Can't-Wait Wednesday: Eat the Ones You Love by Sarah Maria Griffin, The Pretender by Jo Harkin, and The Golden Road by William Dalrymple

  

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released. 

Eat the Ones You Love by Sarah Maria Griffin
Publication: April 22nd, 2025
Tor Books
Hardcover. 288 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"A twisted, tangled story about workplace love-affairs, and plants with a taste for human flesh

During a grocery run to her local shopping center, Shell Pine sees a ‘HELP NEEDED’ sign in a flower shop window. She’s just left her fiancé, lost her job, and moved home to her parents’ house. She has to make a change and bring some good into her life, so she goes inside and takes a chance. Shell realizes right away that flowers are just the good thing she's been looking for, as is Neve, the beautiful florist who wrote the sign asking for help. The thing is, Neve needs help more than Shell could possibly imagine.

An orchid growing out of sight in the heart of the mall is watching them closely. His name is Baby, and the beautiful florist belongs to him. He’s young, he’s hungry, and he’ll do just about anything to make sure he can keep growing big and strong. Nothing he eats – nobody he eats – can satisfy him, except the thing he most desires. Neve. He adores her and wants to consume her, and will stop at nothing to eat the one he loves.

This is a story about possession, and monstrosity, and working retail. It is about hunger and desire, and other terrible things that grow."

This sounds delightfully weird and I'm totally here for it.

The Pretender by Jo Harkin

Publication: April 22nd, 2025

Knopf

Hardcover. 496 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:

"A sweeping historical novel in the vein of Hilary Mantel and Maggie O’Farrell set during the time of the Tudors’ ascent. The Pretender tells the story of Lambert Simnel, who was raised in obscurity as a peasant boy to protect his safety, believed to be the heir to the throne occupied by Richard III, and briefly crowned, at the age of ten, as King Edward the Sixth, one of the last of the Plantagenets.

In 1480 John Collan’s greatest anxiety is how to circumvent the village’s devil goat on the way to collect water. But the arrival of a well-dressed stranger from London upends his life forever: John is not John Collan, not the son of Will Collan, but the son of the long-deceased Duke of Clarence, hidden in the countryside after a brotherly rift over the crown, and because Richard III has a habit of disappearing his nephews. Removed from his humble origins, sent to Oxford to be educated in a manner befitting the throne’s rightful heir, John is put into play by his masters, learning the rules of etiquette in Burgundy and the machinations of the court in Ireland, where he encounters the intractable Joan, the delightfully strong-willed and manipulative daughter of his Irish patrons, a girl imbued with both extraordinary political savvy and occasional murderous tendencies. Joan has two paths available her—marry, or become a nun. Lambert’s choices are similarly stark: he will either become King, or die in battle. Together they form an alliance that will change the fate of the English monarchy.

Inspired by a footnote to history—the true story of the little known Simnel, who was a figurehead of the 1487 Yorkist rebellion and ended up working as a spy in the court of King Henry VII— The Pretender is historical fiction at its finest, a gripping, exuberant, rollicking portrait of British monarchy and life within the court, with a cast of unforgettable heroes and villains drawn from 15th century England. A masterful new work from a major new author."

I have been craving a "sweeping historical novel" so this sounds absolutely perfect. There's something special about sinking into a compelling historical fiction story, so hopefully this one is as good as it sounds. 

The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World by William Darymple

Publication: April 29th, 2025

Bloomsbury

Hardcover. 432 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:

"The internationally bestselling author of The Anarchy returns with a sparkling, soaring history of ideas, tracing South Asia's under-recognized role in producing the world as we know it.

For a millennium and a half, India was a confident exporter of its diverse civilization, creating around it a vast empire of ideas. Indian art, religions, technology, astronomy, music, dance, literature, mathematics and mythology blazed a trail across the world, along a Golden Road that stretched from the Red Sea to the Pacific.

In The Golden Road, William Dalrymple draws from a lifetime of scholarship to highlight India's oft-forgotten position as the heart of ancient Eurasia. For the first time, he gives a name to this spread of Indian ideas that transformed the world. From the largest Hindu temple in the world at Angkor Wat to the Buddhism of China, from the trade that helped fund the Roman Empire to the creation of the numerals we use today (including zero), India transformed the culture and technology of its ancient world – and our world today as we know it."

