New year, same me... new books! I'm kicking off 2025 with five new releases for the month - four of which just happen to be romances interwoven with time travel, cults, and/or curses (real and imagined). To bring things back to center, there's a send-up of the cutthroat world of reality television.

Thanks to all the publishers who send their new releases my way. And if you have a book coming up in the near future, don't hesitate to reach out!

Bookish Candle: My library currently smells very wintry thanks to Frostbeard Studio's candle of the month! "Tall Tales" takes a page out of the American Midwest mythos with notes of maple flapjacks and cedarwood. Use my link to get 20% off your purchase of this and other book lovers' candles!

Tea Pairing: With so much magic and mystery afoot, this month's books pair well with Chapters' Magical Library Butterbrew. Use code KARAD15 at checkout to get 15% off your tea purchase!

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

A TRAITOROUS HEART
by Erin Cotter
Available Now

Jacqueline d’Argenson-Aunis is the lady-in-waiting to Princess Marguerite of France, but she's so much more than that: best friend, former lover, and aspiring spy. Jac's oncle and guardian Gabriel is a member of the shadowy Societas Solis, which she dreams of joining but from which he constantly shields her. However, an occasion to approve herself may have arisen: help broker a peace between the Catholics and Huguenots by convincing Margot to marry Henry of Navarre.

There are multiple problems with this, the first being that Margot is only interested in women. Jac is also reluctant to force a decision on a dear friend that she knows she doesn't want... and also, Jac and Henry are starting to fall in love. But between a murderer stalking the streets of Paris and Catherine de' Medici spouting dark prophecies, time is of the essence. In the wake of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, Jac will have to decide what she values more: her aspirations to Societas Solis, or the people she loves.

A Traitorous Heart bears much in common with Cotter's previous novel, By Any Other Name: a historical romance, bisexual protagonists, and the presence of a secret organization. But A Traitorous Heart is a much stronger outing for Cotter, largely in that Jac's story feels much more grounded in its time than Will's. Nowhere does it feel like the story breaks to teach a course in college ethics, and the characters' feelings and identities feel much more grounded in their time. This blend of romance, drama, and strong writing is what I hoped Cotter was capable of after reading her first book, and it's exciting to see her deliver.

BUILD A GIRLFRIEND
by Elba Luz
Available now

Amelia Hernandez's latest breakup is, sadly, no surprise. Her family is "cursed" to never have a lasting relationship, and only daughters are born in the brief relationships that do occur. The eight-woman Hernandez household may be primarily dedicated to opening their dream bakery, but now Amelia's mother, aunts, and sisters are turning their attention to a new project: helping her beak her curse. And to do that, she's going to go back and date all her exes, using data from each date to build up "what works" in the dating scene.

There's just one problem: Leon, who dumped her on her birthday and disappeared for two years, is back in town. And he and his dad are helping with construction of the bakery. He seems more than happy to act like nothing went wrong between them, but Amelia still hurts. So her plan takes a new turn: she'll win his heart, then crush it just like he crushed hers. But maintaining her many secret and goals becomes harder. Because there's one more thing she hasn't told anyone: she doesn't want to work in the bakery, and she's saving up to go on a gap year program. Can she get the money she needs, succeed in her plan to break Leon's heart, and break the Hernandez curse? Or are her feelings for Leon something more than anger?

Build a Girlfriend follows what's becoming kind of a standardized YA rom-com plot progression: character has something bad happen to them, has terrible idea, lies about terrible idea, world comes crashing down around them, and then they have to atone. This doesn't make the book itself bad, of course. It's absolutely formulaic, but Luz tells an important story with that formula that will resonate for many firstborns. The tug-of-war between finding out who you really are and being a people-pleaser is real. And for all that Build a Girlfriend follows the YA beats, it has a valid and wholehearted message about the possibility of standing up for yourself while showing love to others.

