Review: Blacktail by Scott Hawkins

  

Blacktail by Scott Hawkins
Crown
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Hardcover. 288 pages.

About Blacktail:

"'A tale of lupine vengeance—at first—whose stakes escalate to degrees I never saw coming. Unexpected, blood-soaked, and vividly told.'—qntm, author of There Is No Antimemetics Division

The long-awaited second novel from the author of the cult hit The Library at Mount Char, a one-of-a-kind dark fantasy in which a wolf sets out on an epic journey of revenge.

The wolf Blacktail is faithful to his Forest God, but in these times, faith is not enough. His world is besieged by men. Soon his territory will be overrun, and then there will be nowhere left to go. When his mate, a house dog, is killed, Blacktail rebels. He invades the house of her owners, seeking vengeance.

Blacktail’s fury catches the notice of an ancient and terrible feline witch, who makes an offer. What if Blacktail could end the human race responsible for the death of his family and for the destruction of the natural world, altogether? To do so, Blacktail must find and wake the Forest God. Only He might stand against the plague of men. Blacktail knows that his north woods are dwindling to nothing. He sees no other choice.

As Blacktail journeys farther from his wild home and deeper into the world of man, he encounters strangers—animal, mortal, and otherworldly—who, for their own reasons, want to help Blacktail rid the world of humans. Along the way, it becomes clear that he is more than just a wolf. The Forest God is sleeping, yes. But what will be the price of waking him?"

 I have such a mixture of thoughts about Blacktail. I was fully on board with the beginning of Blacktail's revenge journey and was rooting him on. I found myself incredibly curious to see where everything would take him, but as the story progressed, it started to feel like that initial motivation started to get lost. As a result, I ended up losing my connection to Blacktail and his journey as I made my way through the story, and I realized I was never really that hooked on the story. I kept reading because I was curious enough to see what would happen, which is a good sign, but also because I kept expecting something to happen that would make me think, "Ah-ha! Now I get," but that moment just never really came. I don't regret reading this one, but I'm quite perplexed by it. This review is probably going to end up being a bit all over the place as well (much like how I felt this book was, a bit), but I'll do my best to share all my thoughts by the end of it if you plan to stick around.

There are some genuinely fascinating ideas explored throughout this book, particularly surrounding the "hunt" and everything it represents: the honor and pride associated with it, the meaning behind it, and the ways in which it can be disrespected, degraded, or even transformed into something entirely different. I also really loved the idea of the "scent poems," which immediately made me think of how I love to let my dog catch up on what I call "all the neighborhood dog gossip" with his extensive sniffing on our morning walks.

As someone who is extremely sensitive to violence involving animals, this was a hard read at times and I would not recommend it to someone who is similarly sensitive without a large amount of caution. Sure, this story is told from the point of view of a wolf, so of course there is a lot of "violence" and "brutality" that is just a part of nature, but that doesn't necessarily mean I have to enjoy reading it. And, as becomes increasingly apparent as the story progresses, I felt that there was definitely a bit more going on than just the natural brutality of life as an animal.

There are also humans, or "two-legs," who appear throughout the story, and almost all of them are quite terrible to the animals, so I also really hated reading those portions as well. My sensitivity to animal violence obviously has nothing to do with the Scott Hawkins or his writing, so I don't count that into my rating of the quality of the story, but it still definitely affected my personal enjoyment of it.

What I can attribute to the writing, however, was his crafting of the characters. They somehow felt both authentic and stilted to me at the same time. These are obviously animals, and I understand that Hawkins had to find some way to translate their experiences and communication into something understandable to us, but I found the execution of this very jarring. I'd almost say there's a bit of a fable-like quality to the way they speak at times, where it feels not quite natural, and the mimicking of the way humans speak really threw me off. The opening scenes feature some lynxes, and the way they immediately were speaking and thinking felt extremely off to me. Their dialogue felt like some strange combination of natural human speech and distinctly animal-like thoughts and behaviors, and unfortunately that blend just never really worked for me. There was also an odd mix of what felt like deeper, thoughtful pieces of dialogue that were then followed up with something that felt weirdly immature or just didn't fit with the rest of the scene. I'm still not entirely sure if this was the intended affect that Hawkins was going for or what was really going on, but it's one thing that didn't work for me throughout most of the book, and left it feeling like a less experienced writer had written this.

