Begin your year with revolution! Or at least that’s what I thought when I picked up Suzan Palumbo’s Countess. The novella invokes the anti-colonialist spirit so desperately needed in 2026, and it opens with an inscription that acknowledges the crater of its impact: There is horror here, but there is also always hope. We meet our protagonist,Read More
A Queer and Feminist Murder Ballad: The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar Review
This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone is a modern sapphic classic, but I somehow I ended up reading El-Mohtar’s new novella first. It did not disappoint—in fact, it was the final push I needed to finally pick up This is How You Lose the Time War, andRead More
An Utterly Strange and Utterly Beautiful Murder Ballad Retold: The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
The River Has Roots, Amal El-Mohtar’s highly anticipated solo debut novella, was released in March 2025. Like a ravening beast, I fell upon my preorder package and tore through the novella in a single sitting. It’s 100 pages exactly, from the very first beautiful linocut print to the last, so it isn’t a Commitment. I’llRead More
Power, War, and Self-Knowledge: The Weavers of Alamaxa by Hadeer Elsbai
The Weavers of Alamaxa picks up right where the previous book, The Daughters of Izdihar, left off—on a giant cliffhanger, so if you’re wary of spoilers for book one, read no further! Daughters ended with Nehal abducted and Giorgina an escaped prisoner. The Daughters of Izdihar have been disbanded by the corrupt government, and weavers,Read More
Never Fade Away: The Old Guard Immortal Edition Volume 1 Review
It’s always a good time to re-read a Greg Rucka graphic novel, in my opinion… and to prep for the release of the film adaptation starring Charlize Theron? That may just be the best time of all. If you are on this site but have not yet watched The Old Guard, which stars Theron asRead More
An Open Wound of a Novel: Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah Review
This is a book I respect, and it’s one I struggled to get through. The subject matter is difficult—not only is it set in a near-future dystopia where prisoners fight each other to the death for a chance at freedom, but it also includes footnotes about the real-life atrocities of the prison-industrial complex. I canRead More
Avenging Your Own Murder: Volatile Memory by Seth Haddon Review
Seth Haddon’s sci-fi debut Volatile Memory (out July 22, 2025) is one of the best novellas I’ve read in a while. The book follows Wylla, a trans woman, as she tries to live her life as a scavenger. She, like other scavengers, goes after bounties and searches for important items to sell in order to earn credits.Read More
A Wicked Wonderland: Off With Their Heads by Zoe Hana Mikuta Review
It’s been five years since young witches and lovers Caro Rabbit and Iccadora Alice Sickle were both sentenced to Wonderland, the dark forest where monsters called Saints lurk, for a crime they didn’t commit. In the process of escaping, they break one another’s hearts. Now Icca will stop at nothing to exact her revenge onRead More
A Bloody Tale of Lesbian Revenge: Metal from Heaven by August Clarke Review
I’ve been a fan of August Clarke since I finished reading their first book, The Scapegracers. I then devoured the whole series, and when I saw that they had an adult fantasy novel releasing, I leapt at the opportunity to read it. Metal from Heaven is a book about lesbians and class warfare. While it’sRead More
The Unique Venom of Found Family: Sister Snake by Amanda Lee Koe Review
Su and Emerald are sisters with nothing in common: Su lives in Singapore, playing the perfect wife to her conservative politician husband. Emerald is a queer sugar baby in New York, barely scraping by living with an artist friend. While their current lives look very different and they rarely speak, they have a shared past:Read More
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