I am always up for some more history, and this sounds like it will be fascinating!

Review: The Third Rule of Time Travel by Philip Fracassi

The Third Rule of Time Travel by Philip Fracassi

Publisher: Orbit

Publication Date: March 18th, 2025

Paperback. 336 pages.

About The Third Rule of Time Travel:

"Rule One: Travel can only occur to a point within your lifetime.
Rule Two: You can only travel for ninety seconds.
Rule Three: You can only observe. The rules cannot be broken.

In this riveting science fiction novel from acclaimed author Philip Fracassi, a scientist has unlocked the mysteries of time travel. This is not the story you think you know. And the rules are only the beginning.

Scientist Beth Darlow has discovered the unimaginable. She's built a machine that allows human consciousness to travel through time—to any point in the traveler's lifetime—and relive moments of their life. An impossible breakthrough, but it's not perfect: the traveler has no way to interact with the past. They can only observe.

After Beth's husband, Colson, the co-creator of the machine, dies in a tragic car accident, Beth is left to raise Isabella—their only daughter—and continue the work they started. Mired in grief and threatened by her ruthless CEO, Beth pushes herself to the limit to prove the value of her technology.

Then the impossible happens. Simply viewing personal history should not alter the present, but with each new observation she makes, her own timeline begins to warp.

As her reality constantly shifts, Beth must solve the puzzles of her past, even if it means forsaking her future."

I'm not usually a big time travel person, but I’m happy to report that I had a great time with The Third Rule of Time Travel. It's a thought-provoking read that centers around an interesting concept and will keep readers engaged the entire time.

Beth Darlow and her husband, Colson, have together managed to achieve the seemingly impossible and unachievable: time travel. Their discovery allows travelers to visit the past and observe events, but they cannot interact with them or travel into the future. They also cannot choose which moment in their past they visit—this is seemingly selected at random by the machine—or maybe by their own minds. Since the technology is still in its infancy, they have been trying to understand how and why certain moments are chosen and whether there's a way to do more than just observe. There are three rules involved in their time travel: 1) travelers can only visit their own memories; 2) they may travel for a maximum of 90 seconds; and 3) no interacting with the past.

After Beth’s husband dies in a car crash, she’s left to continue their research alone. As tensions rise at work, she begins pushing herself harder and harder, which results in her taking more and more frequent trips in the time travel machine. As a result, the more Beth travels, the more her own sense of reality seems to be getting twisted, and things quickly spiral into something far more complicated.

This was a quick read for me—not because it’s simple or basic, but because Fracassi writes it in a way that almost feels like a thriller. It kept pulling me into the story with each new development, and I had a somewhat compulsive need to just keep flipping those pages in order to continue on this warped journey with Beth.

I found Beth's drive very realistic to her role and therefore her character was extremely believable. She is a determined scientist and, especially after her husband's death, she's desperate to see their invetion succeed. Because of this, she will stop at seemingly nothing to make that happen, and the way she is portrayed made me fully believe that. As the only living test subject now that her husband cannot also travel, she bears the full brunt of what those trips do to a person, and it starts to take an extreme toll on her both mentally and physically--which only adds to the increased pressures from her boss. What I most enjoyed about Beth's character was that she's not a perfect, polite protagonist, but rather someone who is blunt, bold, flawed, and who isn't willing to take anyone's sh*t--and most importantly, she's a very real, flawed human being, which I really appreciated.

Fracassi does a fantastic job of gradually revealing new layers of learning more about this time machine and leading the reader through all of the twists that will you questioning everything you’d been reading. There are a few moments in particular that made me question my own perceptions and understanding of what was happening and what would come next, and I loved that aspect. I also loved the way this book explored memory, reality, and timelines. There’s a lot of mind-bending moments in this that were so incredibly thought-provoking.

I have said many times over the years that I’m not really a big fan of time travel in general. It’s a difficult concept to get right, and there are often too many loopholes and complications that end up leaving the story feeling fractured and difficult to connect with. Some books take a very fantastical and magic-based approach to it, whereas others take a scientific approach. The Third Rule of Time Travel takes a scientific approach, and I have to say that it tackles it via this route extremely well. The general discussions around time travel—its abilities, limitations, purposes, dangers—felt grounded and realistic, like something you’d actually expect normal people to discuss, which made it feel that much more compelling to me.

