It's a new month with new book reviews... and new news! I am now writing for (among my usual haunts) Boss Rush Network, where I will be sharing many of my book reviews. After this month, a lot of my niche/genre reviews will go there. I'll still be doing book reviews over here monthly, since not every title I find is necessarily the kind of thing they're looking for. I'll also still be doing the TBR reviews I established last month. In other words, very little will change here, but there will be more elsewhere. And that's a good thing!

Thanks as always to the lovely authors and publishers who send me their books.

Life on the haunted island of Weymouth is strange, but it's also the only life Mabel Beuvry has ever known. She's one of the island's Eleven Houses: families that stand against the dead as they travel from sea to shore, attempting to make their way to the mainland. Houses stand divided, taking the brunt of the dead's attacks house by house after each storm. And after House Cabot's refusal to help led to the death of beloved family, she's content to keep it that way. Until Miles Cabot arrives.

Miles is a rare outsider whose mother left the island and forgot her bonds to it, so his return means several lessons in everything it means to be from Weymouth. That means hazing from the fellow boys, but also difficult talks with Mabel as the two try to work out their quickly-evolving relationship. Not every encounter will be pleasant, though. There are things that even Mabel doesn't know about herself, and a lot of old wounds that need healing as the biggest Storm in decades threatens their shores.

Right off the bat, I wish publishers would stop comparing their books to Twilight in ad copy like it's a good thing. Twilight carries with it a lot of baggage concerning consent and uneven power dynamics, and it's not even the best example (or even a good example) of love across forbidden boundaries in YA fiction. Eleven Houses has a lot of difficult conversations throughout it, but they're ultimately in positive directions. Delicate issues of mental health, bullying, and gender divides are all handled with a compassionate touch without diluting the drama or the romance. Most of all, it's a very atmospheric book, with several flavors of Gothic horror woven among its many houses. It's a great choice for lovers of romance who also enjoy a dash of The Horrors.

Riv del Rio didn't travel to Colombia looking for a new case; rather, the poet/detective was seeking reprieve after a tragedy involving the woman he loves. But a case falls in his lap via a family friend. Carlotta Ochoa's daughter, Angelica Alfa, has vanished. As Riv and his cousins explore the missing persons case further, they discover an unpleasant truth: the powerful Exeter Mondragon is pulling the strings, preventing her investigation from being pursued. But Riv won't give up, even when all signs point to the brilliant young woman already being dead.

The further Riv digs, though, the more unsettling things he finds. Angelica possesses a phenomenal, practically incomprehensible, level of intelligence. Her father was involved in some bizarre business ventures of his own. And when Riv finally comes face to face with Mondragon himself, the situation explodes into a crisis far beyond a single missing person. What the detective now faces involves the nature—and the future—of existence itself.

Every Arc Bends Its Radian is a peculiar book, and that's a compliment. It begins as a somewhat philosophical detective story before going completely off the rails in its second half. The whodunnit (and the "why," although that's a far denser topic) is addressed by the end, but the mystery is a means to an end. This book courts ideas of faith, what it means to be human, and what role our ever-advancing technology plays in our evolution. If I have a complaint, it's that indications of speakers in long conversations are rare. This isn't an issue when Riv and a second character are debating back and forth, since there are only two players and their personalities speak for themselves. But in early chapters, when Riv is in conversation with both of his cousins and they are of similar minds, it becomes difficult to follow the thread of conversation. That aside, this is a surprising and challenging book that will thwart some readers while intriguing others. Personally, I'm in the second camp.

Lizzy Grimm is, for all intents and purposes, the current proprietor of Grimm Curiosities. Her father has passed away, and her mother's gift for communing with the dead has left her unresponsive. As Christmas approaches and rent is long past due, two new visitors begin frequenting purveyor of oddities. The handsome young noble Antony Carlisle has a sister in a similar situation to Mrs. Grimm, and he and Lizzy soon form a close friendship despite their different social spheres. Meanwhile Mr. Stoke, apparently an old friend of Mr. Grimm, has come seeking a rare collection of anonymously-penned books about the paranormal.

But things are starting to shift, and not just as Lizzy navigates her feelings for Antony. Lizzy begins sharing her mother's gift, seeing ghosts around York. The books Mr. Stoke craves start leaving storage and arranging themselves around the shop. And A.A., the anonymous author of Mr. Grimm's collection, turns out to be closer to home than anyone expected. As Antony and Lizzy try to heal their beloved family members, a decades-old conspiracy—with roots in something more ancient still—emerges.

Grimm Curiosities is a stunning romantasy of manners. For most of the novel, the paranormal remains just under the surface, rearing its head only occasionally until the doors literally burst open and a whole new world spills into Victorian York. If you're a fan of Bridgerton but wish it had a bit of dark fantasy threaded through, this is a perfect read. And as we venture into the dark winter months, it's tonally appropriate, too!

Mila Shepard is in the business of finding people, but her latest job at Toussaints Detective Agency is a struggle even for her. She's been entrusted with a woman's last wish: the late Elisabeth Quemener has bequeathed a package to her old friend Astrid Oake. But there's no sign of who or where Astrid is, or even that she exists. Every time a new lead pops up, it just raises more questions. Meanwhile, Mila is struggling with a mystery closer to home, as more information surfaces about her niece Ani's late parents.

Mila's investigation uncovers decades of injustice: an apparent murder/suicide, school and hospital cover-ups, and dubious cybersecurity. Even when she gets to the truth, there's still more to uncover—much of it strangely echoing the strife in the life of the now-sixteen-year-old Ani.

If The Sea House is your first Mila Shepard book, you can still slide easily into the central mystery. It reads easily as a stand-alone, while still hinting at an overarching story beyond the bounds of the book that can be appreciated to some degree. The story of the week is, at least for a new reader, far more compelling than Mila's story. That isn't to say Mila's story isn't compelling or is too difficult to follow. All the relevant information is there, but it does become evident as the story goes on that we're missing out on some characterization for these recurring characters. That said, Astrid's story speaks for itself. As a solvable mystery, the pieces fit together cleanly; as a novel, it's compelling and tragic. And even once the mystery itself is solved, there are little loose ends that get tucked in neatly—even some the reader may have forgotten.

The Day of Blood has passed, and the younger generation of Starfleet is going through it. Jake Sisko has just been reunited with his family, Quark's nephew Nog continues to contend with being the first Ferengi in Starfleet, and Worf's son Alexander remains under suspicion after his time with Kahless. It seems that only divine intervention could break them out of their respective quandaries... and that's what they get. Well, not exactly.

QJ, the son of the same Q we (and many Starfleet captains) know well, snaps his way into the young men's lives. With a few snaps, he transports all four of them to the Starfleet of another dimension: one perfectly situated to address everyone's lingering issues. Familiar faces fill different roles and deceased people live on, allowing the young men the context and closure they need. But there's a problem: QJ's "selfless" stunt has consequences he doesn't appear to be able to undo, and this god-like youth must face the fact that he might also be here to learn a lesson.

This volume contains all four parts of the Sons of Star Trek comic miniseries. While looking out for cameos is fun (Lower Decks enjoyers will be very pleased) and the story itself has a heartwarming upshot, my favorite part of this edition was actually the father/son artwork at the back of the book. It's a great story to be sure, especially for Sisko and Q fans, but those four stills are the icing on the cake.