A Monstrous Love by Magen Cubed

• Four f/f horror erotica stories in one!
• There are ghosts, cannibals, vampires, and demons
• Takeaway: Horror aesthetic with sex scenes are great

The Harpy by Megan Hunter

• Adult literary fiction about a wife getting cheated on
• The narration gets increasingly feral even though not a whole lot happens
• Takeaway: Effectively leaving endings open to interpretation

The Blade Between by Sam J. Miller

• Adult contemporary dark fantasy about a town haunted by literal ghosts and gentrification
• Plot by Grindr dates
• Maintaining relationships as an adult is hard
• Takeaway: Melding together so many seemingly disparate elements

The Factory Witches of Lowell by C.S. Malerich

• Adult fantasy novellas about witches rising up against their employers and use magic to form a union
• Yes, the leads kiss (it’s f/f)
• Takeaway: Effectively leaning into a time period while leaving few stones unturned

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara

• Adult true crime nonfiction following the saga of the writer behind My True Crime Diary
• Published posthumously and re-released once the culprit had been put behind bars
• The editors did a fantastic job piecing together the narrative in a voice consistent with the completed chapters
• Takeaway: How to write empathetically about victims of heinous crimes

TThe Troop by Nick Cutter

• Adult horror about a camping trip going horribly wrong when a half-dead man appears in their camp
• The adults don’t fare much better than the kids
• Gruesome details
• Takeaway: How to create a character more terrifying than parasite eating everyone arrive

Wonderland by Zoje Stage

• Adult horror about a family moving upstate to live their best lives, but an entity has other plans
• Incredible first two thirds where I audibly gasped a few times
• Ending really didn’t work for me
• Takeaway: Revisit the opening to make the ending stick

Lobizona (Wolves of No World #1) by Romina Garber

• Young adult fantasy about an undocumented immigrant who discovers she’s magic, but also learns that her abilities haven’t been encountered before
• When this book works, it works
• Tonally inconsistent between the first third and the major plot arc of Manu’s time at magical school
• Takeaway: Keeping the stakes consistent

The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman’s Extraordinary Life in the Business of Death, Decay, and Disaster by Sarah Krasnostein

• Adult nonfiction about the life of a trans woman who runs a trauma cleaning company
• Be sure to check the trigger warnings before reading
• Heavy, but ultimately hopeful
• Takeaway: Maintain a healthy distance between admiration and profuse praise