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Book Review: And the River Drags Her Down

Rating: 3.5 stars

She has always known the rules – never resurrect anything larger than the palm of her hand, but that was before her sister died. A chilling, compulsive exploration of sisterhood, loss, and revenge.

When her older sister is found mysteriously drowned in the river that cuts through their small coastal town, Soojin Han disregards every rule and uses her ancestral magic to bring Mirae back from the dead. At first, the sisters are overjoyed, reveling in late-night escapades and the miracle of being together again, but Mirae grows tired of hiding from the world. She becomes restless and hungry . . .

Driven by an insatiable desire to finish what she started in life, to unravel the truth that crushed her family so many years ago, Mirae is out for revenge.

When their town is engulfed by increasingly destructive rain and a series of harrowing, unusual deaths, Soojin is forced to reckon with the fact that perhaps the sister she brought back isn’t the one she knew.

I received a digital copy of this book through the publisher on NetGalley for an honest review.

And the River Drags Her Down is one of those books that slowly hooks you into the story. Because it took me a while to get into this book. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed reading this book. It becomes very clear from the beginning how much Soojin and her father haven’t moved on since Mirae’s passing. How much her death has impacted their lives. This book does a wonderful job of showing characters still grappling with grief, not being able to move on many months after it’s passed, and how it impacts everyone in one household.     

However, for me, I feel that this book moved slowly at the beginning to get to the most interesting aspects of the story. I get the point of it, too, though, because as a reader, it gave me insight into what their lives are like without Mirae. And I feel like that was needed to see once she’s brought back how her being here impacts their lives. I also feel like once she returns is when the story actually starts to pick up, because even though Soojin is the one who brought her back, Mirae’s character was more enjoyable to read to me than Soojin. She was just a more enjoyable person to me overall, out of the two sisters, as I feel like Soojin was just there in the story. Yes, she’s the one who brought Mirae back, but a lot of the plot in the story that occurred was due to Mirae’s actions once she returned. And I found her character more interesting because of all that she’d been through before her death, as well as after.

What I also feel like, And the River Drags Her Down does well, is show the relationships between all of the characters. You see this through Soojin’s friendship with Mark and through the friendship Mirae had with Bentley. I feel like all of the friendships in this book, you could see how they all changed throughout because of the events that had transpired as a result. You could see how Soojin and Mark lost touch because of what was going on with Soojin’s family, and you could see the complicated friendship between Mirae and Bentley due to the nature of their parent’s dynamic in the town. It was all an interesting dynamic that I was intrigued to read more about.

I also found that I enjoyed reading about all of Mirae’s abilities and how she went about finding out the truth about what happened to their mother. It was cool getting an insight into the past to get an understanding of why things transpired the way they did. I also found myself feeling really empathetic towards Mirae, too, though as I continued reading, because of how she had to become the parent in the family once their mother was no longer around. I think that’s also why I found her character more enjoyable as well, because she was the one who had to shoulder the burden of being responsible for everyone in their home.

I also wasn’t fond of how And The River Drags Her Down ends either. Granted, I had a feeling the way this book ended was how it ended up going. Because the best way for them to truly move on from what happened is to start over. But I was hoping there would be more with it than what gets shown, like seeing them after they’ve started over. I also was expecting more to happen because of her friendship with Mark, but she waited to tell him last. Which continues to prove why out of the two siblings, she wasn’t my favorite one to read from, because she continues to wait to put off difficult things for later. Will say, though, that the end of this book definitely wasn’t as bad for me as the beginning.

Overall, though, enjoyed reading And the River Drags Her Down, even if I initially had a difficult time getting into it when I started it. I felt like once her sister was brought back, the story started to pick up and get more interesting. I recommend this book as a good read for anyone interested in reading a story about a family dealing with grief, and who wants to read a horror story that primarily focuses on water horror. I will say, though, that if you are someone who doesn’t want to see any animals harmed in the books you read, you should probably stay clear of this book because there’s definitely some animal death in this one. And the River Drags Her Down was published on October 7, 2025, for those interested in giving this book a read.           

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Book Review: The Omen Girl

Rating: 4 stars

A pulse-racing ‘Ghiblipunk’ debut of magic, redemption, and a love that survives the dark between stars — perfect for fans of Elizabeth Lim, Amélie Wen Zhao, and Sue Lynn Tan.