THE REALLY DEAD WIVES OF NEW JERSEY
by Astrid Dahl
Available January 14

Hope Bennett was meant to be a refreshing addition to Garden State Goddesses, a drama-saturated reality TV show centered on the wives of the Fontana family and their social circle. Hope's cousin Eden introduced her to Leo Fontana, leading to a marriage, followed by status as a Goddess. But this homegrown girl from Weed, California brings more to the table than a breath of fresh air: she brings scandal bigger than even this cast was prepared for.

As Hope attempts to navigate life with her fellow Goddesses—including the spite of Carmela and an affair with the openly bisexual Renee—she's also haunted by ghosts of her past. Her upbringing in her parents' cultish Brother God church led to tragedy in her early life, and a past love is haunting her now-active social media. The drama these different personalities stir up makes for good TV, which Eden is more than happy to exploit. But when real tragedy strikes and members of the cast begin dying around them, Eden and Renee must drop the theatrics and clear the names of the people they care about.

There is a lot going on in The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey, with the strongest storyline being the murder mystery that crops up two-thirds of the way through the book. For all its strengths, though, there's simply too much going on, and not enough thought given to making sure the book hangs together. Had it stuck to being a murder mystery doubling as a scathing (and deserved) takedown of reality TV culture, that would be one thing. But in trying to wrangle the latter, the former gets little room to breathe. There's also a Lady Whistledown-esque subplot in the form of "Shady Di," an Instagram gossip account, that feels like it doesn't get the handling it deserves. Overall, The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey is full of strong characters and has a compelling story underneath; but attempting to be so many things at once, rather than focusing on the one or two it does best, has led to it not quite sticking the landing it's aiming for.

THOSE FATAL FLOWERS
by Shannon Ives
Available January 21

Two legendary islands separated by time—the Sirenum Scopuli and the lost colony of Roanoke—are united in Those Fatal Flowers, a historical romance bridging millennia and cultures. At the center of the story is Thelia: once the companion and lover of Proserpina, now cursed to live with her sisters as a monstrous siren for the crime of not protecting the young goddess from being kidnapped by Dis. As the years roll on and the sisters suffer for Ceres's entertainment, Thelia searches for signs from her lost lover: and one day, she finds them. The sisters can be freed from their curse with a sufficient blood sacrifice, and a certain island is full of men who will make fine sacrifices for the Queen of the Underworld.

Disguised as a human princes seeking a suitor, Thelia ensconces herself in the New World colony. Amidst the residents' unfamiliar religion and rules, she initially witnesses signs that all human males will inevitably turn out as hateful and violent as Dis. But her slow-burn infatuation with Cora—a local woman who bears a striking resemblance to Proserpina—and her growing understanding of the settlement force Thelia to contend with her past preconceptions. There is indeed revenge worth seeking, but against whom?

Those Fatal Flowers appears at first glance to be front-loaded with mid-2010s gender essentialism—the belief that men can be nothing but violent and women can be nothing but their victims without literal divine intervention—but that is our narrator's initial notion, not the message of the book. Thelia is equal parts strong and flawed, her assumptions understandable but also fragile, and her journey in this story challenges even her deepest-held beliefs. The fact that she tells this story in the first person and present tense means we are always given her most current ideas. It also means we can watch those ideas be challenged and changed in real time. There are so many mythological retellings that, in their desperation to modernize, make sweeping backwards motions; this is not one of those books, though Thelia's early mindset is a clear acknowledgment that those books exist. Those Fatal Flowers shows a deep love and understanding for two foggy historical eras. And, as a Virginian who's seen my fair share of Lost Colony-inspired retellings, I was excited to see Ives do something legitimately new with the concept. Despite the darkness threaded through it, it's a book that preaches hope and second chances, especially in its final chapters.

THE ALCHEMIST OF ALEPPO
by Marie K. Savage
Available January 28

The Luck of Edenhall has always held a special fascination for Michael Salmaan and Kat Musgrave, and not just because it's a beautiful piece of art. The 14th-century glass creation marks a bond between these two strangers, as well as multiple other bonds that span generations and lifetimes. And when Michael and Kat meet in person, they can't deny the preternatural pull they feel to both the Luck and each other.

