Seanan McGuire: "Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear"

Title: Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: Wayward Children (10th of ?? books)
Author: Seanan McGuire [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Supernatural (technically it would be Portal Fantasy, but since I don't have a Fantasy Room in my blog, I decided to shelf this one as Supernatural - that's the closest I could get)
Year: 2025
Age: 14+
Stars: 3.5/5
Pros: An imaginative look-in-reverse at one of the most common fantasy tropes. Features an engaging protagonist and a very endearing turtle. Raises questions about disability and bodily autonomy.
Cons: Even as a child, the main character talks like a semi-adult sometimes. Her story breaks what were understood to be two cardinal rules of travelling through the doors.
WARNING! Near-drowning.
Will appeal to: Readers who like a twist on a classic lost-in-Wonderland premise. Everyone who's ever felt out of place, but doesn't necessary dream of a happier world than the one they live in...

Blurb: Nadya never considered herself less than whole, not until her adoptive parents fitted her with a prosthetic arm against her will, seeking to replace the one she'd been missing from birth. Frustrated and unable to express why, Nadya began to wander, until the day she fell through a door into Belyrreka - and found herself in a world of water, filled with child-eating amphibians, majestic giant turtles, and impossible ships that sailed as happily beneath the surface as on top. In Belyyreka, she found herself understood for who she was: a Drowned Girl, who had made her way to her real home, accepted by the river and its people. But even in Belyyreka, there are dangers, and trials, and Nadya would soon find herself fighting to keep hold of everything she had come to treasure. (Amazon excerpt)

Review: A while ago, I decided I wouldn't write full reviews anymore for certain types of books, including novellas. But since I've been reviewing this series in full from the start, I'm making an exception here, and I intend to go on doing so for all its future installments. So, I'll keep writing a mini review after my first read, and a full one after my second.

MAGIC FORMULA

This book came out seven years after Nadya's first appearance in the series (in Beneath the Sugar Sky), and when it was announced, I couldn't help thinking that writing an origin story for a side character whom most readers were likely to barely remember (unless they had reread the series in the meantime) was an odd choice. I mean, she had so little screen time back then, even if the book's epilogue had her front and center, and seven years is a very long time. Then again, in my case, this proved to be beneficial in a way, because I had completely forgotten a crucial point in Nadya's biography, and the ending of AICCAC came as a twist to me for that reason, though of course the author didn't intend for it to work that way. But I'm getting ahead of myself here...the aforementioned ending needs to be discussed in full (though I'll do my best in order to avoid spoilers), but in the meantime, allow me to start from the beginning.
Let's get it out of the way: this installment reminded me a bit of Across the Green Grass Fields (which is my least favourite Wayward Children book to date) with its classic-fable-like atmosphere and premise (talking, intelligent animals). In tone, it also reminded me of the author's The Up-and-Under series under the A. Deborah Baker pen-name (which, again, left me lukewarm). But I found the water world to be inventive, the sweet and caring, yet brave and independent protagonist easy to like and root for, and the human-bonded, sentient turtles infinitely more appealing (and endearing) than the mythical equine species in ATGGF. Also, it was nice to see some disabled representation in this one, though the waters are a bit muddled in that respect (no pun intended)...Nadya was born with only half a right arm, but she never thinks of herself as broken and resents her adoptive parents for fitting her with a prosthesis against her will, yet she doesn't complain when the river's magic does something similar with her in the portal world. Last but not least, for a book where the main character isn't asked to be a hero and the real action is crammed in the last 25 pages, AICCAC never gets boring, and proceeds nicely towards its climax (though, well, "nicely" may be a charitable word here, given what awaits our protagonist). [...]

Nova Ren Suma: "Wake the Wild Creatures"

Title: Wake the Wild Creatures [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Nova Ren Suma [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Contemporary with a Twist
Year: 2025
Age: 14+
Stars: 4.5/5
Pros: Unique twist on the all-female-commune trope. Relatable, compelling protagonist. Atmospheric, gorgeous writing. 
Cons: The now-and-then structure may confuse some readers. Some details aren't addressed or explained.
WARNING! Sexual assault (mostly off-page; one instance on page, but not overly graphic). Death of a minor and an adult (off-page/not graphic). Arson. A prison scene.
Will appeal to: Those who like a poetical yet fierce, dreamlike yet visceral approach to feminism.