Abandoned by her parents when her Omen stain appeared, Sozo survives the streets through her secret weapon: her ability to conceal her curse. It’s a rare talent that her shadowy mentor, Esp, sees as the key to infiltrating and competing in the Decade Race of Stars.

The race is deadly, but the prize is irresistible: a single wish for anything. Esp dreams of using it to reshape the world, and Sozo convinces herself the risk is worth it, but keeping her stain hidden—and her monstrous side in check—is harder with every challenge, especially when sunny Naqi enters the picture, offering her kindness and friendship she was never allowed.

As Sozo fights to survive the race, doubts creep in. Should she claim the wish for Esp no matter the cost? But what if it hurts Naqi?

With monsters lurking inside and out, Sozo must decide whose future she’s fighting for and if she’s willing to pay the ultimate price.

I received a digital copy of this book through the publisher on NetGalley for an honest review.

The Omen Girl was an enjoyable, young-adult read from start to finish for me. While the main character Sozo, isn’t someone I initially related to, I did find myself sympathizing with her in the story because of the struggles she was dealing with regarding her mark as an omen. What makes her character difficult to relate to is that she isn’t someone who makes herself approachable to anyone. While I understand why she’s that way here, it makes it extremely difficult to find her character at times sympathetic.

What I really enjoyed about this book was learning about the Decade Race of Stars and how these characters compete in it. The whole process of competing was so fascinating to me that I wondered how Sozo was even going to infiltrate the competition in the first place, let alone win and claim a wish. But the way Yueh Yang pieces her story together to create a pathway for her to enter the race was so beautifully done. And then the races themselves were also beautifully described. Really enjoyed learning about everything and seeing how Sozo was able to overcome every obstacle that came her way through these different trials as she competed in these races to try and claim the wish.

If there was anything with The Omen Girl I wasn’t particularly fond of, it would be how this book ended story-wise. I feel like Sozo pretty much saved everyone from a lot of bad things happening in this world, and doesn’t really get anything for it because of her being marked as an omen. It felt like they pretty much didn’t know what to do with her because of her being an omen and actually saving people instead of hurting people. And there wasn’t anyone around really to make sure she did what she was ordered to do after the events that transpired in this book, so I feel like she very easily could’ve done whatever she wanted afterwards with very little repercussions. I also didn’t like the ending because of how it left things with her relationship with Naqi. Granted, it was a relationship I had mixed feelings about to begin with, because I wasn’t sure at times how it happened, as the two of them are completely different people from each other. And with the way the story ends, the book leaves the reader wondering how their relationship is going to go moving forward.

Overall, though, I enjoyed reading The Omen Girl as I found plot-wise the story gripped me from start to finish, and I really enjoyed learning about the races. I just wish the ending of the story had more to it, both for the main character and regarding her romance with Naqi. The Omen Girl was published on October 7, 2025, for those interested in giving this young adult fantasy book a read.    

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Book Review: The Dark Cove Theatre Society

Rating: 4 stars

An aspiring young actor must find her place at a cutthroat arts boarding school in this gothic YA debut for fans of Ace of Spades and If We Were Villains.

Violet Costantino knows she is already on thin ice this school year: her scholarship has taken a significant hit due to her panic attack during her final performance in acting class last semester—which simultaneously shattered her dreams of becoming a leading lady. This year, she is determined to keep her head down and just get through unscathed. But the school seems to have other plans for Violet: to her extreme foreboding, she is cast as one of the leads in the annual Halloween play. What’s worse, the beautiful, infuriatingly talented Frankie Lin and Violet’s ex-crush, Hunter Kinsley, are both cast as her love interests. Despite her initial reluctance, Violet is drawn in by the glamor of the Dark Cove Theatre Society, and she cautiously starts believing that maybe she is cut out for this after all. But lurking in the shadows of Violet’s fragile self-confidence is the rumor of the Society curse, which is said to cause one cast member to drop out before opening night every year, mysteriously and without reason.