I really kept finding myself surprised that this was from the author of The Library at Mount Char at first--at least until we hit the ending, which definitely felt a bit more Hawkins-like. I can absolutely see some similarities in the weirdness, brutality, and thought-provoking ideas, but the writing itself felt much more all over the place to me here and did not feel like it had a cohesive plan in place. We really jump around a bit, and what started as a fairly straightforward plot idea soon morphed into something that had a lot of potential, but didn't quite end up landing with what it was going for, at least in my opinion.

At the same time, I can see the meaning and purpose behind this story. Blacktail himself loses sight of things as his journey progresses, so perhaps it make sense that we as readers begin to lose some of that connection to him and his original story as well. But if that idea doesn't make for a compelling reading experience that I liked in some way, then I'm not sure the execution worked quite well enough for it to be doing that. The intentionality might be there, but it needs a bit more than that. 

But, what I consider a positive is how much this story made me feel. I felt disgust, hatred, fear, concern, sadness--this is definitely a brutal story and not for the faint of heart. I always have to give a book credit for provoking strong emotions, because to me, making a reader feeling something from the words you've written on a page is some level of success to me, and I always prefer negative feelings over ones of complete apathy about a book.

Overall, I'm still perplexed. I don't regret reading Blacktail, and there are some really interesting ideas, but I never fully connected with the story and there were a lot of things that just simply didn't work for me. I would say that if you loved The Library at Mount Char and have been anxiously awaiting another Scott Hawkins book, then I absolutely think Blacktail is worth trying for yourself. I think it's worth trying out to see fi it will work for you better than it worked for me. But if you're sensitive to animal violence like I am, then please do take caution. (I'm also more than happy to provide additional details or answer questions about the content for anyone who wants to know what they're getting into before deciding whether to read it.) If you do end up reading it, please let me know what you thought of it, as I'm definitely curious to see the reception for this one! 

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

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Rooted by Leopoldo Gout, The Pirate Queen by Ariel Lawhon, & American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee

   

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

Rooted by Leopoldo Gout

Publication: September 15th, 2026

Tor Nightfire

Paperback. 288 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"Author of Piñata, Leopoldo Goût's latest horror novel Rootedis a "a blood reckoning" (Marlon James) where one woman's return to Mexico City digs away the layers of her forgotten past and the Aztec gods she awakened.
There’s nothing wrong with Aurora. 

A successful art lawyer, she has returned to Mexico to celebrate a recent campaign for the repatriation of stolen artifacts―in particular a mysterious statue of an Aztec god, The Flayed One. 

But Mexico City isn’t as she remembered. Nothing is. Elements of her past hint at darkness and power, and reality begins to crack and warp the streets. 

There’s nothing wrong with Aurora. 

As Aurora’s sanity unravels, she must pry apart her family’s secrets and accept the simplest of truths: The Flayed One cannot stay buried. 

'It wields all the destructive fury of a flayed god determined to avenge centuries’ worth of colonial devastation and greed...'–Cynthia Gómez, Ignyte-nominated author of Muñeca"

This hints at so many different elements of horror that I love, so I'm really curious to check this one out!

The Pirate Queen by Ariel Lawhon

Publication: September 8th, 2026

Doubleday

Hardcover. 528 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"A sweeping historical adventure inspired by the life of Grace O’Malley, the legendary Irish folk heroine who risked everything to defend her people. Venture onto the high seas with the thrilling latest from the New York Times bestselling author of The Frozen River and I Was Anastasia. 

Grace O’Malley was born to be a sea captain. But despite her natural skill on the water, Grace learns early that her dreams of a life at the helm are not compatible with the expectations of her noble family. As the only daughter of a powerful chieftain, her role is to secure a strong alliance and bear children. But when she’s sent to foster with a nearby clan, Grace falls for a clever and open-minded second son—a man she cannot have. 

Married off against her will to a brutal warrior, Grace performs her duty, all the while gathering followers loyal to her, and consolidating her husband’s power, only to be ousted from his lands. But this betrayal offers Grace the opportunity to return to sea, finally leading clan O’Malley’s mighty fleet. Just as she finds true independence, Queen Elizabeth’s incursions into Ireland grow bolder and Grace must fight to defend her land, her ships, and the people she loves most against the cruel and power-hungry English deputies, who will stop at nothing to check her influence. 

Keenly observed and fiercely written, Ariel Lawhon's new action-packed novel channels the untamed beauty and harsh realities of sixteenth-century Ireland, as seen through the eyes of an unforgettable heroine who rightly became “the Pirate Queen of Ireland.”"

Pirates, folk heroines, historical fiction--honestly, say no more, I'm in!

