Thank you to NetGalley for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions expressed here are my own.

The Night Mother will be released on October 8, 2024.

Night cloaks Madeline Tock’s small town. She spends her days with her father on their graveyard island across the river, where she listens to the whispers of the dead as they journey beyond. They whisper a warning, too: to fear the creator of the constant night.

The Night Mother: half a myth, who crosses the sky with her lantern to harvest the souls of the dead. Only she’s gained a taste for power and the freedom that eternal night allows her—and the living souls it enables her to harvest.

When the Night Mother comes for Madeline’s village and her father, she’s determined to prevent her from stealing them all away. But the Night Mother wants something from Madeline too, and Madeline soon realizes that she can bring back the sun—if only she can defeat the Night Mother first.

The Night Mother delivers a dark fairytale of a story accompanied by gorgeous, detailed illustrations. The art is absolutely beautiful – Sharpe’s layered images are full of color and precision and fully absorbed me. Perhaps best of all, the art perfectly matches the feel of the story, crafting an immersive experience that I absolutely loved. At times, I felt it could be a little text-heavy, reading more like an illustrated book than a graphic novel, but especially past the opening scenes there was a better balance between text and art – and I think that might’ve been partially because I just loved the art so much that I wanted to see more of it!

​I really enjoyed the story as well. The Night Mother truly feels like a fairytale – but rather than the sanitized versions commonly found today, it harkens back to the dark roots of the Grimm Brothers, where a happily-ever-after was far from guaranteed. Although a relatively simple story, it unfolds with smooth precision, introducing in a relatively short page count a variety of compelling, fascinating characters, most of all so Madeline and the Night Mother. I hope to read future volumes of this story! I recommend The Night Mother to lovers of older middle-grade, original fairytales, and dark fantasy ages eleven and up. 

Never Thirteen is the sequel to Forever Twelve by Stacy McAnulty, and finishes out the series.
It will be released on October 1, 2024. 

After a near-death mistake and becoming an Ever—cursed to stay forever twelve—Ivy struggles to find her footing among her new family of Evers, and leave behind the future dreams that she’s imagined for so long.

Fellow Ever Abigail is determined to make Ivy’s life normal again, but the sacrifice is too great to reverse what she’s done. Unless there’s another way…?

Ronan’s a psychic, and it turns out that Evers and psychics are supposed to be mortal enemies—at least, that’s how his family views the situation. But he cares too much about Ivy to simply leave her behind…

Ivy, Abigail, and Ronan will have to work together to unravel the real secrets behind remaining forever twelve if they want their lives to have a chance of becoming normal again.

I was a fan of the first book in this duology, Forever Twelve, and the sequel didn’t disappoint. The strong cast of characters, unusual magic system, and tight writing propel this story forward to a satisfying conclusion. The entire cast—but especially Ronan, Ivy, Abigail, and Este—feel authentic and multifaceted, and the character relationships are also excellent, providing the perfect balance of genuine caring and antagonism to become completely real. I particularly loved the increasingly detailed understanding of the Evers and psychics, and how these worldbuilding aspects that were only broadly painted in the first book were given more attention and unraveling. That said, I struggled a little with the ending, and though I truly can’t think of a better resolution, I would’ve loved a slightly more satisfying conclusion.

I recommend Never Thirteen (and the first book) to readers ages ten and up looking for a quirky, character-driven fantasy series. 

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions expressed here are my own. 

By Nico

When Zach and his friends get attacked by a monster from another world, it’s hard not to panic. After all, even his worst problems—like his struggles in school and grandmother’s illness—are firmly grounded in modern, normal Australia.

Then Zach and his friends are introduced to the Tower, a secret organization spanning the globe that detects magical interlopers like the one they encountered and banishes them before they can wreak havoc. They’re given the choice to simply remain silent about what they’ve seen or become full members of the Tower—where they can defeat the otherworldly creatures and learn to harness the magical currents that flow between the worlds to perform spells themselves.

