Book Reviews By & For Kids - Rapunzel Reads

Gloam by Jack Mackay (2025)

10/20/2025

In a house on Gloam island, there is a rot growing, there is a monster feeding and a girl fighting.

Thirteen-year-old Gwen doesn't want to admit anything is wrong. Nor that everything feels different after her mum's passing – especially now it’s just her, her three younger siblings and their kind yet hopeless stepdad, Henry.

When the family relocate to the remote island of Gloam to take over their grandmother’s house, Gwen believes things can’t get any worse. Until Esme Laverne arrives.

Despite her perfect appearance, Gwen can’t shake the feeling there is something seriously wrong with their new childminder. As horrors unfold, Gwen must face everything she’s been running from to defeat the monster infesting her home…

Gloam was released on August 12, 2025.

Gloam is a spot-on creepy middle-grade read, with the perfect balance of horror and heart. Mackay nails the unsettling atmosphere; all the details of The House’s odd decor and strange memories set the stage immediately, and it only becomes better developed as the story progresses and more horrors unravel from the shadows. Gloam takes a familiar situation and makes it its own, and this story dug into me as I read and didn’t want to let go.

I really liked Gwen, and she was a compelling heroine to follow through this story. I did want a little more from her relationships with her family members, especially Roger; there were several moments in the story that felt like they would be more impactful if I had a stronger understanding of him. Esme is an incredibly chilling character and powerful villain, and grounds the tale in that which feels far too close to home. I definitely recommend Gloam to lovers of horror ages ten and up, particularly those who like stories that center sibling bonds.

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

Book description credited to the publisher.

On Starlit Shores by Bex Glendining (2025)

9/15/2025

In this YA urban fantasy graphic novel, Alex must return to the town where she was born to unravel the magical mysteries her late grandmother left behind

Alex Wilson hasn’t been back to Indigo Harbor, the seaside village where she grew up, in years. In fact, she can barely remember anything about it. But when her grandmother dies unexpectedly, Alex will have to return to her childhood home to say goodbye.

Accompanied by her best friend, Grim, Alex travels back to her hometown and begins cleaning out her grandmother’s house, but the longer they stay, the stranger things get. Indigo Harbor isn’t your average town—there are falling stars, witches running tea shops, and a name that comes up again and again: Elizabeth. Who was this woman, and how did she know Alex’s grandmother?

On Starlit Shores will be released on September 30, 2025.

On Starlit Shores can only be described as luminous. There’s a sense of gorgeous completeness to this story that left me fully immersed in it from beginning to end. I loved the threads of magic and belonging that weave through this story. The worldbuilding is fantastic - there’s such a strong sense of place from the very first page, and the thin line between what’s real and what’s remembered caught my attention and refused to let it go.

Alex is a strong protagonist, with the right blend of drive and grief, and I was more than glad to follow her through the beats of On Starlit Shores. The way her grandmother and Elizabeth are characterized is also more than worth a shout-out; Glendining does a fantastic job of giving characters depth and rendering them relatable even without their physical presence on the page, which helped give this book the feel of something between a mystery, a coming-of-age novel, a fantasy story, and a story of grief.

I love the illustrations, which are the perfect blend of vibrant and otherworldly, grounding the reader while having the fanciful edge that perfectly captures the tone and arc of the story.

I highly recommend On Starlit Shores to readers who want to immerse themself in a layered, vibrant town where memory is not an easily categorized thing.

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

Book description credited to the publisher.

ages 14+ / ARC / family / fantasy / fiction / graphic novel / magic / standalone / young adult

I Am the Swarm by Hayley Chewins (2025)

8/18/2025

As far back as anyone can remember, the women of the Strand family have been magical. Their gifts manifest when they each turn fifteen, always in different ways. But Nell Strand knows that her family's magic is a curse. Her mother’s age changes every day; she's often too young to be the mother Nell needs. Her older sister bleeds music and will do anything to release the songs inside her. Nell sees the way magic rips her family apart again and again.

When Nell’s own magic arrives in the form of ladybugs alighting on the keys of her beloved piano, the first thing she feels is joy. The ladybugs are a piece of her, a harmless and delicate manifestation of her creativity. But soon enough, the rest come. Thick-shelled glossy beetles that creep along her collarbone when her piano teacher stares at her. Soft gray moths that appear and die alongside a rush of disappointment. Worst of all are the wasps. It doesn’t matter how deep she buries her rage, the wasps always come. Nell will have to decide just how much of herself she’s willing to lock away to stop them—or if she can find the strength to feel, no matter the consequences.

