Samia

If you're a true crime girlie who thinks you could absolutely get away with murder because you've binged enough podcasts, The Midnight Taxi is about to humble you real quick. Siriwathi is a 28-year-old Sri Lankan American taxi driver in New York whose last passenger ends up dead in her backseat, and she has five days to prove she didn't do it. What hooked me immediately was Siri's voice - her internal monologue is so blase and rambling and hilarious. She relates literally everything to the true crime podcasts she's obsessed with, and as someone who is constantly listening to Rotten Mango, I have never felt so called out by a character.

But beyond the humor, this book hit me personally. Siri is almost 30, unmarried, living with her parents, constantly getting commentary about not doing enough with her life. The way she talks about herself - calling herself old and unkempt - I've been there. I've had those exact thoughts. And as the daughter of immigrants who worked so hard to give me the life I have, seeing Siri's story play out here in New York City with characters who are being exploited while chasing that dream, it just resonated so deeply.

The mystery itself kept me hooked. I sort of had the killer on my suspect list, but the way the murder was actually done and who was involved? I was so shook. The pacing with that five-day countdown created such urgency - I had to keep reading because I needed to know how on earth this murder happened.

Siri's friendship with public defender Amaya Fernando is so genuine too. You can tell Amaya really cares about her defendants, and watching Siri kind of wear her down until she lets her in was such a joy. I would honestly love to see more of their dynamic, maybe even from Amaya's POV.

This whole book is suspenseful but also kind of cozy in a way. If you loved The Tainted Cup, this is like the contemporary version with so much humor and heart.

Author Yosha Gunasekera is a Sri Lankan American attorney who represents wrongfully convicted people and was a Manhattan public defender, so she knows this world intimately - and it shows in every page. I'm giving this five stars and genuinely think everyone should read this and support this incredible Sri Lankan debut author.

This was an amazing wild ride of a book and I LOVED every second of it!! The unique magical system, the underlying dystopia, the mysterious world that we don’t know much about yet. Alfom has my heart and I am desperate to read all the novellas and get deeply immersed in this book. This is a perfect mind bending book for scifi and dark fantasy lovers alike. It’s not for everyone but I think being a hardcore scifi girlie I really loved it so much. I’m so curious to see what these Other beings are in the world that we just started learning about.

This was a deeply dark and moving novel about pain, desperation, and the formation AND continuation of generational trauma and how we can deal with it. While it feels almost unreal that two sisters would kill their uncle, it doesn’t shock me at all. The emotions and dynamics of this immigrated Indian family is something I deeply resonated with. How we hide things and how we never say what we should really say. It made me feel incredibly sad and empathetic towards these girls who we only know through the lens of one sister and that lens is bleak. However this is quite a brilliant book that showcases what it’s like to try to assimilate into “American”/western culture and how it feels to be torn between these two culture when you’ve been raised in America but have parents and family that have essentially lived a totally different life than you. I was really moved by this and can’t wait to see more from this author.

While this did start off slow for me, once it picked up, I was in. This is such a fun mix of cozy fantasy and murder mystery, and I was genuinely invested in figuring out what the hell was going on.

It definitely gave me Sherlock vibes, but set inside this cozy, quirky fantasy world with really great banter and humor that actually works. The mystery itself is super engaging, and I loved putting together all the little pieces as the story unfolded.

What really elevated it for me was the bigger picture happening in the background—there’s this massive sense of conspiracy layered on top of a looming Leviathan threat (aka giant monsters that could literally destroy the entire country), which added so much tension and intrigue.

The worldbuilding is eclectic and cool without being overwhelming, and by the end I could fully see this as a TV show. I finished it feeling excited to stay in this world, and I’m definitely looking forward to the next book!

Thank you to Roxanne Gay Books for the ARC!

If you need a palette cleansing book that may or may not carry life lessons but definitely carries the possession of a 6 year old boy by a CORGI of all things, then this book is for you.

I'm not entirely sure what I read but I did find this hilarious. Rose is not a likeable person (though in her self-centered, vegan, better than you mind she is) and we kind of see that POV really matters. Rose is the first person narrative we follow but as I read I find her incredibly annoying, pretentious, and kind of psychotic.

Which is hilarious since her nephew is possessed by a corgi spirit and somehow she makes it all about her and kind of loses her mind toward the end.

This is definitely a reflection on how Rose, as a person, in trying to control everything and always have everything her way, ruins her own life and can't seem to take the blame for it.

