Daedalus is Dead by Seamus Sullivan

We all know the myth of Icarus – now we see events through Daedelus' eyes as he searches the Underworld for Icarus. Seamus Sullivan deconstructs the myth of the Minotaur, masculinity and fatherhood in this unsettling novella.

I hadn't really thought about Daedelus much past 'father of Icarus, made the wings'. Sullivan fleshes Daedelus out and makes you think about the old myths and how they still resonate today. A powerful tale, I'd recommend this for high teens and up. Publication date is September 30, 2025.

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Simple Designs for Meditative Knitting by Barbara Breen

Barbara Breen has written a lovely knitting book. I liked how she defined meditative in the context of the book and thought that the patterns really fitted her definition.

I've rarely slipped into the meditative state while knitting, I find that I need a very easy pattern or I get caught up in “how many rows? Did I purl or knit five stitches back and is that going to throw off the whole rest of the item? (seed stitch, I'm looking at you here.)

I could see myself making several of the patterns in the book as I think they're simple enough for me to not have to think too much about the pattern once I get going. The scarf and fingerless mitten sets are also something that I would probably use as well, and the baby blankets are always handy to have patterns around for.

The patterns are easy enough for beginners to really feel confident about producing a finished object without being endless swathes of garter stitch. I was really intrigued by the bee stitch placemats although it might take me a bit to get the hang of the stitch.

Recommended for all knitters, there's something for everyone.

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Observer by Robert Lanza and Nancy Kress

Caro Soames-Watkins' promising career as a neurosurgeon has gone up in flames due to an online trolling campaign. She receives a job offer from the Nobel prize winning great uncle she barely knows; being able to work and ultimately publish research findings could revive her career and she'll be able to keep assisting her sister. Moving to the Cayman Islands to his compound, Caro discovers much more than a career resurgence; it could be the answer to everything.

I was highly impressed by Robert Lanza and Nancy Kress' ability to distill the science down to where I could mostly understand it without turning to hand waving the science bits. (I am usually pretty okay with hand waving the science bits, see also Stargate: Atlantis and most of Heinlein's works, so it was nice to read actual science.)

Despite the hard sci-fi surrounding it, this is, at its heart, an afterlife story. Unputdownable and well written, I'd recommend this to everyone.

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Shattering Peace by John Scalzi

Gretchen Trujillo is now a mid-level bureaucrat ten years after a hard won peace has been gingerly accepted across the universe. Different species have been trying to work together to maintain the peace, but the Consu have made a decision about Earth which threatens everything.

I don't think I've tried to disguise that John Scalzi is one of my favourite authors and he knocks it out of the park again. The seventh book in the Old Man's War series, you really should read the first six, but you could read this one as a standalone, there's enough exposition dropped that things should make sense.

One of the things I love about Scalzi's writing is that he evokes the best of the Golden Age (Heinlein, Asimov, etc) without the baggage from that era. The Shattering Peace is a space romp and you should go read it right now!

Recommended for all!

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Maiden and her Monster by Maddie Martinez

Malka knows that the forest eats the young women of her village if they are out after dark. The Ozmini Church doesn't care about that, it only cares about the tithes it wrings out of her village and others. When her mother is taken by the Church, Malka vows to kill the monster to prove to the Church the monster is real and save her mother. But the monster is not what Malka expects and together they may save their world.

This is an exquisitely written adult fairy tale. Martinez underpins her story with Jewish mysticism, giving it a depth of feeling that will resonate with you. I very much enjoyed this. Recommended highly.

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Gnomes of Lychford by Paul Cornell

What could be terrorizing the village of Lychford? (Hint, it's gnomes.) And what could these diminutive people want? Why are they focusing on the village war memorial? Is the BBC podcaster now a believer? Will his tech person get a promotion out of this? Luckily, all these questions are answered.

Cornell provides a quick precis of events for those of us who may be a bit fuzzy which is greatly appreciated. I did like this, it's a quick read and feels very appropriate for world events right now. Don't start with this one, start from the beginning of the series or you will be somewhat lost.

Recommended!

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Love Bites by Cynthia St. Aubin

Hanna Harvey needs a job so her cats will stop eyeing her up for snackability. She fudges a bit on her resume (we've all been there) and fakes her way through an interview with gorgeous art gallery owner Mark Abernathy for an assistant job. Thrilled to get the job, she is less thrilled when her boss' exes seem to start turning up dead and Detective James Morrison (I admit, I snickered every time I saw his name on the page) is determined to arrest Mark for murder.