I Am the Swarm was released on March 25, 2025.

I first encountered Hayley Chewins's gorgeous prose in The Turnaway Girls; I thoroughly fell in love with it while reading The Sisters of Straygarden Place. Chewins is that rare writer whose prose possesses the rhythmic, uncanny quality of dark fantasy poetry, and so when I learned she was coming out with a novel in verse, I knew immediately that I had to read it. I Am the Swarm was every bit the evocative, powerful, razor-sharp story I hoped it would be.

Chewins's command of language and rhythm is impeccable. Every line break, every turn of phrase, every evocative word, feels chosen by some unseeable algorithm that blends into something truly remarkable. Nell’s character is impeccable, as wild and relatable as the creatures she conjures, and her emotions leap out from the page as fiercely as any butterfly.

Although set within the confines of the real world, I Am the Swarm contains some of the most unique magic I’ve ever read. I can’t recall a secondary-world fantasy that was more original and uncanny than the magic contained by the Strand family. Insects, music contained inside one’s body, age ephemerality…every beat of this story, every character, and every word thrums with individuality, authenticity, and mystery. I truly can’t recommend I Am the Swarm enough!

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

Book description credited to the publisher.

ages 14+ / ARC / book group pick / family / fantasy / fiction / in verse / magic / standalone / young adult

Muted: Volume 1 by Miranda Mundt (2025)

7/7/2025

It has been thirteen years since the mysterious fire at the Severin family manor that killed Camille’s mother and twin sister, and the last thing Camille wants to do is return to her old home deep in the swamps of Louisiana. But deeply ingrained family tradition and Matriarch Athalie—Camille’s coldhearted aunt and head of the Severin household—demand it so she can perform the ritual of every prospective Severin matriarch.

No matter how hard she tries to be a witch worthy of the Severin name, nothing is ever good enough for her aunt. And when her ritual goes awry, she's given something precious: time away from Aunt Athalie. Time to spend with her beloved familiar Toben and kindly cousin Silvia. And—unbeknownst to her—time to fall in love, discover the truth of her magic, reunite with long lost family, work through her grief, and solve the mystery of who killed her mother and sister.

Muted will be released on July 8, 2025.

Muted reads like an original fairytale, carrying an immersive sense of magic that flows through every page and illustration. Mundt’s art possesses the lush, atmospheric intensity of some of my favorite graphic novel illustrations, calling to mind the intense, dark art of Molly Knox Ostertag’s The Witch Boy, and with all of the complex characters. Camille is a truly wonderful protagonist who I couldn’t help but root for—her genuine heart and desire to find somewhere she belongs made me immediately like her, and she propels this story forward. She’s often flawed and confused, but that makes her even better, making her someone I don’t just want to succeed, but can empathize with myself. I also love this entire world, augmented by the illustrations—it feels so close to ours and yet utterly more magical. This series is definitely one I’ll want to be keeping an eye on!

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

Book description credited to the publisher. 

ages 14+ / ARC / fairy tales / family / fantasy / fiction / graphic novel / LGBTQ+ / series / young adult

Lu and Ren’s Guide to Geozoology by Angelia Hsieh (2025)

6/30/2025

Lu dreams of being a great adventurer, just like her ah-ma, who is a world-renowned geozoologist. Ah-ma has traveled far and wide, researching unique animals like dreamy cloud-jellies, enormous sunfish, and playful mossgoats. There’s nothing Lu loves more than reading Ah-ma’s letters about her quests, even if she and her mom struggle to understand the Cylian language Ah-ma writes in.

But when Ah-ma’s letters suddenly stop, Lu becomes worried. So when a nearby town needs a geozoologist, Lu decides to go on the journey to find Ah-ma. She charts a course with the help of Ren, an old friend turned new travel buddy.

As they follow in Ah-ma’s footsteps, Lu begins to discover the complex relationships between geofauna—and between people. What stories has Ah-ma never told her? And what’s Ren hiding from her?

Lu and Ren's Guide to Geozoology was released on May 27, 2025.

Lu and Ren’s Guide to Geozoology was such a fun read! I love the worldbuilding here - the entire concept of geozoology (animals that are also geographic features like mountains, stones, etc.) was fascinating, and I loved seeing all the different creatures Lu and Ren encounter throughout this book. The full-color illustrations truly bring them alive, and added a very MG feel to the arc of the story.

