Arcana: The Lost Heirs
Sam Prentice-Jones

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends / Macmillan Children's Publishing Group

Pub Date: Jun. 24, 2025

Genre: YA Fantasy Graphic Novel

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Synopsis:

Debut author/illustrator Sam Prentice-Jones explores fighting against your destiny and reconciling the actions of your ancestors in Arcana: The Lost Heirs, a tarot-inspired fantasy graphic novel for young adults.   

James, Daphne, Koko, and Sonny have all grown up surrounded by magic in the Arcana, an organization of witches that protects the magical world, run by the mysterious and secretive Majors. Eli Jones, however, didn’t even know other witches existed . . . until he stumbled into James. As James introduces Eli to the world of the Arcana, he finds the family he never had, and a blossoming romance with James. 

The five new friends soon realize that sinister things are afoot and everything may not be what it seems at the Arcana. When the group delves deeper into the mystery surrounding the deaths of their parents and the Major’s rise to power, they discover that they’re at the center of a curse – one they’ve just unwittingly set into motion. As the friends search for answers, they’ll have to confront the cursed legacy that links them in hopes of freeing their futures.

Content Warning: Death of a parent, generational trauma.

About the Author:


I’m an author-illustrator working in Brighton UK who graduated from Arts University Bournemouth in 2019 with a BA Hons in Illustration, specialising in graphic, character-based work.

I like to create work that celebrates diversity and queer culture and even created a queer illustration magazine titled POOF Magazine which ran from 2019-2021. The goal of this magazine was to help uplift and celebrate LGBTQIA+ creators making themed work for each issue.

My work is mainly digital and I have had the chance to create work for the worlds of book publishing, web design, advertising and product design as well as being featured in art fairs across the UK and being named one of the most influential queer illustrators working in the UK by We Built This City, London.
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Represented by the Bright Agency

   'The Second Chance Convenience Store: A Novel' by Kim Ho-Yeon, translated by Janet Hong, follows a character we know as Dok-Go and his interactions within a small community where he finds himself after doing a good deed.

Many people are calling this story 'cozy,' but I'm not certain that's the right word for it. Certainly, it's a lovely story overall, with a strong focus on being kind to others, remembering that people are not necessarily what they seem.. for better and for worse, and the idea that while some mistakes might not be reparable.. there are still ways to learn to accept them and move forward.

Admittedly, I underestimated this novel. I blame the summarative blurb above the synopsis.. which maybe comes across like it's a light-hearted story.. and in a sense, perhaps it is. The overall themes are filled with warmth and positivity, encouraging love and kindess from all, to all. Yet the characters are all dealing with some very real problems and trying to find ways to cope with them.

All of that however, becomes easier.. once Dok-go becomes part of their lives.. despite the fact most of them are quick to judge him over his unhoused status, his appearance, and/or his difficulties socializing. 

Kim has a lot to say regarding our outlook on one another. In this story, he deftly encourages us to really listen to one another, to make time for those we love, and focus our energies in positive directions. 

None of these characters are simply good or bad. They each have their weaknesses which affect their relationships with others. But in helping Mrs. Yeom and receiving help in return that he didn't even realize he wanted, Dok-go discovers ways to ease those around him.

I found myself deeply invested in Dok-go's lost memories, where he came from, and where he was yet to go. But in hindsight, I feel like that wasn't the story we are meant to focus on, but rather his journey along the way. Both physically and mentally, we get to see him mend from embedded traumas and self-inflicted suffering. 

If you're looking for an encouraging, uplifting story.. that's a fairly quick read. This one's for you.

​   At some point I failed to include this here on the site, but I know I posted the review in the social and retail spaces that would most benefit the release. Nonetheless, for continuity it must be added here.
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"To hate the thing that is completing you.
To love the thing that is destroying you.
What perfect suffering.
What hell divine."

It's safe to say that Empire of the Damned did such a number on me.. it was a couple of weeks before I felt like I could sit down and parse through my feelings. Certainly.. the last novel I read that was this robust.. this well fleshed-out.. was its predecessor.. Empire of the Vampire. After a year and a half, not another title was released that could even approach the weight and emotion of Gabriel de Leon's story.

Book two in the series continues to pull no punches.. and looking forward to the final part of the tale to come.. I find myself eagerly dreading what awaits me as a reader. 

Something really interesting happened with Kristoff as this series began. He was already a great writer, but the massive undertaking of weaving so many plotlines and characters together is more than enough to break many other seasoned authors with larger series under their belts. Those of you who know me, also know who I mean. But in this case, the author simply rose to the challenge like a mortal set upon some gods designed path of myth. 

