Can't-Wait Wednesday: Pedro the Vast by Simón López Trujillo, A Beast Slinks Toward Beijing by Alice Evelyn Yang, & Polar War by Kenneth R. Rosen

     

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

Pedro the Vast by Simón López Trujillo, trans. Robin Myers
Publication: January 13th, 2026
Algonquin Books
Paperback. 144 pages.
Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:
"Simón López Trujillo’s “mind-blowing” (Gabriela Cabezón Cámara) debut takes readers into a dry and degraded, fire-prone landscape where humanity has encroached a step too far into the natural world, and a deadly fungus mounts its own resistance . . .

In the disorienting, devastatingly tense world of López Trujillo, a eucalyptus farm worker named Pedro starts coughing. Several of his coworkers die of a strange fungal disease, which has jumped to humans for the first time, but Pedro, miraculously, awakes. His survival fascinates a foreign mycologist, as well as a local priest, who dubs his mysterious mutterings to be the words of a prophet. Meanwhile Pedro's kids are left to fend for themselves: the young Cata, whose creepy art projects are getting harder and harder to decipher, and Patricio, who wasn't ready to be thrust into the role of father. Their competing efforts to reckon with Pedro’s condition eventually meet in a horrifying climax that readers will never forget.

For readers of Jeff Vandermeer and Samanta Schweblin, López Trujillo is a next-generation Bolaño with a fresh, speculative edge and a mind that's always one step ahead of us."

This is so intriguing to me, and at just 144 pages, I'm curious to see what the author will do with this idea. 

A Beast Slinks Toward Beijing by Alice Evelyn Yang
Publication: January 27th, 2026
William Morrow
Hardcover. 368 pages.
Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:
"A dark, magical realist debut family saga that moves through the Japanese occupation of Manchuria, the Cultural Revolution, and the present day to explore the effects of intergenerational trauma, the legacy of colonialism, and the inescapability of fate.

Qianze has not seen her father in eleven years, since he walked out of her life the night of her fourteenth birthday and disappeared without a trace. But then she gets a call—there is a man on the porch of her childhood home, and he’s asking for her. This man isn’t the Ba Qianze remembers: he is much older, more fragile, and worst of all, haunted by a half-forgotten prophecy.

While Qianze wrestles with what she owes this near-stranger, Ba begins telling stories of his past. From his bloody days as a Red Guard during the Cultural Revolution to his mother’s youth under Japanese occupation, he circles around the prophecy he came to deliver. Qianze has always longed to know more about her family history, but as Ba reveals a past far darker than she could have imagined, she finds herself plagued by strange visions—fox spirits trail her on her evening commute, a terrifying jackalope stalks her nightmares, and the looming prophecy slinks ever closer.

Spanning decades and continents, A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing employs a combination of stunningly rendered folklore and atmospheric prose to examine the legacy of colonialism through the eyes of three generations. Alice Evelyn Yang’s debut novel is a story of family and forgiveness, of folklore and fate, that will leave you unsettled and undone."

This honestly sounds like it's going to be an incredible read, and I'm really eager to have a chance to check it out. 

Polar War: Submarine, Spies, and the Struggle for Power in a Melting Arctic by Kenneth R. Rosen 
Publication: January 6th, 2026
Simon & Schuster
Hardcover. 320 pages.
Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:
"A gripping blend of travelogue and frontline reporting that reveals how climate change, military ambition, and economic opportunity are transforming the Arctic into the epicenter of a new cold war, where a struggle for dominance between the planet’s great powers heralds the next global conflict.

Russian spies. Nuclear submarines. Sabotaged pipelines. Undersea communications severed in the dark of night. The fastest-warming place on earth—where apartment buildings, hospitals, and homes crumble daily as permafrost melts and villages get washed away by rising seas—the Arctic stands at the crossroads of geopolitical ambition and environmental catastrophe. As climate change thaws the northern latitudes, opening once ice-bound shipping lanes and access to natural resources, the world’s military powers are rushing to stake their claims in this increasingly strategic region. We’ve entered a new cold war—and every day it grows hotter.

In Polar War, Kenneth R. Rosen takes readers on an extraordinary journey across the changing face of the far north. Through intimate portraits of scientists, soldiers, and Indigenous community leaders representing the interests of twenty-one countries across four continents, he witnesses firsthand how rising temperatures and growing tensions are reshaping life above and below the Arctic Circle. He finds himself on the trail of Navy SEALs training for arctic warfare, embarks on Coast Guard patrols monitoring Russian incursions, participates in close-quarter-combat training aboard foreign icebreakers in the Arctic sea ice, and visits remote research stations where international cooperation is giving way to espionage and the search for long-frozen biological weapons.