That said, there’s also a much deeper element to Lu and Ren’s Guide to Geozoology - the side about Lu’s relationship with Ah-ma and what she never learned about her, and Ren’s familial relationships. At times Lu got a little bit on my nerves, but overall I really enjoyed following her story and the complicated relationships she had with both Ah-ma and Ren. There was also an ecological element here I really liked around understanding what’s really needed to preserve the natural beauty of an area - and that it isn’t what you necessarily expect.

The art is very beautiful, capturing a sense of adventure and brilliantly depicting both the landscapes and creatures Lu and Ren encounter. I couldn’t resist stopping to admire the illustrations, which reminded me of the artwork in The Tea Dragon Society. I definitely recommend Lu and Ren’s Guide to Geozoology if you enjoy vibrant graphic novels and quest-type narratives!

4.5/5 stars, rounded up.

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

Book description credited to the publisher.

ages 11+ / ARC / animal stories / fantasy / family / fiction / friends / graphic novel / middle grade / standalone

Family Week by Sarah Moon (2025)

6/23/2025

For as long as they can remember, Mac, Lina, Milo and Avery have celebrated Family Week together in “the smallest, gayest town in the world”—Provincetown, Massachusetts.

But this summer, their big rented beach house feels different. Avery’s dads are splitting up, and her life feels like it’s falling apart. Milo’s flunked seventh grade, which means everyone is moving on to bigger and better things except for him. Mac’s on his way to a progressive boarding school that lets transgender kids like him play soccer, but it means leaving his twin sister, Lina, and his moms—and the safety of home—behind.

Everything is changing, and for Lina, it feels like it’s happening with or without her. Avery, Milo, and Mac know this is going to be their last summer together. But Lina can’t accept that—and if she can make this the best summer ever, maybe she’ll convince them that there will be a Family Week next year. Good things might not last in the real world, but they do in P-town…. Right?

I really wanted to like Family Week, but it fell a little short for me. If you like sweet, straightforward, and family-driven, this could absolutely be a book you’ll enjoy. However, I felt like there wasn’t enough time spent on any individual plotline, and it often felt as though events were happening somewhat randomly rather than being unified by a continuous plot, particularly in the middle of the book.

Individually, I liked all of the characters, and their individual struggles were very vivid and relevant, with particularly poignant moments for each one. Personally, I connected a lot with Milo and Avery, and I loved the overall themes of acceptance and queer joy within a very contemporary society. It also did a really good job of creating a narrative that revolves around queer families and a sense of belonging. (And I love the cover!) As a whole, though, I didn’t feel like it quite hung together, maybe because the short length combined with the many points of view made it so that I never felt fully anchored in any one story until close to the end.

On a content-warning side, two of the major characters contemplate/attempt self-harm in the second half of the book, and though it’s left somewhat ambiguous, it’s more than worthy of a CW.

2.5 stars, rounded up because I truly do feel that some readers could enjoy this book, particularly younger middle schoolers - it just wasn’t for me!

Family Week was released on April 15, 2025.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions expressed here are my own.

ages 11+ / ARC / family / fiction / friends / middle grade / realistic fiction / LGBTQ+ / standalone

Book description credited to the publisher.

Love, Misha by Askel Aden (2025)

6/9/2025

In this stunning YA adventure, debut author Jam Aden weaves a story of family schism and reconciliation that effortlessly enriches the complex dynamics of mother and child.

Can this road trip get any worse?

Yes, Mom (Audrey) wanted to spend time with Misha. And yes, she’s never around and they don’t even live together, so this is a rare opportunity. But Audrey still thinks of Misha as her daughter, despite Misha being non-binary and trying to talk to her openly about it. Misha even tries to write how they feel in a letter, but that isn’t going well either.

Then a wrong turn down a forest road leads the mother-child duo straight into the Realm of Spirits! Suddenly in peril and without a clue how to return to their world, Misha and Audrey will have to work together to find their way back home. But can they find a way back to each other?

Love, Misha will be released on June 10, 2025.

I've recently fallen in love with fantasy graphic novels, but my one complaint is the brevity of the stories, as limited by the format. Love, Misha provides the sprawling, gorgeous feel of a fantasy book combined with stunning illustrations, and its slightly longer-than-average page count allowed me to truly get to know the characters and experience the scope of their development alongside them.