Overall, The Third Rule of Time Travel is a strong, compelling new time travel-focused book that I think both time travel and non-time travel fans could appreciate. If this sounds like something you might be interested in, I'd definitely add it to your TBR!

*I received a copy of The Third Rule of Time Travel in exchange for an honest review. This has no affect on my opinions.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

Review: Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite

Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite

Publisher: Tordotcom

Publication Date: March 18th, 2025

Hardcover. 112 pages.

About Murder by Memory (from the publisher):

"Welcome to the HMS Fairweather, Her Majesty’s most luxurious interstellar passenger liner! Room and board are included, new bodies are graciously provided upon request, and should you desire a rest between lifetimes, your mind shall be most carefully preserved in glass in the Library, shielded from every danger.

Near the topmost deck of an interstellar generation ship, Dorothy Gentleman wakes up in a body that isn’t hers—just as someone else is found murdered. As one of the ship’s detectives, Dorothy usually delights in unraveling the schemes on board the Fairweather, but when she finds that someone is not only killing bodies but purposefully deleting minds from the Library, she realizes something even more sinister is afoot.

Dorothy suspects her misfortune is partly the fault of her feckless nephew Ruthie who, despite his brilliance as a programmer, leaves chaos in his cheerful wake. Or perhaps the sultry yarn store proprietor—and ex-girlfriend of the body Dorothy is currently inhabiting—knows more than she’s letting on. Whatever it is, Dorothy intends to solve this case. Because someone has done the impossible and found a way to make murder on the Fairweather a very permanent state indeed. A mastermind may be at work—and if so, they’ve had three hundred years to perfect their schemes…"

Murder by Memory is a delightful sci-fi mystery that takes place on the HMS Fairweather, a space ship that it's currently en route to a new planet. Of course, space travel takes a very, very long time, and it will be centuries before it finally lands. As a result, the Fairweather includes a Library in which guests can choose bodies to host their consciousnesses, or, if they would like a rest, they can simply let their consciousness rest in their own personal memory book within the library. When a person's body dies, they can either rest for a while, or they may choose a new body to upload all of the information found within this book, which includes all aspects of their personality. This concept of storing one's consciousness separate from a body is such a fascinating one, and I think also one that has been present in many sci-fi/futuristic discussions, so I was excited to dive in and explore Waite's execution of this concept. 

Our story begins when Dorothy Gentleman is abruptly awoken from her own rest and put into a body that she does not recognize. Soon after she is awake, she learns that another passenger has been murdered, and that is appears some other "books" containing other people's minds are also being deleted from the Library itself. I thought it was a great idea to start this story off with readers being thrust into a new world at the same time Dorothy was waking up into an unfamiliar body when she certainly wasn't expecting to. There is a lot of world-building for us readers to learn, and we are thrown into learning about this from the start. 

I really wanted to like this more than I did, but I struggled to find myself fully engaging with the story and I honestly struggled at times to maintain my focus. Although the characters are all interesting, there was something about our protagonist's narrative voice that really lacked much personality to really keep me hooked. What kept me reading was the fascinating premise and a general interest in finding out what was going on in the ship, as well as the hope that I would become more connected to the protagonist as the story continued. I also found Waite's writing easy to fall into and I think she does seem to have a knack for creating some really clever settings and writing choices throughout, which is something I found myself really enjoying.

I'm not sure this is the best book to really fully dive into this concept of memory and the library of minds and what because since it is a novella, it's a bit brief and lacks the ability to dig into these ideas more, and instead the focus is understandably more on the murder mystery/conspiracy aspect than it is on exploring the concept. I feel like this would have worked really well as a full length novel, but since this is the start of a series I'm actually very curious to see what future books will look like and whether they will all take place on this ship. 

Overall, I thought this was a fun mystery with some really intriguing concepts explored throughout regarding consciousness and memory, but I didn't love it quite as much as I'd hoped to. I think it will be a big hit for many people, but I found it didn't captivate me as much as I expected, and I found it lacked some of the depth I was looking for.

