Let’s start by saying that, even though this is a YA horror dystopian novel, so you expect a certain amount of violence and trauma, I highly recommend you read the authors note before giving this book to a younger reader. That’s not to say that what’s in these pages isn’t necessary, isn’t beautiful, because it is. But the religious trauma is brutal, the deadnaming is devastating, the body horror is exquisite but terrifying, the themes in this book are heavy and in today’s world, that might be too much for a younger reader. I still would be cautious on giving this to my sixteen-year-old nephew for that reason, not because the authors words shouldn’t be read, they absolutely should. But protecting a young person’s peace of mind in this world is equally as important. Now, let’s talk about this incredible book’s content.

It’s been a minute since I’ve read a dystopian, it’s usually not my favorite, but the world White has created is one that feels eerily familiar. Where Christian fanatics turned extremist cult have brought about the end of the world through a bioweapon known as the Flood. Where selective religious doctrine justifies the genocide they commit in the name of God. Benji, our man character, is fleeing this cult after being forcibly infected by his mother, a mother who often deadnames him and is looking forward to her child becoming a monster in order to further destroy the world. With the help of a group of queer teens, Benji is able to finally find and feel the love and acceptance he was denied in the cult he was raised in. This book is less about saving the world, of fixing a tragically broken society, but rather unlearning everything this Christian cult forced Benji to accept and hate about himself. Which means the ending could be a little unsatisfying for some, so be forewarned.

Throughout the novel, the thing that is front and center is the authors pain and anger around being a young trans boy in a society that vilifies his existence. I loved that. I love when an author’s lived experience comes across in the page as something visceral, and it works really well in a horror novel like this. Could I have done with a little less of the constant quoting of scripture? Yes, absolutely. But it does speak to Benji unlearning that kind of toxic mentality. I can’t speak to the trans representation, or the autism representation with characters like Nick, but I did like that the author did not shy away from how there are cliques within the LGBTQA+ community and discusses the toxicity some have with viewing others as not trans, nonbinary, or gay enough etc. And while I really appreciated those discussions, I think the story could have used a bit more world building.

There are sections that read as very lit fic, and while beautifully depicted, they weren’t consistent which led to confusion as to what was actually happening. Was what Benji going through real? Imagined? Some latent power of Seraph? I’m still not entirely sure. I would have loved more explanation on the creation of the Flood and how it was released, but I did love the description of what it did to people, a horrifying reverse cocoon. However, the lite world building may actually be good for younger readers so it’s hard for me to dock it too much, hence the 4.5 stars. I’ll definitely be checking out more books by this author! And, for the record, I did actually finish this book for Trans Visibility Day on March 31st, it just takes me a little bit to write these reviews.

“Former.ly” is a quick, easy read about the super toxic frat boy culture of a social media tech startup, and the developer who gets swept up in its meteoric rise and fall. Former.ly is a social media website that combines Livejournal with Facebook, where a user can upload their life story, their secrets and accomplishments, and the information only goes live upon their death. It’s a memorial curated by the person before they are deceased for the benefit of those they leave behind. Which is a really interesting concept on its own, but also has the perfect foundation for the kind of mystery and drama the synopsis hints at. Except the website functions mainly as set dressing to the main character, Dan, and the eccentric founders of Former.ly. Because, unfortunately, the part of the synopsis that says there are “unexpected consequences” when these profiles go live, never materialized.

This book needed more time to marinate in order to achieve its goal of being an interesting mystery/ tech thriller given that the reader is on the side of the developers, rather than the users of the site. The author’s writing style is pretty straight forward, which can work really well for the pacing of these kinds of thrillers—this book is rather short, but regardless, even longer I think the authors style would make it a quick read. If there had been more to the mystery—more build up, more clues that Dan could have followed—then the superficial character development wouldn’t have mattered because that mystery would have been enough of a hook on its own. But without that, I can’t say I liked or really connected with any of the characters. Dan was often a contradiction with, for example, how he’d claim that someone looked intimidating, immediately followed by how he wasn’t worried. He would have relationship issues, notice how sketchy the founders were being, and often his response is to just shrug those problems away and et back to work, making him exceedingly chill about everything he encounters. It cut off the tension I was looking for in a mystery, and also made Dan hard to connect with in general.