Okay, I loved this! It's a quick read and I'm very happy that it's the start of a series. Funny without contorting the characters and plot just for laughs, I'd recommend this for adults, it is a bit spicy.

Looking forward to book two later this year!

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Honeyeater by Kathleen Jennings

Honeyeater is a fever dream of a book. It reads like a dream edging into a nightmare, that's really the best way I can describe it. It is deeply unsettling and will stick with you. I don't think I'll look at water courses quite the same way for a while.

Recommeded.

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Starting from Here by Paula Saunders

Rene is fifteen and her ballet teacher has retired. Another teacher is in Phoenix, so Rene uproots herself and moves to Phoenix to board with another dance student's family. When that placement doesn't work out, she moves to Denver to continue her studies. Her coming of age in Phoenix, Denver, and finally New York is explored in this novel.

So this is what I like to refer to as a “book club book”. It is unrelentingly 'real life' and actually reads more like a memoir than a novel. It is bleak, bleak, bleak and there's no real resolution at the end. It's well written, and a fairly fast read, but there's not one thing that will make you smile or chuckle. (Look, I was born in the seventies, but surely to goodness they weren't this bleak, were they?)

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Toni and Addie Go Viral by Melissa Marr

Toni Darbyshire is in Scotland presenting at an academic conference when she finds out that her deceased grifter father has one last surprise for her – he managed to get her mother to sign for a lien against her house. Toni was hoping to be able to sell the house to afford her mother's memory care home.

Disheartened by this last act from a father she could never count on, and hoping against hope that her literary agent best friend can sell the novel she wrote as a break from her dissertation, Toni is very open to an encounter with a beautiful women dressed in a Victorian nightie (and Victorian appropriate undies).

Addie has been cyber stalking Toni as Toni makes Victorian history accessible for her, and she desperately wants a part in a stage play (aside – I would go see the play as described, it sounds really good!) to launch her acting career. Following Toni into a bar dressed in a Victorian nightie seems like a really great way to possibly get to know her....

Okay, I loved this book. Melissa Marr touches on a bunch of my favorite tropes, and while she also does one of my least favorite things (“just TALK to each other” I hiss at the book as I keep reading), in this particular book, it actually makes sense, so she's forgiven for that.

I was also touched by Marr's descriptions of Toni's mother – I watched my mom go through dementia as well and many things had me nodding my head. (Luckily, I never had a shoe thrown at me, although I did have to take away her knitting needles.)

Compulsively readable and recommended for adults as it's pretty spicy.

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Cinder House by Freya Marske

Ella is a ghost. Murdered by her stepmother (which I would say edges over the line into 'evil' territory), she haunts her house, acting as a maid for her stepmother and stepsisters. But then she discovers a way to leave her house and meets a fairy in a marketplace and dares to dream again.

I loved this. A retelling of Cinderella, it hearkens back to the original tales, which involved blood and death. So so good!

Recommended for adults, it is a bit spicy.

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World by J. R. Dawson

On the shores of Lake Michigan, there is a Lighthouse. Nera has lived there with her father since she was a baby, all she knows is the Lighthouse. After the dead come to terms with being dead, Nera and her father ferry the dead to the Veil, where they cross over.

But there is something in the dark. Something hidden since the Chicago Fire. And now there is a living person in the Lighthouse – Charlie, who is grieving her sister. Charlie, who is searching for any trace of her sister in the Lighthouse. Charlie, who is vulnerable to voices from the dark.

I loved this book. I love the exploration of gentle afterlives so much. J. R. Dawson has written a beautiful novel that explores death, grieving and first loves with a sure touch.

Recommended for mid teens and up.

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Through Gates of Garnet and Gold by Seanan McGuire

Even though quests are prohibited at Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, Nancy found her door back to the Halls of the Dead after completing one and never looked back. Years have passed and now the ghosts who populate the Halls are slaughtering the living statues. Tasked with finding help from the Lord and Lady, Nancy returns to the Home and gathers her friends for definitely not a quest. After all, quests are forbidden.

I can't rave enough about this series. Seanan McGuire has created such an immersive world here, that you'll be looking for your own doors – just Be Sure.

Start with the first one and work your way up if you haven't done so, you'll catch more of the call backs to previous books that way. Recommended for mid teens and up, there are mentions of serious situations, but nothing very overt.

Publishing date of January 6, 2026.

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Girl in the Creek by Wendy M. Wagner

Erin Harper's brother Brian has been missing for five years. He vanished during a solo hiking trip in the Pacific Northwest. Erin lands an assignment to do a puff piece on the town where he vanished from so she takes the opportunity to do a little sleuthing. But why are women going missing? And who is the girl in the creek?