If you're mystery or sci-fi fan who appreciates a quick, "cozy" murder mystery with some interesting personalities, then Murder by Memory should definitely be showing up on your TBR!

*I received a copy of Murder by Memory in exchange for an honest review. This has no affect on my opinions.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

Can't-Wait Wendesday: Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata, The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig, & Medicine River by Mary Annette Pember

 

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! 

Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata
Publication: April 15th, 2025
Grove Press
Hardcover. 240 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"From the author of the bestselling literary sensations Convenience Store Woman and Earthlings comes a surprising and highly imaginative story set in a version of Japan where sex between married couples has vanished and all children are born by artificial insemination.

Sayaka Murata has proven herself to be one of the most exciting chroniclers of the strangeness of society, x-raying our contemporary world to bizarre and troubling effect. Her depictions of a happily unmarried retail worker in Convenience Store Woman and a young woman convinced she is an alien in Earthlings have endeared her to millions of readers worldwide. Vanishing World takes Murata’s universe to a bold new level, imagining an alternative Japan where attitudes to sex and procreation are wildly different to our own.

As a girl, Amane realizes with horror that her parents “copulated” in order to bring her into the world, rather than using artificial insemination, which became the norm in the mid-twentieth century. Amane strives to get away from what she considers an indoctrination in this strange “system” by her mother, but her infatuations with both anime characters and real people have a sexual force that is undeniable.

As an adult in an appropriately sexless marriage—sex between married couples is now considered as taboo as incest—Amane and her husband Saku decide to go and live in a mysterious new town called Experiment City or Paradise-Eden, where all children are raised communally, and every person is considered a Mother to all children. Men are beginning to become pregnant using artificial wombs that sit outside of their bodies like balloons, and children are nameless, called only “Kodomo-chan.” Is this the new world that will purify Amane of her strangeness once and for all?"

I love books that play with and explore weird ideas like this, so I'm really keen to see what Sayaka Murata does with this premise.

The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig
Publication: April 29th, 2025
Del Rey
Hardcover. 400 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"A group of friends investigates the mystery of a strange staircase in the woods in this mesmerizing horror novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Accidents.

Five high school friends are bonded by an oath to protect one another no matter what.

Then, on a camping trip in the middle of the forest, they find something a mysterious staircase to nowhere.

One friend walks up—and never comes back down. Then the staircase disappears.

Twenty years later, the staircase has reappeared. Now the group returns to find the lost boy—and what lies beyond the staircase in the woods. . ."

I'm always up for some new horror from Chuck Wendig! Nobody tells horror tales quite like Wendig, and I'm loving this idea of a random staircase in the woods and what may lay beyond it... I have an ARC of this one that I can't wait to get into.

Medicine River: A Story of Survival and the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools by Mary Annette Pember
Publication: April 22nd, 2025
Pantheon
Hardcover. 304 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"A sweeping and trenchant exploration of the history of Native American boarding schools in the U.S., and the legacy of abuse wrought by systemic attempts to use education as a tool through which to destroy Native culture.

From the mid-19th century to the late 1930s, tens of thousands of Native children were pulled from their families to attend boarding schools that claimed to help create opportunity for these children to pursue professions outside their communities and otherwise "assimilate" into American life. In reality, these boarding schools—sponsored by the US Government but often run by various religious orders with little to no regulation—were an insidious attempt to destroy tribes, break up families, and stamp out the traditions of generations of Native people.  Children were beaten for speaking their native languages, forced to complete menial tasks in terrible conditions, and utterly deprived of love and affection.

Ojibwe journalist Mary Pember's mother was forced to attend one of these institutions—a seminary in Wisconsin, and the impacts of her experience have cast a pall over Mary's own childhood, and her relationship with her mother. Highlighting both her mother's experience and the experiences of countless other students at such schools, their families, and their children, Medicine River paints a stark portrait of communities still reckoning with the legacy of acculturation that has affected generations of Native communities. Through searing interviews and assiduous historical reporting, Pember traces the evolution and continued rebirth of a culture whose country has been seemingly intent upon destroying it."

This is a topic that always needs more attention brought to it, and this book sounds like it'll be a very thorough--if difficult--read to learn more about the horrific history Native American boarding schools in the U.S. 

