Syndrie
A bit of a slow burn—in the best way possible—"A Slow and Secret Poison" is a novel where the title is a perfect fit for the story readers will find inside.
The story follows a woman named Vee as she begins her new job as a gardener at Harfold Manor—home of the now dwindled Lascy family. Vee initially applies, and accepts, the position without knowing anything about the family's history, but as she settles in she begins to uncover more knowledge about the family and the curse that the current family head, Arabella, fully believes has been placed upon her lineage.
Lowkis did a fantastic job with the pacing of this novel. We start off really taking the time to get to know all of the characters, their histories, and the setting in general—if anything it feels like a bit of a slice of life story at first. But as the novel progresses there are more and more quips and small details slipped in that suggest things might not all be as straightforward as they may seem. The plot itself slowly becomes poisoned with secrets, distrust, and paranoia as more and more of our character's stories are revealed.
This is one of those novels I probably could've devoured in one sitting if life hadn't gotten in the way! It was a smooth and easy read that captured my full attention from the very beginning. The characters felt like real people, the settings were perfectly descriptive, and the romance aspect was the perfect mix of being important to the plot while not completely overtaking the whole story. I really enjoyed my time with this novel and I'm honestly a little sad that it's already over!
(I received an advance review copy of this book from the publisher, Atria Books, via NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.)
A bit of a slow burn—in the best way possible—"A Slow and Secret Poison" is a novel where the title is a perfect fit for the story readers will find inside.
The story follows a woman named Vee as she begins her new job as a gardener at Harfold Manor—home of the now dwindled Lascy family. Vee initially applies, and accepts, the position without knowing anything about the family's history, but as she settles in she begins to uncover more knowledge about the family and the curse that the current family head, Arabella, fully believes has been placed upon her lineage.
Lowkis did a fantastic job with the pacing of this novel. We start off really taking the time to get to know all of the characters, their histories, and the setting in general—if anything it feels like a bit of a slice of life story at first. But as the novel progresses there are more and more quips and small details slipped in that suggest things might not all be as straightforward as they may seem. The plot itself slowly becomes poisoned with secrets, distrust, and paranoia as more and more of our character's stories are revealed.
This is one of those novels I probably could've devoured in one sitting if life hadn't gotten in the way! It was a smooth and easy read that captured my full attention from the very beginning. The characters felt like real people, the settings were perfectly descriptive, and the romance aspect was the perfect mix of being important to the plot while not completely overtaking the whole story. I really enjoyed my time with this novel and I'm honestly a little sad that it's already over!
(I received an advance review copy of this book from the publisher, Atria Books, via NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.)
This was one of those stories that ended up being deeper than it originally seemed like it would be. Starting off it feels more like it could be a potential mystery of the week kind of deal where we’ll be following along as DEUS — a government agency that helps keeps supernatural beings & events out of the public eye — tries to uncover the mystery behind a disappearing neighborhood. But as the story progresses, it really digs deeper into bigger themes of ethics, society, and community.
The good: - Satisfying character development. - A good mix of humorous antics as well as serious moments and concepts. - The idea of humans simply being too blind to notice gods and mythological beings living amongst in secret is definitely entertaining. - Lots of diversity amongst the Others - we get to see jinns, wyverns, necromancers, and more alongside some concepts that I believe are unique to this novel. (I found the idea behind the Gardeners especially interesting!) - I loved how the top secret government agency tasked with helping manage the Others is forced to deal with the same bureaucratic bs that the average human employee experiences.
The less good: - At times, it seemed like the prose started to ramble a bit and it did lose my attention here and there. Other times it felt like too much information too fast and I had to reread portions to fully take a new concept in. - It feels like the first half of the story was more plot focused, but towards the end the plot felt like it really took a backseat to the message that the book was trying to portray. So by the end, when the stakes should’ve been at the highest for our characters, it felt somewhat predictable and did not hold the same tension that the middle portions had.
Overall this was a nice read and, as a starting point for a new series, it did give us the foundations of the world and its rules while giving a good introduction to our main cast of characters. So even though I had a couple of problems with it, I’ll probably be keeping an eye out for the second book in the future to see how it plays out!
(I received an advance review copy of this book from the publisher, Orbit Books, via NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.)
This was one of those stories that ended up being deeper than it originally seemed like it would be. Starting off it feels more like it could be a potential mystery of the week kind of deal where we’ll be following along as DEUS — a government agency that helps keeps supernatural beings & events out of the public eye — tries to uncover the mystery behind a disappearing neighborhood. But as the story progresses, it really digs deeper into bigger themes of ethics, society, and community.