The twists that the end of the book had were great, but needed more of a lead up to be truly gripping, at least for me. The book is very plot focused, which is perfect if you love that in stories. For me, I prefer a bit more character driven plotlines and Dan didn’t really live up to that for me. That, coupled with wanting a bit more from the mystery, is why I’m giving this 3 stars. The concept is really intriguing, and the twists at the end are really intense, and again, if you like quick, mainly plot driven mysteries, then “Former.ly” may be right up your alley! And thanks to the author for an ecopy to review!

I really liked this latest Hazelwood romance at the start. Scarlett, with her anxiety and perfectionism, her sarcasm and understated humor started off as a much more grounded character than the usual quirky scientist. While this book takes place in college, I liked that the characters didn’t feel like children which helped a lot given that, of the Hazelwood books I have read, this one seems to have the most in terms of sexual encounters. And they are steamy scenes, even if I had issues with their aftercare routine, but more on that in a second. But for a book that started so strong with a FMC that felt so different from her previous books, I still ended up disappointed.

You see, Scarlett has a block around a particular dive after getting an almost career ending injury. I thought her getting over that block and reclaiming her career would be the driving plotline that her and Lukas bond over. Except that her therapist is kind of useless and her role completely negated in the story entirely when Lukas “fixes” her with one conversation, but that’s well after they start their sexual relationship. One that felt so forced because of an awkward moment with Pen that Lukas and Scarlett never got to a place where I truly believed they cared for each other in this dramatic, loving way. Especially when they are quasi together for a year and yet no one notices, and he never bothers to tell people he and his previous girlfriend broke up? The conflict was just far too forced to feel natural to me.
 
Much like other of this authors leading men, Lukas is the very strong, very *ahem* large, silent type. Often brooding and vaguely grumpy. So how he just innately knows Scarlett so well after sharing their kink sheet is a bit too unbelievable in a contemporary romance. And speaking of the kink sheet… for a book that is supposed to be about these two characters exploring that side of things, they don’t actually explore or discover anything together. You never know what was on their sheets, just that they match up and that Scarlett wants Lukas to take charge and use her. Which is fine, but Scarlett should really see someone about how constantly she sobs during sex and having orgasms. The amount she cries, how often it got brought up (usually through Lukas licking them up), unfortunately made me start to feel like Scarlett, for all her brilliance and strength on the diving platform, was disconcertingly sensitive? Which really didn’t line up and, you guessed it, started to bother me the longer this book dragged on.

Because here’s the thing: this book is about 100 pages too long. The plot is thin at best and gets stretched out so long that Pen’s arc, and the conflict that comes with it, made little sense because of how long it took to come about. Which means the little things that normally would just remain little annoyances became bigger and bigger and dragged down my enjoyment. Like Lukas being just kind of this bland character that gave me nothing in terms of chemistry, and ultimately, I thought he was very poor in the aftercare department given what he and Scarlett do together. Which is just my personal preference when it comes to power exchange and dom and sub relationships, but since the book started to lag… welp.

If the book had been condensed a bit so the pacing didn’t lag, I probably would have liked this more at the end. I liked that both characters are very smart, no stereotypical dumb jocks here, but even that couldn't save things as the story plodded onward. There were some really great lines and moments of that classic fun banter you expect from Hazelwood, but not enough to keep me from being utterly annoyed come the epilogue, hence the disappointed 3 stars. I think, ultimately, while there is nothing wrong with this author’s writing or her characters (I still love me a STEM FMC), I just don’t think her stories are for me.

This was the book that I wanted to read first in the Glimmer Falls series. And really, there isn’t much of a reason why you can’t, perse, the book does do a very good job of recapping Mariel and Oz’s story so you don’t generally miss out on anything story wise. But you would miss out on just why/how Astaroth is the villain for the enemies to lovers’ aspect to make any sense at all. So, am I glad I read Mariel’s and Oz’s story first? Eh, only because I think it makes my enjoyment of Calladia and Astaroth that much higher.

From the very start I really liked Astaroth’s snark. Yes, the book starts immediately after the events of “A Witch’s Guide” so he is at the epitome of his evil era, but I don’t know, I love me a character with a “devil may care” attitude, which is perfect for a demon. I also enjoyed Calladia more as a character. How she wields her anger and aggression and has stopped apologizing for being big, loud, and strong. I enjoyed getting to know why she has such anger issues and the way the author addressed the emotionally toxic and abusive relationships (both from a romantic and a parental standpoint). And while the amnesia aspect could feel a bit too convenient at times, it didn’t diminish the banter that Calladia and Astaroth had as they slowly moved from adversaries to lovers. This romance is slower of a burn than the first book, for sure, and the steamy scenes didn’t occur as often, but I still liked it better.