For me, Kristoff has joined the ranks of a small select few. Writers so deft of word that their stories can be elegance and destruction on a vast scale that never loses sight of the individual. Storytellers the likes of Neil Gaiman, Anne Rice, Stephen King, and George R.R. Martin.. that can lay siege to the world as a whole.. and still find ways to crush you on a deeply emotional level.. one-to-one. 

As an author known for killing off the characters he makes us love, I'm almost more afraid of what lies ahead when some of them survive. What horrible fate will befall them now if they've been given a reprieve?

All of these things continue to be present in book two. I've wept for the Golden One.. softened to the skinwitch.. and been emboldened by the actions of one taking back their power. I've been relieved and crushed again a moment later.. or vice versa.. at revelation after revelation. 

I've also seen some things made clear.. finally.. that I've been suspecting for some time, but the final outcome eludes. I don't know what will happen.. only that it will continue to hurt along the way.. and that I cannot wait to experience that. 

   DNF'd this one, sadly.

Unfortunately, the premise sounded fantastic, but the story and writing never hooked me. While it's technically sound, it bored me to tears, which is obviously a personal preference thing.

Over a decade ago, I tried to read A Court of Thorns and Roses. I never got into that back then because I couldn't stand the sister. Eventually, I'd still like to go back and try again.. but even though that short read wasn't exactly in the forefront of my mind.. the beginning of this story felt questionably similar.

The second thing I noticed.. was that the village seemed to be dealing with a Shadow and Bone situation. Again, far too similar to be ignored.

This is a case where I still might have kept reading if any of the characters had any depth or offered me any emotional connection, but that failed to happen as well. Even the North Wind himself is incredibly bland.

​   'Jenny James is Not a Disaster' by Debbie Johnson was a surprisingly emotional read for me. 

Though her life is not my life, I've never had a house that fell off a cliff or felt I had to run away from home over a partner, I find myself relating to her a lot more than I expected. 

I've had years worth of days like Jenny's 'Very Bad Day.' Like Jenny's Luke.. (though it was never a romantic thing).. I discovered that there were some really kind, selfless people around me who barely knew me and while I won't share here all the things that each of them did for us at the time.. I will say their intervention changed our lives. 

Our paths were different, but through those really awful times and the discovery of those amazing people, I too went through a dramatic series of shifts. My perspectives, my lifestyle, even my family dynamics changed. 

While I'm not sure how Debbie Johnson came to realize the things Jenny learns in the book, she's right. When you lose enough, what's important to you changes.. and getting a chance to experience life in a different way, without the typically structured work weeks and corporate overlords will make you never want to go back. 

I enjoy Jenny's imperfections and the way Luke is kind, but imperfect himself. Her relationship with her son is (mostly) a lot of fun.. with at least a decent amount of respect between them. Charlie is warm and funny, smart and compassionate.. really all the things as parents we hope for. I've been lucky, mine's like that too. 

It was probably unnecessary for Jenny to mirror the behaviors she rebelled against at all, though I understand why the author would choose to do this a little. I just feel like the character was emotionally intelligent enough.. at least at this point in her life.. to understand her situation in hindsight without all that. 

My only complaint is the monologue and inner-monologue at the end feel a bit contrived and Jenny goes on too long in a way that feels like fluff. But overall, I really loved this book. If you want a light, inspiring read with a handsome love interest and well-developed characters, give this one a try.

   ​"He had, lying dormant within him, a primal instinct that made him extremely adept at suffering in silence."

Imagine my surprise upon realizing this intriguing story was actually a Peter Pan retelling wrapped in uneasy shadows and hidden beneath renamed or severely retooled characters. If not for the name Slightly standing out so strangely to me.. though it was a character I hadn't paid much attention to in the source material.. I might never have known.

In that regard alone, 'Your Blood, My Bones' is probably the most creative retelling of the Neverland story that I've ever come across. The tale is inherently dark and so removed from any familiar setting, that even with Peter in the forefront, I didn't immediately recall Hook's actual first name and Wyatt threw me off completely. 

Peter's story here is a tragic one. He's a brooding character for very good reasons and when Wyatt arrives home to deal with her father's legacy, I was completely caught up in the mystery of the farm as well as Peter's very unusual situation. The strange happenings amidst the isolated landscape kept me enthralled and when the truth began to come to light, I was devastated for him. 

That being said, like many.. Peter is really the draw for me here. I found Wyatt to be passable at best, but annoying much of the time. Her actions, right up through the end came across as petulant and selfish, despite the whole 'chosen one' premise. I won't go into detail and ruin anything, but the ending really cheapened Peter's experience, in my opinion.

   ​Deus Ex Machina x Infinity and the Avengers Assemble Approach


I'm not a Sarah J. Maas basher. Let me get that out of the way upfront. Over the last few years, I've come to feel like a lot of people who read and review her work.. don't like it at all.. and specifically continue to do so in order to use the name and massive audience just for attention. That being said, this is now the fourth title of hers I have finished and it's the first one I've been disappointed with. 