Review: Swordheart by T. Kingfisher

Swordheart by T. Kingfisher

Bramble

Publication Date: February 25th, 2025

Hardcover. 448 pages.

About Swordheart:

"Halla has unexpectedly inherited the estate of a wealthy uncle. Unfortunately, she is also saddled with money-hungry relatives full of devious plans for how to wrest the inheritance away from her.

While locked in her bedroom, Halla inspects the ancient sword that's been collecting dust on the wall since before she moved in. Out of desperation, she unsheathes it―and suddenly a man appears. His name is Sarkis, he tells her, and he is an immortal warrior trapped in a prison of enchanted steel.

Sarkis is sworn to protect whoever wields the sword, and for Halla―a most unusual wielder―he finds himself fending off not grand armies and deadly assassins but instead everything from kindly-seeming bandits to roving inquisitors to her own in-laws. But as Halla and Sarkis grow closer, they overlook the biggest threat of all―the sword itself."

T. Kingfisher has quickly become an auto-buy author for me over the past several years, and I don't think I've read one book from her that I haven't liked. I'm happy to say that Swordheart keeps that streak going!

What I liked: Swordheart is an absolute delight of a fantasy tale and it features all the things Kingfisher does best: charming characters with strong personalities and plenty of eccentricities, fantastic banter and humor, and a world that feels fully alive with oddities and mysteries at every turn. Halla is a remarkable protagonist who I could not get enough of, and Sarkis was equally charming. Their growing relationship was a joy to witness and hit all the right notes. I also love that you can never fully predict what you're going to get in a Kingfisher novel, and that unpredictability is part of what makes her writing so special. The world-building is not the focus of the story, but it's very vibrant in the background, and the entire book is populated with a wide array of characters. I wholeheartedly recommend this for any Kingfisher fans, as well as anyone who wants some fantasy, some romance, and some wonderfully witty and entertaining dialogue and storytelling.

What I didn't like: There were only two minor issues that I had with Swordheart, and the first is that the pacing is slightly inconsistent. This book is very much about the characters more than a heavy focus on plot (in my opinion, at least), and because of this things tended to drag a bit in certain areas. We would spend a lot of time on certain events or scenes due to a heavy focus on the dialogue and banter between characters, which really slowed down the forward progress of the story. If you enjoy the dialogue and such, then this probably won't bother you too much, but it's something to note because I think it's something that could be hit or miss for people. It definitely is the reason it took me longer to get through the book than I expected, but it was still an enjoyable ride the whole time. The only other issue I had was that 'villains' felt extraordinarily classic 'bad guy' style and didn't bring much to the table for me. That being said, they fit the story perfectly so I do believe it's on purpose, it's just not something that I really like in books. 

Overall, if you're looking for a fun fantasy read that will keep you laughing and enjoying some incredible characters, then be sure to check out Swordheart.

*I received a copy of Swordheart in exchange for an honest review. This has no affect on my opinions.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

Month in Review: February 2025

February felt like a really busy month, but I'm also not entirely sure where the  month went or what I even did--anyone else feel that way?? 

In personal news, there's not much to share! I'm still feeling a bit stuck on the job front. I have a few things I do for work currently, but I've still yet to find something a bit more stable/rewarding and (as a bonus) that I actually want to do, so... that journey continues. I'm fortunate to be able to pay all my bills with my husband, but I'd like to do a bit more so I can do more things I love, like aerial!
I've also still been working my way through learning the ins and outs of Blender for CGI purposes (and surprisingly I've been having almost more fun with 2D? the 2D/3D mix has been really neat to learn) and it's truly been a lot of fun to have as a side project. One positive to the month is that I had my jury duty summons for February and I called in every day, but never had to actually report and make my way down to the courthouse, so I'm taking that as a win because yes, I know jury duty is important, but I also lose money when I go, so... I would prefer not to (yes, this is a Bartleby reference).  This is probably the first time I've ever not had to go in or gotten picked, so it's pretty thrilling. 

In reading news, February was a great month. Highlights were The Raven Scholar, which is definitely a new favorite, An Indigenous People's History of the United States, which provided a really well executed history, and the final Emily Wilde book! I managed to get up a few more reviews this month, which was a goal of mine to get back on track, and I still managed to read a decent amount of books, so I'm calling it a good overall reading month. 