In this captivating YA debut, The Dark Cove Theatre Society illustrates both the intoxicating and insidious nature of success and the price we are often forced to pay for it. Passages of found text—glimpses of the school’s handbook, secret letters, and other peeks into life at the Academy—seamlessly woven into the plot will immerse readers even further into the lush, magnetic world of Dark Cove.

I received a digital copy of this book through the publisher on NetGalley for an honest review.

The Dark Cove Theatre Society was a wonderful read that I enjoyed from start to finish. What I enjoyed from reading this book was seeing Violet’s character development from the beginning of being cast in the play to the night of the performance. As a character struggling with anxiety, the last thing Violet wanted to do was star in her school’s annual Halloween play. Nonetheless, be cast as one of the leads in the play. All she wanted to do when returning to school was put her head down and make sure to get through the school year, writing plays instead of acting in them. But seeing her character gain confidence in her abilities in acting was marvelous, and I found myself feeling happy for her growth in this book. Felt like there were a lot of themes covered in this book that Sierra Riley brought into the story that teenagers today could relate to, as some of these teenagers were dealing with.

What I also enjoyed about reading The Dark Cove Theatre Society is the overall setting of the school. I felt like my imagination of this academy went wild while I was reading this book, and I just wanted to learn more about it. It felt like the perfect backdrop for everything that happened in this book, and I was excited to learn more about the classes Violet and her peers were taking. Especially when Violet tried out for the play and found out about the curse every year that causes a student to leave the school before opening night of the play. What also helped with my interest in this school was the way Riley would use newspaper articles from the school from the past that talked about the school, secret letters, etc. It felt like the perfect spooky read to me, with the way the school was set up, from the setting of the book to the curse that affects one of the students in the play every year. Also, I enjoyed learning theatre terminology throughout the book since I’ve never taken any acting classes in school.

If there’s anything with The Dark Cove Theatre Society I didn’t particularly enjoy, it would be how most of the aspects of the story I was looking forward to seeing happened off the page. For example, when you find out the truth surrounding the curse, it doesn’t come as too much of a surprise to me because it seemed like that’s where the story was leading to. But when it comes to how those responsible for it get punished, the reader doesn’t get to see that unfold. You just heard about it through Violet being told that it happened instead of her witnessing it taking place. The same thing happens with the play, too. Yes, you get to see all of Violet’s character growth from the beginning of the story, when she was initially still reeling from what happened the previous school year, to her gaining confidence in herself as the school year goes on, during the practice of the play. But I was also expecting to get to see a little bit of the performance, too, just because of how central it was to the plot of this book. These are the parts of the story that I feel like should’ve been worked on and made the story all the more interesting to read.

I also wasn’t too fond of the romance in this book too just because I feel like there wasn’t enough character development for all of the characters in this book for the romance that does happen to really catch my attention. The only character who gets any development in this story is Violet, but everyone else in this book, from start to finish, acts pretty much the same. Which I don’t necessarily mind because her best friend, Kay, is one of my favorite characters in this book, along with the person who ends up catching Violet’s attention, Fran. All the other characters in this story, though, besides the ones I’ve mentioned, were pretty boring or mean and didn’t add anything to the story for me to care enough about what happened to them. Even the teachers at this academy weren’t great either.

As a whole, though, I enjoyed reading The Dark Cove Theatre Society as I enjoyed seeing Violet’s character development and getting to visit this academy. This book felt like the perfect read at this time of year, and I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading young adult, dark academia books. The Dark Cove Theatre Society was published on October 7, 2025, for those interested in giving this book a read.   

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Book Review: Cat

Rating: 3.5 stars

Rebecca van Laer and her partner purchase a home and move in with their senior cats, Toby and Gus. Their loved ones see this as a step toward an inevitable future—first comes the house, then a dog, then a child. But what if they are just cat people?

Moving between memoir, philosophy, and pop culture, Cat is a playful and tender meditation on cats and their people. Van Laer considers cats’ role in her personal narrative, where they are mascots of laziness and lawlessness, and in cultural narratives, where they appear as feminine, anarchic, and maladapted, especially in comparison to dogs.

From the stereotype of the ‘crazy cat lady’ to the joy of cat memes to the grief of pet loss, van Laer demonstrates that the cat-person relationship is free of the discipline and dependence required by parenting (and dog-parenting), creating a less hierarchical intimacy that offers a different model for love.