The good: - Satisfying character development. - A good mix of humorous antics as well as serious moments and concepts. - The idea of humans simply being too blind to notice gods and mythological beings living amongst in secret is definitely entertaining. - Lots of diversity amongst the Others - we get to see jinns, wyverns, necromancers, and more alongside some concepts that I believe are unique to this novel. (I found the idea behind the Gardeners especially interesting!) - I loved how the top secret government agency tasked with helping manage the Others is forced to deal with the same bureaucratic bs that the average human employee experiences.
The less good: - At times, it seemed like the prose started to ramble a bit and it did lose my attention here and there. Other times it felt like too much information too fast and I had to reread portions to fully take a new concept in. - It feels like the first half of the story was more plot focused, but towards the end the plot felt like it really took a backseat to the message that the book was trying to portray. So by the end, when the stakes should’ve been at the highest for our characters, it felt somewhat predictable and did not hold the same tension that the middle portions had.
Overall this was a nice read and, as a starting point for a new series, it did give us the foundations of the world and its rules while giving a good introduction to our main cast of characters. So even though I had a couple of problems with it, I’ll probably be keeping an eye out for the second book in the future to see how it plays out!
(I received an advance review copy of this book from the publisher, Orbit Books, via NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.)
Through "Year of the Mer," L. D. Lewis has crafted an engaging story that is both a dark re-imagining and a sequel to a well-loved fairy tale. This is not the story of The Little Mermaid that many of us grew up on, but a story of how the selfish choices of one Mer girl ended up causing strife and political unrest across multiple nations—both on land and in the sea—for many years to come.
Not only do we get to see how Arielle's descendants are living as a result of her decision to leave the sea to live as a human, but we also get a lot more insight into the character of the sea witch, Ursla, herself. Lewis has clearly put a lot of thought into this tale and has created a fascinating lore for the world itself as well as managing to give Ursla a proper backstory—something that I was especially interested in.
I found the pacing to be absolutely perfect here and I'm impressed at just how much story was packed into just 400 pages. Things do start off a little slow as we're introduced to the general setting, characters, and conflicts, but once the action kicks in, it really kicks in. I was personally happy to have had the slower start to really get myself oriented with the story and get some real insight into the character's personalities as well. (Also, this is only the first book of a planned duology, so we have plenty of time to see more action with book two!) The characters themselves were properly fleshed-out as well and each one really stood out as a unique person in the story. We really get to see their beliefs and ideals come through in the choices they make, as well how their interpersonal relationships occasionally make choosing the "right" path a bit of a struggle.
Overall, "Year of the Mer" was a riveting story packed with anger, trauma, revenge, and love—both familial and romantic. I'll probably be thinking about this one for a while still as I eagerly await the second book, because that ending especially has left me wanting more!
[Thank you to Saga Press for providing me with an advance review copy via NetGalley! I am leaving this review voluntarily and all opinions are my own.]
Through "Year of the Mer," L. D. Lewis has crafted an engaging story that is both a dark re-imagining and a sequel to a well-loved fairy tale. This is not the story of The Little Mermaid that many of us grew up on, but a story of how the selfish choices of one Mer girl ended up causing strife and political unrest across multiple nations—both on land and in the sea—for many years to come.
Not only do we get to see how Arielle's descendants are living as a result of her decision to leave the sea to live as a human, but we also get a lot more insight into the character of the sea witch, Ursla, herself. Lewis has clearly put a lot of thought into this tale and has created a fascinating lore for the world itself as well as managing to give Ursla a proper backstory—something that I was especially interested in.
I found the pacing to be absolutely perfect here and I'm impressed at just how much story was packed into just 400 pages. Things do start off a little slow as we're introduced to the general setting, characters, and conflicts, but once the action kicks in, it really kicks in. I was personally happy to have had the slower start to really get myself oriented with the story and get some real insight into the character's personalities as well. (Also, this is only the first book of a planned duology, so we have plenty of time to see more action with book two!) The characters themselves were properly fleshed-out as well and each one really stood out as a unique person in the story. We really get to see their beliefs and ideals come through in the choices they make, as well how their interpersonal relationships occasionally make choosing the "right" path a bit of a struggle.
Overall, "Year of the Mer" was a riveting story packed with anger, trauma, revenge, and love—both familial and romantic. I'll probably be thinking about this one for a while still as I eagerly await the second book, because that ending especially has left me wanting more!
[Thank you to Saga Press for providing me with an advance review copy via NetGalley! I am leaving this review voluntarily and all opinions are my own.]