How was your February and what books have you been reading?  Let me know how your month was below and what you've been reading!

   

# books read: 11

The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson ★★★★★

Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC
Thoughts: I loved this! This was such an interesting new fantasy with a really unique narrative voice that really captivated me. Definitely put this one your TBRs, it comes out in April and I will have my review for it up closer to its publication!

Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales (Emily Wilde #3) by Heather Fawcett ★★★★

Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC
Thoughts: This was a really solid conclusion to the Emily Wilde series and I think it provided a really satisfying and fitting ending. It wasn't my favorite book of the series, but that's okay. My review is linked below. 

An Indigenous People's History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz ★★★★

Source: Library | Format: Audiobook
Thoughts: This is a nonfiction history of the US from the point of view of the indigenous population and it is a really great read. I think this is a perfect starting off point for anyone who wants to know more about the history of the United States that isn't as readily taught. 

When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi ★★★★

Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC
Thoughts: I was so taken by the premise of this book--what would happen if the moon just... turned to cheese!?--and even though I don't tend to gravitate towards books with a more humorous premise, I'm glad I did this time because it was a pretty fun read. Definitely a bit thought-provoking at times with regards to life's meaning, etc. My review will be up soon!

Midnight Storm Moonless Sky: Indigenous Horror Stories (Vol. 1) by Alex Soop ★★★

Source: Library | Format: Audiobook
Thoughts: These were rather hit or miss overall, with the hits being pretty good and the misses just, well, missing. I'm glad I gave it a shot and will certainly have a look at more from this author in the future. 

The Third Rule of Time Travel by Philip Fracassi ★★★★

Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC
Thoughts: Generally, I'm not a big time travel fan, but I don't mind giving time travel stories a go now and again, and I thought this one was pretty well done. I liked the approach to time travel in a scientific manner and the different ideas the author played with regarding it and its implications/consequences. My review will be up soon!

Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce ★★★

Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC
Thoughts: This was a bit of a so-so horror for me. My review is already up where you can read my full thoughts, but I would say it's an interesting horror story with some supernatural aspects, it just didn't fully work for me. 

Where Wolves Don't Die by Anton Treuer ★★★★

Source: Library | Format: Paperback
Thoughts: This was a nice coming of age sort of story about an Ojibwe teen as he navigates a variety of struggles and learns more about his culture. My review is linked below!

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma 

Source: Library | Format: Audiobook
Thoughts: I've read bits and pieces from this book over the years, but I don't think I'd ever actually read the whole thing through, so it felt like it was finally time. I think there are a number of criticisms about this book, some valid and some that I think are valid differences in opinions, but overall I think it gives a pretty good entry point into understanding different types of trauma, how they affect people, etc., so anyone who has experienced trauma, knows someone who has experienced trauma, or would simply like to learn more about the topic could benefit from this. 

The Guilt Pill by Saumya Dave ★★★.75

Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC
Thoughts: I appreciated Dave's focus on women and the struggles of being a new mother and maintaining a career, all the while having to act like you have everything under control and know what you're doing. I thought some aspects of this book required some suspension of disbelief, but overall I think this book will resonate with the audience its meant to find. 

Tell Them You Lied by Laura Leffler ★★

Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC
Thoughts: This book actually irritated me, and overall I've considered it a bit of a waste of my time, which feels horrible to say, but it was just so frustrating. There's an audience for this one out there, but I don't think it's me. I'll probably post a shorter review closer to its publication with more of my thoughts. It's a two star instead of a one star because the writing itself was good and I feel like this author has potential.

DNF/To-Be-Finished:

None!

 

Grave Empire (The Great Silence #1) by Richard Swan
Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales (Emily Wilde, #3) by Heather Fawcett
The Dollhouse Academy by Margarita Montimore
Symbiote by Michael Nayak
Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods
Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce
Where Wolves Don't Die by Anton Treuer

 Posts:

Month in Review: January 2025
Blog Tour + Review: Symbiote by Michael Nayak
Anticipated March 2025 Releases

Blog Memes:

Can't-Wait Wednesday:
2/5: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones, Guatemalan Rhapsody by Jared Lemus, & Let Only Red Flowers Bloom by Emily Feng
2/12: The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica, Motherland by Julia Ioffe, & Luminous by Silvia Park
2/19: Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy & The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
2/26: The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami, Rose of Jericho by Alex Grecian, & The Mesopotamian Riddle by Joshua Hammer

Review: Where Wolves Don't Die by Anton Treuer

Where Wolves Don't Die by Anton Treuer

Arthur A. Levine

Publication Date: June 10th, 2024

Hardcover. 256 pages.