A dive into the history of the Salmaan family reveals a personal tie to the Luck: one that unveils a centuries-old alchemical marvel. The souls of lovers from hundreds of years ago are bound together by the Luck and its accompanying pieces, and Michael and Kat were instrumental in that discovery in former lives. But while some delight in reuniting with their lovers over and over again, others see their tie to the Luck as a curse. And while some simply want closure, others are willing to kill over and over again to get their revenge.

The Alchemist of Aleppo is the latest work of fiction to pay tribute to the legendary Luck of Edenhall (which is indeed a real vase on display at the V&A). The concept of the piece as a lodestone powering reincarnations for lovers across time is a wild one, and one that makes for some excellent romantic storytelling. While the complex and knotted timelines of the book are intriguing, the flow of the book is impeded by a lot of "telling" rather than "showing," with characters launching into unnatural-feeling monologues to fill in gaps. The villain of the piece has a sort of "Before I kill you, Mr. Bond" monologue toward the end, and a character introduced just before the finish line crams in a last-minute infodump that dilutes what should be a passionate scene. The concept itself is strong, as are the characters, and I hope to see Savage lean a little less into straight exposition in later works.

 

It will always strike me as a little ironic how the people most fearful of judgment tend to go into creative fields. Of course, it's also because many of us are so desperate for validation when it comes to our creative work. It means a lot to me when someone reaches out to me and says they enjoy my writing; at the same time, being in the same room while someone reads something I've written is nerve-wracking. Back when I still did acting and improv, that immediate feedback felt good. It's different when it's writing.

Gaming straddles the line between that. As a player, it feels like improv. But running a game is somewhere between that and, you know, writing. And while I've always wanted to run games on occasion for my friends, I've also been terrified to. I've given a lot of different reasons, all of which are true to some degree. I'm worried I can't "Yes, and" fast enough at a group. I'm worried I won't be able to manage all the mechanics of a game rather than just one character sheet or playbook. But let's be real: the real reason I'm afraid of GMing is because I'm terrified that my story and setting will suck, and I'll have to watch my friends be bored and disappointed in real time.

But that's something I'm gonna have to get over, because I've committed to running a game for a small group of friends. Womp, as they say, womp.

My system of choice is Girl by Moonlight, a Forged in the Dark system published by Evil Hat. I generally like Powered by the Apocalypse/Forged in the Dark games already, as I've mentioned elsewhere, because of how much focus is put on actually embodying your character and their role in the chosen genre. (I also love advancements being a product of risk and/or failure.) GBM has the bonus of being a genre-savvy magical girl system with multiple "playsets" to make it lean in whichever direction you prefer. Friend/regular GM/housemate Phoenix is currently running a game using the "Brink of the Abyss" playset (for your Sailor Moon type stuff), and I've been enjoying how that game flows.

I'll be using the "On a Sea of Stars" playset, which mashes up magical girl tropes with mecha and space opera. That is, as has been mentioned, pretty much perfect for me. The system is relatively easy to learn, especially considering the time I've spent watching Oxventure's Blades in the Dark. The pacing of the campaign (or "season") is actually quantified using meters and dice rolls. You start players with one of two types of missions. Once a certain meter gets to a certain level, you move up to a different tier of mission. What the main threat is depends on those meters.

The nerves have been nervy, even though my chosen gaming group is three (perhaps four) very close friends who I trust to both challenge and support me. I have a setting and a story I'd like to tell, and so far the response to the little intro I wrote up has been good. It's nice to see people getting excited to build characters in a setting I made (or, more accurately, am making). It's kind of the same feeling I got when I saw other Forgotten Lives writers absolutely nail my Morbius Doctor's character. It's like being seen and understood, in a weird way.

