Adult Fiction

Audiobook: Red City

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by Marie Lu
Read by André Santana, Eunice Wong, Natalie Naudus & Sid Sagar
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is a lot of violence, much of it graphic. There is also sexual assault, on-page sex, and lots of swearing, including many f-bombs. It’s in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore.

Growing up the child of a strict single mother, Sam wanted more for her life. She is smart – she has a perfect memory – and she had a promising future. That is, until her mom was in an accidental fire at the restaurant she worked at. Then, Sam turned to the syndicates – the organizations that control the drug Sand, and the magic in this alternate reality. She learns to be an alchemist and falls deep into this dangerous world.

Ari, on the other hand, was brought to Angel City from his home in India, recruited because of the strength of his charisma, his soul, to be a part of Luminos, one of the syndicates. He’s taught and trained since he was 10 to be a bioalchemist, someone who can persuade pretty much anyone of anything.

Ari and Sam were friends growing up, unaware of their involvement in rival syndicates, until they re-meet as adults, on the opposite side of a brewing war.

I didn’t know what to expect going in, but I really enjoyed this one. I was talking to K about the book and describing how they used alchemy as the magic system, and she was like “Oh, like Full Metal Alchemist”? And yes, exactly like that. Except mashed with the Godfather, and you have a good sense of this. But I liked the characters, I appreciated the way Lu developed the world that she set the story in, and I didn’t even mind the ending – there is still an opening for another book (hopefully, only a duology) but the story of this one is wrapped up. I loved the audio version; the narrators were amazing, capturing the emotion of the book as well as the action. I probably would have liked reading this, but I really enjoyed it on audio. Perhaps I’m being overly generous to this because I was listening to it while reading Spark of the Everflame, and it was just refreshing to have good worldbuilding and a unique, fully developed magic system.

I’ll definitely be on the lookout for the sequel to this one.

Spark of the Everflame

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by Penn Cole
First sentence: “Whether it was a blessing or a curse is, even now, the subject of considerable debate.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There are a couple of on-page sex scenes and a lot of violence. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Diem’s mother has disappeared, which puts Diem – a mortal in the world of the half-god Descended – in a quandary. Should she take over her mother’s duties serving the Descended in the castle city to save the deal that gives her younger brother an education? Should she go looking for her mother? Should she join the rebellion trying to oust/kill the Descended and take over the realms? Do we even care?

Actually, it’s that last question that kept coming up. Why should I care about Diem’s struggles? Why should I care that mortals are living in poverty while the Descended live in luxury? Is this about race? Class? Why should I care that there’s a rebellion? Why should I care that Prince Luther – one of the Descended – is attracted to Diem? Why should I care about Deim and Henri’s relationship? Why am I still reading this book?

So, I bailed. I got further than I expected – about 2/3 of the way through – and then I just skipped around until I figured out what was going on. This one was not for me.

Audiobook: Fever Beach

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by Carl Hiaasen
Read by Will Damron
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is a LOT of swearing, including many, many f-bombs. There is also talk of sex toys. It’s in the Mystery section of the bookstore.

Dale Figgo got kicked out of the Proud Boys, and so he started his own right-wing, white supremacist group. Vida Morales, off of a bad divorce, is renting a room from Dale (unfortunately) and working for the (corrupt) Mink Foundation. She bumps into environmental activist Twilly Spree and somehow they get involved in trying to stop Figgo and his (very stupid) men from doing the bidding of a (corrupt and stupid) congressman to rig an election.

I think that about sums up the plot. This wasn’t a deep book, but it was an entertaining one. We listened to it on a long drive, and it had both of us cracking up at points. Hiaasen has NO respect for the Proud Boy-type or the corrupt congressman (as he should), dragging them as often as he possibly could. Vida and Twilly were both entertaining characters, with small scenes that just had us laughing. It’s all very Florida Man, and a very silly story.

So, not deep or probably worth reading, but I had a good time with it.

Canon

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by Paige Lewis
First sentence: “On the day God arrived with His Big Mission, He found Yara preparing to leap, fully clothed, into the Spring River.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Release date: May 19, 2026
Content: There is reference to sexual assault, some swearing, including f-bombs, and lots of violence. It will be in the Fiction section of the bookstore.

