Completely blew me away, Kylie Lee Baker has officially solidified herself as an autobuy author for me with this one. It’s one of those books where you know there’s a million pieces moving under the surface, but you don’t fully see the shape of it until the very end and then it all comes together. The dual timelines (following Lee in the present and Sen in the past) are woven together so seamlessly, and the way their stories echo each other across time is honestly kind of breathtaking. I loved that every detail mattered, even when I didn't realize it yet.

The atmosphere was my favourite aspect. It's so dark, claustrophobic, and deeply unsettling which seems to be Baker's forte when thinking about Bat Eater in comparison. She does descriptive prose and dread so incredibly well. The horror does an incredible job with what’s lurking in the shadows, but also has a focus on grief, history, and the weight of generational trauma. The house itself feels alive, shifting and watching, and the blend of Japanese folklore with this eerie, almost dreamlike storytelling makes everything feel so surreal at the same time. And the characters, especially Lee and Sen, are so painfully human that I couldn't help but get attached. I felt so much pain for them. Their connection, even without romance, carries so much emotionality behind it.

This is horror with a heartbeat. This is the genre Baker absolutely thrives in. It’s so beautifully written, haunting, and genuinely affecting. I needed answers from the very first chapter, and while I was constantly theorizing, it somehow it still managed to surprise me. The author’s note is 100% worth reading after, as well! Just so, so extraordinary.

*Many thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing | Hanover Square Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

http://angelerin.blogspot.com/2016/09/toomuchalbert-other-einstein-by-marie.html

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free ebook copy of The Other Einstein By: Marie Benedict in exchange for an honest review.

Short Review Summary:
I wanted to know more about Mileva and her love of science.

Before I heard of The Other Einstein, I had no idea who Mileva was. I didn't even know that Albert Einstein had a wife. So when I read the summary for this book I was really ecstatic to learn more about Mileva. I wanted to know who she was as a person and what her contributions (if any) are to science while being swept up in a fictional story. Sadly, this book was not at all what I expected.
#MilevaWho?

I started off really enjoying the beginning of this book. I wasn't loving it, but I was liking it. I couldn't wait to find out more about Mileva and if she contributed anything to the field of science herself or if she assisted Albert Einstein at all. Instead the book is more about her and Albert's courtship. I feel like Mileva's brilliance is very overshadowed by the romance with Albert. I started to lose interest as the book went on and then a little before the halfway point I started to get really annoyed. Here we have Mileva, a woman who was outshined by her husband, and I was hoping this book would let her shine a bit. Too bad the book is still too focused on Einstein and their romance.
#TooMuchAlbert

Overall I had to DNF The Other Einstein due to these issues. I did like the friendships between Mileva and the other scholarly ladies in the book, but that alone couldn't save the book for me. Basically, I really needed more Mileva in the story. Maybe things would have gotten better if I kept going, but if it hasn't happened by about the halfway point then I can't expect it to. Also if the writing isn't drawing me in by that point, then I have to be done.
#IFeelGoodAboutDNFingIt

I can't recommend this one, but perhaps it's better if you really know first what you're in for. Also, maybe I just need to see if there's a nonfiction book about Mileva instead.
#MaybeSomeoneElseWillLikeIt

A dual timeline that comes together as folks deal with being stuck in the past. This book is full of mysteries and you'll be hard pressed to figure out what the truth is - which is exactly what the first character you meet has been searching for for a long time.

Fearing the Black Body is a book full of information that fills in a lot of gaps between race and fatphobia. If you've read a lot about the history of race and white supremacy then you'll be familiar with the topics of race science, eugenics, and anti-Blackness, but Strings connects this history to the evolution of fatphobia. Through this lens, Strings proves that racism and fatphobia have never been separate phenomena, but two systems built side-by-side to serve each other, and to serve the greater project of white supremacist capitalism.

Strings traces the development of racial science and beauty standards that evolved in direct relationship with each other, starting from the Renaissance and accelerating through the Enlightenment. Using art and aesthetic discourse as her framework, Strings shows how Black women's bodies were used as a foil for white women's racial purity, with Black women evolving from bodily beautiful but socially inferior to their eventual reframe as grotesque, gluttonous, and pathologically inferior.

