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This gothic horror, fairy-tale coming of age story is one of my favorite reads of 2025!  The Lamb (2025) by Lucy Rose is a wonderfully written easy read but not easy to digest.  I rooted for the main character, Little One, telling us her story of living in a cottage in the woods with her mother: a story of neglect, cannibalism, Sapphic love and growing up trying to find love in

Thomas Walsh is used to picking up the occasional odd job. When he accepts a job interpreting for an heiress who is mute by choice and uses sign language to communicate, he thinks it'll be an easy one: he has the experience growing up with a Deaf mother, after all. Sure, Vivienne's father keeps her on a short leash, won't let her out past sunset, and also kind of wants Thomas to follow her wherever she goes, but Thomas doesn't care about the weird family dynamics. He's just there for the money.

In this charming debut, 77-year-old Jenny Quinn does something out of character. Without telling her beloved husband of almost 60 years, she applies to be a contestant on Britain Bakes (think Great British Bake Off). This heartwarming story features multigenerational friendships, delightful characters, and delicious recipes. As Jenny embarks on this new adventure, memories of a long-ago tragic event resurface.

William by Mason Coile is a delightfully short and menacing techno-thriller taking readers through a single day in the life of a brilliant engineer, Henry, and his AI creation, William. Presenting William to guests for the first time goes terribly wrong. 

Meghna and Rani haven't spoken in years, not since Meghna's Bangladeshi family's reputation went unfairly under, causing other in the Irish Bangladeshi community to isolate Meghna's family. When Meghna discovers at a science competition that her secret boyfriend, Zak, is cheating on her with her ex-BFF-now-rival Rani, she feels a mix of emotions. The two girls decide to team up to get revenge on Zak for cheating on them by developing an app for the European Young Scientist Exhibition, Catch A Two-Timer (or, CAT).

Irish poet Seán Hewitt debuts as a novelist with this slim, bittersweet ode to teenage sexual awakening and coming of age. James, recently divorced, attends an open house in the small country town of his childhood. Readers are then swept up in memories of his sixteenth year there, his experiences of coming out in a small rural community and how his life changes when a charismatic boy moves into the neighboring farm.  

Eowyn Ivey’s Black Woods, Blue Sky is a wonderfully written story, a fairy-folk tale of sorts, of a mother and daughter in the Alaskan wilderness.  Emaleen, a chatty five year old girl, gets lost in the Alaskan forest and is reunited with her mother, Birdie, when she is rescued by Arthur, a quiet loner who rarely ventures into town.

10 years ago eight-year-old royal page Hanalei and Queen Oliana of Tamarind ingested poison and fell into a stasis. It was said that a dragonfruit (the egg of a sea dragon) has the power to undue a person's greatest sorrow - not without a price of course. After the poisoning three eggs were secured, but two were broken. The third egg was stolen by Hanalei's father, who used it to wake his daughter then escape into the night, leaving the queen. 

This Is How You Lose the Time War (2019) is a slim novel that leaves you wanting more. A largely epistolary book, it starts with a letter found amongst the ashes of a destroyed world. Readers will find out that this and the following messages are correspondence between Red and Blue, two skilled agents on opposite sides of a time war.

For generations, Rhea Silvia’s family ruled Alba Longa, but the deaths of her mother and brothers leave her father broken and unable to remain , allowing her uncle Amulius to seize the throne. Forced into service as a Vestal Virgin to prevent heirs that could rule instead of Amulius, Rhea plans revenge. Rhea’s secret affair with Mars, the god of war results in the birth of twins, Romulus and Remus, who will one day reclaim the kingdom.

When I first ran across Dungeons and Drama , I was super excited to sit down and read it. A romance about D&D, a game store, musical theater, AND the cover is colorful enough to grab your eye? [Plus it's part of a series] Heck yeah, right?

Raised by a Serial Killer (2024) by April Balascio is a memoir by the daughter of Edward Wayne Edwards, whose crimes went unpunished for decades until April, who long suspected that her father was a murderer, called a cold case line in 2009, and helped finally bring her father to justice.