself welcomed with surprising speed. And the sparks that fly between her and the fire dragon shifter are hard to deny.
But there's more going on. Nora is having flashbacks to her past life, and they seem to indicate a history with both Zayn and Rhydian. Moreover, there's some other power at work within her: something that sets her apart from her vampire kin. When the truth is revealed, though, it could tear apart two countries, and the relationship she's built with Rhydian.
Dravenor has its moments: there is clearly a lot of care and love put into it. But it feels very much like a first draft rather than a finished book, and one more keen on packing in romantasy tropes and quotable lines than developing the lore of this world or its characters. For example, I was constantly at sea on what exactly this fantasy world is. Is it an alternate version of our world with extra continents? While there are modern medical facilities, little is done to establish much beyond a generic fantasy tone. Meanwhile, Nora references Barbie, Oscars, and Frozen; she wears quippy vampire tees and ripped jeans; but this seems at odds with her surroundings rather than an extension of them. Too, there's a great deal of time spent establishing Nora as constantly sarcastic, to the point of being tiring and borderline unlikable. The fact that her reasons for being this way are never explored is a shame, as it could open up a wealth of compelling character development. As it stands, Dravenor speeds through much of its story, giving us little time to get to know or even like its triangle of protagonists. With another draft, this could become something truly beautiful and heartwarming.