American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee

Publication: September 29th, 2026

Cardinal

Hardcover. 656 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"The National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author of Pachinko returns with a breathtaking contemporary epic: a masterpiece by turns sweeping and intimate, that reckons with ambition and moderation, lust and loyalty, personal dreams and familial duty.

'Min Jin Lee brings grand ambition, fierce heart, and the tenderest hope to a novel I didn't want to end.' ―Roxane Gay, bestselling author of Bad Feminist and Hunger

In schools and churches, hotel rooms and nail salons, law firms and fried-fish shops; in cramped, dingy apartments and luxury, gated communities, the men, women, and children in American Hagwon struggle to find satisfaction and meaning in a world that seems to grow less forgiving with each passing year. Once comfortably middle class in Korea, John and Helen Koh and their three children―Bo, DH, and Mido―find their lives upended, first by a shocking betrayal by John’s oldest friend, then by the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

Desperately striving to regain their footing, they leave Seoul for Sydney and eventually settle in Southern California―where new vistas of opportunity open up for the children as their parents, strangers in a strange land, must adjust to a new life in which their experience and education mean little, and they set their sights on whatever it takes to provide for their children’s futures. The Kohs, their friends, relatives, and even their foes move in and out of each other’s lives as they navigate new courses across the years, always nursing the almost all-consuming faith that education will lead the next generation to success and security.
In American Hagwon, Min Jin Lee has crafted an unforgettable, panoramic novel where the smallest of gestures can have enormous repercussions, where the bonds of family and of memory twist and fray but rarely break, and where willful self-sacrifice―for the benefit of loved ones and even strangers―is a kind of prayer."

I, like many others, really enjoyed Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, and I've been looking forward to new work from her!

Review: Scion by James Islington

 

Scion by James Islington
S&S/Saga Press
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Hardcover. 240 pages.

About Scion:

"John Wick meets Ghost in the Shell in this fast-paced cyberpunk thriller by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Will of the Many and The Strength of the Few.

My job, when you think about it, isn’t so different from a lot of people’s.

The more old-fashioned crowd do still get hung up on the "killing people" part of it, I guess, but that’s a them problem: it’s been perfectly legal to take out lifers for ages. Besides, once ultrawealthy morons realised they had a way to live forever—limited resources be damned—there was only ever going to be one genuinely practical deterrent.

So, sure, I have to deal with a ton of boring planning. Inconvenient hours. Some pretty awkward face-to-face interactions. And like most of us, I’m really only clocking in to try to crawl out from beneath my debts. But someone’s got to do it.

Luckily, my genetic compatibilities make me really, really good at doing it.

Still. This next job...I don’t know. It’s something I haven’t had to deal with in years. Kind of the opposite of my regular duties. Strange, that it got thrown my way.

I’m sure it’ll all go totally fine though.'"

I was really curious to see how Islington would tackle sci-fi, let alone a much more compact, thriller-style story. His previous fantasy series are sprawling, complex fantasy stories that aren't exactly what I would call fast-paced and are generally pretty different overall in structure with layers upon layers of plot. In contrast, Scion is a mere 240-ish page cyberpunk sci-fi thriller that takes a big step away from that style while retaining Islington's knack for intricate worldbuilding, creative ideas, and twisty plotting. I’m sure that because of that there will be a lot of mixed feelings on this one, but personally I can report that I loved this one!

In Scion, we follow Azure, who is essentially a professional hitman who tends to be deployed on missions to take out "lifers,” the ultra wealthy who aren't really dying anymore. Occasionally, however, he's employed to protect people (usually lifers), and that's where we find him in Scion. Azure is sent to protect a mysterious elderly woman for two weeks, only to quickly discover that quite a few people are trying very hard to kill her, making his job a bit more difficult than anticipated. It also leaves Azure wondering exactly who this woman is, despite his best efforts to maintain the professional distance he usually keeps between himself and his work.

To aid Azure in his work, he has undergone extensive modifications to his body known as "revs," which enhance his abilities both physically and mentally and make him pretty difficult to beat in a fight. He also heavily relies on his AI assistant, Atti, to help carry out his daily tasks. Atti has an endearing, sarcastic personality that added some great color to Azure's own personality whenever she appeared on the page.

