Tag: Reading

Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

Obstetrix by Naomi Kritzer is a chilling cult thriller that feels uncomfortably plausible

Mandy Webster

Some dystopian novels rely on elaborate worldbuilding to make their horrors believable. Obstetrix by Naomi Kritzer doesn’t need to. Its premise is terrifying precisely because it feels only a few steps removed from reality, taking current political and religious extremism to their logical, ugly conclusion. The result is a tense, claustrophobic thriller about bodily autonomy, fanaticism, and survival that never overstays its welcome.

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I’m a sucker for a good cult novel, so this one was right up my alley. There’s something endlessly fascinating about the power dynamics inside insular religious communities, especially the relationships among women forced to survive within those systems. Kritzer taps into that fascination immediately. The novel is brief and concise, but it uses every page effectively, building constant tension as Doctor Liz navigates a nightmare situation with no safe options.

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Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

I’ll Take the Fire by Leila Slimani: A fascinating literary excavation that never quite becomes a novel

Mandy Webster

Some novels pull you into a character’s inner life so completely that you feel as if you’ve lived beside them. Others keep you at arm’s length, asking you to observe rather than emotionally participate. I’ll Take the Fire by Leila Slimani, which releases June 9, 2026, firmly falls into the latter category. And while there’s a great deal here to admire intellectually, I often found myself wishing the book had trusted readers with less exposition and more intimacy.

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The novel follows Mia Daoud, a young Moroccan woman searching for sexual, political, and personal freedom as she moves between Casablanca, Paris, and London against the backdrop of major historical upheavals. Slimani explores feminism, class, identity, religion, colonialism, family expectations, and artistic ambition, all through a lens that feels deeply autobiographical. The book is filled with sharp observations about power and liberation, and the historical material woven throughout the narrative is genuinely compelling.

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Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

Behind White Picket Fences by Christine Gunderson is a suspense novel caught between aspiration and reality

Mandy Webster

There’s something deeply compelling about novels that peel back the image of suburban perfection to reveal the ugliness underneath, and Behind White Picket Fences certainly knows how to build that contrast. Releasing June 9, 2026, the novel combines domestic suspense, commentary on modern motherhood, and a mystery rooted in buried neighborhood secrets. At its best, it captures the exhaustion and anxiety of contemporary parenting with sharp observational humor. At other times, though, the story feels so polished and idealized that the emotional truth underneath begins to slip away.

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The novel follows Kiersten Cleaver, who feels crushed beneath the endless expectations of modern motherhood. Travel sports, academic pressure, dyslexia accommodations, and the constant race to ensure children are “successful” have left her emotionally depleted. Alongside her neighbors Rosamund and Piper, she decides to step away from the system entirely for a year, creating a homeschool collective out of Kiersten’s kitchen. The setup taps directly into a cultural fantasy many parents probably recognize: a return to a slower, more intentional childhood where kids play outside, families gather around real dinner tables, and life isn’t dictated by schedules and screens.

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Ask the Author

Ask the Author: When does a novel become YA? Before you write it—or after?

Mandy Webster

Dear Mandy,

When do you decide if your novel is YA? Do you decide before you start writing or after you are done?

Answer: One of the questions writers ask constantly is whether a novel “counts” as Young Adult fiction. Sometimes the answer is obvious from page one. Other times, writers finish an entire manuscript before realizing they may have written for a different audience than they originally intended.

When does a novel become YA—and how much of that decision happens before you even write the first page? This graphic breaks down the key factors writers should consider, from voice and protagonist age to audience and market expectations, and why knowing who you’re writing for shapes every story choice you make.

The truth is that YA is both a category and a marketing designation, and those two things do not always align perfectly. At the most basic level, a Young Adult novel is written for teen readers, generally between the ages of twelve and eighteen. In publishing, though, that definition becomes much more flexible than people expect. A huge percentage of YA readers are adults, and many books with teen protagonists are actually shelved in adult fiction. That’s why YA is not determined by a single factor.

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Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

It Came from Neverland by Cynthia Pelayo is a haunting reimagining of Peter Pan that turns childhood fantasy into nightmare fuel

Mandy Webster

There’s something deeply unsettling about taking a story associated with innocence and wonder and revealing the horror that may have been lurking beneath it all along. It Came from Neverland by Cynthia Pelayo does exactly that, transforming the mythology of Peter Pan into a dark, grief-soaked horror novel that feels equally inspired by It and gothic fairy tales whispered to children who are already old enough to know monsters are real. Releasing June 9, 2026, the novel delivers both supernatural terror and an unexpectedly emotional exploration of trauma, manipulation, and survival.

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Set during World War I, the story follows Wendy Darling, now an adult working at a children’s home while also assisting wounded soldiers returned from the Western Front. One of the soldiers lies trapped in an unshakable sleep until he murmurs the words “Peter Pan,” forcing Wendy to confront memories she has spent years trying to bury. When a young girl under Wendy’s care disappears, the past comes roaring back. Wendy knows the truth no one else believes: Peter Pan is real, and he is not the whimsical boy immortalized in storybooks. He is a predator.

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Author Interview

Inside the imagination of Laura Holt: Mythology, magic, and writing without limits

Mandy Webster

From gothic horror and tragic romance to epic fantasy and southern folklore, Laura Holt writes with a deep love for stories that blur the line between myth and reality. Holt is also featured in Beautiful and Terrifying: Tales and Visions from the Edge of the Uncanny with her short story “After Alice,” a fitting addition to a collection shaped by eerie beauty and unsettling imagination. In this interview, Holt reflects on the authors who shaped her creativity, the unexpected lessons she’s learned about storytelling and publishing, and the themes she returns to again and again in her work. She also discusses writing authentic stories in a trend-driven world, finding inspiration in mythology and folklore, and why coffee, cookies, and carefully curated playlists remain essential parts of her creative process.