While the anxiety is still there and likely will be until I rip off the Band-Aid and run the first session, I did have something of a Eureka Moment as I was piecing things together via the system and the playset. If you've seen GLOW, imagine the moment Debbie realized that pro wrestling is a soap opera. That was me, realizing that (at least for me) a game guide is a series bible. I'm used to working with those because of my work with Obverse (and some upcoming stuff): guidance for what you should and shouldn't do to align your own original story with the constraints of the sandbox you've been given. Once that hit me, the planning side felt a little less daunting. I'm not "learning a system" anymore: I'm consulting a series bible. And I'm an old hand at that.

It's a little awkward to admit to anxiety about GMing when so many people do this as, like, kids. I've tried it once or twice, always short-form. Once it just ended badly because I didn't know how to do it; once was to beta-test a game and it was still messy because I still didn't know how to do it. But now, between games I've been in and games I've watched, I've had so many good examples of chill GMs and supportive players. This is pretty much the only capital-R Resolution I made for 2025. I will report back on how this goes, both how I like running GBM and how the game itself goes, if I survive.

 

photo by Kelly Sikkema

It would be nice to say 2024 was the best year yet, but I think I can content myself with saying it was a Pretty Okay Year. There are lots of things still in limbo, both personally and professionally, and I don't think I'm the only person for whom that's true. It's okay to be a work-in-progress.

The end of the year now is filled with Rewinds from every app imaginable. On reflection, that's not the worst way to be. So before I go on to the year ahead, I want to look back at where I've been. If that's all right with all of you, of course.

Published Work

One good thing about this year is that I'm properly back to writing outside of the day job. As much as I'd like? No. But that's something to work on in 2025 as well.

With an aim to have a much higher output this year, last year brought:

• Overdue: Mystery, Adventure, and the World's Lost Books: I was a contributor to this 18thWall anthology with my short story "Wholly Holy," about the search for Kyot's Parsifal. This is my second Perceval-adjacent story for this publisher, which I suppose means I need to write a third to complete my Arthurian triptych.
• Ice Hot: My second time editing an anthology, counting past charity volume Unearthed for Altrix Books. I always love working with Obverse, and having a bigger hand in Stephen Wyatt's world of Paradise Tower was an honor.

New Gigs

While I only had two new books under my belt this year, there are several more long-form things I'm involved in that I'm very happy about.

• Celestial Toyroom: The longest-running Doctor Who fanzine in the world was all right with an American weighing in, for which I will be eternally grateful. While most of my contributions are in the form of book and tabletop game reviews, I also pen other articles for them.
• The Black Archive: Obverse wanted to add a new editor to the team for their book-length Doctor Who studies, and I couldn't be happier to be aboard. I've already gotten to read and work on several titles from incredibly talented writers and academics, and more are in the chutes. (And yes, I will be writing some more myself in the near future.)
• Boss Rush Network: I miss the freedom that Sci Fi Magazine afforded me to talk about things outside the world of anime. So now I'm doing that over on BRN! I weigh in with book reviews, game reviews, coverage of Oxventure actual plays, and anything else geek-adjacent that strikes my fancy.

Not work-related in any way, but I also finally got to return to the UK last year—hopefully resuming my annual trips. I also got to meet several people whose work I admire, and (doubly nice) they were all extremely lovely. Maybe do meet your heroes actually.

The Year Ahead

One thing I've learned from years past is to be more forgiving about the goals I set. If I don't make them, that's okay. I wanted to write more last year, but the fact that I'm writing at all is frankly huge.

I definitely have more published work on the way in 2025, which I can say with confidence because it's stuff I've finished and sent to the publisher. Life and work are a bit more under control, so ideally in between fixing my leaking ceiling and chasing after my day job I can finally lock in all these projects that I owe people.

There are also some sort of high-reaching major goals I still have in mind. Stuff I'm not going to say aloud but that I'm going to keep working toward.

Thank you for all your support in the past year. I've gotten to hear from a lot of you over the last few months, and knowing there are people out there who like what I do makes me all the more determined to push ahead. Watch this space.