A bit slow to start off, "Heap Earth Upon It" takes its time building up tension before throwing the reader right into the middle of what is both a family drama and a haunting tale of obsession. This is a story about a family that is trying to escape their past, even though none of them are actually ready to move on yet.
Starting off I wasn't sure if this was going to be very suited to my tastes, the slow start plus the more classical-styled prose made it a little hard for me to get into. But once things started to pick up around the midway point, my attention was definitely captured! Howarth does a good job of really building up a tense atmosphere around the O'Leary family that makes you wonder if you can really trust them or not. There are many POV shifts between the siblings in here, but each one lasts just long enough for you to get a good look at their—sometimes unsettling—motivations and emotions. And even though I had a general idea of where the story would probably end up, I was still pleasantly surprised by some of the turns that it took on the way there.
I would definitely recommend this to readers who enjoy the classics or even just gothic fiction readers in general!
(Thank you to Melville House for providing me with an advance review copy via NetGalley! I am leaving this review voluntarily and all opinions are my own.)
A bit slow to start off, "Heap Earth Upon It" takes its time building up tension before throwing the reader right into the middle of what is both a family drama and a haunting tale of obsession. This is a story about a family that is trying to escape their past, even though none of them are actually ready to move on yet.
Starting off I wasn't sure if this was going to be very suited to my tastes, the slow start plus the more classical-styled prose made it a little hard for me to get into. But once things started to pick up around the midway point, my attention was definitely captured! Howarth does a good job of really building up a tense atmosphere around the O'Leary family that makes you wonder if you can really trust them or not. There are many POV shifts between the siblings in here, but each one lasts just long enough for you to get a good look at their—sometimes unsettling—motivations and emotions. And even though I had a general idea of where the story would probably end up, I was still pleasantly surprised by some of the turns that it took on the way there.
I would definitely recommend this to readers who enjoy the classics or even just gothic fiction readers in general!
(Thank you to Melville House for providing me with an advance review copy via NetGalley! I am leaving this review voluntarily and all opinions are my own.)
Updated a reading goal:
Read 100 books by December 31, 2025
Progress so far: 100 / 100 100%
I already had some knowledge of QAnon and their beliefs before picking this book up, but only enough to know I wasn't going to be buying what they were selling before mostly tuning them out. So this book was both equally enlightening and horrifying to see just how deep their ideas ran (run?) and how much they've disseminated into the general public media.
The book itself is very well written—easily approachable with a seamless blend of both narrative and info-dumping. Cook has done a great job of mixing actual scientific information and facts with the very real stories detailing the lives of five different families who have been directly affected by QAnon. This is my ideal kind of nonfiction book where there's just enough of a storytelling aspect to make it easy to digest, while also clearly being a factual account full of reliable information.
If you're someone who's curious about how American politics have devolved into what you're seeing today, then this book probably has a lot of the answers. I'd highly recommend it to anybody looking to fill in some gaps in their understanding of current political climate.
I already had some knowledge of QAnon and their beliefs before picking this book up, but only enough to know I wasn't going to be buying what they were selling before mostly tuning them out. So this book was both equally enlightening and horrifying to see just how deep their ideas ran (run?) and how much they've disseminated into the general public media.
The book itself is very well written—easily approachable with a seamless blend of both narrative and info-dumping. Cook has done a great job of mixing actual scientific information and facts with the very real stories detailing the lives of five different families who have been directly affected by QAnon. This is my ideal kind of nonfiction book where there's just enough of a storytelling aspect to make it easy to digest, while also clearly being a factual account full of reliable information.
If you're someone who's curious about how American politics have devolved into what you're seeing today, then this book probably has a lot of the answers. I'd highly recommend it to anybody looking to fill in some gaps in their understanding of current political climate.
This is one of the times when I think the book blurb really nailed exactly what the novel is—this is really a story about relationships (both platonic and romantic), life changes, and just growing up in general. And even though this is most definitely a queer novel, I think it's the kind of story that even non-queer readers will be able to easily relate to. From intense crushes to worrying about employment to wondering if your closest friends are drifting away, many readers are sure to have experienced at least one of the situations that show up in this novel.
I really liked how this was set up so each chapter is a new year in our main character's life. The reader really gets to see Susan at all her most important milestones—both the good and the ugly. Although at times I wanted to knock some sense into her, Susan felt like a real person that you could meet in real life and that was nice to see. I enjoyed reading her story and I really wanted to see her manage to succeed.
I would definitely recommend this novel to people who enjoy reading coming of age stories—especially if you're looking to get a little early aughts nostalgia in as well!
(Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an advance review copy via NetGalley! I am leaving this review voluntarily and all opinions are my own.)
This is one of the times when I think the book blurb really nailed exactly what the novel is—this is really a story about relationships (both platonic and romantic), life changes, and just growing up in general. And even though this is most definitely a queer novel, I think it's the kind of story that even non-queer readers will be able to easily relate to. From intense crushes to worrying about employment to wondering if your closest friends are drifting away, many readers are sure to have experienced at least one of the situations that show up in this novel.
I really liked how this was set up so each chapter is a new year in our main character's life. The reader really gets to see Susan at all her most important milestones—both the good and the ugly. Although at times I wanted to knock some sense into her, Susan felt like a real person that you could meet in real life and that was nice to see. I enjoyed reading her story and I really wanted to see her manage to succeed.
I would definitely recommend this novel to people who enjoy reading coming of age stories—especially if you're looking to get a little early aughts nostalgia in as well!
(Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an advance review copy via NetGalley! I am leaving this review voluntarily and all opinions are my own.)
This is one of the times when I think the book blurb really nailed exactly what the novel is—this is really a story about relationships (both platonic and romantic), life changes, and just growing up in general. And even though this is most definitely a queer novel, I think it's the kind of story that even non-queer readers will be able to easily relate to. From intense crushes to worrying about employment to wondering if your closest friends are drifting away, many readers are sure to have experienced at least one of the situations that show up in this novel.
I really liked how this was set up so each chapter is a new year in our main character's life. The reader really gets to see Susan at all her most important milestones—both the good and the ugly. Although at times I wanted to knock some sense into her, Susan felt like a real person that you could meet in real life and that was nice to see. I enjoyed reading her story and I really wanted to see her manage to succeed.
I would definitely recommend this novel to people who enjoy reading coming of age stories—especially if you're looking to get a little early aughts nostalgia in as well!
(Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an advance review copy via NetGalley! I am leaving this review voluntarily and all opinions are my own.)
This is one of the times when I think the book blurb really nailed exactly what the novel is—this is really a story about relationships (both platonic and romantic), life changes, and just growing up in general. And even though this is most definitely a queer novel, I think it's the kind of story that even non-queer readers will be able to easily relate to. From intense crushes to worrying about employment to wondering if your closest friends are drifting away, many readers are sure to have experienced at least one of the situations that show up in this novel.
I really liked how this was set up so each chapter is a new year in our main character's life. The reader really gets to see Susan at all her most important milestones—both the good and the ugly. Although at times I wanted to knock some sense into her, Susan felt like a real person that you could meet in real life and that was nice to see. I enjoyed reading her story and I really wanted to see her manage to succeed.
I would definitely recommend this novel to people who enjoy reading coming of age stories—especially if you're looking to get a little early aughts nostalgia in as well!
(Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an advance review copy via NetGalley! I am leaving this review voluntarily and all opinions are my own.)
This was beautifully written and such a unique take on the story of Cinderella—I've definitely read versions where Cinderella ends up dying, but I've never read one that started with her death! Keeping just enough of the main story points to be recognizable as a Cinderella retelling, "Cinder House" manages to stand out as almost a brand new story.
Marske did a great job with world-building even with such a low page count—not only were the limitations behind Ella's ghostly form well explained, but there were also little tidbits about the general political standing of the land as well as their connections with neighboring lands as well. I also really enjoyed how well incorporated the ideas of magic were with the addition of faeries, nymphs, and sorcerers. It was definitely entertaining to see a story where a girl turning into a ghost is simply regarded as something that just happens sometimes!
I would definitely recommend this to anybody interested in fairy tale retellings, and would even suggest it to people who weren't big fans of the original Cinderella story because this might just be the twist you need to enjoy it.
This was beautifully written and such a unique take on the story of Cinderella—I've definitely read versions where Cinderella ends up dying, but I've never read one that started with her death! Keeping just enough of the main story points to be recognizable as a Cinderella retelling, "Cinder House" manages to stand out as almost a brand new story.
Marske did a great job with world-building even with such a low page count—not only were the limitations behind Ella's ghostly form well explained, but there were also little tidbits about the general political standing of the land as well as their connections with neighboring lands as well. I also really enjoyed how well incorporated the ideas of magic were with the addition of faeries, nymphs, and sorcerers. It was definitely entertaining to see a story where a girl turning into a ghost is simply regarded as something that just happens sometimes!
I would definitely recommend this to anybody interested in fairy tale retellings, and would even suggest it to people who weren't big fans of the original Cinderella story because this might just be the twist you need to enjoy it.