I really liked seeing Islington craft a character like Azure. In his other series, his protagonists tend to be younger, still learning about the world, and generally quite thoughtful and respectful toward those around them. Azure is definitely a departure from that, and it made for the perfect personality for this particular story. He's sarcastic, flippant, emotionally detached, and has a dark sense of humor that I really enjoyed. At the same time, it's easy to see how much of his personality has developed as a result of his professional lifestyle, some traumatic experiences, and what he's been trained to do. He felt very lifelike, and I appreciated seeing him struggle at times with his emotional detachment through many frustrations that occur along the  way, along with his warring feelings about things when he tries so very hard not to care.

The plot is constantly twisting, and while I found some of those twists fairly predictable, it never bothered me because there was also always something new and captivating waiting around the corner. The pacing is fast, which works perfectly for this type of story, and the ending has left me feel quite impatient for more of this story! There's also plenty of action in this book, which can definitely be hit or miss for me, but I actually enjoyed pretty much every scene in this book and followed along easily. 

I also loved the worldbuilding. There was somehow so much to explore in this book, and although we learn an impressive amount in such a short time--and without it ever feeling like an infodump!--I still feel like there’s so much more to this world to learn, and that’s one of my favorite things an author can do because it makes the world feel real and authentic, something that is lived-in and has a history. I also just had a great time learning about all the technology, mods, and other sci-fi elements Islington created for this world.

And in addition to the tech and action and world-building, Scion also plays with some fascinating ideas. There’s obviously an exploration of wealth inequality and how extreme wealth can fundamentally change the way people experience life--which, in this case, is quite literal, since they can literally have more life than everyone else. Azure’s modifications also pose some interesting questions about what exactly makes people who they are (and there are a few later plot points that also expand on this topic, but I will refrain from mentioning those due to spoilers!). There’s almost a bit of a Ship of Theseus element to some capacity, where it made me wonder about at what point replacing or altering pieces of yourself fundamentally changes who you are as a person--or does it? THat’s not entirely what this book is about, but just an example of some of the more thought-provoking concepts that made me think even more about it.

If you love Islington’s fantasy and are going into this wanting more of exactly that, then I’m going to gently stop you there and let you know that that’s not what you’re getting. Scion is what I’d call a “bingeable" novel, which is certainly not how I’d describe his other books, and I think that difference is going to surprise some readers. I, for one, loved seeing Islington explore a new genre and style while retaining so many of the qualities that make his other work so compelling and favorites of mine. I truly had a blast with this one and can’t wait for more.

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

Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon 

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Nudge by Joseph Fink, Scion by James Islington, & Our Cut of Salt by Deena Helm

   

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 Nudge by Joseph Fink

Publication: September 1st, 2026

Podium Publishing

Hardcover. 144 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"On the open road, evil doesn't chase you. It waits . . . 

Late one night, a wounded man checks into a remote roadside hotel. He's running from something he can't explain or escape. And over the course of a night, he'll tell the hotel's proprietor how his life fell apart.  

It started with his wife. Subtle changes. Smiles that didn't belong to her. Then violence—sudden, intimate, almost casual. Therapy offered hope. Recovery seemed possible. Until it wasn't. He believes a hidden influence has attached itself to him, one that never forces, never commands. It whispers. It suggests. Nudges people toward their worst impulses.  

Now the man wanders the country as a fugitive, hoping to break free from the evil that's wormed its way into him. But as our narrator's story unfolds, he begins to question whether he's fled far enough . . .  

Tense, atmospheric, and chilling, The Nudge is a slow-burn tale of suspense that will linger like a whisper in the dark, long after the story is over."

This sounds like the perfect little horror novella to welcome in the beginnings of the fall season!

Scion by James Islington

Publication: September 1st, 2026

S&S/Saga Press

Hardcover. 240 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"John Wick meets Blade Runner in this fast-paced cyberpunk thriller by the #1 NYT bestselling author of The Will of the Many.  

My job, when you think about it, isn’t so different from a lot of people’s. I have to deal with a ton of boring planning. Inconvenient hours. Some pretty awkward face-to-face interactions. And like most of us, I’m really only clocking in to try and crawl out from beneath my debts.  

The more old-fashioned crowd do still get hung up on the ‘killing people’ part, I guess, but that’s a them problem: it’s been perfectly legal to take out lifers for ages. Besides, once ultrawealthy morons realised they had a way to live forever—limited resources be damned—there was only ever going to be one genuinely practical deterrent. So someone’s got to do it.  

And luckily, my genetic compatibilities make me really, really good at it.  

Still. This next job… I don’t know. It’s something I haven’t had to deal with in years. Kind of the opposite of my regular duties. Strange, that it got thrown my way.  

I’m sure it’ll all go totally fine though."