 

If all goes as it should, this blog post goes live on Christmas Day. However you're spending it, I hope it's a lovely one.

I also want to take this opportunity to promote small and indie press going into 2025. I appreciate the large publishing houses reaching out and sending me ARCs, and I will always believe that good books can come from absolutely anywhere. But between the ongoing difficulty of getting seen on social media and the growing difficulty of navigating AI-generated content, we need your help more than ever. If you read a book and loved it, leave a review on your book buying/reviewing platform of choice. I do the same for everything you see here, because every little bit helps.

And with that PSA out of the way, it's time to review books I've had recommended to me and been putting off reading. There are only two for this update, but one of those two books is actually several books in one, so I hope that's all right.

See you all in the new year!

FABIUS BILE: THE OMNIBUS
by Josh Reynolds

James Bojaciuk of 18thWall recommended this collection of books to me after introducing me to Fabius Bile via a Star Trek/Warhammer crossover campaign.

Fabius Bile is, even by the standards of modern Warhammer 40K, a complicated person. Once the chief Apothecary, he has now taken it upon himself to remake humanity, ushering in a new age of Man. But as he pave the way for homo novus, he leaves other atrocities in his wake: twisting flesh and bone to create bizarre mutants, remaking figures from his own life, and preserving himself for as long as possible so he can preserve his grim work.

In this collection of three books and three short stories, we follow Bile as forces greater than himself (a thing he refuses to acknowledge) attempt to weave him into their plans. Daemons attempt to bend him to their will, including his gene-father and the woman he would dare to call "daughter." Harlequins attempt to guide him and his allies into their proper roles in the great story of the universe. And by the end, Bile will have to face down his own mortality... just not in the way he expected.

I admit that my knowledge of Warhammer does not expand into 40K, but lack of knowledge has never scared me off a Josh Reynolds joint. These books are dense with both lore and gore, and someone better versed in the setting will likely find all sorts of familiar things to enjoy. Appropriately, the visuals are disgustingly vivid, to the point that Melusine's demonic presence feels almost like a respite amidst vivisection and barely-aware human experiments. But even with the lack of knowledge, and occasionally feeling like I was neck-deep in information I'd never fully parse, I love this extended character study of Fabius Bile. He's a hideous man with something akin to good intentions buried deep down, and it's refreshing to see a character like this presented warts and all, rather than artificially glorified by the author. He's a fascinating, Frankensteinian figure, and if anything this book makes me want to know more about the eras of 40K in which he had a hand.

THE LONG WAY TO A SMALL, ANGRY PLANET
by Becky Chambers

Two people—housemate Phoenix and friend Rob—both recommended and lent me this book. I first discovered Becky Chambers via her Monk & Robot series, the first book of which I reviewed for the now-defunct Sci Fi Magazine.

Rosemary is starting a new life far from her home of Mars, with a new last name and a new job. On board the Wayfarer, a ship whose job is punching holes in the fabric of spacetime to make interstellar tunnels, she'll be in charge of paperwork. But her interspecies studies courses, while making her an excellent fit for the job, haven't fully prepared her for everything ahead of her.

The crew of the Wayfarer has only a few other humans aboard—including captain Ashby, engineers Kizzy and Jenks, and algae specialist Corbin. Reptilian pilot Sissix brings with her a very different view of family and affection. Ohan, a Sianat Pair, is a navigator whose mind has been altered by lethal virus their species believes to be sacred. And then there's Dr. Chef, the cook and medic, whose endangered species is foreign even to Rosemary. As they take on a new job paving the way to a warlike planet, Rosemary connects with her crew and learns more about them than her classes could ever have taught.

