Book Review: Fearless by Lauren Roberts ‘Fearless’ by Lauren Roberts is the final book in her ‘Powerless’ trilogy. It was released in 2025, and follows on in the immediate fallout of the cliffhanger in ‘Reckless’, that despite murdering the late king, Paedyn Grey was going to marry Kit, and become the queen of Ilya. And,ContinueContinue reading
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‘A Dowry Of Blood’ by S. T. Gibson was released in 2021. It was her third book. The novel is vaguely epistolary, a long, poetic love letter to the late Count Dracula, written after his untimely demise. It explored the complex feelings of Count Dracula’s first bride, Constanta, from her first death and rebirth into vampirism in Romania, and how her immortal life was, living under his thumb.
Book Review: Reckless by Lauren Roberts ‘Reckless’ by Lauren Roberts is the second book of the ‘Powerless’ trilogy. It was published in 2024, and follows promptly after Paedyn killed the king of Ilya. In my opinion, this book was essentially a really long-winded way to achieve three imperative plot points, all of which are acknowledgedContinueContinue reading
‘Café Con Lychee’ by Emery Lee (e/em) was released in 2022 and is Lee’s second book. It follows the story of Theo Mori and Gabi Moreno, as their rival family restaurants are forced to acknowledge a common enemy: World Fusion Café, an establishment with mediocre food, but vibrant, Instagrammable drinks.
Book Review: The Lamb by Lucy Rose ‘The Lamb’ by Lucy Rose was published in 2025. It is Rose’s debut novel and explores the idea of love through the lens of cannibalism thematically. This book can be rather grotesque, and while, in my opinion, this gruesome description could have been used more consistently throughout theContinueContinue reading
Book Review: Sunrise On The Reaping by Suzanne Collins ‘Sunrise On The Reaping’ by Suzanne Collins was released in 2025. It is the second of Collins’ ‘The Hunger Games’ prequels. This book follows sixteen-year-old Haymitch Abernathy, and the events of the 50th Hunger Games, the Second Quarter Quell, where there were double the amount ofContinueContinue reading
Book Review: Powerless by Lauren Roberts ‘Powerless’ by Lauren Roberts was published in 2023. It is the first book in a series with the same name and consists of ‘Powerless’ (2023), ‘Reckless’ (2024) and ‘Fearless’ which was published earlier this month. There is also a novella that accompanies this series called ‘Powerful’, (2024) which followsContinueContinue reading
Book Review: The Bloodsworn Saga by John Gwynne Version 1.0.0 ‘The Bloodsworn Saga’ is a trilogy by John Gwynne that consists of ‘The Shadow of the Gods’ (2021), ‘The Hunger of the Gods’ (2022) and ‘The Fury of the Gods’ (2024). It is a Norse-inspired epic fantasy novel that had me in a vice-like grip.ContinueContinue reading
Book Review: Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross ‘Ruthless Vows’ by Rebecca Ross was released in 2023, and is the sequel to ‘Divine Rivals’, the bestselling fantasy novel about two young people that fall in love amidst times of war, through the sharing of letters via magical typewriters. This book is prompt in its following ofContinueContinue reading
Book Review: Lore Of The Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana / ‘Lore Of The Wilds’ by Analeigh Sbrana was released in 2023. It was Sbrana’s debut novel and the first in a duology, which is to be succeeded by ‘Lore Of The Tides’, a book that is due to be released this year. The story hasContinueContinue reading
Book Review: Bingsu For Two by Sujin Witherspoon ‘Bingsu For Two’ by Sujin Witherspoon was released in 2025. It is Witherspoon’s debut novel. I have been excited to read it since she was originally pitching it on social media. I really enjoyed this book. Witherspoon was able to convey a lot of serious and hard-hittingContinueContinue reading
Book Review: Love At First Set by Jennifer Dugan ‘Love At First Set’ by Jennifer Dugan was released in 2023. It drew my eye thanks to TikTok, where it was promoted as a love story between two women who meet in the bathroom, and one encourages the other to leave her fiance at the altar.ContinueContinue reading
Book Review: The City Of Nightmares Duology by Rebecca Schaeffer ‘The City of Nightmares Duology’ by Rebecca Schaeffer consists of two novels: ‘City of Nightmares’ and ‘Cage of Dreams’, a profound science fiction novel that explores the concept of potentially being transferred into your worst nightmare whenever you dream. The first novel was released inContinueContinue reading
Book Review: As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson ‘As Good As Dead’ by Holly Jackson is the last book in her ‘A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder’ trilogy, preceded by ‘A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder’ and ‘Good Girl, Bad Blood’. I reviewed each book individually and the reviews went live in January andContinueContinue reading
‘The Gravity Of Us’ was Phil Stamper’s first novel, released back in 2019. This insightful story shouts hard-hitting truths from the rafters; a primary theme of this book is communication, whether among friends, family, or the media.