Zach’s life seems to be looking up. He’s literally learning magic—and, with his newfound healing abilities, he might even be able to save his grandmother. But keeping half of his life secret is more complicated than he could’ve imagined, and Zach must decide whether he’s willing to do what it takes to become the mage his friends, and the Tower, needs him to be.

The Tower Between is a fun, fast-paced middle-grade series opener for fans of world-within-our-world stories and ensemble casts. The very idea of the Tower grabbed me immediately, and loved digging into what truly felt like how such an organization would exist within our modern world—with all the associated complications, practicalities, and sci-fi edge! The threads of folklore, science fiction, and more found in the other worlds accessed through the Tower were very strong, and lent those worlds a lot of personality.

​I would’ve loved to get to know Zach and his personal conflicts/life a little better—the subplot with his grandmother lent his character a lot of dimensionality, and I would’ve loved to see more of that with the rest of his family. That said, I feel like the relationships and characters within the primary cast were extremely well fleshed out. I often find it hard to keep track of large casts, but I didn’t have that problem with this book, as they all had a distinct flair and personality. I particularly loved the magic system here—although different schools or categories of magic can easily feel cliché, their execution here makes them truly come alive and feel different from others I’ve read. I recommend The Tower Between to readers ages ten and up who love fantasy adventures with big casts of characters.

Thank you to the author for providing an e-copy in exchange for an honest review! All opinions expressed here are my own. 

As a longtime afficionado of fantasy books, it took me far longer than it should’ve to get to see my trans identity reflected back at me in the kind of story I loved—full of incredible characters, startling twists, and gorgeous worldbuilding. When I read The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas two years ago, it was all that and more—and I truly can’t describe how thrilled I am to be hosting today’s stop on the promo book tour for Celestial Monsters, the sequel and conclusion to the Sunbearer Trials duology!

My review!

In a word—incredible. Once more, Aiden Thomas has created one of the most thoughtful, compulsively readable, and validating fantasy novels I’ve ever had the pleasure to read, a duology closer that leaves me wishing for more while simultaneously pulling off an incredibly satisfying ending.

Often in a review I’ll give a special shout-out to a favorite character, but Celestial Monsters has such an incredible cast that it was nearly impossible to narrow it to just three! Niya is undeniably my favorite cis character in this book—she’s the kind of unabashed, snarky, loud, and vulnerable character I absolutely need to see more of in fantasy (and just in general, for that matter), and she truly has one of the strongest personalities I’ve encountered in a book. Xio is a quieter character, but their ferocity and struggle brought them to life for me. They could’ve so easily become a cliché based on The Sunbearer Trials’s setup, but instead I couldn’t wait to get to their point of view chapters and see what they did next.

And I’ll always have a soft spot for Teo. His determination, strong bonds (platonic, familial, and romantic), and voice form the core of this series, and there’s truly no story I wouldn’t follow him into. There aren’t a whole lot of characters I would root for unconditionally, but Teo is absolutely one of them.

In a genre still so dominated by cis characters, there’s something incredible about seeing trans and nonbinary characters as the leads, the villains, the side characters…the diversity of experiences and characters in this book is truly beautiful. And the entire world of Reino de Sol is gorgeous—even beyond the deft queer- and transnorm society, this world is vibrant with color and personality, with each city that Teo and his friends travel through filled with its own character

​I truly can’t recommend Celestial Monsters enough--without question, this book deserves five stars! 


​Special thanks to Colored Pages Book Tours, Fierce Reads, and Feiwel and Friends for the gifted copy of Celestial Monsters! All opinions expressed here are my own.

Aiden Thomas (he/they) is a trans, Latinx, New York Times bestselling author of young adult novels. They received an MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College. Originally from Oakland, California, they now make their home in Portland, OR. Aiden is notorious for not being able to guess the endings of books and movies, and organizes their bookshelves by color. Learn more on their website!