Becky Chambers is an exceptional writer, and this introduction to her Wayfarers series is no exception. Many stories that attempt to address issues of diversity will insist on setting up a "good" and "bad" side—and while in some cases that's a valid approach, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is much more circumspect in its view of meeting and acknowledging other cultures. Everyone is strange to everyone, and in some cases deep-seated ethical views complicate important decisions. For example, is it okay to save a person's life if it goes against their beliefs? This story acknowledges that, in most cases, there's not a single right and perfect answer to be found and achieved—rather, we're all here to help each other, and it's all right if we make mistakes along the way in that attempt.

 

If for some reason you've not had enough of my articles on Crunchyroll, Otaku USA, or Boss Rush Network, it's time to grab some off the newsstand! The Otaku USA Magazine Winter 2025 issue is now on sale, and I have four contributions in this one. Best of all, they're all for shows I really loved in recent seasons.

My one entry in the review section is Pseudo Harem, a dark horse favorite from recent seasons. What could have been a fanservice/wish-fulfillment series is actually both an adorable rom-com and a showcase of Saori Hayami's amazing voice acting ability.

Speaking of shows I wasn't expecting to love, my first feature is on Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines! This coming-of-age series follows a light novel loving boy and three real-life "losing heroines": the third point of the love triangle who doesn't get the guy. In my feature, I talk about how well this series explores what actually happens to these seemingly disposable characters.

Next is a feature on my fave of the season: No Longer Allowed in Another World. This "anti-isekai" reincarnates legendary author Osamu Dazai in a fantasy world where other isekai heroes have turned their cheat powers to evil. It's a great look at what (much of) the isekai genre has become, why it's become that way, and what it could be. Also, I get to talk about classic literature, so you know I'm happy.

Finally, at least for me, is a review of Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools. In terms of isekai, my tastes tend to run toward "protagonist just wants to have a nice time" stories and "reincarnated as the villainess" stories (which have some overlap, admittedly). Dahlia in Bloom falls into the former category, but there are also some really lovely themes of being true to yourself and receiving appreciation for your work.

The new issue is on newsstands now. And if you want more articles like these on a regular basis, keep an eye on the Otaku USA website!

 

Photo by Joanna Kosinska

It's December and it's book review time again! Don't forget, I'm doing reviews over on Boss Rush Network as well (including my recent review of The Forbidden Visions of Lucius Galloway). This is where I'll be putting the majority of sci-fi, fantasy, and spinoff book reviews going forward.

Thanks as always to the authors and publishers who send advance copies my way!

BENEATH THE POET'S HOUSE
by Christa Carmen
Now available

After the sudden death of her husband Jonathan, novelist Saiorse White starts over by moving back to Providence. When she moves into her new home, once occupied by poet and spiritualist Sarah Helen Whitman, she finds something unexpected in her basement: a trio of transcendentalists who call upon the "Divine Poet" for inspiration. In spite of the initial strangeness of their meeting, Saiorse and the trio become fast friends, and their late-night activities even appear to shift her writer's block. But they aren't the only strange people she meets. Nearly as soon as she arrives, Saiorse finds herself in a whirlwind romance with Emmit Powell: a Pulitzer Prize-winning author whose works, philosophy, and life overall mirror those of Edgar Allan Poe. A strange coincidence, since Poe himself romanced Sarah Helen Whitman.

However, even Saiorse's new friends find the whole scenario a bit strange. Is their relationship a residual haunting—an echo across time of Poe's ill-fated love for Whitman—or something more sinister? As Saiorse navigates paranormal happenings and dark memories of her husband's final days, as well as the increasing attentions of her husband's best friend, she must decide what to do about Emmit. In the best case scenario, they could inspire each other; in the worst, she could be in great danger.

While the plot and characters of Beneath the Poet's House are riveting, especially for lovers of Gothic literature, the prose can occasionally feel a bit stilted. If Emmit were the only character given over to histrionics, it could be written off as a character trait, and a very apropos one for him. However, spoken words by other characters (including and especially Saiorse) don't feel especially natural, even for lovers of the written word. This is a problem in a book where one of the main issues at play is the protagonist's ability to catch a narcissist in the act of putting on a persona. It can become difficult to tell what is a character trait we should be aware of and what is simply the writer's style. The over-the-top parallels between Powell/White and Poe/Whitman (down to the names) become more forgivable when the third act kicks in, but it occasionally feels like the author doesn't trust the reader to catch these very blatant parallels. So, while the story itself is fantastic—an important conversation about being trapped in a dangerous relationship—its setting reaches high and falls a bit short.