Drawing on hundreds of interviews and three years of reporting from the frontlines of climate change and great power competition, Rosen blends incisive analysis with the vivid immediacy of a travelogue. His deeply researched and personal accounts capture the diverse landscapes, people, and conflicted interests that define this complex northern region. The result is both an elegy for a vanishing landscape and an urgent warning about how the race for Arctic dominance could spark the next global conflict."

As may be obvious, I'm always curious about topics relating to the Arctic and Antarctic, and this sounds like a really fascinating read. 

Blog Tour + Excerpt: No One Aboard by Emy McGuire

Today I’m excited to share my stop on the blog tour for No One Aboard by Emy McGuire! This haunting, atmospheric tale blends mystery and psychological suspense in all the best ways. Below, you’ll find an excerpt from the book, as well as more information about the story and its author, Emy McGuire. No One Aboard is available now!
Happy reading!

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Title: No One Aboard
Author:  Emy McGuire
Pub. Date: December 2, 2025
Publisher: Graydon House
Pages: 368
Find it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org

SYNOPSIS:

"The White Lotus meets Laura Dave’s The Last Thing He Told Me in this debut domestic mystery about a luxury sailboat found floating adrift in the ocean and the secrets of the missing family who set sail aboard it weeks before.

"No One Aboard is a riveting, astonishing debut, and Emy McGuire is an important new voice in fiction. I will read anything she writes!" —Sarah Pekkanen, #1 New York Times bestselling author

At the start of summer, billionaire couple Francis and Lila Cameron set off on their private luxury sailboat to celebrate the high school graduation of their two beloved children.

Three weeks later, the Camerons have not been heard from, the captain hasn’t responded to radio calls, and the sailboat is found floating off the coast of Florida.

Empty.

Where are the Camerons? What happened on their trip? And what secrets does the beautiful boat hold?

Set over the course of their vacation and in the aftermath of the sailboat’s discovery, No One Aboard asks who is more dangerous to a family: a stormy ocean or each other?"

Excerpt:

Chapter 1
Jerry Baugh

Jerry Baugh didn’t see the ship. He didn’t notice the red warning on the screen. He was, in fact, cozied up in the cockpit of his Dyer 29 lobster boat, feet propped between the rungs of the helm and hands stacked on his belly.

Jerry’s day of deep-sea fishing had been successful—a sailfish bill, broken at the hilt, currently stuck out of his bomber jacket pocket—and he was thinking about whether the meat should be marinated in lemon juice or just plain old butter.

He was too distracted to detect the boat in his path—white and gleaming, suspended between the black water of the Atlantic and the starless, moonless sky with the same sinister beauty of an iceberg.

Or a ghost.

When the boat alarm went off, Jerry jolted in his seat, sending his Bass Pro Shops cap tumbling down his chest. A single drop of sailfish blood had, at some point, fallen onto the face of his watch, which read nine minutes after midnight.

He detangled his feet from the helm and peered at the radar. He was heading two hundred and fifty-eight degrees toward Hallandale Marina. The strange white sailboat blocked his way.

Jerry switched off the autopilot and eased the throttle to slow down, his heart thumping soundly in his chest. If the alarm hadn’t sounded, he might have shipwrecked them both.

This sent a surge of anger through him. Why hadn’t the captain of the sailboat moved out of his way? Sheila 2.0 wasn’t subtle, her engine making an ugly chewing noise not unlike a trash compactor. They should have heard her coming.

Jerry allowed his boat to chug closer before he killed the engine and processed what on the devil’s blue sea he was looking at.

It was a sailboat, yes, but not like the rust-laced ones that docked near Sheila 2.0 in the Hallandale Marina.

This boat was mesmerizing.

It had twin aluminum masts, a wood-finished deck, and sunbathing mattresses laid out on the chart house. The body of the boat was a blinding white, smooth, curvaceous. The cap rails were teak and coated with a glittering crust of sea salt. No one had cleaned them in some time. Cursive lettering on the side spelled out the boat’s name.

The Old Eileen

Jerry stared, a bit starstruck. Boats like Sheila 2.0 were made to choke marine diesel oil and seawater until they finally died twitching in a harbor like a waterlogged beetle on its back.

Boats like The Old Eileen were made to be beautiful.

Jerry found his radio, hooked to his waistband, and cleared his throat before speaking into it.

