My birthday month is here!... which is neither here nor there, I just sort of felt like saying it. And it's time for many more book reviews. This month's new picks include science fact and science fiction, a murder mystery starring the queen of murder mysteries, and two books from very different fantasy series. Thanks as always to the authors and publishers who send books my way—be sure to go out and support these writers!

Bookish Candle: Frostbeard Studio's candle of the month, Star City, feels very appropriate to my fantasy reads for February. It's a light blend of ocean breeze, citrus, and musk. Use my link to get 20% off your purchase of this and other book lovers' candles!

Tea Pairing: Chapters is currently closed for the month as they move their business to the west coast. In the meantime, check out my London tea reviews—Whittard's English Rose blend would make an excellent companion to the nature-themed fantasy picks this month.

Note: I may receive a kickback for purchases made using these links/codes. Thanks for your support!

A new global pandemic has begun. Dubbed "Crown Royal," this corona variant has a strange side effect: those who survive are changed. They are happier, more empathetic, more altruistic. Some see the risk of death as a worthwhile tradeoff for an enlightened life; others fear the lack of agency (and potential chaos) that comes with having all your negative emotions dampened. And three teenagers find themselves on the front lines of this evolving war.

Rón, the young son of one of the world's wealthiest men, finds new meaning when he discovers he's an alpha spreader: capable of "embracing" both the willing and unwilling into shared enlightenment. Mariel, a homeless girl who falls for Rón, is the yin to his yang, naturally immune but wishing for a way out. And Morgan, handed immeasurable wealth so its infected former owner couldn't give it away, searches for a cure: not out of kindness, but out of a belief that competition and dissatisfaction power our world. Regardless of who's right and who's wrong, many will die along the way—some from Crown Royale, others as collateral damage.

All Better Now comes on the heels of a massive pile of "COVID books," which ran especially rampant in the sci-fi and horror sphere. While a global pandemic will certainly spur discussion and creativity for years to come, it takes dramatically new angles and insights to keep a title from retreading old ground. All Better Now is about six of one and half a dozen of the other. Hidden in its musings on the morality inherent in the human reaction is the fascinating fictional idea of the perfect viral adaptation: desirability. The book does ask many fascinating questions: is altruism really altruism if it's not a choice? Do we have the right to force betterment on others? Do we really want to numb our darker emotions, or do we need them? While Shusterman's work is filled with excellent prose, interesting characters, and evocative questions, the story itself often feels as rudderless as Rón on his mission of enlightenment. Even clocking in at over 500 pages, it never quite has room to explore everything it's laid out for itself. As a series of philosophical questions posed, All Better Now succeeds; as a story, it flies, then fizzles.

The world Willow and her best friend Olivia live in is grim. Plants no longer grow, food is scarce, and the last child in their small town has died. But Willow does all she can—both in terms of getting plants to grow again and by spreading forbidden books, even if the spread of knowledge (a privilege of the Elite class) could get her arrested or killed by soldiers. And if the soldiers don't kill her, the zombie-like creatures known as Claeg will.

When an unusually-sized wave of Claeg descends on their down, Willow and Olivia find help in Liam: a soldier who has seen the error of his ways and plans to fake his own death to escape. As the three travel abroad and learn to trust each other, they discover together that Willow has the power to make plants grow and rain fall. Willow and Liam also begin to fall in love, and that love seems to increase her powers. But once word gets out that Liam is alive and a girl who can bring green back to a dead world is out there with him, the Elite and their soldiers are quick to react. As the three separate to find allies, they also begin to discover more about what makes Willow special, and what that could mean for the world.

The Forgotten Earth opens with a lot of promise, especially what appear to be roots in Celtic mythology. But a lot of its promise fades quickly into standard post-apocalyptic YA, complete with a Chosen One and her one true love. Olivia, one of the most promising characters in the story as she navigates the loss of her wife Kat, spends most of her time as the sarcastic sidekick, with most of her actions being winks and smirks. And, while ample content warnings are given at the front of the book, there is a strange amount of sexual assault—moving far past a reflection on real-world systemic injustice into a sense that the author can only think of one way to keep tension high. The final battle feels rushed and strangely truncated, with little lead-up to establish the sheer importance of what is accomplished in said battle. There are threads and tendrils of great story here, but so much of what works feels insufficiently explored or tamped down into stereotypical post-apocalyptic YA. With room to grow, evolve, and subvert, this story could be something more and greater.

First published in 2023, Loren Grush's The Six follows the history of America's first six women astronauts. This month, an adapted version brings this story—the highs and lows, what's new and what hasn't changed in decades—to young readers. But even if you're not a young reader, and even f you've never read Grush's original treatment of the material, this is an excellent read.