BY WAY OF PARIS: A NOVEL
by Christopher J. Newman
Now available

Luke's plan was to explore Europe before starting a writing program in London. It was not to get blackmailed into hiding a stranger's body in Paris. But after that terrifying night with his best friend Cash, he hopes to leave the past behind him and pursue his dream of being a writer. His curiosity gets the better of him, though. Following a lead from his blackmailer, he befriends a gang leader named Shane and the other young men receiving "work" from him. Before long, Luke finds himself comfortably in with this group: doing violent drug deals by night and vaguely fictionalizing them for his writing course by day. The money is good, and the new family he's found is there for him much more than his real family back in North Carolina.

But things quickly fall apart. Between Luke's own loose lips, his many injuries, and his violent temper, he makes a name for himself that gets back to his school. His growing animosity with Profit, a member of a rival gang, causes trouble for everyone around him. Even the girl he fancies is warning him off his current trajectory. Misfortune strikes Luke many times, but it isn't until it strikes someone else that he realizes something needs to change. 

By Way of Paris is couched as what it is in real life: a Master's thesis. And it's understandable why this has received recognition. Luke as a character is complex and troubled, but he rises above his nihilistic forebears by the end of the book. He sees himself, as he reminds us regularly, as the protagonist of his own story. But this way of thinking is extremely dangerous for himself and for everyone else around him. Books like this often end up being very dark and self-destructive, and there is a bit of that in By Way of Paris, but it's ultimately a hopeful story about breaking the cycle of abuse and violence. And even in its darkest scenes, it's a love letter to London—not its more iconic locations, but the out-of-the-way places and daily routines that are bizarrely easy to fall in love with.

MURDER IN SEASON: A LADY OF LETTERS MYSTERY
by Mary Winters
Now available

Countess Amelia Amesbury, widow of the late Edgar Amesbury, lives a double—perhaps even triple—life. When she isn't representing the Amesbury family alongside her in-laws at London's finest gatherings, she's solving problems for her readers as Lady Agony. And when she isn't doing that, she's solving murder mysteries alongside her best friend Kitty and her will-they-won't-they "friend" Simon. But her latest escapade hits closer to home than usual. Amelia has been asked to introduce her younger sister Madge into high society (and to get Madge out of Somerset for a bit after she broke a young man's arm to stop his unwanted advances). It would seem Amelia's sister's secret has followed her, leading to a certain Arthur Radcliffe giving her trouble at the Amesburys' party. So when Radcliffe dies that night, seemingly poisoned, all eyes are on Madge.

While Madge is hardly bothered, a vengeful detective from Scotland Yard won't rest until he's pinned the murder on Amelia's younger sister. Thus, Amelia devotes all her resources to clearing Madge's name... or she would, if a spate of robberies hadn't broken out on the same night. With the her aunt Tabitha's diamond brooch missing and other fine pieces of jewelry disappearing, Amelia divides her time between sniffing out a high society murderer and consulting fences about the missing gems. As she navigates Mayfair's many dark secrets, she must also navigate her relationship with Simon. Does her late husband's old friend share her feelings, or is he only by her side for the adventure that comes with investigating murders.

If this is your first introduction to the Lady of Letters Mysteries, never fear: Winters weaves all the backstory in. While it's clear there's more to read if you fancy it, readers stumbling in after the introduction won't feel adrift: a difficult, but important, task for writers of series. The Bridgerton parallels are both obvious and deliberate, but the characters are their own. (Yes, there's more than a little Lady Danbury in Aunt Tabitha, but we should have more Lady Danburys.) It's a perfect intersection for lovers of murder mysteries and lovers of high society romantic drama. And if you're a fan of slow burn romance, Amelia and Simon will be your new obsession.