Blurb: Three years ago, Talia lived happily in the ruins of the Neves, a once-grand hotel in the wilds of the Catskill Mountains, with her mother Pola and their community of like-minded women. Some came to the Neves to escape cruel men, others to hide from the law, but all found safety and connection in their haven high above civilization, cloaked by a mysterious mist that kept intruders away. But as their numbers grew, complications followed, and everything came crashing down the night electric lights pierced the forest. Uniformed men arrested Pola, calling her a murderer and a fugitive, and Talia was taken away. Now sixteen, Talia has been forced to live with family she barely knows and fit into a world scarred by misogyny, capitalism, disconnection from nature...everything the women of the Neves stood against. She has one goal: to return to the Neves. But as Talia awaits a signal from her mother, questions arise. Who betrayed her community, and what is she avoiding about her own role in its collapse? Is it truly magic that keeps the hotel so hidden? And what does it mean to embrace being her mother’s daughter? With the help of an unexpected ally, Talia must find her way to answers, face a mother who’s often kept her at arm’s length, and try to reach the refuge she lost - if the mist hasn’t swallowed her path home. (Amazon)

Review: Nova Ren Suma is back! Her previous book came out in 2018, go figure - seven years is an eternity in book industry. Suma shared her writing and publishing journey for Wake the Wild Creatures in a series of interviews and newsletters, and for a number of reasons, that journey was a hard, yet ultimately exhilarating experience for her. One thing I can testify, though: she hasn't lost her touch. 

IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE

Nova Ren Suma could never produce a bad book - or even an average one. And regardless of the content (I'll get to that in a minute), I mean it on a sentence and atmosphere level. All her stories are a masterclass in writing, though they remain accessible and avoid purple spikes (also, she knows how to write a first chapter that makes you want to read what comes next...WTWC and The Walls Around Us are a hard testament to that). All her stories drip with ambiance to the point that you can not only see, but almost taste and smell the places she describes - which is all the more true with a narrative where nature is front and center, and almost a character in itself, like this one. And she never fails to use her writing gift to create vibrant protagonists - all young women - and give them a voice that feels natural and a perspective that feels both believable and something you can get behind (or at least understand), even when you and those characters don't exactly see eye to eye. So, what I mean is, on the writing front this book is impeccable, and a thing to be savoured and revered in equal measure, and main character Talia's voice - as a kid, at 13, at 16 - is spot-on, conveying the innocence of someone who's grown up in an isolated, all-women enclave while at the same time (and for that very reason) allowing her to make insightful remarks about "civilization"'s flaws and all the ways it can fail (or more like vilify) the female gender. [...]

Melissa Caruso: "The Last Soul Among Wolves" (ARC Review)

Title: The Last Soul Among Wolves [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: The Echo Archives (2nd of 3 books)
Author: Melissa Caruso [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Multiverse, Supernatural, Thriller/Mystery
Year: 2025
Age: 16+ (the characters are all adults, and the book is indeed marketed to adults, but it can be read by mature teens)
Stars: 4/5
Pros: Fresh take on the multiverse trope with strong world-building. Engaging characters. Lots of intriguing action and a few well-placed twists  The story leaves plenty of room for a new installment, but doesn't end on a cliffhanger.
Cons: The murder mystery isn't near as exciting as the magical quest. The main character comes across as more vulnerable and less resourceful than she did in Book 1.
WARNING! Blood, body horror, torture.
Will appeal to: Those who enjoy modern fantasy, vintage detective stories, (deadly) alternate realities, former-enemies romances that don't swallow the plot, and new moms being badass.

Blurb: All Kembral Thorne wants is to finish her maternity leave in peace. But when her best friend asks for help, she can’t say no, even if it means a visit to a run-down mansion on an isolated island for a will reading. She arrives to find an unexpected reunion of her childhood friends - plus her once-rival, now-girlfriend Rika Nonesuch, there on a mysterious job. Then the will is read, and everything goes sideways. Eight potential heirs, half of them Kem’s oldest friends. Three cursed relics. The rules: one by one, the heirs will die. The prize for the lone survivor: A wish. And wishes are always bad business. To save their friends, Kem and Rika must race against the clock and descend into other realities once more. But the mansion is full of old secrets and new schemes, and soon the game becomes far more dangerous - and more personal - than they could have imagined. (Amazon)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I requested this title on NetGalley. Thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK for providing a temporary ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.