“Eileen, Eileen, Eileen, this is Sheila, Sheila, Sheila, over.” He waited.

There was a time when Jerry was younger (and a good bit stupider) that he wanted to buy a sailboat instead of a motorboat. It was romantic, the idea of harnessing the wind to travel the world. But in the end, it was those same winds that terrified him. Wind could overpower him, seize control of the boat and bend its course. Jerry would have had to accept that possibility. He would have had to bare his throat to the mercy of the sea.

A mercy, he had come to understand, that did not exist.
“Eileen, Eileen, Eileen!” Jerry repeated into the radio.
They must be asleep. Jerry leaned forward and sounded his horn—five short blasts to signal danger. He waited for the radio to crackle to life, for a silver-spooned captain to sputter apologies, or maybe for an underpaid deckhand to rush up top and get the boat moving once more.

There was only the sound of the luffing, useless sails, and the ever-shifting sea.

Jerry frowned and fiddled with the fish bill in his pocket.
He should leave.
He fumbled in the dark to switch the engine back on. He would report what he’d seen to the coast guard, get the captain in trouble for being so reckless. He’d be back in Florida by dawn.
But Steve . . .

Jerry glanced at his dash where he had taped up a photograph of himself with his younger brother. It was the last picture taken of Steve before he died. Jerry closed his eyes for a moment. He would have traded his boat, his bait, and everything he owned if someone had stopped that night to help Steve.

“Well, shit.” Jerry rubbed at his clavicle and swallowed hard. He would be in and out. Just to make sure all was well.

Jerry moved across the deck, aware of every sound his shuffling feet made. He rummaged through his fishing equipment, eyes never leaving The Old Eileen. His calloused, practiced hands fit right around the harpoon gun, and he felt a measure of reassurance with a weapon in his grasp. He wasn’t scared, he was too old for that, but there was nothing quite like a creaking, old ship on the ocean at night to make a man into a boy again.

He tucked the harpoon gun under one arm and set to work lowering his tiny dinghy. He’d take one moment to wake whoever was on board, then get right back on his boat. Good deed done for the day. Maybe the decade.

Jerry grunted as he climbed up the Eileen’s porthole and over the rail. The deck was empty save for an orange life preserver tied to the stern, the boat’s name written in black on the top and a slogan in italics around the bottom.

Unwind Yachting Co.
Safe to sail in any gale!

With no one in sight, Jerry located the companionway stairs that led down beneath the cockpit and gave one last scan of the deck before going below.

Downstairs, the chart house was neat and captainless, but the ship’s manifest was sitting in the center of the table, open to the first page.

SHIP’S MANIFEST—THE OLD EILEEN
SKIPPER—Captain Francis Ryan Cameron (55)
MATE—MJ Tuckett (67)
CREW—Alejandro Matamoros (54), Nicolás de la Vega (22)
PASSENGERS—Lila Logan Cameron (54), Francis Rylan Cameron (17), Taliea Indigo Cameron (17)

Seven souls. Seven souls aboard The Old Eileen, and not a single one had answered the radio, which lay next to the manifest like an amputated limb. Jerry picked it up and felt an ice-cold trickle of sweat on the back of his neck.

The cord had been cut.

Jerry’s knuckles went white against the harpoon gun. Bad things happen at sea. Storms kill and brothers drown.

But the radio cord hadn’t been severed by the ocean.

Jerry crept through the luxurious salon and to a door that must lead to a cabin. He let his trigger hand slip down for a moment so he could turn his radio to 16—the international maritime emergency channel.

Just in case.

He opened the door to the cabin.

The master bedroom. King-size bed with an indigo comforter and cream sheets. Velvet couch molded to fit the tight corner. A woman’s lipstick lay open on one bedside table, rolling back and forth as the boat rocked.

There was no one there. No sleeping captain, no apologetic deckhands, no life whatsoever. Had they just . . . left?

Jerry checked the next room. This one held two twin beds with identical navy bedspreads. One bed was unmade, with a variety of books scattered at its foot. The bedclothes on the other were tucked in, military-style.

A sketchbook was half hidden by the pillowcase, open to an illustration of some kind of monster.

Jerry mopped his brow with a rag he kept in his shirt pocket, not caring that it had dried sailfish blood caking the edges. He should have motored on by and called the damn guard.

He forced himself to concentrate. He was doing the right thing. The captain could be out cold and in need of help.

There were only a few more rooms.

But the last cabin was just as quiet.