You see, Calladia and Astaroth’s sex life is one where they “battle” for dominance, but not in a way that ever feels cruel. Astaroth is a true blue pansexual, and is a willing switch, that it was a true delight to see, especially for a demon who is so strong and ruthless otherwise. They may be a chaotic pair, but it was still a really healthy sexual relationship. I mean, you have an eccentric demon falling for a brash witch, what else would they be but delightful chaos? I also felt that both characters genuinely helped and supported each other through their traumas in a way that elevated them to their best selves without having either of them change to accommodate the other.

Does this book have a lot of the same tropes as “Witch’s Guide”? Yes. But Calladia and Astaroth are such different characters with such a different dynamic that I felt like the tropes of forced proximity, one bed, enemies to lovers, evil moms, and political protests, worked better in this book. Plus, the side political issues lined up really well with what is currently happening in politics in America with a not so subtle metaphor about the importance of immigration, which was a bonus for me. At the end of the day, I love me an angry woman, and I love a man who loves an angry woman BECAUSE she kicked his butt. For a demon with such a long history of deception and cruelty, it was a nice surprise! Perhaps too much of a leap to believe that his lost memories would change him that much, hence the 4 stars, but I do like the person he became with his warrior queen. Battle couples ftw!

In a lot of ways, “The Bone Witch” reminded me of traditional geisha or geji culture, but with magic. Tea lives in a world where witches do more than just practice their rune-based magic—they are also entertainers and performers with elaborate clothing that signifies their personality and accomplishments. The traditional witch’s presence is highly sought after in tea houses and parties and expected to entertain their guests all for a fee. That’s on top of their elemental magic which they use to heal or serve as body guards. Except bone witches, who are a type of necromancer and who slowly drain themselves to nothing to put down terrible monsters that rise from the dead every so often. They are revered and feared and generally not liked because of their relationship to the Dark, and our main character Tea just happens to be one of the most powerful in the nation. Except you are mostly told that, and rarely see it until the very end.

“The Bone Witch” is beautifully written and split into two parts, where, at the conclusion of the numbered chapters, we get a little interlude from the bard character. We get to see Tea’s story unfold in two parts, one that she tells recounting her training starting at the age of twelve through fifteen of how she was discovered, followed by the Bard, detailing his brief encounters with Tea at age eighteen when she’s been exiled. It’s a really interesting way to tell a story, my problem with that was that, where the book ends, is still very far away from the Tea we see in the Bard chapters. Which is where we are often told of Tea’s necromancy prowess, and yet we rarely see it in action, and we never see what happens that pushes Tea to exile. Which, ultimately, made a lot of this first book in the Bone Witch trilogy feel like a prologue. Because not much actually happens in those three years of time where Tea is telling her story.

Most of the book is spent describing Tea’s day-to-day chores with a lot, and I mean a lot, of time spent talking about the elaborate fashion the witch’s wear. Most of Tea’s training isn’t even in her own magic, but is spent on history lessons, music, singing, dancing, and fighting so she can entertain and protect her guests and not much time is ever spent on her doing the thing she is supposed to be uncommonly powerful at. A mystery is so lightly teased throughout the course of these plethora of descriptions that it ALMOST felt useless, except that it’s so obvious you can’t ignore it, either. There’s also a romance aspect of sorts? It was very bland to be honest, as the only characters that felt distinct at all were Zoya and Polaire (who I loved. More Polaire all day every day, please and thank you).

The best parts of the book came at close to the 70% mark and later when Tea actually does things. Truthfully, everything exciting happens at the very end, and it’s almost too much. Don’t get me wrong, it was great! I loved the action and seeing Tea as she learns what the extent of her power is and finally comes face to face with this mysterious Faceless (so mysterious I’m still struggling to understand what they are and why they’re fighting?) but it should have been spread out to make the book more exciting. For the twist, and everything Tea does at the end, to really feel impactful, those teases earlier on needed to be fully explored. Plus, it would have been nice to get closer to the exile Tea we know exists from the very start by the end of the first book, which is why I’m giving this 3 stars. It’s totally a personal thing, but I don’t enjoy obvious sequel baiting throughout the entirety of a book and it leaves me questioning if I will return to this series. I enjoyed the authors writing, and this fantasy felt oddly cozy since it was predominately just a day-to-day account of mild training exercises and clothing, but it could be that others of this authors work is more suited to my tastes than this particular YA fantasy.