Bochica by Carolina Florez-Cerchiaro is as much a story about grief and loss as it is about a haunted mansion and the demons within it. At its heart, it’s a story about fighting a demon and the cult that summoned it, yes, but it’s also about letting go and overcoming trauma.
Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell is a creepy yet charming monster-slaying fantasy romance, told from the monster’s perspective. While the idea of humanizing the creature isn’t entirely new, this take feels fresh, featuring an amorphous shapeshifter trying to pass among humans and unexpectedly finding companionship. That twist alone hooked me.
What happens when you have a zombie outbreak in the middle of an underwater cruise? Welcome to This Gilded Abyss by Rebecca Thorne. With as much as I’m used to the cozy feelings of the Tea series, Thorne’s newest series is a refreshing change of pace. You really get the feeling of being cramped with no escape as chaos erupts around our characters.
Of the original trilogy, this one felt the weakest for me. Not because it’s poorly written. but because of the sharp pivot the story takes. There’s still plenty of battles, gut punches, and betrayals, but perhaps the biggest betrayal is to the reader. This may be the closest that I go to giving spoilers in one of my reviews.
Golden Son takes everything Red Rising set up and cranks it up to 11. After a bit of a time jump, this middle-book dives headfirst into interplanetary politics, betrayal, and warfare. The scope is bigger, the stakes higher, and the betrayals hit harder.
The Hunger Games meets Gurren Lagann meets Game of Thrones. That’s probably the best way I can describe Red Rising by Pierce Brown.
There’s a certain draw to a narrative that features the villain as the protagonist. When this perspective is done well, it really shines, and V.E. Schwab doesn’t miss with this one. At it’s core, Vicious is a story about the razor-thin line between ambition and obsession. About pursuing brilliance even when it comes at a monstrous price.
Vampire of El Norte by Isabel Cañas had me hooked from the start. The creatures here are exactly what I want from a vampire story. They were dark, menacing, and genuinely terrifying.
Five Midnights by Ann Dávila Cardinal could have been a fascinating supernatural mystery set against the backdrop of Puerto Rico, but instead, it ends up feeling like a messy pile of privilege, colorism, and bad character work.
Piñata by Leopoldo Gout is a fantastic grotesque horror steeped in Indigenous lore. This was a genuinely terrifying read, dripping with atmosphere and imagery that burrows under your skin.