It's funny and entertaining and kind of nonsensical !

This was. a really refreshing and humorous read for me! I really liked the concept of Death being an actual "being" with feelings and thoughts and emotions. The dry humor was very well done and I like how Death not only learns who is murdering people, but also finds herself along the way. This gave me serious Supernatural (the show) vibes which cracked me up. This is a great cozy mystery read with a lot of humor and a new perspective on how the system of Life, Death, and all things between could be.

If you wanna be gaslit about being gastlit- this is the book for you.

I was at the edge of my seat reading this one because what on earth was going on!!

You have a woman named Eve who, with her partner Charlie, moved into this middle of nowhere rundown town to potentially flip this creepy house. Eve decides to open the door to some people who show up claiming they used to live in this house and they wanted to look at it again.

Eve is already really anxious as a person and nervous and also a people pleaser so she lets them in and thats when everything hits the metaphorical ceiling fan because we get potential time travel and ghosts and maybe a haunting but also maybe....

None of this is real??

This is a great read for a cold rainy day and teaches you some important life lessons.

1. don't live in the middle of nowhere 2. don't let anyone into your house ever 3. trust nobody

go grab this and read it now!!

What a spectacular first book of 2026. I will do my best to review this without spoiling anything because the journey of this book warrants full and utter ignorance.

What I can say is that Iris Lake has done it yet again and FLOORED me in the amazingness of her writing and her in depth understanding of the human condition and social issues all encapsulated into a captivating and eerie novel.

This is a love story, but not in the way you would think. This isn't just love between two people, but the love we carry for ourselves and how far we may be willing to go in a world that is moving too quickly for us to get that love and feelings of contentment and peace. This book discusses the fine balance between showing up for yourself and showing up for others, as well as redefining what happiness can mean and the desperation in which we seek in even when we think we have it all.

If you're a dystopian/scifi book lover like me that is looking for a book that explores the social repercussions of society through this lens with a devastating love story with a maybe/maybe-not happy ending I highly recommend this book. It's new and different and very thought provoking where I have been sitting for days being like what did I read and wanting to re-read it so see all the hidden nuggets of the truth carefully placed into the novel.

I feel like this could have been more interesting but overall it was a nice book. This was like a magical realism mystery book with a sprinkle of a love story. I would have liked more information on the magical system of the book maybe a flashback to the time because some of the historical context was a little confusing and I didn’t understand why only some people could feel the magic of the library. The story was compelling though and I found myself wanting to know more and more of it and figure out what happened between the two main characters. Very good cozy magical mystery

I feel like this could have been more interesting but overall it was a nice book. This was like a magical realism mystery book with a sprinkle of a love story. I would have liked more information on the magical system of the book maybe a flashback to the time because some of the historical context was a little confusing and I didn’t understand why only some people could feel the magic of the library. The story was compelling though and I found myself wanting to know more and more of it and figure out what happened between the two main characters. Very good cozy magical mystery

I feel like this could have been more interesting but overall it was a nice book. This was like a magical realism mystery book with a sprinkle of a love story. I would have liked more information on the magical system of the book maybe a flashback to the time because some of the historical context was a little confusing and I didn’t understand why only some people could feel the magic of the library. The story was compelling though and I found myself wanting to know more and more of it and figure out what happened between the two main characters. Very good cozy magical mystery

Thanks to Netgalley for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Conceptually I found this a very interesting dystopic scifi novel. We don't know what is real and not real in this novel, not fully understanding why exactly these people don't have real memories and why language has been warped (which we know as readers) and manipulated. I feel as though we were almost on a precipice as readers ourselves in discovering who these people really are -but with all that said I think it could have had a little more depth or context for the reader. I was hoping that the end of the novel would be a third person looking at this "research center" from the outside or something because I'm quite confused as to what this book was commenting on. You're supposed to definitely be confused and not have all the answers but it feels like I read only part of a book and am waiting for party 2 without really having learned any information? Concept is cool but execution is okay.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was pretty much like watching a train wreck of every cliché magic school and end-of-the-world trope mashed together—and not in a good way. Imagine *The Hunger Games* tried to date the Triwizard Tournament and they had a super awkward lovechild that also wanted to be a “chosen one” story **and** a pick-me girl story all at once. Frankly, it was kind of a dumpster fire.