Author Laura Holt discusses mythology, horror, storytelling, and her short story “After Alice,” featured in Beautiful and Terrifying.

Q: What/who were your early literary influences, and how do you think their writing has shaped you as a storyteller today?
A: Some of my earliest literary influences were authors like Roald Dahl, Edgar Allan Poe, William Shakespeare, R. L. Stine, and J.R.R. Tolkien. For me, Dahl’s book The Witches was my gateway read to the fantasy genre, likeable villains, and morally gray characters, so he will always hold a special place in my heart. Poe and Shakespeare introduced me to poetry and short stories, as well as tragic love and darker subject matter, both of which play a big part in my writing today. And there is one author who has cracked the code on how to write the perfect story every time, it is Stine, so along with reading his books for a good scare, I study his writing style a lot.

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Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

The Jellyfish Problem by Tessa Yang is a haunting debut about grief, isolation, and the strange pull of belonging

Mandy Webster

Some novels hook readers with plot. Others cast a quieter spell, slowly wrapping themselves around your imagination until you realize you’ve been completely pulled under. The Jellyfish Problem blends magical realism, sea monster folklore, grief narrative, and literary mystery into an ambitious debut that will strongly appeal to readers who enjoy atmospheric, character-driven speculative fiction.

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Dr. Jo Ness is a marine biologist who has spent the last seven months barely existing after the death of her closest friend and collaborator, Aldo. Hidden away at a struggling aquarium, she immerses herself in jellyfish research and the unfinished field guide the two of them had been writing together. Aldo still exists in the margins of those pages through handwritten notes and observations, and Jo clings to them because she doesn’t know how to move forward without him. When Nadia—a woman Jo once loved during college—contacts her with stories about a giant glowing jellyfish off the coast of Maine, Jo seizes on the opportunity. Officially, she goes because of the creature. Emotionally, she goes because Nadia gives her a reason to leave her grief-stricken isolation behind, even if only temporarily.

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Our Sister’s Keeper by Jasmine Holmes is a haunting Southern Gothic that demands to be felt

Mandy Webster

Some horror novels rely on monsters lurking in the shadows. Others understand that the most terrifying things are the systems people willingly protect. Our Sister’s Keeper by Jasmine Holmes, releasing June 9, 2026, is a Southern Gothic horror novel that understands this completely. Beneath its ghostly atmosphere and supernatural elements lies a brutal examination of generational trauma, misogyny, power, and the impossible expectations placed upon women to absorb suffering quietly so that everyone else can remain comfortable.

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Recently, I’ve seen discussions online asking readers to name books they’ve loved that were written by authors of color. Inevitably, there are always people who respond with things like, “I don’t pay attention to the race of the authors I read,” as though being “colorblind” is somehow the ideal approach to literature. But stories like Our Sister’s Keeper are exactly why intentionally seeking out voices different from our own matters. This is a novel that forces readers to confront lived experiences they may never have otherwise considered. It explores generational trauma, gendered expectations, institutional abuse, and the long shadow of racism in ways that feel both deeply personal and horrifyingly systemic. It’s impossible to walk away from this novel unchanged if you are willing to truly engage with what it is saying.

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Writers on Writing

If You Didn’t See It Coming: A psychological novel about family violence and the warning signs we ignore

Mandy Webster

A powerful psychological novel about domestic violence, generational trauma, and the warning signs we ignore. Amanda L. Webster shares the personal experiences behind If You Didn’t See It Coming and why fiction can reveal what statistics cannot.

If You Didn’t See It Coming is a psychological novel that explores domestic abuse, generational trauma, and the quiet warning signs that too often go unnoticed until it’s too late. Told through three interconnected perspectives, the story builds tension around a single, haunting certainty: someone is going to die. This isn’t a traditional mystery. It’s not about who did it. It’s about who will—and why.

Graphic that includes the book cover and a list of the following tropes: Multi-generational story, Domestic violence, Coercive Control, talks about the red flags we ignore. "You know someone is going to die-- you just don't know who-- or why."

The novel follows three generations of women—Marilou, Carrie, and Emma—each navigating her own version of control, fear, and survival. Marilou appears to have built the perfect life, but behind the façade is a marriage that has slowly eroded her sense of self. Carrie, her daughter, is doing everything she can to hold her life together after escaping an abusive relationship, only to have her ex forced back into her life through the legal system. And Emma, Carrie’s thirteen-year-old daughter, is caught in the middle—trying to make sense of attention, danger, and the complicated legacy she’s inheriting.

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Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

Hunger and Thirst by Claire Fuller: A haunting story about the ache to belong

Mandy Webster

Some hungers have nothing to do with food. Some thirsts cannot be quenched. In Hunger and Thirst, Claire Fuller builds a quietly unsettling novel about loneliness, guilt, and the dangerous places people wander when they want love badly enough.

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Claire Fuller has long excelled at writing stories that feel atmospheric without sacrificing emotional complexity. Readers familiar with Our Endless Numbered Days (one of my all-time favorites!), Swimming Lessons, or Bitter Orange will recognize her gift for creating settings that feel slightly unsteady, places where human relationships become as unsettling as any ghost story. Hunger and Thirst, releasing June 2, 2026, continues that tradition while leaning more openly into gothic territory.

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