This is a hard one to describe. It’s an Epic Story, the story of a Final Battle and a Quest to stop it, of Discovery and of God and Humanity. There is a plot: there’s a Bad Guy and Yara is tasked by God to kill him. They go on a journey to get there – and the journey is the point. There is also a Prophet, Adrena, who wants to be a part of the Battle and goes on her own Journey to reach the end.

It’s a Lot of a book. I really liked it at first – there’s a lot of humor (the whale named HOWBIG is quite amusing) and just a lot of the over-the-top-ness of it all. But, I think this is meant to be read quickly (and it goes fast, despite its length), because I put it down for a couple of days, and it lost momentum. I thought it kind of lost direction near the end (but it may be that I missed the satire of it all); it wasn’t as satisfying as I was hoping it would be.

That said, it was unlike anything I’ve ever read before, and I think Lewis is a brilliant writer. It’s worth reading for the experience of reading it.

Heated Rivalry

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by Rachel Reid
First sentence: “Shane Holland was as close to losing it as he ever allowed himself to get.”
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Content: Oh. So much sex. So. Much. Every chapter, on page, lots and lots of sex. All the spice. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Shane Hollander is one of the best hockey players in the NHL. The only player who even comes close is Ilya Rozanov, who has been Shane’s nemesis since their rookie year. He has also, for better or worse, been Shane’s obsession. And his secret lover. What happens when their secret threatens to get out? Will it ruin their careers? Can they move their relationship into something more? (Do we care?)

Okay, yes, I picked this up because of the TV show and everyone is talking about it and I got curious. I am not proud of this decision. It is, objectively, by many measures (one being the couple of times they repeated entire paragraphs on the same page…) not a good book. This writing will not win awards. The chapters (for more than half of the book!) went hockey, sex, shame. We’re playing hockey against each other; we’re so angry and aroused. We have sex. But it’s bad to have sex with another man, we feel ashamed. For more than 100 pages. And yet, I kept reading.

Why? No idea. Except that I was still curious, and it wasn’t bad enough (or maybe it was the right kind of bad?) for me to put down. And the character development did happen somewhat in the second half of the book. Shane got a clue about his sexuality. Ilya stopped being Tough Russian Guy all the time. It’s never going to make my best-of list, and I do feel less intelligent for having read it, but I have to admit: my curiosity about the gay hockey thing is satiated.

Thistlemarsh

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by Moorea Corrigan
First sentence: “The war did not bring the Faeries back to England.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: April 21, 2026
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There is talk of war, some mild swearing, exactly one (well-placed) f-bomb. It will be in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore.

It’s after World War I, and Mouse is returning home to England because her uncle – Lord Dewhurst – has died and reluctantly left his Faerie-blessed house, Thistlemarsh Manor, to her. Only because his son was killed in the war, and her brother, the next-logical heir, is incapacitated with PTSD, and doesn’t recognize his surroundings. Mouse is reluctant to take on the taste of being Lady of the manor, especially after she hears her uncle’s conditions: restore the house and grounds to their former glory in one month (or get married), or the house goes to a distant (and despicable) cousin. It is an impossible task, except that Mouse is offered help by the faerie Thornwood. It’s tricky to bargain with a faerie, but Mouse is desperate. The question is: what will she uncover?

On the one hand: I haven’t read a sweeping faerie story like this in a long time. It reminded me of books I’d read 15-20 years ago (was that just the early 2000s?), where the fae were cruel, but not unreasonable. Where deals could be made between the fae and humans, and kindness would win out in the end. It has a luxury to it – it only takes place over a month, and yet the pace is slow enough to allow the reader to luxuriate in the setting. I liked Mouse as a character (even though I have quibbles with the ending; but I suppose a human woman couldn’t take on the fae all alone, no matter how smart she is). I just didn’t love the writing. It was basic. Pedantic. Maybe it’s because I just finished A River Has Roots (also a faerie story), where the writing was so lovely, that I felt its lack. That said, while I didn’t utterly love it, I liked it enough to finish, and if you’re looking for a decent faerie story, this is a good one to read.

Audiobook: The River Has Roots

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by Amal El-Mohtar
Read by Gem Carmella
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is a murder, and some suggested abuse. It’s in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore.

Esther and Isabella are sisters, and as Hawthornes, their job is to sing to the willows, to enhance their magic. They are happy, except Esther is more interested in Faeire, and has picked up a lover – Ren – from there. That is all fine and good, except a local man has his sights on Esther, and when she chooses Ren over him, there is consequences.