It started off with me thinking, *oh cool, there’s a spy element, maybe this is gonna be interesting!* And then—surprise—we’re going to magic school, even though I’m still not entirely sure how she figured that out. Once you get to the school, it settles into a competition-style book, which I normally love, but the “ordeals” themselves didn’t seem that intense. There’s a lot of murder happening, yet somehow this supposedly super secure school can’t figure out what’s going on or protect their students?

There are also a ton of plot elements introduced and then barely explored: a mysterious building no one is allowed in, her parents who apparently went to this school but she only half-researches, and a mentor who’s supposed to be incredibly talented but somehow can’t actually mentor her. Her power is weak, and you’d think the mentor would sense that something else is going on or help her reach her potential—but nope.

The main character is also all over the place, bouncing between “I’m so insecure” and “I’m the best ever,” which gives you whiplash. That really annoyed me because for character development, you kind of need to pick a lane and grow from it in a way that makes sense.

The romance was so bland I almost fell asleep. It *starts* kind of interesting when they meet, but the way they connect is super choppy. Half the time she’s saying she’s just using him to win the trials, and the other half she’s like, “I can’t stop thinking about him.” Meanwhile, they barely know each other and lie to each other constantly in a way that feels toxic—not romantic.

The monster reveal was also incredibly mid. There’s no real sense of where this monster fits into the hierarchy of the world. There’s a war between countries where some ban magic, but we don’t get much detail until later when it’s suddenly relevant. There’s also a “Great Hunt” mentioned that happened eight years ago, but no one really explains it, and I just didn’t get why it was included.

There’s a lot of repeated word usage, and some of the words aren’t even real—which is fine—but then at least give us a glossary or something? It felt like ideas were added as afterthoughts instead of being part of a cohesive, progressive storyline. Overall, it felt sloppy and rushed, which was disappointing because I *could* see the potential of what this book could’ve been.

I basically hate-read this because I really tried to like it or appreciate something about it, but I couldn’t. I don’t think I’ll be picking up the second one.

I WANT TO CRY IM SO SAD THIS SERIES IS OVER BECAUSE I LOVED IT!!! -Sobbing hysterically from the devastation and love and roller coaster that i was taken on-

But seriously, this was a great ending to this series! I loved the buildup to this final type of battle that ensues with Aurelia and her father aka the Cobra King and that gets WILD- there are so many movie pieces throughout the book and the biggest question we all wanted answered was- whose side is Ghoul really on?

I would have loved more Ghoul content and I hope she's kidding and writes an extra book because I would so be here for it!! But seriously this is action packed- there's a lot of depth in the characters and a desperate hope that everything will work out.

This is an excellent why choose because sure, we have spice and romance, but we also have so many different characters and personalities that we get to learn about individually and see how they work together and what makes them complimentary to one another. Getting to see the background of each character provides a lot of emotional bonding for the reader, humor, and you et that feeling that you're rooting for them to win.

Thank you so much to the author for the ARC i hope to meet you one day and cry in person over this!!

This is just an absolute gem of a second-chance romance. What I really loved is how the book uses flashbacks between the two main characters who first met on their very first movie and, dare I say, fell in love and totally denied it and decided to never see each other again cuz of course they hate each other, and now, 13 years later, they’re back for the sequel. The way the story unfolds is just so well done. I loved seeing how they both grew and changed from when they were younger to where they are now. You can see it in their impulses, the way they talk to each other, and how they handle their emotions.

Plus, there’s this really interesting layer about how women are treated in the film industry and how that’s changed over time, which felt really relatable and beautifully done.

The side characters were all so much fun, and the banter had me CRACKING UP. I also lowkey teared up at the end which never happens to me so I am a FAN!!

Omg falling in love with a rockstar?? I'm not mad about it at ALL. This was a really cute story following Clemmie, whose dad is a rockstar, and her journey to learn the kind of woman she wants to be- her story starts out in a hot mess - no job, no man, no idea of where a future goes, and when she's offered a job to basically babysit a rockstar named Theo who she had a one night stand with (and she knew him as some guy name Edward), and thats where we see the sparks start to skyrocket. Both Theo and Clemmie learn a lot about themselves and each other as friends with the simmering romance in the background. I really loved the humor in this, the relationship Clemmie has with her sisters, and the insightful and gorgeous ending this story.

Great cozy read if you love fun banter and people working through their emotional issues in their 30s (im 30 so i relate a lot)