About Where Wolves Don't Die:

"Ezra Cloud hates living in Northeast Minneapolis. His father is a professor of their language, Ojibwe, at a local college, so they have to be there. But Ezra hates the dirty, polluted snow around them. He hates being away from the rez at Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation. And he hates the local bully in his neighborhood, Matt Schroeder, who terrorizes Ezra and his friend Nora George.

Ezra gets into a terrible fight with Matt at school defending Nora, and that same night, Matt's house burns down. Instantly, Ezra becomes a prime suspect. Knowing he won't get a fair deal, and knowing his innocence, Ezra's family sends him away to run traplines with his grandfather in a remote part of Canada, while the investigation is ongoing. But the Schroeders are looking for him. . .

From acclaimed author Anton Treuer comes a novel that's both taut thriller and a raw, tender coming-of-age story, about one Ojibwe boy learning to love himself through the love of his family around him."

Where Wolves Don't Die follows Ezra Cloud, an Ojibwe teen living in Northeast Minneapolis who hates living in Northeast Minneapolis. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective), events at home prompt his father to take him to his grandparents home on the reservation, where he is to spend the rest of the school year laying traplines with his grandfather out on remote First Nations land in Canada.

I actually hadn't realized this was considered YA until I got into the story, and after finishing it, I think it's a great read for both YA and adult readers. The author, Dr. Anton Treuer, is an Ojibwe language professor and was able to bring so much of the Ojibwe cultural traditions into this story, which I think makes for a compelling read for anyone. (Also, just as a side note--if you're like me and wondered if Anton Treuer is related to David Treuer, the answer is that yes, apparently they are brothers! I've read David Treuer's The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee, an incredible nonfiction Native American history, and his book Rez Life, a nonfiction book about life on reservations, and I'd highly recommend both to read as well.)

I thought Ezra was depicted incredibly well. He's depicted as exactly what he is: a teenager just trying to make it through this rough age and come to terms with many different struggles and things going on in his life. He struggles wit the the loss of his mother, his relationship with his father, his family history, and of course, a crush on a sweet local girl. I thought Treuer really captured that angsty feeling we all are familiar with from teen years, and I think he also did a good job with capturing Ezra's grief and the many ways it manifests itself in a teen--through anger, sadness, and struggling to communicate how you feel.

I loved the history and cultural aspects of this book where Ezra learns more and more about his family's history and some deeper Native American history that he wasn't aware of. He learns about not only some of the terrible things that have been done to his people, but also how these have directly affected his family and how he can learn and incorporate and grow with that knowledge. I also actually found learning about how the traplines worked really interesting, and I also appreciated the amount of respect they teach with regard to the nature around them and every living thing within it.

This is described as thriller, but I have to say that there wasn't too much about this book that felt like a thriller. There's the general premise for why Ezra is sent to stay with his grandparents on the First Nation reservation involving him being a suspect in the burning of his high school bully's house (the same day he got into a fight with said bully at school), but I didn't think this really took a heavy focus as there was so much else to focus on throughout the story. The pacing is consistent and thoughtful, rather than fast-paced and intense, and I think that pacing worked perfectly for this story. I never found myself losing interest or struggling to get through any parts of it.

Lastly, I want to note that I listened to the audiobook version of Where Wolves Don't Die and liked that it was narrated by the author. He did a great job with the narration, and I also appreciated hearing the story as he meant it to be heard, as well as being able to hear pronunciations for so many of the words that I was unfamiliar with. He has a very calm, easy to understand voice that flowed well with the story.

Where Wolves Don't Die is a story that will keep you reading because of its characters and because of the tradition it shares. There are some great things to learn about the Ojibwe culture and their history and how everything winds together into a story that transcends time periods and age.

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org