I wanted to love “Girl in the Creek”, I really did. It wasn't unsettling enough to be creepy, and it definitely wasn't scary enough for me to read only in daytime. There's elements of body horror, alien invasion, and societal horror but none of it really scared me. The story never really seemed to get cohesive enough for me to care about any of the characters and it kind of felt that it needed to be about a third longer to really work. (Look, I almost never say that a book should be longer, but here we are.)

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz

In the near future, California has officially fought a civil war with America and won. When a group of deactivated robots come back online and discover their situation, they band together and open a hand-pulled noodle shop to make money to pay their bills. When their shop is review bombed by anti-robot spam, they decide to fight back. And make delicious food.

This is a charming novella that somehow doesn't feel quite as future as it sounds. (Except for the robots) Found family and good food resonate through this. I'd love to see future adventures of the Automatic Noodle gang.

Recommended for all.

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Hemlock and Silver by T. Kingfisher

Healer Anja is a 'poison doctor' -- she works to find antidotes to poisons and hopefully save the victims. It's a fairly quiet life, until her King shows up in her workroom with a request. His daughter Snow is ill and he fears that someone is poisoning her. Will Anja travel to the isolated estate where he has sequestered Snow and work to save her? Of course she will (he is the King) but when she arrives, things are....off.

This reframing of Snow White is an utter delight. T. Kingfisher has absolutely mastered the art of retelling fairy tales, giving them a twist and usually casting a mature (middle-aged? Not an ingenue, anyways) heroine who is down to earth and usually perplexed by what's going on around her but willing to get things done. There's a slow-burn romance in the background (and Kingfisher does the thing that I particularly like in romances, whereby the characters actually TALK to each other and figure things out), a talking cat who is just as one might fear a talking cat to be and many fun facts about venomous animals.

Absolutely recommended! (I'd say for everyone, but high teen readers might be put off a bit by the ages of the protagonists. Still, I'd say it would be worth a shot there.)

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst

Terlu Perna wakes up in a cold, snowy forest clearing. She's absolutely thrilled to do so, as she was turned into a statue for using sorcery to create Caz, a sentient plant we met in “The Spellshop”.

But now she has no idea where she is, what her life may be now and why the handsome, grumpy gardener who turned her back into a person is so grumpy and insistent that he needs a sorcerer to fix the greenhouses on Belde.

I loved this so much! A companion novel to “The Spellshop”, it opens up more of the world that Durst has created. Hopeful, romantic and quietly resistant to abuse of power, this is going on my “read when things are bad” list.

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Homemade God by Rachel Joyce

Being an only child, sibling relationships will always and forever be an undiscovered country for me. (not my favourite Star Trek movie, but I'll go with it.) Even watching my kids' relationship as they grow into their adult roles doesn't have the same affect.

Rachel Joyce has written a big, sprawling (yet intimate at the same time) novel about sibling relationships. How they develop from birth, how parents affect them, how they grow and how they can fracture. Joyce also touches on “do 'great' (or at least commercially successful) artists get a pass on being jerks because Artist”. (I do not think so, for the record.)

I was sort of expecting a Big Twist and was somewhat surprised when it never came. I do think that the novel is stronger for that.

Recommended!

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Never the Roses by Jennifer K. Lambert

Oniera is perhaps the most powerful sorcerer in her world and after decades of being used to wage war for whatever ruler has purchased her services, she manages to buy out her contract and 'retire' to a home she builds herself. The peace and quiet, and the companionship of avatar-esque animals slowly starts to heal her until on a whim, she dreamwalks into a rival sorceror's library and finds a book on growing extremely rare roses. He does not exactly approve of this and the flirtation grows from there.

There are so many tropes that could apply to this novel, but I think I'm going to stick with 'fairy tale for adults'. Lambert touches on many topics here but this lush romance takes centre stage. Gorgeously written and absolutely heartbreaking, this will stay with you for a long time.

Highly recommended.

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Spectacular Things by Beck Dorey-Stein

Okay, I am not a sports person. (Except for gold medal hockey games, then I have to cheer Canada on.) Beck Dorey-Stein made me care deeply about soccer.

This novel is absolutely engrossing and I could not put it down. My heart broke for Mia, parentified and yet supportive of Cricket. It asks the questions “how far should we go for those we love” and “how much do we owe the ones who raised us”. There are no easy answers to those questions and Dorey-Stein writes a realistic scenario around them.

Definitely recommended!

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.