Bear with me.. and I'll try to get through this without spoiling anything if possible.

I was late to the SJM party despite the urgings of my closest friend. I just couldn't get past the beginning of A Court of Thorns and Roses the when I initially tried it, so my first full SJM read was House of Earth and Blood back in 2020 and I loved it. From the get-go, the author drew me in and made me love characters that she immediately turned around and used to destroy me. What's not to like?

While the first book suffered from a couple of issues that I considered minor considering the overall scope of the story, it was a rich.. emotional read. The worldbuilding and magic systems were both huge, elaborate pieces of the book, the characters were relatively diverse in behavioral make-up, and it was clear the series was going to have a lot to offer.

By book two, I was eager to get my hands on the next installment of the story.. particularly because it promised more attention to my favorite character.. but also because I wanted to see where the tale was going. As with the series debut, House of Sky and Breath was another stunner. It had the same flaws I took issue with in the first, but again.. the payoff was so good it didn't ultimately matter. It also had the things that had hooked me.. devastating emotional moments and deep character development.

Obviously, I'm sure it's no surprise then.. that I also jumped on the release of House of Flame and Shadow as soon as it released, but nothing could prepare me for the whopping disappointment and general disinterest I found as I read one of my most anticipated books of the year. 

Here now, those two relatively minor problems became huge ones. The information dumping I complained about before.. was prevalent everywhere.. with an entire chapter even dedicated to nothing else. Maas' penchance for forcing characters to behave outside of their psychological profile in order to drive the story to a specific point.. likewise.. is on full display. 

Unfortunately, the strengths that had enabled me to easily overlook those things in the two previous books.. were largely missing. I suspect the reason for this is quite simply a case of having more plates spinning in the air.. than Maas could reasonably handle in the space of time provided. 

Originally, I felt like it was a skill issue.. and in a sense.. perhaps it is. As I thought about other authors who had dealt with similarly dense content, I realized either they.. or those who chose to publish their works.. just knew where to draw the line. They either kept to a smaller focal point.. enabling the reader to retain that close connection with the characters or they divided the content into more segments and I really think either choice could have saved the final part of the story for me.

There is understandably.. a lot happening in this novel. We've had over 1,600 pages previously to build a world-sized cast and a monumental plot. In trying to tie together everyone's personal histories, their present situations as individuals, and their role in the overarching tale.. while also managing all the chaotic plot devices, any connection with the characters or the story itself was lost. 

Things that I would ordinarily be moved by in Maas' hands.. had little to no effect on me as they were skimmed by. Interactions between characters mostly felt forced and uninteresting. I wanted to feel for my favorites, but I wasn't given the opportunity. We were too busy being jettisoned to the next thought or next scene. 

And holy deus ex machina.. my friends. I'm not sure I've ever seen the device so abused before. It is everywhere. There is no weight of consequence despite the dire situation we're told everyone is in because there are resolutions for any possible conflict popping up all throughout the book. 

Everyone is leveling up.. becoming super powered, none of course more extensively than our main protagonist, to the point they constantly feel unstoppable. They're massing allies for the final Avengers vs super villains confrontation. Every time there's a problem, there's a solution at the ready. I never spent a moment fearing for anyone.. and that's not something I can say for either of the other books in the series. There's literally a point where I threw up my hands and realized.. okay.. there are no longer any world/system rules here at all. 

While that's not to say that everyone IS 100% safe.. there wasn't a moment that upset me.. or unnerved me in anyway. The surprises are minimal and while I found one of them quite interesting in concept, it was handled in such an offhanded way that I didn't care. 

Add to all that, the Chosen One thing is so overdone.. I can't even deal with it.. and everyone around her has suddenly become unable to make a move without her. All these previously strong characters are just useless props for the Super Magical Starborn Princess Whatever. They've all become too weak, too guilt-ridden, too afraid.. insert random vulnerability here.

Don't even get me started on convenient 360s and basically being told something is final.. repeatedly.. only to see again and again that it isn't.. but oh.. Through All Love.. blah blah blah.

I'm sad that the series feels ruined, but the author's work with the first two books.. as well as Throne of Glass.. which I also finally read, will keep me trying for now. I hope that this isn't a sign of things to come. If you're on the fence about reading this book already, maybe don't waste your time. But if you're generally a fan of the author, I guess you might owe it to yourself to get through it.. even if you feel like I do in the end.

Lovesick Falls
Julia Drake

Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Pub Date: Jun. 03, 2025

Genre: YA Contemporary

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Synopsis:

Sometimes growing up means growing apart in this queer take on As You Like It featuring first loves and friend breakups, perfect for fans of The Gravity of Us and We Are Okay, from award-winning author Julia Drake.