I received a digital copy of this book through the publisher on NetGalley for an honest review. Cat is a philosophical nonfiction piece that switches between talking about the cats the author and her husband have in their lives and bringing up interesting philosophical thoughts regarding cats.

I found this short nonfiction book charming for the content within its pages, whenever Rebecca would talk about her cats. As a cat lover myself, I found her experience of raising cats relatable, as a lot of the struggles she experienced with having cats were similar to mine. For example, when she talked about when her one cat disappeared, only months later, she received a phone call from a stranger that they had found her cat, who was two hours away from where she currently lived at the time. That experience was relatable to me because our family had a similar experience with one of our cats, the one time when someone had posted on one of the neighborhood sites a picture asking about a cat, and it was one of ours.

I found these stories of her sharing her experiences of raising her cats enjoyable because they were relatable to me as a reader. Even the segment where she describes her grief in this book was relatable to me. Animals that have been a part of your life for so long, you see them as family, so it was difficult for me not to get emotional whenever she talked about the loss of one of her cats in her life. And I found these aspects of Cat enjoyable to read.

The aspects of this book that I didn’t quite enjoy were when Rebecca would talk about cats in a philosophical and cultural way. As in, the way in which cats are in society and are described. Not because I didn’t understand what I was reading or anything. Because I feel like it didn’t flow overall with Rebecca talking about her cats, or add anything to the narrative she was trying to create. Yes, I get her talking about the stereotypes of women who have cats but don’t have children, but I felt at times some of the topics she discussed with regard to cats had nothing to do with her and her husband’s situation regarding their cats. Then again, this was my first time reading a book that was one of many in the Object Lessons series, and maybe a lot of books in this series are structured in this way.

Cat was an enjoyable and charming read that I recommend to anyone like me who loves animals, especially cats, and is set to publish tomorrow, October 2, 2025, for anyone interested in giving this book a read.

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Book Review: Ladies in Hating

Rating: 4 stars

A pair of Gothic novelists trade rivalry for love in this swoony, steamy, sapphic Regency by USA Today bestselling author Alexandra Vasti.

Celebrated authoress Lady Georgiana Cleeve has achieved fame and fortune. Unfortunately, she’s also acquired an the enigmatic Lady Darling, whose spine-tingling plots appear to be pulled straight from Georgiana’s own manuscripts. What’s a stubborn, steely writer to do? Unmask her rival, of course.

But unmasking doesn’t go according to plan—because Lady Darling is actually Cat Lacey, the butler’s daughter and object of Georgiana’s very secret, very embarrassing teenage infatuation.

Cat Lacey has spent a decade clawing her family out of poverty. The last thing she needs is to be distracted by the stunning(ly pretentious) Lady Georgiana Cleeve. But Cat can’t seem to escape her infuriatingly beautiful rival—including at the eerie manor where they both plan to set their next books. The plot unexpectedly thickens, however, when the novelists find themselves trapped in the manor together. In between ghostly moans and spectral staff, Cat and Georgiana come face-to-face with real the scorching passion that’s been haunting their rivalry all along.

I received a digital copy of this book through the publisher on NetGalley for an honest review.

When I initially started reading Ladies in Hating, I didn’t find myself immediately hooked to the story. It wasn’t until more and more interactions occurred between the main characters that I found myself becoming more invested. This is because, for me, the book felt like a slow-burning romance between these two characters. Seeing the interactions between Cat and Georgiana is what made me more invested because their banter was entertaining to me.

Then, as the story progressed, I found myself intrigued by what was going to happen next. When the two of them end up in that manor with all of its intrigue and mystery, I knew this book’s plot was going to continue captivating me. Add in that both of these women were also authors who wrote the same type of fiction that happened to have similar plots, along with already knowing each other in the past, and I was sold on seeing the direction their story was going.

Ladies in Hating was enjoyable because I found Cat and Georgiana relatable characters that I was rooting for. Both of them had things that happened in their past that they hid from each other, that, once revealed, helped me understand their characters. But once I learned more about their characters’ back story, I was all in and was eager to find out the direction their romance was going and what more they were going to learn about the manor they found themselves trapped in together. I also enjoyed the secondary characters that were a part of their story, who played a role as I felt like they were just as important in the story as Cat and Georgiana.