I've already finished an ARC of this one and my review will be up soon for it, but I'm still really excited for it to be released to the public and see what everyone thinks about! If you like sci-fi thrillers, this is pretty much the perfect read. 

Our Cut of Salt by Deena Helm

Publication: September 22nd, 2026

Tor Nightfire

Hardcover. 128 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"In this lyrical debut, three generations of Palestinian women must put the haunting of their ancestral home to rest, before the secrets of the past drown them all. Our Cut of Salt is a powerful and intimate look at what it means to make a home, to lose it, and to return, only to find it irrevocably changed.  

There is something haunting Nuhad’s childhood home in Haifa. Cats avoid its perimeter, strange noises come from within, and residents have mysteriously vanished without a trace. Although Nuhad has not returned to her home since the Nakba in 1948, she always held a place for the house in her heart.  

And, in return, the house did the same for her.  

After Nuhad passes away, her granddaughter, Marina, is determined to visit her grandmother’s home after a lifetime of being kept in the dark about her culture and family history. Marina's mother, Haifa - named for the city that was lost to their family - reluctantly agrees to her trip, though she knows firsthand that some secrets are better left buried.  

But the house is no longer a home. It is a painful, festering wound that infects everything it touches. The more Marina digs into her family’s past, the sicker she becomes. Despite Nuhad’s ghostly warnings, Haifa rushes to help her daughter.  

As the three women converge in their ancestral home, they must put the haunting to rest before the secrets of the past drown them all."

This sounds like the type of haunting story that will stick with you, and I can't wait to have a chance to check it out!

Review: The Cure for Living -Part One & Part Two by Nicolas Lietzau

 

The Cure for Living - Part One & Part Two by Nicolas Lietzau
Independently Published
Publication Date: April 6, 2026
Hardcover. 770 pages & 384 pages.

About The Cure for Living:

"'I’ll tell you a story,' the Visionary said to the young woman. 'When I’m done, I promise I’ll undo these chains and let you go.' He met her gaze, his eyes as deep as the space between worlds. 'You will stay.'

In the oasis city of Qurrâb, wealth, power, and fame all bow to a single ideal: yâsh, the virtue of one's heart. There, a thirteen-year-old girl with a mind like no other resolves to become the brightest soul history has ever seen, inspiring others to follow her example. Her goal? To unite humanity and vanquish the Darkness, the destructive force within all of us that makes the world the wretched place that it is.

When veteran Jespar tre Moreste reaches the fabled City of Sages forty years later, his only concern is finding Loanne, the sister he once abandoned. Little does he know that his journey will soon lead him into the dark underbelly of the supposed paradise, where ruthless crime syndicates mingle with death cults and forbidden schools of philosophy. As old wounds resurface and reality fractures, Jespar realizes that even after the tumultuous events of Kilay, he still has demons of his own to conquer — and that often, the most charming masks hide the vilest of minds.

This is the first part of The Cure for Living, a single story told across two volumes.

Closing Jespar’s saga with a haunting blend of mystery, dark fantasy, and thriller, The Cure for Living examines the cost of obsession, the fragility of identity, and the dark side of humankind."

I read Dreams of the Dying back in 2021--which now feels like a lifetime ago--after some word of mouth recommendations, and I was thrilled when I heard that a sequel was ready to hit the shelves in 2026. The Cure for Living picks up after the events of Dreams of the Dying when Jespar once again becomes entangled in a new investigation. This time, we have a second storyline featuring a character named Qûriyanî, which adds many new layers. to this world and story. I probably won't be getting into too many specifics in this review since this is a sequel, but I was really excited to dive back in this world, and now I'm excited to share my thoughts with all of you!

The Cure for Living is initially a slow-moving story, but I don’t mean that as a criticism. Part One in particular spends a lot of time laying groundwork and allowing us to really settle back into this world and its characters, which I actually really appreciated since it has been quite a few years since I’ve read Dreams of the Dying. There is a lot to take in between worldbuilding, politics, culture, and everything else going on, and Lietzau isn’t afraid to take his time moving through it all. Both volumes have their own pacing that I think works for what they’re trying to accomplish, and although it took me a while to get through the entire story as a whole, I never really felt like there were huge sections that needed to be cut or that anything was extraneous. It all felt purposeful, and the eventual payoff made the investment worthwhile.