Jerry peeked into the galley and the bilges, running out of places to check.

The heads. Each of the three cabins must have its own personal bathroom, and he hadn’t yet tried any of them. Hands slick with sweat around the harpoon gun, Jerry retraced his steps, checking first in the crew members’ head, then the master suite’s, then back to the room with the twin beds and the drawing of the monster.

He nudged open the last bathroom door and looked inside.

In the mirror, his own ref lection stared back at him, interrupted only by a string of crimson words that had been written on the glass.

A weight dropped anchor inside his stomach, flooding Jerry with a kind of dread he had avoided for thirty years. The harpoon gun slipped from his hands, and he reached for his radio, unable to peel his gaze from the message on the mirror.

Save yOur Self

The Convey
OPINION: The Ocean Is Our Great Equalizer (why the newest Atlantic disaster seems to spell K-A-R-M-A for the one percent)
MIKE GRADY The Camerons—a family of four headed by television darling Lila Logan and business tycoon Francis Cameron—have been reported missing after their multimillion-dollar sailing yacht turned up eighty miles offshore without a single person onboard early in the morning of June 9. Authorities and reporters have leaped into extensive action. The Atlantic has already been tempestuous at the beginning of this year’s hurricane season. Potential upcoming storms have given the search a dangerous time component in an investigation reminiscent of the Titan, the infamous submersible that imploded with five passengers aboard on its way to see the Titanic wreck. The world had plenty to say about the Titan and its affluent victims, and this latest oceanic mystery has the potential to play out the same. Francis and Lila Cameron both had modest childhoods, but thanks to the entertainment industry, the business world, and the good old American dream, they have skyrocketed into the fraction of Americans who own multiple homes (Palm Beach villa, LA bungalow, and a sleek Aspen chalet, if anyone’s wondering), not to mention the multimillion-dollar sailing yacht that came up empty in the early hours of yesterday morning. While I’m not necessarily here to say that the Atlantic Ocean is doing a better job than God or taxes to rid us of the elite, I do want to pose a big-picture question while authorities are sussing out the how did this happen? and where did they go? Of it all. My question instead to you, dear reader, is this: Why the Camerons?

Excerpted from No One Aboard by Emy McGuire, Copyright © 2025 by Emy McGuire. Published by Graydon House.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

EMY MCGUIRE holds a bachelor’s degree in theatre/creative writing from New College of Florida. She has toured nationally in the Edgar Allan Poe Show, sailed from Rome to Antigua, and written everything from ocean thrillers to pirate musicals. She lives in Colorado.

Find Emy McGuire online: Author Website | Goodreads | Instagram | X/Twitter | Facebook | TikTok

Anticipated December 2025 Releases

December is always one of the slower months for publishing, but that doesn't mean there aren't still some great new releases on deck! I’ve collected some excellent new releases hitting shelves next month below, so be sure to have a look and let me know what books you’re looking forward to checking out. 

 Happy reading!

Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher || December 1st -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Obsession by Natasha Preston || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Fallen Gods by Rachel Van Dyken || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Persephone's Curse by Katrina Leno || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Needle Lake by Justine Champine || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Cape Fever by Nadia Davids || December 9th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

An Arcane Inheritance by Kamilah Cole || December 30th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Once and Future Queen by Paula Lafferty || December 16th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Book of Luke by Lovell Holder || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Happiness Collector by Crystal King || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Jaguar's Roar by Micheliny Verunschk || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

House of Day, House of Night by Olga Tokarczuk || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Daring to be Free: Rebellion and Resistance of the Enslaved in the Atlantic World by Sudhir Hazareesingh || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Sea Captain's Wife: A True Story of Mutiny, Love, and Adventure at the Bottom of the World by Tilar J. Mazzeo || December 9th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Queens at War by Alison Weir || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Best Debut Short Stories 2025: The PEN America Dau Prize edited by Kendall Storey || December 9th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Winter Stories by Ingvild Rishøi, trans. Diane Oatley || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Progress: How One Idea Built Civilization and Now Threatens to Destroy It by Samuel Miller McDonald || December 2nd -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

What are your anticipated December releases?

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Book of Luke by Lovell Holder & Daring to be Free by Sudhir Hazareesingh

    

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

The Book of Luke by Lovell Holder
Publication: December 2nd, 2025
Grand Central Publishing
Hardcover. 400 pages.
Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:
"For fans of Survivor and Less, this fast-paced debut novel shines an unflinching light on the drama of reality TV when a gay man returns to the cut-throat show he won in his youth after his adult life begins to unravel.