If there’s anything with Ladies in Hating, I had an issue with it would be the lack of conflict between Cat and Georgiana. I feel like this book describes their rivalry really heavily, but I don’t feel like I see it all that much when I’m reading their story. Yes, they both write about the same genre of books, and apparently, they both happened to write about books with characters with similar names or plots, but you find out that none of it was ever intentional to begin with. If anything, it’s a connection that gets made by Georgiana in the beginning of the book that Cat doesn’t even know about until she’s confronted by her about it, so it’s not like it’s a connection that’s made in the story by the readers. Anytime there’s any issue in their relationship, it’s usually something minimal that’s resolved within a few pages, so any conflicts I’ve seen in this story between Cat and Georgiana didn’t seem like all that much in comparison to other romance books I’ve read.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Ladies in Hating and seeing Cat and Georgiana’s relationship develop throughout. I highly recommend reading this book to those who enjoy reading romance novels, especially those who wouldn’t mind reading an LGBTQ romance. Ladies in Hating was published on September 23, 2025, for those interested in giving this book a read.    

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Book Review: Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories

Rating: 4.5 stars

Featuring the voices of both new and acclaimed Indigenous writers and edited by bestselling Muscogee author Cynthia Leitich Smith, this collection of interconnected stories serves up laughter, love, Native pride, and the world’s best frybread.

The road to Sandy June’s Legendary Frybread Drive-In slips through every rez and alongside every urban Native hangout. The menu offers a rotating feast, including traditional eats and tasty snacks. But Sandy June’s serves up more than it hosts, live music, movie nights, unexpected family reunions, love long lost, and love found again.

That big green-and-gold neon sign beckons to teens of every tribal Nation, often when they need it most.

Featuring stories and poems Kaua Mahoe Adams, Marcella Bell, Angeline Boulley, K. A. Cobell, A. J. Eversole, Jen Ferguson, Eric Gansworth, Byron Graves, Kate Hart, Christine Hartman Derr, Karina Iceberg, Cheryl Isaacs, Darcie Little Badger, David A. Robertson, Andrea L. Rogers, Cynthia Leitich Smith, and Brian Young. In partnership with We Need Diverse Books.

I received a digital copy of this book through the publisher on NetGalley for an honest review.

As a white woman who hasn’t gotten the opportunity to read Indigenous Writers’ works, I felt like this collection of short stories was a good way to introduce me to their voices. Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories is a collection of stories told from the perspectives of various Indigenous characters, all of whom are seeking something. And how going to Sandy June’s Legendary Frybread Drive-In helps them find exactly what they’re looking for.

The biggest themes in this collection, I noticed, were connection, acceptance, family, and love. Each of the short stories here explores one or more of these themes through the characters and their experiences as they end up at Sandy June’s. And as this book is geared towards a YA audience, particularly for Indigenous YA, these themes are great ones for the audience these stories are aimed at. Even though I know I’m not the main target audience for this collection, I love reading YA along with short story collections from authors who don’t look like me because I always find myself learning something from what I read. And my experience with reading Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories was no different. I saw through these stories how much of a community Indigenous Persons cultivate with each other, and I love it.   

From the first page, Sandy June’s sounded like a magical place. A place that I know, if I were an Indigenous Person, I would be interested in finding. It felt magical because the way to finding it was different for each Indigenous Person. But also in a lot of these stories, it felt like those who were lost also stumbled upon it, too. It was a beautiful thing to me because their reactions to this wonderful-sounding place were all disbelief and wonder. And then getting to see how they all interacted with everyone else already there when they arrived was great too. I also loved the descriptions of the place and what it had to offer Indigenous Persons who made it there.

I also enjoyed Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories because of the emotions it evoked in me. In certain stories I read, I was really giddy with happiness at how things turned out. Then others made me burst into tears. Even though I’m not an Indigenous Person, I felt for these characters who found themselves at Sandy June’s for different reasons. I also loved the variety of these stories, as I felt like this collection had a unique set of Indigenous characters.

If there’s anything with this collection I would like is that I wanted more. I wanted to know about the characters’ stories, what their lives were like after going to Sandy June’s. I think this could’ve been accomplished by making a summary after the stories, talking about Sandy June’s impact on their lives.  

Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories was a wonderful read that I highly recommend. I especially recommend this collection to Indigenous Persons, young adults, anyone who enjoys reading short story collections, and anyone who wants to read about other cultures. I feel like anyone who reads this will learn something from it, so I’m hoping more people read this collection. Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories was published on August 26, 2025, for anyone interested in giving this a read.    

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Book Review: The Secret Book Society

Rating: 4 stars

A captivating new historical novel from Madeline Martin, set in Victorian London about a forbidden book club, dangerous secrets, and the women who dare to break free.
 
You are cordially invited to the Secret Book Society…
 
London, 1895: Trapped by oppressive marriages and societal expectations, three women receive a mysterious invitation to an afternoon tea at the home of the reclusive Lady Duxbury. Beneath the genteel facade of the gathering lies a secret book club—a sanctuary where they can discover freedom, sisterhood, and the courage to rewrite their stories.
 
Eleanor Clarke, a devoted mother suffocating under the tyranny of her husband. Rose Wharton, a transplanted American dollar princess struggling to fit the mold of an aristocratic wife. Lavinia Cavendish, an artistic young woman haunted by a dangerous family secret. All are drawn to the enigmatic Lady Duxbury, a thrice-widowed countess whose husbands’ untimely deaths have sparked whispers of murder.
 
As the women form deep, heartwarming friendships, they uncover secrets about their marriages, their pasts, and the risks they face. Their courage is their only weapon in the oppressive world that has kept them silent, but when secrets are deadly, one misstep could cost them everything.

I received a digital copy of this book through the publisher on NetGalley for an honest review.

The Secret Book Society was an enjoyable read for me. What I enjoyed about this book was reading the stories of these women during this time and seeing the friendships they developed with each other as the book progressed. Even though all these women’s stories were different, what they had in common was being suppressed by the men in their lives and not being able to enjoy a hobby that they loved. I really loved seeing these women come together in sisterhood and watching their friendship with each other blossom into a support system that was there for each other when needed.

I especially enjoyed reading this book because I found I could relate to the struggles one of the characters was dealing with. Having big emotions that you don’t always feel like you have control over is something I can definitely relate to, so I deeply felt for Lavinia when the book was from her perspective. I felt like I could relate to both Eleanor and Rose as well, but not quite as much as the struggles Lavinia was facing when it came to her emotions and how she handled situations she found herself dealing with in this book.

I also enjoyed that this book was from these women’s perspectives, and getting to learn more about Lady Duxbury through her diary. Hearing each of these women’s voices during this time was wonderful, even when I found myself feeling frustrated by the men in their lives. I enjoyed getting to learn more about Lady Duxbury, too, because you were able to see how she became the character you see in The Secret Book Society. Yes, she still ends up having some mystery to her character, but I feel like getting to read her diary was a great way to learn more about her.  

If there was anything I didn’t particularly enjoy with this book, it would be the ending. I enjoyed that things worked out for all of these characters, but I wanted to see more of their story after the events that transpired, instead of getting a little snippet about what happened. This is mostly because I enjoyed reading their story, but also because I wanted to see how their friendship continued to grow with everything they’d gone through.

As a whole, though, I enjoyed reading The Secret Book Society. I think it’s a book women should read to learn about what happened to women during that time and to see how they were treated by men because of their gender. Especially because each of these women are very relatable too. The Secret Book Society was published on August 26, 2025, for anyone interested in giving this book a read.  

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Book Review: Dive

Rating: 3.5 stars

From the moment Kassandra Conner leaps from the diving board to the moment she hits the water, everything feels in control.

The rest of her life does not.

St. Lawrence Academy is supposed to have everything Kass’s old school didn’t: safe hallways, small classes, and, most important, a chance to dive. But since transferring, all Kass can think about is what’s missing. Like her best friend, Aleah, who’s starting to pull away. Or the comfortable life so many of her classmates enjoy while Kass’s family’s restaurant struggles to stay afloat. Even the excitement she always felt in the pool, now that she’s on the same team as Amber Moore—the best diver in the state, who’s barely said two words to her all year.