This version of The Six starts from each woman's childhood, depicting her early dreams and how they would eventually lead each of them to applying for NASA's space program. Older readers will be all too aware of the reactions and mentalities of the time (some may even have lived through some of it); these historical moments are explained in a way that's culturally easy to understand without being condescending. The narrative is sprinkled with quotes from "the Six" and their collaborators (and occasionally their detractors), and gives insight into everything from the sizing of space suits to the internal investigation of the Challenger disaster.

As an older reader, old enough at least to have been one of the shocked students watching the Challenger in school, I appreciate the time and care given to explaining the changing viewpoints and landscape of the time. As a woman, I appreciate that the Six are never represented as a monolith. They were united in maintaining each other's dignity in front of the press and colleagues, but each had their own valid goals. Some chose parenthood before their first space walk; some put the program before any sort of personal life. Even the inclusion of a makeup kit shows itself to be in shades of grey, where some consider it sexist but another is relieved to be ready for the cameras. I'm happy to see us emerging from the era of there being a "right way to be a woman," instead seeing the uniqueness of each of these subjects allowed to shine alongside their accomplishments.

Eliza Baker has little interest in the world of fiction, least of all the increasingly popular Agatha Christie. But in order to get a job as assistant to the secretary of the Detection Club—a gathering of murder mystery enthusiasts and authors—she'll have to learn about Christie's work and make nice with her. But on the night the club accepts Eliza's old friend Theo as a member, complete with an overly dramatic initiation ceremony, a man is killed under mysterious circumstances. And the lead suspect seems to be Ms. Christie herself!

While Scotland Yard is on the case, Eliza Baker puts all her talents—both as a clever chess player and as a former member of the force—to the test. While she's leery of "deduction" a la Holmes, the literary-minded Theo makes a bet with her regarding which of them can find the killer first. But the case is a convoluted one. Rather than not enough evidence, there seems to be too much; nearly everyone present seems to have both a motive and a (literal or figurative) smoking gun. Worse still, Agatha Christie has disappeared. Has a guilty murderess fled the scene, or is her life also in danger?

The Case of the Christie Conspiracy weaves real-world history through its narrative, pairing the early days and real members of the Detection Club with the mystery of Christie's eleven-day disappearance. There are hints that Eliza could be a returning sleuth herself, with Theo on deck as a will-they-won't-they paramour and her spy sister Jane asking for further monitoring of the mystery authors. Fans of Christie, and of cozy mysteries, will definitely want to give this one a look. The mystery itself is intriguing and, while astute readers may guess the ending early, the journey is still an enjoyable one.

Faebound introduced readers to a world inhabited by elves locked in a Forever War, ages after the passing of both fae and humans. But Yeeran, an elf commander exiled from her home by her chieftain and lover, soon discovers that the fae are still alive, if not well: bound by the last of the humans to an idyllic prison. Now the lover of the fae queen Furi and bonded to the catlike obeah—magical beings sacred to fae but hunted by elves—Yeeran finds herself entwined with the fate of the fae.

Cursebound is the second book of the trilogy, placing Yeeran and her seer sister Lettle at the center of political turmoil. There is unrest among the Lightless—fae unbonded to an obeah and thus lacking fae magic—as their situation renders them second-class citizens among their own people. As attempts are made on Lettle's life, the sisters attempt to navigate the intersection of prophecy and politics. Equality among the fae is just one of their goals: they also seek to break the curse of human magic binding the fae to their home. The appearance of Alder, a Nomadic elf with an affinity for obeah and a tendency to speak a strange language when sleepwalking, could change things for the better. But the four factions of elves, once at war, have set their sights on the fae, meaning time is running short.

Faebound, for all its excellent worldbuilding and stunning characters, occasionally showed its hand a little too much when it came to Lettle's prophecies. Rather than making the audience feel clever, it sometimes left Lettle looking a bit slow. Fortunately, El-Arifi has stepped up in Cursebound, striking the exact right balance between reader awareness and character discovery. Some threads can be picked up on and chased down; others will leave the reader guessing right up until the tense moment of discovery. El-Arifi also manages to do something few writers can: create tension from lack of communication without it feeling contrived. All the main characters suffer from the same fear of honesty, leading to a deluge of poor choices; but they are also caught in their hypocrisy when they confront each other about it, or kick off far-reaching consequences. But what shines most is the setting of the trilogy: a delicately intertwined world of magic, where humans are (for a change) the beings of legend and nothing is ever truly as it seems. Cursebound has set the stage for what will hopefully be an incredible finale.