Every beat of this story is just a joy to read. The relationship between Misha and Audrey is flawless, one of the most realistic and nuanced mother-child relationships I’ve recently encountered in fiction. They fight, they have misunderstandings, they care about each other, they mess up. By the end of Love, Misha, I couldn’t help but wish there were more books that portrayed such authentic parental relationships - ones that weren’t all good or all bad but instead a realistic mix of genuine confusion, badly demonstrated love, and attempts to make things better.

I truly can’t recommend this story enough - five very well-deserved stars!

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

Book description credited to the publisher.

Confessions of a Junior Spy by Rosaria Munda (2025)

5/26/2025

Confessions of a Junior Spy will be released on June 10, 2025.

Some kids want to become doctors. Others set their sights on firefighting, or dancing, or photography.

But Bea can’t imagine becoming anything other than a spy. Raised in the Pangaen hotel—a center for a global network of spies dedicated to world peace—she’s grown up idolizing her superspy mom and dreaming of developing a Knack that’ll make her a prime candidate for the job. So why is her mom so insistent that Bea go to school, like any non-Pangean kid?

In the midst of applying to boarding schools, Chantal and her Normal family move into the hotel. And Chantal is clearly running from something…

It’s up to Bea to protect her new friend from whoever’s chasing her and her family. That’s definitely within the skill set for a not-quite-spy-in-training…right?

I arrived on the first page of Confessions of a Junior Spy knowing only that I had loved Rosaria Munda’s previous books, and even though those were very different (this book holds none of the revolutionary commentary and mid-air dragon battles of the Fireborne trilogy), I was willing to read whatever she chose to write next. I wasn’t disappointed!

Confessions of a Junior Spy is a fun, fast-paced mystery/spy novel that was an absolute delight to read. The characters here are so much fun—everyone around the Pangean hotel has an eccentric and brilliant personality, and though I definitely have a soft spot for Chantal and Bea, these supporting characters did so much to bring the story to life. The intersecting plots of applying to boarding school and being a spy were fantastic—I can’t wait for the sequel! I also love how Munda balances a ‘Normal’ world with more eccentric aspects such as Knacks or the very presence of the Pangean, giving it a sense of fantasy-type worldbuilding despite barely straying into speculative territory.

I highly recommend Confessions of a Junior Spy to readers ages nine and up who love fast-paced books in the tradition of Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls and The Misfits—an incredibly fun read!

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

ages 9+ / ARC / family / fiction / friends / middle grade / mystery / series

Jamie by L D Lapinski (2024)

4/14/2025

By Nico

Jamie Rambeau doesn't want to protest anything - they just want to keep being their happy nonbinary self with their best friends, Ash and Daisy. But then Jamie learns that the local middle schools are divided - one for boys, one for girls. For Daisy and Ash, that means their friend group is getting split up...but what does it mean for Jamie, who's not a boy or a girl?

All Jamie wants is to find a school that will accept them for who they are - preferably without separating them from their lifelong best friends. But when the adults in Jamie's life won't do what they need for them to get some basic acceptance, it may be time for them to take their cause to the streets...or even the rooftops.

I've been itching to read Jamie ever since it was released (I've loved Lapinski's Strangeworlds Travel Agency series, and a book marketed as 'middle grade nonbinary joy' couldn't sound more like something I'd want to read), and I'm so happy I've finally gotten around to it! This is a book we need now more than ever - one that thoughtfully teaches middle schoolers just how ordinary it is to be nonbinary, that shows people willing to stand up for who they are even on a local scale, and perhaps most importantly, one that is filled with joy.

I love the characters in this book so much! Jamie and their friends, the heads of the two schools, Jamie's family...every character is rendered with thoughtful multidimensionality, allowing me to understand even the people I didn't agree with. Jamie drives this story forward with determination and passion, and I loved every minute of following them through it. As a nonbinary teen myself, Lapinski expertly captures the feeling of being forced to choose something that doesn't represent you, and I think it'll ring true to nonbinary and genderqueer people of all ages, all while maintaining a dose of joy that keeps the story uplifting.

Lapinski definitely wrote this book with a desire to spread awareness, but they integrate this so seamlessly into the story that it feels genuine rather than awkward. The interspersed 'Jamie Rambeau's Guide to Words' entries - including both queer/nonbinary terms and just other words that are particularly important to Jamie - makes this book accessible to readers who might not know what being nonbinary is, but without alienating queer and nonbinary readers by making them feel like they're not actually the target audience of a book that finally centers their identities.