Kass feels like she’s drowning, until she meets a boy named Miles. He’s a diver, too—someone who searches through dumpsters in the posh side of town for things he can salvage or sell. Miles knows what it’s like to be boxed in by things you can’t control, and as Kass spends more and more time with him, she starts to wonder what would happen if she tried to break out of her own box—and what she might lose by doing so.

I received a digital copy of this book through the publisher on NetGalley for an honest review.

Dive is a short coming-of-age story from the perspective of a thirteen-year-old girl named Kass who’s going through a lot of changes in her life. This book does a wonderful job of portraying these changes through Kass’s perspective as she struggles to fit in at her new school on the diving team, while still staying in touch with her best friend, Aleah, and realizing the struggles her parents are facing in keeping the family restaurant afloat. Also tells her story in meeting Miles, a boy who also does a type of diving of his own: dumpster diving, and her realization that people have bigger problems to deal with than struggling to fit in at school and make friends.

The main themes in this book’s story are powerful, as Dive is a story teaches you not to judge others by their appearances, that sometimes change can be a wonderful thing, and that you don’t always know what other people are going through. You see these themes sprinkled throughout the story through the choices Kass makes when it comes to her friendship with Miles, and how, as the book goes on, she starts up a friendship with Amber, the girl she sees as the best diver on her team, who didn’t seem approachable to her at the beginning of the book. I enjoyed seeing Kass’s character develop in the story because of her interactions with Miles and how she was able to gain confidence to become friends with Amber and gain confidence to improve in diving.

I also enjoyed seeing her friendship with her best friend, Aleah. At the beginning of the story, Kass was worried about how attending St. Lawrence Academy would change her friendship with Aleah. She was worried that they would end up losing touch just because they weren’t talking as much since Kass attended her new school. But after the salsa night/sleepover at her house with Aleah and Amber, I felt like, if anything, her friendship with Aleah had improved. And I also felt like it showed that while some things in her life changed, her friendship with Aleah wasn’t something that would change just because she was at a different school.

However, while I enjoyed reading Dive, I have some criticisms of this book, too. I felt like there were times when I was taken out of the story because of Kass’s character. For a thirteen-year-old, her voice in the story didn’t come across as her being that age to me. Yes, she didn’t make the best choices in the story, and her actions made her come across as her age. But when it came to her awareness of her parents’ struggling financially and her being aware of others having bigger issues than her, I felt like she had more maturity than I was expecting of her character. Yes, I’m aware that kids have more awareness of things than people tend to give them credit for, but I do feel like her voice in this book has more awareness for someone her age than you’d expect, which made me sometimes forget that she was only thirteen, as her character easily could’ve been a couple of years older.

Speaking of age, though, while I enjoyed her friendship with Miles and enjoyed his character, I also found their friendship problematic. He’s older than her by several years, which becomes a problem in this book pretty early on. Especially because the circumstances Kass meets him from the outside looking in are perceived as suspicious. I know from her talking about him and their interactions in the story that he had no bad intentions when it came to their friendship. But she’s aware, too, that her choice in spending time with him is something the people closest to her wouldn’t be okay with, either, since anytime from the moment she meets him, she’s lied about where she’s going and who she’s hanging out with. This becomes especially apparent when she tells Aleah and Amber about him as well, because they have the reaction you’d expect: concerned for her well-being and worried that he’s taking advantage of her. I feel like having this age gap takes away from the overall message this book was conveying to its readers because their age difference becomes a main conflict in the story that causes problems. I feel like it took away from the main themes in the story by creating conflict with it. I wouldn’t see it as too much of an issue if Kass’s character hadn’t developed feelings for Miles, if Kass were closer in age to him, and if the other characters in the story (such as her friends and family) didn’t have an issue with it.

As a whole, though, I enjoyed reading Dive as I found Kass’s struggles relatable, and it was nice to see her character development throughout. I just wish the author had made her character a little bit older, as I feel like it would resolve a lot of the issues I had with this book. I do still recommend this book, though, especially to younger readers, as I feel like they’ll enjoy reading this book, and I feel like the themes they would be able to relate to. Dive was published on August 19, 2025, for those interested in reading this book.

