Review — Mosaic by Catherine McCarthy

Mosaic
By: Catherine McCarthy
Illustrator: Devin Forst (Cover Art and Design)
Release Date: August 8, 2023
Publisher: Dark Hart Books
Rating:


2020’s Aberystwyth University Prize for Short Fiction winner Catherine McCarthy incorporates stained glass window repair, long-forgotten churches, and the macabre into one compact tale in her 2023 novella Mosaic. A compelling front cover by Devin Forst draws readers in with its depiction of a woman half-illuminated in the myriad of colors of an unseen stained glass window, that rainbow-colored half portrayed oddly corpse-like.

Review — How Can I Help You by Laura Sims

Library card catching on fire How Can I Help You
By: Laura Sims
Release Date: July 18, 2023
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Rating:


Laura Sim’s How Can I Help You straddles the line between mystery, thriller, and horror all set in a small library in the Midwest. The darker side of human nature is brought to life and had a spotlight shown on it here. Flawed characters, a long game of cat and mouse, and tense situations galore await you in this 2023 release.

Review — The Official Stardew Valley Cookbook by ConcernedApe and Ryan Novak

A picnic on a checked blanket witha farmhouse in the background. The Official Stardew Valley Cookbook
By: ConcernedApe and Ryan Novak
Release Date: May 14, 2024
Publisher: Random House Worlds
Rating:


Cookbooks are more than just their recipes, and The Official Stardew Valley Cookbook certainly has a whole lot of packed into a trim 192-page package. This cookbook is an official cookbook based on the beloved farming-sim game Stardew Valley and is co-authored by Ryan Novak and the video game’s creator ConcernedApe.

Review — We Had to Remove This Post by Hanna Bervoets (Translated by Emma Rault)

City landscape against a pink sky We Had to Remove This Post
By: Hanna Bervoets
Translator: Emma Rault
Release Date: March 6, 2021
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Rating:


The novella We Had to Remove This Post by Hanna Bervoets took BookTube and BookTok by storm. It was all anyone talked about for months and every library in the general vicinity had a hold list a mile long. This was of little wonder; Dutch author Hanna Bervoets holds much acclaim, including being granted the Frans Kellendonk Prize and having her works adapted for film and TV.

Review — Confession by Martín Kohan

Confessions
By: Martín Kohan
Translator: Daniel Hahn
Release Date: 2020
Publisher: Charco Press
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


Martín Kohan’s novel Confession is a look into Argentina’s past. More specifically, it is a look into the life of Mirta Lopez from the time she’s a young girl to her years as an elderly grandmother. These are broken into three main sections of the novel, each one centered on Mirta’s teenage, adult, and twilight years, respectively.