KEEPING MOMENTUM

I read the first installment in The Echo Archives series last year - drawn by its alternate-realities premise - and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed a story that ended up involving a few aspects I'm usually less keen on. For those who are new to this universe, a brief introduction (I'm quoting from my review for Book 1):

[...] the setting is a world similar to our own - albeit steeped in magic and giving off an early-20th-century vibe - except in this world twelve layers of reality exist: the root universe, or Prime, and its eleven Echoes, getting more and more grotesque and dangerous the farther you stray from their paradigm.

Our protagonist Kembral belongs to a guild tasked with retrieving people (or things) that get abducted/swallowed by the Echoes. She and her old nemesis (now girlfriend) Rika have barely recovered after saving their hometown from a cursed Echo relic, when they get dragged into a new mess involving not one, but three artifacts this time, in which the lives of eight people (half of them old friends of Kembral's) are at stake. I'm happy to report that TLSAW doesn't suffer from second-book syndrome - not at all. Weaving multiverse madness with a cozy (so to speak) old-style whodunnit and a still tentative, at times rocky romance, plus drawing on a huge twist from the first installment, Caruso produces an effortlessly entertaining sequel with action, character development and surprises to spare. There are scenes that will have you hold your breath (Kem's power is incredibly fascinating, but comes with very real consequences), and the Echo world and its creatures are vividly depicted. Also, did I say surprises? Because, while some were a tad too easy to see coming in the first installment, the author covered her tracks well this time, and there's a twist in particular - involving one of the new characters - that will elicit horror and compassion at the same time... [...]

Ian Chorão: "When We Talk to the Dead" (ARC Review)

Title: When We Talk to the Dead [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Ian Chorão [Instagram | Goodreads]
Genres: Thriller/Mystery, Supernatural (more like Paranormal, but I'm using genre labels that match my Reading Rooms, where Paranormal is under the Supernatural umbrella)
Year: 2025
Age: 16+ (please have a look at the WARNING! section though)
Stars: 4/5
Pros: Haunting, tense, almost lyrical at times (horror notwithstanding), with diverse, fleshed out characters and intriguing dynamics.
Cons: A couple of major plot points (not of the supernatural/paranormal kind) require a strong dose of suspension of disbelief. The open ending may not sit well with certain readers.
WARNING! Violence/assault (not of the sexual kind), horror/blood and gore (I can't be too specific in order to avoid spoiler, but TW for drowning). Anxiety, intrusive thoughts, trauma, loss of a sibling, loss of a parent, mentally ill parent. Use of a derogatory term.
Will appeal to: Those who are looking for a blend of very real and psychological horror with a twist. Those who are fond of damaged, yet brave characters and complicated relationships.

Blurb: Though nineteen-year-old Sally remembers nothing about the accident that took place on Captain’s Island and destroyed her family when she was a little girl, she suffers from intense anxiety, pervasive bouts of dissociation, and gruesome nightmares. All Sally knows is that her mother hasn’t spoken since the accident that took the life of Sally’s twin sister. Following the tragedy, her family fled and never looked back. When her mother suddenly dies, Sally and three college friends travel to the island - for her friends it’s an adventure to a strange, abandoned place. For Sally, it’s a desperate bid to recover some of her memories and understand what really happened to her family. But when memories begin to return, Sally is overcome by grief and rage that threaten to plunge her into madness – a madness that is fed by a malevolent presence stalking them on the island. (Amazon excerpt)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I requested this title on NetGalley. Thanks to Crooked Lane Books for providing a temporary ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.

GHOST IMAGE

When We Talk to the Dead turned out to be a different novel than I'd envisioned - mind you that's not a bad thing at all, but I want you to have a better idea of what you're getting into if you decide to give it a chance (which you totally should 😉), so I thought I'd give you a heads-up. With very little help from the cryptic cover (though, after reading the book, I realised it was a good fit), and nothing else to go by than the blurb and the title, I thought I was in for a ghost story...which I suppose can be deemed true in a sense, but not the one you would imagine. OK, now it's me who's being cryptic, but I don't want to spoil the book for you either...Suffice to say, there aren't any ghosts in this story...not in the classic sense. But if you think of memories and trauma and lost loved ones and the child you used to be as ghosts, I suppose there are plenty... [...]