One of my co-workers mentioned in passing, when this one came out, that it was a delightful experience on audio, and I remember picking it up after she mentioned that. I needed something short to read on our way home from Wisconsin, and downloaded this just to see.

Oh, it was delightful. Not just the story – I love a feminist fairy tale with queer undertones! – but the performance of it was stellar. The use of sound and music enhances the story and makes the story that much better. And the short story that follows was just as engaging. I’m definitely a fan of El-Mohtar’s work now, and I know I need to pick up This is How You Lose the Time War now.

Highly recommended.

Audiobook: On a Night Like This

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by Lindsey Kelk
Read by Carrie Hope Fletcher
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There isn’t any on-page sex, and there’s only kissing. There is talk of an affair, and swearing, including multiple f-bombs. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Fran has been down on her luck the past few years, after moving back with her fiance to his hometown. However, on a whim, she decides to call her old temp agent, who just happens to have a job for her as an assistant to a celebrity. For a short five days. Except those five days changes the direction of Fran’s life.

It’s a sweet little Cinderella story – circumstances line up that Fran can actually attend the Crystal Ball – an exclusive party for the wealthiest of the wealthy – where she meets Evan, and is swept away. Is she going to have the guts to change the trajectory of her life, or will she go back to the same-old-same-old.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It was silly, it was sweet, and Fran’s journey to an empowered woman was one to cheer. And Fletcher did a fabulous job with all the accents!

Recommneded, especially on audio.

American Fantasy

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by Emma Straub
First sentence: “The pool deck of the American Fantasy never smelled worse than it did first thing in the morning on turnaround days.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Release date: April 7, 2026
Content: There is swearing, including multiple f-bombs, an almost on-screen sex scene, and talk of sex. It will be in the Fiction section of the bookstore.

This follows three people on the cruise ship American Fantasy during the BoyTalk (think NSYNC or Boys to Men) weekend. Sarah, who is the band handler, is coming off a bad breakup with her girlfriend, and trying to manage the huge egos of the band and the insanity of the fans without losing her mind. Annie, who is on the cruise after a bad divorce only because her sister is a huge fan, but her sister couldn’t come due to an injury. She’s navigating her first BoyTalk cruise on her own, dealing with the excesses as well as an abrupt change at work – her boss promoted the intern over her. And Keith, one of the BoyTalk band members, unhappy in his marriage, only showing up to do these sorts of things because his older brother, Shawn, demands it. He hates the weekend, he hates being in the band, he hates everything and is just trying to make it through the weekend.

This is a very internal book; everyone is dealing with something and everyone is trying their utmost to manage it without it getting messy. And it wasn’t bad. Straub is a good writer, and I always appreciate an older main character who is dealing with changes. And yet. I think genre fiction has warped my expectations because I was disappointed in the ending. I was disappointed that nothing was really resolved, that nothing really changed, that the story just stopped. It very much was a portrait of a middle, and I wanted something… more.

That said, I’m not sorry I read it.

Audiobook: Christmas Fling

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by Lindsey Kelk
Read by Heather Long
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is swearing, including multiple f-bombs, and some fade to black sex. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Laura is in her medical residency to be a neurosurgeon and she has one rule: no relationships. But when she accidentally sees her new landlord, Callum, naked (she didn’t know he was home, let alone getting out of the shower) and then is ambushed by his parents who assume she’s his (nonexistent) girlfriend, she’s pulled into a fake dating scheme: go to Scotland, pretend to be Callum’s girlfriend for Christmas, don’t catch feelings, and get a free month’s rent. Of course, things don’t go smoothly – there is an ex-fiance, and an angry sister to deal with after all – but maybe it was all for the best in the end.

On the one hand, this was so chock-full of secondhand embarrassment, it was hard to listen to. Laura kept getting into some terrible embarrassing situations, and it was just super awkward. And Callum’s family was just the Worst! I wanted to throttle his sister and his dad for being stubborn and not listening, and completely understood why Callum acted the way he did. The third-act breakup was a bit sudden, but resolved quickly (which was nice) and I appreciated the way the ending was a compromise between Laura and Callum and not one sacrificing their dreams for the other.

In short, I enjoyed this enough to hunt down another Kelk book and put it immediately on hold at the library. A fun Christmas romp.