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For the Rest of Us / Dahlia Adler, Editor / Book Review

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FOR THE REST OF US: 13 FESTIVE HOLIDAY STORIES TO CELEBRATE ALL SEASONS Lunar New Year to Winter Solstice, Juneteenth to Hannukah: not every American holiday is about Christmas cheer. This collection of thirteen festive stories weaves through a calendar brimming with all kinds of festivals and holy days, bringing family (and family conflict) together again and again. Joy and holiday warmth from a diverse array of authors help to bring these celebrations alive. THOUGHTS I really loved this anthology! I always go into an anthology with high hopes, but it can be so hard to find a collection by so many different authors where all of the stories work. And here they did! I loved every one of these stories so much. PROS Really Diverse This is an incredibly diverse selection of stories, of holidays, of authors and backgrounds. I loved learning ab...
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September 2025

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New month, new books for our TBRs! I've got some great reads lined up this month at Gateway Reviews, but with only one review slot each week, I can't possibly cover all the books I'm excited about. Going forward, I want to feature books each month that I haven't had the time to read (and review) just yet. BAD IN THE BLOOD Matteo L. Cerilli From the Publisher: In the city of Puck’s Port, where motorized vehicles fill the streets and new technological marvels abound, something rotten is lurking under the surface. A violent murder at the docks seems to point to a fey killer, igniting a powder keg of distrust between the city’s humans and its fey inhabitants — folks who wield wonderful but often uncontrollable magical power. Gristle Senan Maxim Junior finds himself caught in the middle. Forced into the reluctant role of private investigator, like his late father, he’s working to solve the ...
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Woven From Clay / Jenny Birch / Book Review

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WOVEN FROM CLAY Terra Slater has everything a girl could want: the best adoptive parents, the most amazing friends, and the perfect senior year just about to start. Until a mysterious (and incredibly rude) new boy shows up in town to ruin all that. Thorne Wilder isn't just here to harsh the vibes, either. He's a bounty hunter. A magical one. One on the hunt for a vicious, dark warlock who he claims lives right here in town. Who he claims doesn't just know Terra. This warlock made her. Terra Slater is a golem, crafted from mud and magic instead of flesh and bone. Terra Slater is a golem, and she didn't know that. Until now. But what she does know is that Cyrus Quill isn't some nasty old warlock. He's been like a grandfather to her, to a lot of kids around town. And whatever crimes Thorne claims he committed, Terra knows they're not true. She's willing to prove it. She's desperate to. ...
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We Won't All Survive / Kate Alice Marshall / Book Review

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WE WON'T ALL SURVIVE Mercy Gray is a hero. Or that's what they all say. When she got caught in the crossfire of a mall shooting, she helped save lives. And she bears the souvenirs: a bullet fragment still lodged in her back, a mountain of medical debt, and the guilt of not listening to her sister's concern about the "sweet" boy next door. And the guilt, too, of draining her sister's college savings to help pay for her hospital stay. When billionaire influencer Damien Dare decides to start a brand new survival competition, he reaches out to Mercy. Who better to compete in a survivalist reality show than an actual survivor? And when she sees the prize money on the line, she can't exactly say no. Even if her sister wants her to. But when Mercy arrives to the off-grid old mining town Dare bought for the show, something seems... off. There are no cameras around, for one. No crew to meet Mercy and the other contestant...
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Love Unmasked / Becky Dean / Book Review

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LOVE UNMASKED Traveling to Venice with her art and architecture class is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Evie Whitmore. She can't believe she's going to the city of gondolas and crumbling palazzos. She can't believe she's setting foot in the city that inspired her absolute favorite fantasy series of all time, Elven Realms. Not that anybody knows about that last bit. Nobody can know. It's not like being a fantasy nerd is cool or anything. But Evie knows keeping her secret nerdiness under wraps will be hard. Because Venice didn't just inspire Elven Realms. It also hosts a secret speakeasy night club for fans. A club Evie is determined to locate, handmade costume for the elven masquerade included. When she almost gets caught sneaking out the first night in Venice, Evie is saved by a dashing masked stranger... who is also looking for the Elven Realms club. And when they don't find it the first night, they agree t...
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Leaving the Station / Jake Maia Arlow / Book Review

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LEAVING THE STATION The slowest possible way to get from New York to Seattle is via passenger train. Which is why Zoe's settled on this means for getting home for Thanksgiving break. Her life is falling apart around her. College isn't going well. And she kinda, sorta doesn't want to talk about the fact that she's not coming back to finish out the semester. Not until she has to. With only spotty reception for the next few days, Zoe's happy to unplug and ignore the questions of her parents, of her not-so-close college friends, and of her brand-new ex-boyfriend (and the fact that she has an ex-boyfriend is the biggest shock of all). But for now, Zoe can forget all of that. And meeting Oakley makes that easy. Oakley is the exact opposite of Zoe. She's cool. She's hot. She's self-assured. And she's wickedly smart. They hit it off right away. But Zoe isn't the only one looking to outrun her problems on this...
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Pretty Girl County / Lakita Wilson / Book Review

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PRETTY GIRL COUNTY Prince George's County produces exactly one type of girl: designer clothes, custom pink cars, fancy gated community cookouts. Girls exactly like Reya Samuels. Sure, Reya might work hard, but she can get pretty much anything she wants when she wants it. Which is absolutely not how Sommer Watkins's life works. Sommer is from Seat Pleasant, which doesn't come with cast iron gates around bougie mansions but cast iron bars on the windows. Her neighbors are struggling to make ends meet. Sommer hustles every day to help her dad's bookstore stay afloat and to save the money she'll need to go to the college of her dreams, Spelman. The fact that she and Reya go to the same school is due to scholarship, nothing else. But Sommer and Reya used to be best friends. Back when Reya lived in Seat Pleasant, too. Before her mother's law career (and reality TV stardom) took off. And now that Reya's been waitlisted f...
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