Through this development, weight was used as a tool to control white women's bodies in order to work toward white supremacist homogeneity, and the specific context of the tool changed depending on what that project needed at any given historical moment. White women were told to gain weight when white birth rates needed boosting, then told to lose weight when white culture needed an aesthetic signifier of "superiority".

One element I found particularly interesting was the history of the development of the "white" racial category itself. Obviously, I had known that whiteness was constructed legally and socially, but my understanding of the actual mechanics was fuzzy. Strings walks you through how racial ideology developed in 16th-century England before crossing the Atlantic and being taken up by figures like Thomas Jefferson.

This history added a brand-new perspective on the popular adage of the United States being a cultural "melting pot" in a way that ties in uncomfortably with American exceptionalism - the phrase originally used as a way to compliment the United States' racial project of collecting the most "superior white races", mixing their bloodlines to create a new "superior American race".

The way this phrase has evolved and flattened over time showcases exactly what Strings exemplifies in this book: the twisted way sociocultural norms are broken down and repurposed to serve the greater message of exceptionalism and supremacy. Strings also shows us how art has evolved to subtly signal this hierarchy, which creates a necessary framework for engaging in sociocultural aesthetic discussions today.

Especially important for this book's role in intersectional feminist discourse is the way it complicates the idea that all women are equal victims of fatphobia. As white sociocultural norms, influenced by the evolving of race science and eugenics, left academic and philosophical circles and entered the mainstream, white women often took up the mantle of enforcing these norms themselves. This indictment opens up a necessary conversation about the nuances of fatphobia, the decisions we make under systems of power, and how lateral oppression harms the most marginalized within our communities.

While Fearing the Black Body isn't dense in terms of overuse of academic language or lofty abstractions, it isn't driven narratively and Strings builds her argument slowly chapter-by-chapter. It's a book that trusts its reader to follow along and is focused on creating a framework of analysis rather than providing simple answers.

An essential read for anyone trying to build a more complete picture of how race, gender, and body politics connect, especially for anyone who has already done some reading on the topics separately and looking for more synthesis and reorganization of ideas.

Such a fun step up in the Kate Daniels series, and I’m honestly surprised by how much I’m enjoying these books!! The world continues to shine with its shifting magic-versus-technology chaos, but this installment leans even more into that lore, especially with the introduction of the witches and the deeper dive into shapeshifter politics.

Kate really comes into her own here. She’s still sharp, stubborn, and sarcastic, but there’s more emotional depth woven into her choices, especially as the stakes get more personal. The dynamic between her and Curran develops in a way that feels natural, adding tension without taking over the plot. The storytelling strikes a great balance between action, humour, and worldbuilding, and everything moves at a pace that keeps it hard to put down.

I genuinely love how entertaining it all is! There’s definitely a confidence to the writing and character work that makes the series feel like it’s hitting its beginning to hit its stride. I went in expecting a solid sequel, but came out fully hooked and excited to keep going.

✨✨✨YA gothic/horromance…with an obsessive sea god!!!🥹😍✨✨✨

If you haven’t read any CG Drew’s books yet, you are MISSING OUT!!! I am so ECSTATIC I got approved for the arc for Scorpion Deep. This was one of my most anticipated 2026 releases. It’s a new favorite for sure!

Scorpion Deep is just so good!! So this is about a lonely, depressed boy named Jonathan. He’s asexual and his two best friends will soon be leaving for college without him and he awakens this Eldrich sea god with a ritual. That’s all you need to know. Oh, and there’s a secret society and a drowned library…AND a baby kraken!! 🥹You'll love it, trust me. I’m still processing all my feelings!!! This book really does say so much about loneliness, sadness, friendships, heartbreak, and more.

As with the other CG Drew’s YA gothic horror books I’ve read, the way they describe everything is so rich, lush, beautiful and full of rot. 😍The atmosphere is done so flawlessly. I don’t know what magic the author has, but there’s just something so special about their writing that just speaks to my soul. I love it and this book is PERFECTION.

This book is such an experience. Oh, I also really enjoyed the sea monster illustrations!!! Scorpion Deep is such a gem. 💎

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free ebook copy in exchange for an honest review. This book is expected to be released October 27, 2026 .