PORCELAIN: SHADOWS OF HYSTERIA BOOK 1
by Jesse Sprague
Now available

Gabrielle just wants to live like every other college girl: dress pretty, go out, maybe even have a boyfriend. But her past continues to haunt her, no matter how far she tries to run from it. As a child, she suffered immense trauma after witnessing the death of her parents—though between the blackout, the fact that she was alone in the house when it happened, and the presence of a certain porcelain doll, many (herself included) are convinced that she had a hand in this death. And when a similar event occurs at the home of a college boy who took advantage on her, it seems like the past is coming back to haunt her. As if that wasn't complicated enough, one of the officers on the case is Cole: Gabrielle's brother's new boyfriend.

The narrative shifts between Gabrielle and Cole as the case unwinds. On one side of the story is the frightened teen, convinced that she has somehow awoken something malevolent in the porcelain doll that still occupies a space on her bookshelf. As she tries to navigate the police's inquiries, she dares to pursue a relationship with Peter: a childhood friend with mental health struggles of his own. Meanwhile, Cole has troubles of his own, even beyond the fact that his boyfriend's little sister may be a murderer. His new relationship could also compromise his battle for custody of his young daughter, Isa. Before long, he has to choose whether to fight for Gabrielle and sacrifice his relationship with Michael, or fight to stay with Michael and leave the investigation. As the truth begins to come clear, another victim falls at the "doll's" hands, and Gabrielle's memories turn up surprising details.

Porcelain dares to walk a very difficult line in its involvement of real mental health struggles, and blending those with tinges of the paranormal is complex at the best of times. By and large, the book is compassionate but realistic about these struggles, while also being honest about what it's like to live with them and try to look after one's mental health. While it sometimes seems to play with and subvert the old tropes of mental illness being mistaken for demonic possession, it also leans into them in at times. The result is a waveform of tense, compelling scenes offset by (at least for this reader) discomfort with how the story may be falling into old traps. The fact that this is "Book 1" of a series makes me hopeful that this is a slow burn, and that what feels off-kilter may be elevated in future volumes.

THE SOUL THIEF
by S L Howe
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Private investigator Mitchell Bishop has a strange case on his hands. His good friend, Dr. Warren Carter, has memories of doing something horrible to a young nurse named Rosie. But when Mitchell goes to investigate, there is no trace of the girl. However, life begins falling apart for Warren from there... and for Mitchell, whose engagement to Warren's sister Laura has ended under similarly bizarre circumstances.

As the Carter family falls apart and the police come in to investigate, another story is unfolding right under everyone's noses. A local photographer with a sideline in erotic photo cards welcomes in a new model... an innocent girl named Rosie looking to make money for her mother's medical treatment. But nothing is as it seems. The dead are visiting the living, people find themselves in places they don't remember going, and locals are gripped by strange and fleeting compulsions to do terrible things. And despite her seeming ignorance of everything going on, Rosie appears to be at the center of it. The answer lies in a long-buried story in Mitchell's past—but can he put the pieces together before anyone else he cares about is lost?

The Soul Thief is solid gothic horror of an M.R. James style. Using photography—then a relatively new technology—as a jumping-off point for something unknowable and terrifying brings it even more into its era. The horror itself, which is explained in the final chapters, is also an excellent (and ironic) catalyst for characterization. If anything gives me pause, it's that Mitchell's reactions to one of the final act twists feels a bit unbolstered. It's an understandably dramatic reaction thematically without quite enough character build-up to warrant it, which does detract from things a bit as we approach the final battle. But that's one tiny, floating observation in an otherwise fantastic book. The fact that I can call out one thread as slightly loose means that every other thread is extremely strong, and that's no mean feat. Lovers of A Ghost Story for Christmas will warm to this one instantly, and it's a perfect read for this darker time of year.