Following the car accident that ended his football career and left his body scarred, twenty-two-year-old Luke Griffin joins the cast of Endeavor, a new competition-based reality show that pits the tabloids’ darlings against one another in tasks of endurance and problem solving. At first, he thrives, effortlessly forming friendships and even a romantic relationship that he thinks will last a lifetime. But Luke has aspirations far bigger than the show's million-dollar prize, and soon a series of betrayals leads to irreversible tragedy, changing the course of his and his fellow contestants' lives forever.

Ten years later, Luke’s world looks very different: He is now a father of two and the stay-at-home husband to America’s only openly gay senator. When his husband's serial cheating is exposed, Luke impulsively joins the cast of Endeavor's latest season in a desperate bid to earn some fast cash. Back on set, he is confronted with everything he tried to leave in the past: bitter rivalries, shattered friendships, and crushing guilt, all of which threaten to tear down the walls he’s spent a decade building. As Season 20 of Endeavor kicks off, Luke must give everything to the game, even as he finally learns what it means––and what it costs––to face the truth.

Combining the fabulous rivalries of The Traitors with the epic physical stunts of The Challenge, THE BOOK OF LUKE offers a grounded portrait of what it means to reinvent yourself when no one will let you forget your past - especially if it's immortalized on streaming services."

This sounds like it's going to be a wild ride and I'm totally here for it. I have no idea what to expect from this book, but I'm down to find out.

Daring to Be Free: Rebellion and Resistance of the Enslaved in the Atlantic World by Sudhir Hazareesingh
Publication: December 2nd, 2025
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Hardcover. 464 pages.
Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:
"'A revelatory history of enslaved people's resistance and self-emancipation, across the Atlantic world and beyond.

In the 1720s, the West African chief Tomba was abducted for organizing the local resistance against slave raiders and imprisoned on a British ship, where he promptly led a revolt using a smuggled hammer. In the early nineteenth century, a pregnant woman named Solitude rallied laborers and soldiers to resist Napoleon’s efforts to reimpose slavery on Guadeloupe. A few decades later, Frederick Douglass fashioned his own template for self-emancipation. In Daring to Be Free, the acclaimed historian Sudhir Hazareesingh recasts the story of slavery’s end by showing that the enslaved themselves were at the center of the action―their voices, their resistance, and their extraordinary fight for freedom.

Throughout, Daring to Be Free portrays the struggle for liberation from the perspective of the enslaved and, wherever possible, in their own words. It highlights the power of collective action, stressing the role of maroon communities, conspiracies, insurrections, and spiritual movements, from Haiti and Brazil to Cuba, Mauritius, and the American South. These acts of resistance involved entire communities, with women often at the heart of the story as warriors, organizers, and agents of radical change.

Employing written archives and oral history, Daring to Be Free shows how the struggle for freedom was shaped less by Western Enlightenment or Christian ideals than by the enslaved’s own spiritual, martial, and cultural resources. Emancipation wasn’t handed down by benevolent reformers―it was seized, again and again, by those who demanded freedom. This vital, eye-opening history reclaims abolition for those who fought to liberate themselves."

This sounds like it'll be an incredibly informative and enlightening read.

Review: Pick a Color by Souvankham Thammavongsa

Pick a Color by Souvankham Thammavongsa

Little, Brown and Company
Publication Date: September 30th, 2025
Hardcover. 192 pages.

About Pick a Color:

"From O. Henry Award winner and two-time Giller Prize winner Souvankham Thammavongsa comes a revelatory novel about loneliness, love, labor, and class, an intimate and sharply written book following a nail salon owner as she toils away for the privileged clients who don't even know her true name.

'I live in a world of Susans. I got name tags for everyone who works at this nail salon, and on every one is printed the name "Susan."'

Ning is a retired boxer, but to the customers who visit her nail salon, she is just another worker named Susan. On this summer's day, much like any other, the Susans buff and clip and polish and tweeze. They listen and smile and nod. But beneath this superficial veneer, Ning is a woman of rigorous intellect and profound complexity. A woman enthralled by the intricacy and rhythms of her work, but also haunted by memories of paths not taken and opportunities lost. A woman navigating the complex power dynamics among her fellow Susans, whose greatest fears and desires lie just behind the gossip they exchange.

As the day's work grinds on, the friction between Ning's two identities—as anonymous manicurist and brilliant observer of her own circumstances—will gather electric and crackling force, and at last demand a reckoning with the way the world of privilege looks at a woman like Ning.