Book Review: Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert ‘Get A Life, Chloe Brown’ was published in 2019. It is the first book in Talia Hibbert’s Brown Sisters Series, a romance trilogy following the three Brown sisters, Chloe, Danika and Eve. All three of these books are available to read via Amazon’s Kindle UnlimitedContinueContinue reading
Book Review: Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson ‘Good Girl, Bad Blood’ is the second book in Holly Jackson’s ‘A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder’ trilogy. It was released in YEAR and is concluded by ‘As Good As Dead’. Due to the episodic nature of each of these books, I felt it was bestContinueContinue reading
Book Review: That Time I Got Drunk And Saved A Demon by Kimberly Lemming ‘That One Time I Got Drunk And Saved A Demon’ by Kimberly Lemming was originally published in 2021. It is the first book of her ‘Mead Mishaps’ series, which follows the stories of multiple characters at different points in time withContinueContinue reading
Book Review: Win, Lose, Kill, Die by Cynthia Murphy ‘Win, Lose, Kill, Die’ by Cynthia Murphy was released in 2022. It was a booktok sensation, after videos the first page circulated online. It certainly piqued my interest. Something that is mentioned toward the end of the novel, a lie, could have posed a much moreContinueContinue reading
Book Review: We Hunt The Flame by Hafsah Faizal ‘We Hunt The Flame’ is the first of author Hafsah Faizal’s ‘The Sands of Arawiya Duology’. ‘We Hunt The Flame’ was published in 2019, while the sequel, ‘We Free The Stars’, was published in 2021. The first book was incredibly rich in lore and immersive toContinueContinue reading
Book Review: The Romantic Agenda by Claire Kann The Romantic Agenda by Claire Kann was released in 2022 and tells a poignant story of love, self-acceptance, heartbreak, and empowerment. We follow Joy, a black woman in her thirties who looks like she has her shit together. She is beautiful, confident and has a successful career,ContinueContinue reading
Book Review: A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson ‘A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder’ by Holly Jackson was released in 2019. It is the first book in a trilogy of the same name, followed by ‘Good Girl, Bad Blood’ and ‘As Good As Dead’. These books follow the story of Pippa, orContinueContinue reading
Book Review: Mindwalker by Kate Dylan ‘Mindwalker’ by Kate Dylan was released in 2022, it was her third book, but her first piece published in English. It was a gripping, fast-paced, sci-fi dystopia. The book is set on Earth in a distant future, where the planet has suffered from humanity’s negligence and greed, and succumbedContinueContinue reading
Book Review: The Nicest Girl by Sophie Jo ‘The Nicest Girl’ was author, Sophie Jo’s debut novel. The book was released in 2022 and told an important story of why setting boundaries and putting yourself first is imperative. The story follows seventeen-year-old Anna Campbell, who seems to have a big arrow pointing to her, callingContinueContinue reading
Book Review: A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers ‘A Certain Hunger’ by Chelsea G. Summers was released in 2020. It was her debut novel. The book follows the life of serial killer, Dorothy Daniels, a famous food writer, who happens to be a cannibal. The book was alarming, stomach-churning and gripping. I was captivatedContinueContinue reading
Book Review: Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross ‘Divine Rivals’ by Rebecca Ross was released in early 2023. It is the first book in the Letters of Enchantment duology. The second book, ‘Ruthless Vows’ is due to be released in the latter end of the month. The story followed two characters, Roman Kitt and Iris Winnow,ContinueContinue reading
‘How To Kill Your Family’ was a smash-hit debut by Bella Mackie that was released in the summer of 2021. It is a popular thriller and is both a New York Times bestseller, and a Sunday Times bestseller.
Book Review: Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston ‘Red, White, And Royal Blue’ was Casey McQuiston’s debut novel. It was released in 2019, and was recently adapted into a movie on Amazon Prime. The story follows an alternate version of international history, where instead of Donald Trump, a fictional Democrat, Ellen Claremont, wonContinueContinue reading
‘Lessons In Chemistry’ by Bonnie Garmus was released in 2022. It was her debut novel, and received great acclaim due to its frank nature, and upfront depictions of sexual violence and misogyny. It wasn’t a book I would have necessarily bought, but I was swayed by BookTok, which praised the novel, and decided it was worth a punt.
‘Five Survive’ is a young adult thriller novel by Holly Jackson, author of the ‘A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder Trilogy’. This novel was released in 2022 and was her fifth release since her debut in 2019.
Book Review: An Emotion of Great Delight by Tahereh Mafi ‘An Emotion of Great Delight’ by Tahereh Mafi was published in 2021. It is her sixteenth novel, and one of few stand alone stories amidst her popular series, Shatter Me (2011-2021). Due to the nature of the events in this story it is worth acknowledgingContinueContinue reading
Book Review: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes by Suzanne Collins ‘The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes’ by Suzanne Collins was released in 2020. The book is a prequel to her series ‘The Hunger Games’, the original trilogy came out between 2008 and 2010. This book follows the early life of President Snow, and theContinueContinue reading
This was my first conscious venture into the sub genre of cosy fantasy. I knew it consisted on characters going through their heroes journeys in significantly less stressful scenarios. However, I’d argue that Isobel ought to have been more stressed out about the circumstances she was in…
‘Tender Is The Flesh’ by Augustina Bazterrica was originally published in Spanish in 2017. Pushkin Press released an English translated edition, with a translation provided by Sarah Moses in 2020.
