⚡️ Kill the Beast by Serra Swift - 3.75/5

For a debut novel, it was a solid attempt, but overall I felt somewhat underwhelmed.

The characterizations were fairly strong. I especially appreciated how the book didn’t conform strictly to traditional gender roles, and I found Lysa’s interactions with the different people in her life—her ex-girlfriend, the male protagonist, and her coworkers—interesting and varied. Lysa herself was also a consistent and well-realized character. The “angry young woman” archetype really fit her; it showed in how she spoke, how she related to others, and how she often defaulted to violence as a way of avoiding or suppressing her emotions. Her guilt also made sense as a central motivator and helped ground her actions.

However, in terms of plot, I found it slowed down significantly in the middle. A lot of it revolved around collecting items, which made it difficult to stay engaged. Even though I liked the development of the relationship between Lysa and the male protagonist, it still felt like it lacked depth in execution. Overall, a lot of the story felt slightly half-baked, even though individual elements were done well.

The reveals also weren’t particularly surprising, which contributed to the lack of narrative momentum and made it harder for the story to feel gripping.

That said, I did enjoy the inclusion of the found family trope. I also appreciated the ending being open-ended. It leaves ambiguity around the relationship dynamics between the main characters, but I almost liked that choice—they felt more natural as close friends than anything romantic, and that subtlety worked in its favor.

Overall, a promising debut with strong character foundations, but uneven pacing and underdeveloped plot execution.

⚡ Babylonia by Costanza Casati — 4.25/5

I went into this one mostly blind, relying on the fact that I loved another book by this author — and it did not disappoint. At the beginning, I was a little lost about where the story was going and how it would get there, and I found the pacing a bit slow because of that. However, around the 40% mark I was fully invested and knew I would likely enjoy how everything played out.

As before, Casati’s writing style really lends itself to the story. I think the character work shines most in this book. What’s interesting is that the characters are mostly open books — their desires and motivations are clear — but that doesn’t make them any less intriguing. Instead, it makes you wonder whether each character will practice restraint or give in to temptation. The family and political dynamics also add layers to the relationships.

Though our FMC, Semiramis, is active in her own story and willing to involve herself in war and politics, she somehow still comes across as a quiet character. She’s more a person of subtlety while everyone around her constantly tells her she is loud. I love the contrast between how she sees the world and makes decisions versus how others react to her. This is especially clear in how she seeks power for protection while others claim she pursues it out of greed. The way everyone continually places blame on her — as society often does to women — for others’ actions or shared responsibility, and how she brushes it off, makes her likable even when she makes questionable choices. Her handling of relationships with the men around her, and her reflections on her own decisions, make her relatable.

The male characters are largely self-obsessed and carry shadows of psychological suffering from aspects of their past. I found Onnes the most interesting — he seemed the most in control until he wasn’t — while Ninus felt very swept up in his emotions.

Themes of revenge, prophecy and divine rule, lineage and parent–child bonds, love/devotion/obsession, war-related trauma, and freedom are woven in tactfully without feeling overdone. That said, there were certain aspects I would have liked to see explored further such as the reactions to Ribat's freedom from the other slaves or more scenes from the past showing how the previous king was rather than us being told from the possibly biased perspectives of those still alive.