Told over a single day with razor-sharp precision and wit, Pick a Color confirms Souvankham Thammavongsa's place as literature's premier chronicler of the immigrant experience, in its myriad, complex, and slyly subversive forms."

Pick a Color is a quiet, introspective novella that doesn't rely on plot so much as it does individual perspective and character exploration. It follows the daily life of the owner of a nail salon as she moves through her regular routine and observes many of the actions and small details of the people and actions around her. There's not a lot that really happens necessarily in this story, but it kept my attention because of how strong the narrator's voice was and how she observed those around her. This review will be a bit brief since this is such a short novella, but I'll do my best to touch on all my thoughts. 

I really appreciated how reflective and thoughtful this book felt. Thammavongsa's writing is incredibly subtle and quiet, but also surprisingly sharp and cutting when it needs to be. She knows how to say a lot with very little. I felt that the brevity of the writing worked really well, as it really does feel like a brief window into our narrator's life, rather than something trying to really do or say more than it is capable of. I also liked the exploration of themes like loneliness, immigration, identity, and cultural dislocation, and felt that the author tackled these in ways that, to me, seemed authentic and relatable for many. The narrator's loneliness in some ways hit hard, as she is surrounded by people every day, but still doesn't really have a singular permanent presence in her own life. I did find myself really enjoying her commentary on the clients who come into her shop, her employees, and many other aspects of her life, as I found she had a very dry yet compelling humor and wit to her thoughts, and also some unique introspection.

Despite the fact that in some ways Ning seems generally content with her current place in life, it seems like there is something underlying that she is not as satisfied with, and this felt like something I could really understand. There is a very deep emotional undercurrent in this book, one that is soft, unsettling, and very human and raw, and it made this book resonate with me.

Even though this book held my attention and was really well written, I didn't find myself overly enamored with it for some reason. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I sometimes wished that there was just a little bit more to take it to that next level. It's more of a quiet "slice of life" (though please don’t equate that with being a ‘cozy’ read, as sometimes people conflate the two) experience, which really is perfect for what this book is doing, but I felt there was something missing from our narrator. Still, I think for what this novella is and what it is trying to do, it does it excellently.

Pick a Color is a book that feels thoughtful, understated, and is one that really makes you sit with discomfort and uncomfortable topics.

*I received a copy of Pick a Color courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating.*

Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon

Review: The Blackfire Blade (The Last Legacy #2) by James Logan

  

The Blackfire Blade (The Last Legacy #2) by James Logan

Tor Books
Publication Date: November 4th, 2025
Paperback. 496 pages.

About The Blackfire Blade:

"The hotly anticipated sequel to The Silverblood Promise continues the incredible new epic fantasy series perfect for fans of Scott Lynch.

Winter has come early to Korslakov, City of Spires, and Lukan Gardova has arrived with it. Most visitors to this famous city of artifice seek technological marvels, or alchemical ingenuity. Lukan only desires the unknown legacy his father has left for him, in the vaults of the Blackfire Bank.

But when Lukan's key to the vault is stolen by a mysterious thief known as the Rook, he and his friends race to win it back―and find themselves trapped in a web of murder and deceit. In desperation, Lukan requests the help of Lady Marni Volkova, scion of Korslakov's most powerful family.

Yet Lady Marni has secrets of her own. Worse, she has plans for Lukan and his friends. Plans that involve a journey into Korslakov's dark past, in search of a long-lost alchemical formula that could lead to the city's greatest discovery . . . or its destruction.

"A fast-paced carnival of setbacks and skullduggery that reminds me of... me! Charming from the first twist to the last."―Scott Lynch on The Silverblood Promise"

**If you haven't read The Silverblood Promise, book one in The Last Legacy series, you can read my review for it here.**

The Blackfire Blade has been one of my most anticipated reads of 2025, and I was so excited to finally get the chance to dive back into this world and its characters that felt both familiar and brought something new. This sequel picks up with Lukan and the crew heading towards Korslakov with a singular goal in mind--but, naturally, this does not go as planned. Our trio is instead thrown into a slew of new impediments that end up growing into seemingly insurmountable obstacles, but Lukan, Flea, and Ashra are never ones to give up.  I’ll be keeping this review spoiler-free so I’ll be avoiding too many direct details in order to make sure everything remains a surprise.