The story is split between Jespar’s present day storyline and Qûriyanî's story. I thought the two timelines worked really well together, and I thought it gave the story a very balanced feeling. I personally found myself slightly more invested in Jespar’s sections, that’s honestly pretty typical for me with dual timelines where I tend to end up preferring a one person’s timeline a bit more. That being said, I still really enjoyed Qûriyanî's chapters and never felt like they were something I had to  push through; they were still compelling in their own right and offered a lot to the storytelling.

I really enjoyed returning to Jespar as a character and seeing where his life has taken him since the events of Dreams of the Dying. His storyline immediately had me hooked back in, especially as he became wrapped up in his new investigations in this book, but I also appreciated the quieter explorations of his past experience and how those have continued to affect him. Lietzau handles a lot of trauma themes with a lot of nuance, which allows it to remain an important part of Jespar's experience without reducing his entire character down to what he’s been through. There are genuinely thoughtful and thought-provoking discussions surrounding trauma, healing, and what it actually means to continue living after experiencing things that can fundamentally change you.

Qûriyanî's storyline took a little longer to fully grab me initially, but I found her increasingly compelling as I came to better understand who she was, her motivations, and the circumstances that shaped her. She truly ended up being such a highlight of this sequel and I was eventually so enraptured and devastated for her and everything she experiences. The connection between her and Jespar’s storyline also took some time to develop for me, but I thought the eventual payoff worked really and made everything feel worthwhile.

The worldbuilding throughout this story is incredibly detailed, especially when it comes to the cultures, politics, histories, and belief systems that shape the characters and their decisions. There’s a lot to take in, but I appreciated how Lietzau spent time explaining things through the plot and characters in ways that allow us as readers to understand these different elements rather than simply using them as background without a solid foundation. It’s the type of worldbuild and setting that makes everything feel as though it really existed long before the story took place, and will continue on existing long after the events of the story conclude, which is something I always really value in any fantasy.

There’s also a lot going on in this story regarding its themes, which span from trauma and identity, purpose, hope, friendship, mortality, belonging, and so much more. It honestly seems like a lot to tackle in one story, but I never felt like any of it felt like too much or was out of place. It all fit naturally within the type of story being told and the experiences these characters have gone through and are going through, and I found myself fascinated by many of the discussions around these ideas.

One thing that I really loved from this huge second installment--and what I love from any gigantic fantasy volume--was watching how things gradually came together. With two timelines and so many different threads developed across the entirety of the story, there was truly a lot of groundwork being laid and explored, and it took a while before it was possible to see how everything connected. Once it all started falling into place, however, I found the payoff incredibly satisfying. It made me appreciate even more how carefully everything had been constructed along the way, and by the end of it I felt like the time I’d invested was very much worth it.

I also want to note that I was fortunate enough to have received a stunning hardcover copy of The Cure for Living from the author and it is genuinely such a cool book. Not only is it beautiful physically, but the incredible amount of back matter included is amazing. We've got an explanation of the grammar of the language, a dictionary, notes, illustrations, and so much more additional information about everything in this world to sink into. It’s one of those things that’s not at all required in a story, but that adds so much to its vibrancy and really highlights just how much thought and work has gone into making this world feel fully realized and authentic. This hardcover edition is a bit pricier than the paperback, but if you can spare the extra money then I cannot recommend it enough--it’s truly worth the price, in my opinion (I believe you can buy them on the author's website!). And to clear up any possible confusion--both volumes make up a singular sequel to Dreams of the Dying, they are just so hefty they had to physically be split up!

The Cure for Living is certainly an undertaking (especially after reading Dreams of the Dying as well, which isn’t exactly a small book, either), and I found it to be one very much worth reading. This story asks for a lot of patience from its readers, but the characters, plot, worldbuilding, setting, and ideas featured and explored throughout makes it a truly memorable reading experience.

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

Review: Reliquary by Hannah Whitten

 

Reliquary by Hannah Whitten 
Orbit
Publication Date: August 11th, 2026
Hardcover. 300 pages.

About Reliquary:

"A young woman is lured to her late fiancé's remote island estate—only to uncover eerie family secrets, a haunting past, and a monstrous hunger stirring beneath the sea in this deliciously atmospheric horror debut from New York Times bestselling author Hannah Whitten.

When Claire’s fiancé mysteriously dies of an unknown neurological illness, she’s prepared to sink back into the lonely life she lived before. Orphaned by a freak boating accident in her childhood, she never expected to find connection like she did with Elias, anyway. Their relationship wasn’t perfect—his coldness, his secrets, his strange aversion to the ocean—but what relationship is?

