Ever since Roxana’s mum died in a car accident four years ago, her father hasn’t been the same. When he accepts a job in America, it seems to offer a second chance at happiness. Roxana’s older sister, Azar, stays in England, while she and her younger brother, Ehsan, travel with Dad—although in just six weeks, […]
Despite her brief moment of internet fame after catching a killer at a crime writing festival in A Novel Murder (2025), Jane is without an agent or publisher, and suffering from writer’s block. Still, she has journeyed from Cumbria to London’s Willow Tree Books to celebrate the publication of a debut thriller by her new […]
Introducing the main characters of “The Axe,” the narrator—omniscient, omnipotent, and jaded—suddenly pauses: “But none of that matters, because these aren’t real people, and it’s hard enough to hold onto your own memories without holding onto theirs.” Some of Row’s characters are aware that they’re characters; some of his narrators struggle against the constraints of […]
Three siblings look ahead to a long weekend, with older sister ’Tea in charge while Momma is working. Middle child Taylor is delighted that morning to find the titular postcard in the kitchen. Indeed, the whole neighborhood is abuzz with excitement over the opportunity to exchange their postcards for a surprise box “filled to the […]
The Sea Breeze volunteer fire department puts out the blaze before it does further damage to the town’s small library. But Laura Meehan, who moved back to the Jersey Shore community to run her late father’s paint store, is incensed that the authorities aren’t taking the incident more seriously, especially considering the online threats against […]
Abel’s 7-year-old brother, Micah, has been dragon cursed, an affliction placed on humankind by Diu, War-Torn God of the Suns, as a punishment for their greed. A cursed person is transformed into a murderous dragon during a monthly solar event, involuntarily and unknowingly wreaking destruction. Rather than kill his brother’s dragon form, golden-haired, olive-skinned Abel […]
In Dream by the Shadows (2025), Esmer Havenfall fell in love with Erebus, the Shadow Bringer, and freed him after 500 years of imprisonment, reshaping the truth of who he really was. As Shadow Weavers, Esmer and Erebus must now help the Seven—immortal Weavers who rule the Dream Realm—by defeating the demon king Raelion and […]
Left parentless by her mother’s death, Unnur grew up under painful circumstances. At age 11, she’s dumped at a coastal work farm by her mother’s intolerant identical twin sister. Unnur gets over her initial shock and dismay thanks to the presence of Freyja, a playful but elusive girl her age who’s made a playground of […]
Pedrito explains to younger sister Pipay that they’re going to celebrate Undas, “when families visit the cemetery and gather around their dead loved ones’ tombs.” This is typically celebrated on the first and second day of November during All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. Pipay innocently asks if they’re still a family without their […]
Sixteen-year-old Georgie is less than thrilled to be shipped off with her older brother, Hamish, to star in their stepmother’s latest bid for fame: a survival reality TV show designed to monetize teen dysfunction. The show’s premise is that a group of high school delinquents will be dropped off in the middle of the woods […]