Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

Bruja’s Nest by Brenda LaTorre: A monstrous story about motherhood, power, and the price of freedom

Brenda LaTorre’s Bruja’s Nest is a dark, unsettling body-horror novel about a young woman who believes she can escape poverty and abuse by securing a wealthy husband, only to discover that real power cannot be borrowed from a man.

Yolanda has grown up knowing that her mother favors her older brother and blames her for nearly everything that goes wrong. When her mother catches her in bed with her brother, she blames Yolanda rather than the son who actually betrayed her. It is one more lesson in a lifetime of lessons telling Yolanda that she is somehow always at fault. But Yolanda is determined not to end up trapped in the same kind of life. She wants money, security, and a future she controls herself. When college doesn’t work out, she finds another path forward: marriage.

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Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

Mia by Leslie Bazzett: A literary psychological thriller about reinvention and manipulation

If you’ve ever dreamed of spending a year living in another country, Mia by Leslie Bazzett transforms that fantasy into an unsettling psychological suspense novel where reinvention and obsession become dangerously intertwined. Releasing August 11, 2026, this literary thriller explores the seductive pull of becoming someone else—and the devastating consequences of trusting the wrong person.

Sally has everything she believes she has ever wanted: a loving husband, two young children, and the opportunity to spend a year living in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico while her architect husband completes a project. Determined to immerse herself in the culture rather than remain on the fringes as an American outsider, she is immediately captivated by Louise, an older expatriate whose elegance, intellect, and seemingly endless stories about literary legends make her impossible to resist. Before long, Louise begins introducing Sally as her daughter, calling her Mia instead of Sally, and drawing her deeper into an increasingly disturbing relationship that threatens not only Sally’s identity but the safety of her family.

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The Summer of the Serpent by Cecilia Eudave review: A haunting novel that needed more room to breathe

Some novels leave you wanting more because they are so immersive you never want them to end. Others leave you wanting more because they feel unfinished. Unfortunately, The Summer of the Serpent by Cecilia Eudave falls somewhere between those two experiences.

Set in Guadalajara during the sweltering summer of 1977, The Summer of the Serpent unfolds through a series of interconnected vignettes narrated by children, adults, ghosts, and even a snake. The result is a fragmented portrait of a neighborhood haunted by disappointments, strange encounters, and the lingering weight of memory. Drawing heavily from myth, folklore, and surrealism, Eudave crafts a work that feels less like a traditional novel and more like a collection of stories circling a common emotional center.

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