When Elias’s family reaches out—his incredibly wealthy family, from whom he was estranged—and invites Claire to a three-day wake at Harrow Point, their family home on a private island, Claire is given the chance to find family again. To belong to something, just like she’s always wanted. Just like Elias knew she was desperate to have.

Even if that family is a little strange. Even if their coastal home stirs up memories of the accident that killed her parents and sister. Even if Ash, Elias’s older brother, seems insistent on Claire leaving as soon as possible.

As she dives deeper into the world of Harrow Point, she will uncover the nature of her own traumatic connection to the ocean. There is something swimming in the bowels of Harrow Point, and it is hungry…"

There is something about an unfathomably wealthy family who has a mysterious mansion on a secluded private island that just screams that nothing good can possibly come from this, and Reliquary is here to explain just why that is the case. We follow Claire as she travels to meet her late fiancé's family for the first time--after his death, which is already an uncommon circumstance--only for her to discover that, of course, things are not quite as they seem. I had no idea what to expect from this book going into it, and I have to say I pleasantly surprised by what Whitten managed to pack into these pages. 

Claire is a very... thought-provoking protagonist, and I found her rather unlikable in some aspects, while also acknowledging that she was very much the low player in the power dynamics at play in this story, so I couldn't always blame her for the circumstances she found herself in. She's been through some truly traumatic experiences in her youth, and I think the defense mechanisms she's built to protect herself and attempt to move on are relatable, understandably, and quite compelling to follow. 

That being said, I was admittedly unbelievably annoyed with Claire at times and with how passively she seemed to move through her life, even when what appears to be clear red flags and danger are staring her in the face. I understand being vulnerable when grieving, but there were just too many things that felt so obvious that she completely ignored and it drove me a bit crazy. She could be incredibly willfully ignorant and almost unbelievably incurious as a person. And look, I also understand that's largely the point here: she's completely vulnerable and so desperately wanted to be loved and wanted by a family that of course she'll turn a blind eye to the red flags for even a taste of that. I painfully understand that. But as a reader, it really was frustrating to watch at times. Also, I get her hatred of submarines, and I agree they can be pretty freaky, but I regardless of my feelings on them I would be so fascinated by everything happening and what the family is involved with that I'd want to absolutely everything I could and would be Googling everything nonstop, so it bothered me on a personal level that Claire didn't seem interested, haha (and sure, let's not even have the slightest curiosity about the weird octopus thing her fiancé has that some happens to die right around when he does... but I digress). With all that, however, I will say that watching Claire learn more about herself, her fiancé, his family, and so much more by the end of the story made for some great character growth and overall development. 

I loved the horrors of the sea, this family, and everything wrapped up in both. Whitten did a fantastic job of creating the sense there is some mysterious, incredibly powerful entity constantly lurking behind everything, along with followers who will do just about anything for even a taste of power. This book really explores those lengths that people will go to in order to attain that power, and it does so in a very visceral, hard-to-read-but-impossible-to-look-away-from way. There are some very squicky, body horror-esque, and downright disturbing pieces of imagery in this book, so definitely keep that in mind before going into this one. 

I am also perhaps just a little bit in love with the idea of the private island Claire visits due to what sounds like the most incredible mansion built into its cliffs. It seems like an awesome feat of engineering, and I would explore the absolute heck out of that place if I could--though preferably without Claire's fiancé's family present, if I could request that. Whitten did an exemplary job of capturing the suffocating, smothering feeling of being physically trapped in a place while simultaneously being trapped by family obligations and seemingly evil, otherworldly forces. It truly made for what seemed like an absolutely horrendous time!

There are aspects of this story that felt exceptionally predictable, and I can't say there were too many overarching elements to the plot that surprised me, but it was more so about how this story unfolded and the details utilized that made it feel more unique and enjoyable. Tried and true tropes and cliches often because those things for a reason, so I never think it's inherently bad to have something that feels like you're always peeking around the corner knowing roughly to expect, but just not entirely sure what form it's going to take. And I think that's what was more successful about this story, as there was just enough uncertainty and unease in those details to make it a more thrilled read.

While Reliquary isn't necessarily destined to become a new favorite for me, I think it's a fantastic horror that touches on some raw themes and emotions surrounding grief, family, trauma, and the desire to belong, while also incorporating more classic terrifying horror elements. It's unsettling, visceral, and incredibly easy to keep turning the pages on, even when you might occasionally want to yell at Claire through them. Which I wanted to do... a lot. If the premise sounds like something you might be interested in, then I'd absolutely encourage you to give it a read!