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Book Review: Guardians of Dawn: Yuli (Guardians of Dawn #3)

Rating: 4 stars

Princess Yulana has a few problems. Her late grandfather has died without naming an heir, civil war threatens to tear the Morning Realms apart, a strange waking dreamer sickness is sweeping through the land, and a plague of hungry ghosts roam the steppes. On top of all of that, Kho, her former best friend turned rival, is getting under her skin. A struggle for power divides the north, and the outcome rests on the winner of the Grand Game―a competition that will determine not just the future of her people, but the course of the entire empire.

When the world is out of balance, the Guardians of Dawn are reborn.

As the Guardian of Wind, it is Yuli’s responsibility to bring order to chaos, along with the Guardian of Fire and the Guardian of Wood. But can she restore balance to the Morning Realms when she can’t even win the political games being played at home? The fate of the Morning Realms depends on the Guardians of Dawn, and whether Yuli can manage both the demonic and political chaos at once.

I received a digital copy of this book through the publisher on NetGalley for an honest review.

After reading this book’s predecessors, Guardians of Dawn: Yuli does a wonderful job of picking up where they left off, and keeps me, as a reader, hooked to find out what happened next. I already knew I’d enjoy reading a book from Yuli’s perspective because I’ve enjoyed her character since she was introduced in Guardians of Dawn: Zhara. And this book confirmed that, because her perspective was what I was expecting. However, I also enjoyed it because she’s an enjoyable character in this series to me. What makes her enjoyable as a character is how relatable she is. I also enjoyed getting to see her use her magic as the Guardian of Wind.

What I also enjoyed about reading this book was the perspectives of the other characters. I especially enjoyed reading Yuli’s best friend Kho’s story. Like Yuli, I found her to be enjoyable to read about. I especially enjoyed reading the chapters that had both of them in it, as I enjoyed seeing their interactions with each other. At the same time, though, I also felt bad for Kho in this book. She has a lot that’s expected of her to do in the name of her family, and then a lot of bad things happen to her family as the story progresses. I also enjoyed seeing Zhara and Ami again here and seeing what they were up to after the events in Guardians of Dawn: Ami. It was nice getting to see them again and having them all work together with Yuli and Kho.

What I also enjoyed about Guardians of Dawn: Yuli was the fantasy elements in the story, as well as learning about the Grand Game. In this book, there’s a waking dreamer sickness infecting people in the Morning Realms that only Yuli’s magic as the Guardian of Wind can help heal. But she has something else to deal with while this is going on because the Morning Realms are currently under threat of war. This is due to the death of her grandfather, who didn’t name a successor to the realm, and she volunteers to compete in the Grand Game to prevent the empire from falling into the wrong hands. I enjoyed this aspect of the story because I felt like, as a reader, I was getting to see what was going on in Yuli’s life and what she would have to do as the Guardian of Wind to help protect the world from evil.

If there’s anything with Guardians of Dawn: Yuli that I didn’t enjoy, it would have to be how predictable certain moments in the story were, and the ending. When I was reading, I felt like I knew pretty early on which character was the demon responsible for the waking dreamer sickness that Yuli would have to face. And as the story continued and events happened, I felt like I was just receiving even more confirmation that this character was responsible for what was going on here. While I don’t necessarily mind, I feel like it did take away from me wanting to find out who it was because of how it would impact one of the characters’ lives. I also didn’t like the ending too, because I feel like it left a lot unresolved. Granted, I know there’s going to be another book in this series, as I know the last Guardian hasn’t been revealed yet. But I feel like it left so many things open that I’m having a hard time visualizing how the next book will wrap everything up. I also didn’t like it because of how it’ll impact Yuli and Kho’s relationship in the next book.

But overall, I enjoyed reading this book just as much as I enjoyed reading the rest of the books in this series. And I highly recommend this book to anyone else who’s already read Guardians of Dawn: Zhara and Guardians of Dawn: Ami and found they enjoyed those books in this world and want to read more of the characters’ story. I also recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a story that focuses more on the fantasy elements in the plot than romance, as while there’s romance in this series, it’s pretty light in comparison to other book series I’ve read. So if you love reading books with fantasy and romance but focus more on fantasy, I think you’ll really enjoy reading this. Guardians of Dawn: Yuli was published on August 19, 2025, for those interested in continuing to read the Guardians of Dawn series.        

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