One of my favorite aspects of this book was getting to explore a brand new setting in this world: Korslakov. I always enjoy being dropped into a new location in any epic fantasy, and the atmosphere was excellently crafted. Logan's description of this region was incredibly vivid from the moment we first set eyes on it at the same time Lukan and everyone else did from their ship. It’s described as being cold, dark, and is laden with a heavy, foreboding tone that had me instantly intrigued (I mean, of course that intrigues me, right?). I loved how it almost acted as a foil to Saphrona and I appreciated just how stark the contrast was between the two, especially with how both Lukan and Ashra reacted to this change of scenery. However, I will say that certain aspects of the location didn’t actually end up feeling quite as ominous as some of our character’s earlier complaints and observation suggested, but the mood was absolutely still there and provided a delightfully grim backdrop for everything our characters go through while in Korslakov--which is, admittedly, pretty hellish.

I really enjoyed diving back into Lukan’s dynamic with Ashra and Flea. Flea is still Flea and getting into trouble at every turn, and even though it’s occasionally mildly infuriating, I don’t think I’d want to see her lose her spark. Ashra remains relatively guarded and not quick to trust, and her and Lukan continue to clash, but it’s the type of clash that shows just how much they grown to have a sort of grudging respect for each other, even if Ashra still can’t stand Lukan half the time. The banter among the three of them was perfect and added just the right amount of humor and levity to situations to balance out so much of the tension and frustration that was occurring in the plot.

One thing that I really appreciate about this series so far is how the characters are allowed to make mistakes. And I know plenty of characters make mistakes in plenty of books, but these characters make some truly not great mistakes, and as a result we get to see some really realistic growth. There aren’t any huge personality overhauls or large amounts of growth that feel unrealistic and unlike their character, but rather gradual development in ways that feel true to the characters themselves.

There’s also a lot of emotional heaviness in this book as well, from Lukan still grappling with his life state and father’s assassination to Flea and Ashra’s own journeys, as well as some things we discover in this installment. We have some genuinely low lows, and seeing the characters struggle through them really only strengthened their relationships and solidified them as authentic, relatable, and compelling characters you can’t help but root for. Even Lukan who is still learning the value of responsibility--albeit a bit painfully slow at times--feels slightly more grounded to where he still absolutely messes up and makes bad jokes, but seems to realize more of the impact of his actions. He also starts to gain more and more motivation relating to the loss of his father and his own role in finding out what happened and it was really nice to see that maturity as well.

One of the new characters we meet in this book is Razin, and he was easily one of the standout additions for me. I tend to love these types of characters who are bold, opinionated, always ready to tell a tale from their history, and appear a bit egotistical, but at the end of the day are actually pretty solid people who are brave, loyal, and overall stand for what’s right. I enjoyed almost every scene that Razin was in and appreciated that he’s the type that talks a bit big, but always shows up when it counts, and I loved the energy he brought to the group. And, of course, I especially loved his dog, Ivan!

The magic system continues to be one of the more interesting aspects of this world, as well. It’s not the type of system where every person has some sort of latent magical power within them that they can wield, but it feels more generally object- and ability-based, to where it’s tied into things like artifacts and the world’s mythology rather than basic spells and the like. It’s not always fully consistent in every situation, and I like that aspect because it keeps me guessing and really allows for more creative solutions and exploration from Logan as we get into more of this world and the magic within it. The more I learned as a reader, the more I realized just how much we as readers don’t know about this world, the Phaeron, its gods, and the deeper workings of the power in this world. There is still so much to come in the next book and I cannot wait to find out where Logan is taking us next on this adventure.

The Blackfire Blade will absolutely keep you on your toes. Everything and everyone in this world has some sort of political motivation and there are secrets, manipulations, ulterior motives, lies, etc. around every corner. It really leaves you as a reader side-eyeing every character because you can’t be sure exactly who you can trust. It’s a fairly intense reading experience because there are just so many twists and reveals and shifting loyalties that leave you feeling like you really are just along for the ride wherever Logan decides to take you.

I’ve mentioned a number of times on this blog that action scenes and I don’t really get along, and I sometimes struggle to follow them because I don’t process actions super well and, well, they tend to bore me sometimes (I’m sorry!). I’m very pleased to report that that was not the case in The Blackfire Blade! I was genuinely hooked through most of the more action-y scenes and was pretty invested in what was happening. I was especially hooked with the final big action/high intensity scene, and I genuinely felt like I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the page.