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

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Ship of Death by Kyle Winkler, The Paradox Club by Charlie Lovett, & The Cutting Garden by Darcy Van Poelgeest

  

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 Ship of Death by Kyle Winkler

Publication: September 29th, 2026

Avon a

Paperback. 256 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"“Mind f*cking melting.' —BENJAMIN PERCY 

'Cosmically creepy as hell. A nightmarish experience.' —DAN CHAON 

'Every turn of the page is a creepy as f*ck critical success D20 roll. Winkler warmed my nerd heart while draining its blood.' — SEQUOIA NAGAMATSU 

The dice roll. Darkness answers. 

House of Leaves meets Jumanji in this brilliantly original and twisted novel composed entirely of found documents, following an unwitting couple ensnared by a sinister tabletop role-playing game 

Cole and Lorraine playtest board games for some extra cash as they save up to buy a home. But after a series of bizarre coincidences, and signing a strange NDA, the couple finds on their porch a mysterious indie developer’s tabletop role-playing game called The Ship of Death. The game relies heavily on the players’ imaginations, and takes up an ever-growing amount of space: in their kitchen, and in their minds. As its true sinister nature becomes clearer, and its forces capture more in its web, the boundary between the game and reality begins to dissolve. . . and the pair are instructed to possess a stranger’s soul. 

Told entirely through game reports, emails, game forum posts, personal journals, and police reports, reading The Ship of Death feels like a dangerous dice roll. It’s a sleep-stealing, possession-inducing work of intense, intelligent found cosmic horror that announces Kyle Winkler as a spectacular voice in the genre."

This sounds like a blast, and even though "House of Leaves meets Jumanji" sounds like its overpromising, it's still absolutely selling me!

The Paradox Club by Charlie Lovett

Publication: September 1st, 2026

Hyperion Avenue

Paperback. 432 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"In this genre-bending mystery, a brilliant yet troubled young woman uncovers the truth about her father’s death and her family’s involvement in a secret society protecting knowledge that could alter the course of human history. 

In a nondescript brownstone in Manhattan, the members of the Paradox Club quietly guard information with dangerous implications from the rest of the world. But as one rogue member hatches a plan to exploit the club’s secrets for personal gain, this group of brilliant minds begins dissolving into warring factions. 

Unaware of her family’s involvement in the Paradox Club, Tess Maxwell grew up fascinated by the stars and enthralled by her father Harry’s stories and his scientific lessons. But ever since Harry’s tragic death ten years ago, Tess has felt out of sync with the world and has a nagging feeling that there’s something more to her father’s work—and death—than anyone has let on. When she discovers Harry has left behind a puzzle for her to solve, Tess unearths hidden truths about her family and becomes a pawn in the battle for control of the Paradox Club and so much more. As deadly danger closes in, Tess must confront the paradox at the heart of her father’s work and her own fractured past to solve the mysteries of her identity, Harry’s death, and the universe. 

The Paradox Club is a page-turning read blending intellectual intrigue, personal mystery, and the tension between loyalty and ambition that makes us question the cost of learning the truth in a world where knowledge can be both a gift and a curse."

I mean, I'm always up for a secret society, and this sounds like such a fascinating premise. 

The Cutting Garden by Darcy Van Poelgeest, Erin Connally, Aditya Bidicar

Publication: September 29th, 2026

Image Comics

Hardcover. 128 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"'This hauntingly beautiful chiller creeps up on the reader like the vines spreading over Adeil and Josette’s house.' —Publishers Weekly 

A mysterious young girl seeks out a florist to deliver a painful truth that will forever change them both in this tender, gothic drama about our need for love and the creatures we become in its absence. 

On a quiet street in early twentieth-century New Orleans, a florist works through the night to craft a floral arrangement for a peculiar customer—a precocious young girl named Adeil who pays the florist in stories. For every new flower the florist adds to the bouquet, Adeil offers another dissonant detail in her narrative: a chance meeting with a disillusioned jazz singer, a dilapidated family home, an idyllic life on the fringes of an imperfect world. As dawn approaches and the arrangement takes shape, the florist is left to piece together the final details of Adeil’s mysterious life and ponder what this means for her own story. 

From Eisner Award-winning writer Darcy Van Poelgeest (Little Bird, Precious Metal) and rising-star watercolor artist Erin Connally comes The Cutting Garden, a gorgeously rendered meditation on companionship, family, and sacrifice."

I love this concept and really hope to have a chance to check this out!