Celia Gilbert is the perfect friend—loyal, trustworthy, and committed to mending her best friends’ broken hearts.

She’s the reason the trio is spending the summer in Lovesick Falls, the idyllic little town where Touchstone’s sort-of-uncle’s cabin was waiting to be house-sat by three unsupervised (but totally responsible) teenagers.

After all, Celia, Ros, and Touchstone have been best friends since childhood. Sure, Celia is in love with Ros, and Touchstone was once in love with Celia — but that’s the beauty of a place like Lovesick Falls. If you fell in love, you could fall out.

Unless you can change the other person’s mind.
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They started the summer closer than ever. Will living together tear them apart?

About the Author:


Julia Drake’s debut novel The Last True Poets of the Sea received the 2020 New England Book Award, six starred reviews, and was named a 2019 Best Book of the Year by Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist, among other publications. 

She received her BA in Spanish from Williams College, and her MFA in creative writing from Columbia University, where she also taught writing to first-year students. She currently works teaching writing to undergraduates.

​She lives in Philadelphia with her partner and their rescue rabbit, Ned.

Titan of the Stars
E.K. Johnston

Publisher: Tundra Book Group / Tundra Books

Pub Date: May 27, 2025

Genre: YA Sci-Fi Fantasy

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Synopsis: 

Titanic meets Aliens in this tense YA science fiction horror series by #1 New York Times bestselling author E.K. Johnston. 


Celeste knows every inch of this ship. She’s proud of her work as apprentice engineer. And as the maiden voyage of the Titan launches, she’s optimistic for the promises of this new journey from Earth to Mars — this new life.

Dominic arrives at his suite where his valet is busy unpacking his things. His chest is tight, already feeling anxious inside his dad’s precious new ship. Once it launches, he’s trapped, inside the ship and inside the life his father has chosen for him — a life that will leave his dreams of art school behind. 

Discovered under melted ice caps, ancient aliens have been brought onto the Titan as well, and stored in display cases for the entertainment of the passengers . . . until an act of sabotage releases them into the ship, with zero discrimination for class, decks or human life . . . 

Content Warning: class privilege

About the Author:


E.K. Johnston had several jobs and one vocation before she became a published writer. If she’s learned anything, it’s that things turn out weird sometimes, and there’s not a lot you can do about it. Well, that and how to muscle through awkward fanfic because it’s about a pairing she likes.

Her books range from contemporary fantasy to fairy-tale reimaginings, from hopeful sci-fi to quiet epics, and from small town Ontario to a galaxy far, far away. She has no plans to rein anything in.

You can follow Kate online (@ekjohnston) to learn more about her Dragon Age decisions than you really need to know, or on Tumblr (ekjohnston) and Instagram (ek_johnston) if you’re just here for pretty pictures.
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E.K. Johnston is represented by Adams Literary

The Complex Art of Being Maisie Clark
Sabrina Kleckner

Publisher: North Star Editions / Flux

Pub Date: Jun. 10th, 2025

Genre: YA Contemporary


Synopsis: 

All eighteen-year-old Maisie Clark wants to do is leave her tiny town in upstate New York. Crescent Valley is home to Glenna’s, the family-run portrait shop she loves more than anything. But after years of imitating her dad’s artistic style, Maisie fears she will never find her own voice. So, she comes up with a plan: quit working at Glenna’s, go to art school in London, and, most importantly, stop painting portraits. If she can’t find her voice by the end of the year, she’ll give up art entirely.

Unfortunately, pushing outside her comfort zone is (surprise!) uncomfortable. Maisie struggles to connect with her eccentric new flatmates, feels farther away from her best friend than ever, and hates every art course she signed up for—especially photography, where her talented but prickly partner, Eli, is not afraid to point out her every mistake on their semester-long project. Maisie is already questioning all her life choices when a crime strikes Glenna’s, reopening old family wounds she thought she’d long healed from. It’ll take even more discomfort, as well as help from Eli, her older brother, Calum, and his earnest boyfriend, Benji, to confront the layers she’s painted over the past. But maybe, just maybe, the keys to finding herself lie closer to home than she realized.

About the Author:


​Sabrina Kleckner is a teacher by day and an author by early morning and night.

Her debut middle grade novel, The Art of Running Away, was a 2023 ALA Rainbow Booklist Selection; the 2022 Moonbeam Awards Bronze Medalist in Pre-Teen General Fiction; and a 2022 IPPY Award Silver Medalist in Juvenile Fiction.

On her days off, she can be found traveling the world or gushing about her three cats to anyone who will listen.

Sabrina can be found online @sabkleckner and can be reached on her website sabrinakleckner.com.