I recommend Jamie so highly to readers ages ten and up who love contemporary stories and are maybe questioning their gender themselves - five extremely well-deserved stars!

ages 10+ / book group pick / family / fiction / friends / LGBTQ+ / middle grade / realistic fiction / standalone

Song of a Blackbird by Maria van Lieshout (2025)

1/13/2025

Song of a Blackbird will be released on January 21, 2025!

Emma Bergsma, 1943 Amsterdam. After witnessing the deportation of Jewish neighbors to concentration camps, Emma joins the Dutch Resistance as a printer, helping to forge documents and banknotes.

Annick, 2011 Amsterdam. Annick's beloved grandmother is dying, and she needs a bone marrow transplant from a family member to survive. But the doctor's tests reveal that her grandmother was actually adopted - which means to save her, Annick has to find her original family first. With only a few old prints to guide her - all signed by the unknown 'Emma B' - Annick sets out to trace her grandmother's past and find her family.

Song of a Blackbird is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel that blends past and present dual timelines into a thoughtful story about remembering the past. Although primarily fictional, this story was based on true events and carefully researched, and it shows: the arc of the story and details all rang incredibly true, and made it all the more engaging of a read. The art to this book has almost a scrapbook feel, blending historical documents with characters and artwork, and it absolutely added so much to the text, transporting me into the past through the mixed media. I loved both storylines: Annick and Emma were both compelling characters, and their individual struggles - and points of connection - made me speed through this read. I highly recommend Song of a Blackbird to readers ages twelve and up who love historical fiction and art in all its forms!

Thank you to Macmillan/First Second for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.

ages 12+ / ARC / book group pick / fiction / family / graphic novel / historical fiction / standalone / young adult

Like a Curse (Like a Charm, Book 2) by Elle McNicoll (2024)

10/7/2024

Like a Curse will be released on October 22, 2024. It is the sequel to Like a Charm, and closes the Like a Charm duology.

Now that Ramya Knox has discovered that there’s a whole world of Hidden Folk existing under her nose in Edinburgh—and that she’s a witch—she’s determined to defeat the sirens and learn what her newly discovered family is like without their looming threat. And, with the siren Portia’s influence rapidly spreading over the human and magical worlds, Ramya knows she has to act fast. The only problem is that she has to master her magical abilities first…and that turns out to be much harder than she’s bargained for.

Alongside old and new friends alike, Ramya must rally her magic and her determination if she wants to defeat Portia before she suffers a defeat she won’t be able to recover from.

I’ve rarely read an incredibly satisfying, self-contained book followed by an equally brilliant sequel. Like a Curse, though, is exactly that. I truly loved Like a Charm, blending fantasy and realism into something I couldn’t help but adore, and the sequel fully lived up to my expectations.

Once more, I unabashedly adore Ramya. Her determination, anxiety, and struggle to prove herself made it difficult to put down her story, and her relationships (especially with Opal) truly gave the book shine with new depth. Although I don’t want to spoil the book, I will say that I particularly loved the ending. McNicoll manages to bring together this duology’s many threads—friendship, magic, neurodiversity, forgiveness, understanding, secrets—and create an incredibly satisfying conclusion that put a spin on fantasy unlike anything I’ve ever read.

I highly recommend Like a Curse (and the Like a Charm duology) to readers ages nine and up who enjoy middle-grade fantasy and are looking for a book that puts a twist on the genre.

An e-ARC of this book was provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Girl from Earth’s End by Tara Dairman (2023)

7/22/2024

By Nico

Henna has grown up surrounded by gardens and books on the tiny island of Earth’s End with her beloved papas. She couldn’t wish for a better life. But when her papa Niall falls ill, she journeys into the other Gardenia Isles to find a cure and preserve the life she’s grown up with. And she sees only one path to doing that: finding an almost mythological plant, the nightwalker.

Once, this odd plant, which can only bloom on an orange tree, was renowned throughout the Gardenia Isles for its healing properties. But after the blight that put an end to the Isles’ citrus trees, the nightwalker has become a legend—one that holds Henna’s only hope for Niall.