‘Lightlark’ by Alex Aster was released in 2022 and is the first book of a duopoly, the sequel to which is due to be released in late 2023. The concept for her book was a hit on TikTok, her viral video pitching the concept in 2021 amassing over 400,000 likes.
‘Godkiller’ by Hannah Kaner was released in 2022 and follows an ensemble cast of four characters: a Godkiller, Kissen, who roams the land, striking down Gods, supposedly in the name of King Aaron, for money, a former royal knight, and now baker, Elogast, or Elo to friends, and a young noble-born girl, called Inara, who has inadvertently found herself bound to a minor God, Skedi.
‘Last Violent Call’ by Chloe Gong was released in early 2023. It contains two novellas that offer insight into the lives of Roma Montagov and Juliette Cai, as well as Marshall Seo and Benedikt Montagov from her original duology: ‘These Violent Delights’ and ‘Our Violent Ends’ in the four years that follow the conclusion of ‘Our Violent Ends’ to the conclusion of ‘Foul Lady Fortune’, these two novellas provide what can only be assumed as an essential bridge between the original duology and Gong’s second duology, where these characters are likely to make another appearance.
Book Review: Deep Roots by Vanessa Roades ‘Deep Roots’ was Vanessa Roades’ third book, and was released in June 2023. I’ve been eagerly looking forward to this book since the cover reveal appeared on my TikTok a few months before the release. This book follows multiple characters, including an inventor, Roheme, her friend Eirjatal, andContinueContinue reading
Book Review: The Dos And Donuts Of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar ‘The Dos and Donuts of Love’ by Adiba Jaigirdar was released in May 2023, and is her fourth novel. This book follows a similar rivals-to-lovers arc that is present in some of her previous books, such as her debut, ‘The Henna Wars’, and thatContinueContinue reading
‘Foul Lady Fortune’ by Chloe Gong is a second series set in the same timeline as her previous works, ‘These Violent Delights’ and ‘Our Violent Ends’. It was published in 2022 and follows the story of Rosalind Lang, a supporting character in her previous books, as she embarks on her own journey, having been branded a traitor to the Scarlet Gang.
‘The Shadow Cabinet’ by Juno Dawson was released in May 2023, and was a highly-anticipated sequel to the sensational ‘Her Majesty’s Royal Coven’. I was worried that ‘The Shadow Cabinet’ may suffer the infamous second book slump that affects many series’, where the second merely exists as a segway from Point A to Point B – but I had nothing to fear!
‘Gwen And Art Are Not In Love’ by Lex Croucher was released in May 2023, and explores the idea of queer relationships in post-Arthurian Britain, where there are little-to-no historical records. Due to this, Croucher is able to take significant artistic license and offer a story that is delightfully funny, and devastating.
‘Loveless’ by Alice Oseman was released in 2020. It is her sixth novel, and follows eighteen-year-old Georgia Warr during her first year at the University of Durham to study English Literature.
‘Delilah Green Doesn’t Care’ by Ashley Herring Blake is the first book of three that explores several young women residing in Bright Falls, Oregon. It was released in early 2022, with its sequel coming out just months later, toward the end of the year. The third book, ‘Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date’, will be released in October 2023.
‘Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow’ by Gabrielle Zevin was published in 2022. It was well-praised by reviewers and Amazon named it as the best book of 2022.
‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’, shortened to ACOTAR, is an ongoing fantasy series by Sarah J Maas, which started back in 2015. This series of what is currently five books has been a sensation among readers on BookTok’s literary community.
‘Verity’ by Colleen Hoover was published in 2018 and is a domestic thriller which follows Lowen, a writer on the verge of financial ruin after moving into an apartment out of her budget to offer her mother with dignity whilst also providing end of life care, but then receives a job offer she can’t turn down – as a ghostwriter for esteemed author Verity Crawford!
‘These Violent Delights’ and ‘Our Violent Ends’ are Chloe Gong’s duology which retells the story of Romeo and Juliet through the lens of rival gangs in 1920s Shanghai. The first book, ‘These Violent Delights’ was published in 2020, while the sequel was released a year later in 2021.
‘The Silent Patient’ was author, Alex Michaelides’ debut novel, released in 2019. It was a well-received, popular crime-thriller and has since sold over a million copies.
‘Beach Read’ was Emily Henry’s 2020 contemporary romance novel – a hit on TikTok and filled with popular tropes it’s personable and upbeat tone made it an easy and delightful read.
Imogen L. Smiley 