A crystal-clear snapshot of the joys, fears, and responsibilities of a small animal veterinarian Being a vet requires a special kind of intelligence, patience, and empathy. It’s not only about caring for our (mostly) sweet and lovable pets experiencing pain and illness; it’s also about caring for us: the heartbroken pet owners who are watching […]
An emotional story of big dreams and impossible circumstances Angie is a trained figure skater with Olympic aspirations. But when a grueling injury shakes up her plans, she turns to the Peace Corps, which will take her across the world. It turns out: that decision will change the trajectory of her life forever. She soon […]
When love meets its breaking point, redemption fights for a place to breathe. Three months ago, Eva Hoskins fled from her husband in the middle of the night. Soaked, bruised, and carrying the scars of a painful past, she finds refuge in the small, snow-covered town of Helton. There, beneath the disguise of a young […]
Sometimes the only way to become yourself is to go through the door everyone else warned you about. Lucena in the House of Madgrin is gothic fantasy with teeth—and yet, it’s unexpectedly tender, funny in sharp little flashes, and anchored by a heroine you’ll root for with your whole chest. It reads like an old, […]
There’s a particular kind of horror that lives in the gap between a small task and its enormous consequences. Vacuum the rug, or the house will bite you. Answer the phone, or humanity ends at sunrise. Marcus Kliewer, one of the more interesting voices working in internet-grown horror today, turns that gap into the central […]
A searing recollection of one woman’s coming of age and her search for the reasons why after growing up among the jagged shards of a broken family With a controlled writing style and measured pacing, Emily Brown’s Momentum is a devastating story of a childhood unmoored and an adulthood spent seeking a sense of attachment. […]
Content warnings: frequent strong language, implied/depicted suicide; deceased children; references to sex A grimly funny apocalypse travelogue with real heart under the grime C.O.B.’s Duck It! is a profane, funny, and surprisingly tender post-apocalyptic road journal that treats the end of the world less like a bang and more like a whimper. Set in 2035 […]
A cackle-out-loud mystery wrapped around a love letter to female friendship, with the richest narrative voice Sally Hepworth has written yet. The book earns its laughs, earns its tears, and mostly earns its twist. Mystery purists may grumble that the whodunnit mechanics take a back seat to the character work; readers who come for heart […]
Sarrasine by Honoré de Balzac is a novella, first published in 1830 in the Revue de Paris. It is part of his La Comédie humaine. This post may contain affiliate links that earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Sarrasine by Honoré de Balzac Sarrasine by Honoré de Balzac I was buried […]
What would it look like to have a superhero, fully human, walk amongst us?To get the answer, you’ll have to search the Lion’s Den. Johnny Slater’s life is anything but typical. His father, Daniel Slater, runs a martial arts studio by day, but he is a prolific political activist by night. His older brother, Benny, […]