The pacing of this book is interesting to me because it’s technically quite fast, with plenty of action, countless reveals, cliffhangers, and a lot of movement, but the actual plot progression is actually slow. We start the book with one specific mission and goal in mind, but we really don’t get to that until near the end. In some ways, that frustrated me quite a lot and I wanted to sigh a few times at things that kept popping up to delay reaching that goal, but I will say that Logan handles this really well and somehow any time I felt annoyed, I would quickly forget that feeling and become intrigued by what was happening in the story. It reminded me a bit of a video game where you have your main quest, but you keep ending up embarking on side quests that sidetrack you (just to make it clear: this book is not litRPG, I’m just comparing here!).

I think what worked well about everything that happened in this book and all the derailments is that none of it felt like pointless filler. Even the moments that felt like side quests had a distinct purpose and actually ended up contributing to the plot in some meaningful and fascinating ways, and that’s what made this structure work for me. A few things felt like a bit of a stretch at times, but overall everything felt tied into the larger story in ways that really mattered.

I definitely can’t wait to see more of this world and really hope that the next book has even more exploration of the world-building and magic system and that we are better able to understand some of the puzzle pieces still left to solve.

Overall, The Blackfire Blade is an exceedingly excellent epic fantasy sequel and exactly the way I wanted it to be: twisty, fast-paced, great character growth and development, and kept me on the edge of my seat. Even parts that frustrated me a bit ended up feeling more intentional than bad writing or planning. I especially appreciated that the ending wrapped up enough to where I felt satisfied with everything we’d learned and accomplished in this book, but also left us with enough of a cliffhanger that I am already chomping at the bit for the next book. James Logan has definitely proved that he is an excellent writer and knows how to handle an epic fantasy like this, and I can’t wait to see what’s next (as long as no one [else] dies!)!

*I received a copy of The Blackfire Blade courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating.*

Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Persepohone's Curse by Katrina Leno & The Sea Captain's Wife by Tilar J. Mazzeo

    

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

Persephone's Curse by Katrina Leno
Publication: December 2nd, 2025
Wednesday Books
Hardcover. 336 pages.
Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:
"'The Hazel Wood meets Laini Taylor in this gorgeous urban fantasy of sisterhood, ghosts, and old family curses.

Are the four Farthing sisters really descended from Persephone? This is what their aunt has always told them: that the women in their family can trace their lineage right back to the Goddess of the Dead. And maybe she's right, because the Farthing girls do have a ghost in the attic of their New York City brownstone ―a kind and gentle ghost named Henry, who only they can see.

When one of the sisters falls in love with the ghost, and another banishes him to the Underworld, the sisters are faced with even bigger questions about who they are. If they really are related to Persephone, and they really are a bit magic, then perhaps it’s up to them to save Henry, to save the world, and to save each other."

I'm really not sure if this is one that will work for me or not, but nonetheless I'm really intrigued!

The Sea Captain's Wife: A True Story of Mutiny, Love, and Adventure at the Bottom of the World by Tilar J. Mazzeo
Publication: December 9th, 2025
St. Martin's Press
Hardcover. 288 pages.
Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:
"The true story of the first female captain of a merchant ship and her treacherous navigation of Antarctica's deadly waters, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Widow Clicquot

Summer, 1856

Nineteen-year-old Mary Ann Patten and her husband, Joshua, were young and ambitious. Both from New England seafaring families, they had already completed their first clipper-ship voyage around the world with Joshua as captain. If they could win the race to San Francisco that year, their dream of building a farm and a family might be within reach. It would mean freedom. And the price of that freedom was one last dangerous transit―into the most treacherous waters in the world.

As their ship, Neptune’s Car, left New York Harbor and sailed down the jagged coast of South America, Joshua fell deathly ill and was confined to his bunk, delirious. The treacherous first mate, confined to the brig for insubordination, was agitating for mutiny. With no obvious option for a new captain and heartbroken about her husband, Mary Ann stepped into the breach and convinced the crew to support her, just as they slammed into a gale that would last 18 days. Determined to save the ship, the crew, and their future, she faces down the deadly waters of Drake’s Passage.

Set against the backdrop of the California Gold Rush and taking us to the brink of Antarctica, The Sea Captain's Wife finally gives Mary Ann Patten―the first woman to command a merchant vessel as captain ― her due. Mazzeo draws on new archival research from nineteenth-century women’s maritime journals and on her own expedition to the Southern Ocean and Antarctica in search of Mary Ann’s route. Thrilling, harrowing, and heroic, The Sea Captain's Wife is the story of one woman who, for love, would do what was necessary to survive."

This sounds fascinating--and I'm always up for another trip down to Antarctica and the Drake Passage!