Henna enrolls at St. Basil’s Conservatory, the elite botanical secondary school where she’s traced the last known specimen of the nightwalker. Out of place among the elites of the isles—particularly since she and the other scholarship student, a witty, genderfluid troublemaker known as P, are instructed to look after wealthy student Lora’s every need—Henna’s mission quickly seems pointless.

But as she gets to know her new companions better and they become friends, Henna discovers that P and Lora might hold her only hope of finding the nightwalker, and of imagining a future for herself.

To be perfectly honest, I often steer clear of middle-grade books I know will make me cry; for that reason, I almost didn’t pick up The Girl from Earth’s End. But I’m so glad I did—even if only because the cover was so gorgeous I couldn’t resist it. I would be lying if I said this book didn’t indeed make me tear up, but it also made me laugh and hope, and I truly recommend it. Atmospheric and whimsical, Dairman weaves a thoughtful and lush world rich with history and life that brings to mind books like Greenwild. I adored Henna, but P and Lora were absolutely the standout characters for me in this book—they each have a unique perspectives and challenges that I don’t see often enough in middle grade fantasy, and their evolving understandings of themselves and each other gave the story extra depth.

This book is much more small-scale than many fantasy books; the world will not end if Henna fails, but honestly that made me love it even more. The personal quality to the stakes made me incredibly invested in the characters and every twist of the plot, and once I started reading I truly didn’t want to stop. I highly recommend The Girl from Earth’s End to readers ages ten and up who love quiet, thoughtful fantasy with beautiful worlds and characters you’ll adore.

So Let Them Burn (Divine Traitors, Book 1) by Kamilah Cole (2024)

6/20/2024

By Nico

Five years ago, the gods granted twelve-year-old Faron Vincent the ability to draw on their vast power to drive out the colonizing Langlish Empire and save her homeland of San Irie. Now seventeen and nowhere near recovering from the trauma of the war, Faron is just trying to figure out what to do with her life—all while still being heralded as the divine savior of her people. Only her older sister, Elara, understands at least some of what Faron is going through, but Elara has other plans, too. She’s determined to

During the war, the only thing Faron could count on was her protective love for Elara. So when a peace summit gone wrong leaves Elara bonded to an enemy dragon, Faron knows immediately that she’ll do whatever it takes to get her sister safely home. Even if that means disobeying the direct orders of the gods and seeking help from a powerful entity who could destroy them all.

Meanwhile, isolated from her friends and family among the very people she would’ve given her life to defeat, Elara grapples with defining herself beyond the shadow of her sister’s power as she attempts to uncover the latest Langlish plot and better understand their greatest weapon—their dragons. A challenge that would be difficult enough without her sharp-witted and inconveniently pretty co-rider, Signey Soto.

Faron and Elara will have to find themselves to save each other—and their failure could cost San Irie its independence, and each other their lives.

Intense, fast-paced, and fiercely defiant, So Let Them Burn was absolutely incredible. It’s rare that I read a book which I truly fall in love with from the first page, but this book refused to allow the alternative to even be an option. With impossibly vibrant characters, a delicious flip on the chosen one trope, and a keen commentary on colonialism, I’d be astounded if this doesn’t make it into my top ten books of this year.

There is so much to love about this book, but its true heart lies with Elara and Faron’s messy, fraught, and profoundly loving relationship. Both could so easily become cookie-cutter characters—the chosen one years later, the two-dimensional older sister—and yet they bloom to life thanks to Cole’s deft writing and the emotions that carry them off the page. I love Faron’s stubborn determination, struggle to define herself, and fierce diatribes, but I’d be lying if I said Elara wasn’t my favorite character in So Let Them Burn. Her feelings and motivations are so multifaceted and authentic as she attempts to carve out space for herself in the world, while simultaneously fighting to save everyone she holds dear. I cannot find words to express how much I resent that ending, and how much I need the sequel right now!

I also have to give a shout-out to the worldbuilding. Dragons are plentiful in fantasy; a unique system which they are central to is far more difficult to come by. Similarly, the push-pull of the different forms of magic within the world—dragons, astrals, the gods—lent San Irie and Nova a depth and complexity that I couldn’t resist. I am so excited for the next book in this series!

I highly recommend So Let Them Burn to readers ages thirteen and up looking for a gripping, multilayered, irresistible fantasy novel that will make you remember what books are for.

Tangled Magic (The Unicorn Legacy, Book 1) by Kamilla Benko (2024)

5/13/2024

By Nico

All Olivia wants is to be as remarkable, as magical, as the rest of her family. But despite her best efforts, she can't develop the Tiller magic that makes her family such renowned healers. So, when her older sister invites her to accompany her to Arden’s capital as her apprentice, Olivia's family is certain that this is her only chance to amount to much of anything.

But when Olivia discovers that she's been offered a spot at the new Unicorn Academy—an experimental school that brings together students of all magical disciplines—she sees her chance to find her place. The only problem? Not everyone is convinced that the guilds’ newfound unity is a good idea. And when Olivia’s sister is accused of unicorn poaching, she and the school are caught in the crossfire.

Olivia, with help from her new friends, is determined to clear her sister’s name and uncover the real criminal before the conflict forces Unicorn Academy to close. But the secrets surrounding—and beneath—Unicorn Academy are more dangerous than Olivia imagined, and she soon realizes that learning the truth isn’t just about clearing her sister’s name.

For lovers of middle-grade fantasy who want a series opener that has the feel of an old favorite but with unique twists aplenty to draw you in, I definitely recommend Tangled Magic. The land of Arden was an awesome setting, with lots of intertwined history and magic that felt appropriately layered and deep without ever becoming confusing or info dump-y. Olivia and her friends were quite simply just fun to read about. Too many friendships feel forced, but the ones in this book never do, perhaps because they develop so naturally at the beginning of the story.

Although Tangled Magic is interconnected with a previous series set in Arden, I don’t think you’ll enjoy this book any less by not having read the earlier ones—I didn’t! Plus, I definitely want to go back and read the Unicorn Quest series now that I enjoyed Tangled Magic so much (at least, while I wait for the sequel, which I very much want to read after the ending of this one). I recommend Tangled Magic to readers ages eight and up who are looking for an exciting fantasy series to dig into.

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

Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa (2024)

4/22/2024

By Nico

Oliver Bennet’s life does not seem too promising. With the impending threat of marriage only the latest reminder that the world still thinks he’s the girl he’s never been, his current solace—slipping out at night dressed in boy’s clothes, getting to be himself after pretending all day—looks on the verge of slipping out of reach. How can he hope to survive in a world, let alone in a marriage, that denies his very existence?

But Oliver meets Darcy, who not just treats him cordially, but seeks out his friendship. At first, Oliver is just glad that Darcy sees him as the boy he truly is. He never would’ve imagined that their friendship could become something more—or that someone could love the real Oliver.

Stuck between a false life, where he’s forced to wear petticoats and respond to a name that’s never been his, and a real one where he slips out at night to meet Darcy and discover the path he’s always dreamed of, Oliver knows that this precarious balancing act can’t last forever. With his family on the verge of learning the truth about him, Oliver must decide on his own terms how he wants to live his life, even if that means risking the only family he’s ever known.

I loved both The Wicked Bargain and Pride and Prejudice, so I knew going into Most Ardently book that it probably wouldn’t meet my extraordinarily high expectations. I was absolutely wrong. Gabe Cole Novoa delivers one of the best books I’ve read in a long time, which brought me several times to tears of joy (not something that often happens!) and, to be honest, gave me hope for the future.

To begin with, Oliver is absolutely fantastic. I immediately fell in love with his palpable longing, his strong friendships, and his worldview, all combined in a character who spoke to me so deeply that I struggled to put Most Ardently down. Due to the book’s short length, there were certainly characters I would’ve loved to see played with more (Mr. Collins and Wickam are the most obvious ones that jump out at me), but the flipside of this meant getting to spend the majority of the book with a smaller cast of characters, allowing me to get to know each of them incredibly well. I particularly loved how Gabe Cole Novoa created Darcy’s character, which felt incredibly true to the original while also gaining its own spark.

Novoa sticks to the original story but is never afraid to branch out to create a book that truly feels like it could’ve existed behind Pride and Prejudice all these years. The plotlines with Mr. Bennet and Wickam particularly leaps to mind, but honestly there wasn’t a single point in this book where my absorption in the story and suspension of belief were broken—something I very rarely see in a retelling, and yet was executed so flawlessly I didn’t even register it until the end.

The only place that might’ve felt a little too perfect was the ending, but honestly, I was so happy for all the characters that I couldn’t bring myself to mind! I highly recommend Most Ardently to readers ages twelve and up, particularly those who love historical fiction or feel-good trans romance.