Bound to be Beautiful: Over 20 Bookbinding Projects that Inspire and Delight

 

Bound to be Beautiful is a bookbinding tutorial and style guide with projects by Bari Zaki. Released 16th June 2026 by Bloomsbury on their Herbert Press imprint, it's 208 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats. 

This is a beautifully photographed and accessible course on bookbinding including techniques, supplies (what to acquire and where to source them), some history of the art, and a supportive and encouraging style of instruction. The introduction includes numerous good tips about how to get started, what bookbinding and paper art can look like, and what tools are particularly useful, and how to use and maintain them. 

Particularly appreciated, the author isn't trying to sell readers anything, all brands are figleafed, and there's absolutely no sense of pressure to acquire lots of unnecessary gear. In fact, she states early on that apart from the absolute necessities, readers should wait and see what they need and will use, before going all-in on expensive potentially unnecesary kit. 

Each of the tutorial projects are written with a bullet list of project supplies, alternatives/adaptations/individual inspiration, and followed by numerous clear step by step instructions and many (many) clear color photos. The projects are appealing and showcase a number of classic-to-contemporary styles of books, journals, writing utensils, and storage ideas. 

Five stars. It would be entirely possible to produce a complete book or other project using only the instructions included in this volume. It would be an excellent choice for public or secondary school library acquisition, home studio, shared studio spaces, or group instruction. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes. 

Claw Quest - The Cat Prophecies #1

 

Claw Quest is the first book in a middle grade reader fantasy series by Nik Korpon & Jorge Enrique Paz. Released 9th June 2026 by Penguin Random House on their Labyrinth Road imprint, it's 336 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.  It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is an engaging, exciting, and well written fantasy adventure story with believable kids, their real inner lives, and their guardians/companions who are cat shaped, trying to avoid bullies, deal with homework, and save the world. 

The authors do a very good job of making the cats and "their" kids appealing, but not too perfect, believable, but not whiny, and vulnerable, but still brave and capable. They're all dealing with issues in their personal lives, they all have challenges (like everyone does), and still manage to find time to help save our world from the forces of darkness.

The story touches on the breakup of families, parents living far away, bullying, and other real-life stuff lots of kids deal with, without being preachy or depressing. 

The story is set in Colombia, and the authors render the settings and characters believably and with heart. The text is peppered with Spanish phrases and Colombian cultural references, which are easy to understand in context. 

Four and a half stars. This would be an excellent public or school library acquisition, as well as for home reading. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes. 

Spellbound by Murder: A Mystic Hollow Bookshop Mystery #1

 

Spellbound by Murder is the first book in a new light cozy paranormal mystery series by Stacie Ramey. Released 10th March 2026 by Crooked Lane Books, it's 336 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is a very light small-town shopfront cozy, with three generations of paranormally gifted women in the same family (great grandmother + mother/daughter duo) running a bookshop and casting the occasional spell. There's lots of snark and rapid fire dialogue, and an untimely death at a literary festival in their small town with which they're involved. It's a Gilmore Girls pastiche which doesn't really get airborne, when combined with the cozy murder mystery plot. 

In the plus column, it's bloodless and clean as far as violence; there's a murder in the first few chapters, but it's purely plot device and the victim barely shows up before his untimely exit. Readers should bring a prodigious suspension of disbelief. 

Three stars, edging toward 3.5. It would possibly be a good choice for a very light binge/buddy read. Currently no publicly available info on the next book(s) in the series. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.     

 

The Murder Game: Play, Puzzles and the Golden Age

 

The Murder Game: Play, Puzzles and the Golden Age is an exhaustive, encyclopedic monograph of detective/crime fiction and all the subgenre curated by Dr. John Curran. Released 27th Jan 2026 by HarperCollins on their Crime Club imprint, it's 480 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout, particularly valuable for a book which is extensively annotated.

The author is a prodigious resource, full of information about the history and genesis of crime fiction from the very beginning of the narrative mystery story. He is appealingly meticulous, building a solid basis for his timelines, with lots of examples and some interesting asides. This is, primarily, a nonfiction resource, and should find a home in the collections of libraries and fans of mystery fiction. Despite being meticulously annotated, and given that the author is an academic, it's surprisingly, robustly, warm, accessible, and entertaining. 

The author manages to balance lots (and LOTS) of factual historical information with an inviting and entertaining style of writing. It can be enjoyed cover to cover, but as a historical resource, readers would be well advised to read with a notebook to hand to jot down the hundreds (thousands?) of enticing lesser known mysteries to add to an ever burgeoning ToBeRead list. 

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 13 hours 20 minutes and is capably read by the author himself. He has a warm, professionally cultured speaking voice, undoubtedly a product of an upper class education, but appealingly, never losing the imprint of his Irish background. Sound and production quality are high throughout the read. 

The annotations, chapter notes, and bibliography are likely worth the price of admission alone. This is a seminal work. Highly recommended for public or post-secondary school library acquisition, as well as the for the home reference library. 

Five stars. It's difficult to imagine how it could've been done better, with the understanding that this volume concentrates on mysteries written (and read) in the English language, and doesn't cover, for example, more modern Scandi-noir in any detail at all.  

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.    

The Baby Farm Murderer

 

 

The Baby Farm Murderer is a true-crime historical saga written by knowledgeable and enthusiastic Victorian crime author Stephen Jakobi. Released 31st March 2026 by Pen & Sword on their True Crime imprint, it's 208 pages and is available in paperback format. 

This is an involved and somewhat intricate true-crime case concerning the reprehensible Victorian practice of "baby farming", buying babies and placing/selling them for profit. Although hideous enough, the subject of this monograph, Amelia Dyer, was also a prolific serial murderer, dispatching many infants in her care. Despite being a sensational and lurid tale, the author does a very good and (mostly) balanced job of presenting the facts of the case without exploiting the more horrific aspects.  

The text is meticulously annotated and written in accessible and easy to understand language. The chapter notes and bibliography will provide hours of further reading for students of true-crime history. The text is enhanced with appendices which contain historical and modern photos of the environs and some of the sites where the murder and later trials occurred as well as facsimile documents. There are happily no lurid crime scene photographs. Not only was Mrs. Dyer herself involved in the trade of human infants for decades, but she recruited many others into the business, including her relatives. 

Four stars. Well written and absorbing, but terribly sad. Recommended for readers of true crime history. Be warned that sensitive readers will find some of the more unflinching descriptions and realities hard going. It would make an excellent choice for public library acquisition, as well as possibly for a history book club study.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.   

 

The High Tide Murder

 

The High Tide Murder is the sixth Shell House cozy mystery by Emylia Hall. Released 4th Nov 2025 by Amazon on their Thomas & Mercer imprint, it's 400 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book (and the others in the series) are currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.

This is a fun and engaging series. The characters, including main protagonist, widow Ally Bright, are rendered believably and the author gives readers realistic and natural dialogue and interaction throughout. This installment sees MC Ally and (non-romantic) partner Jayden investigating a sudden death at a hotel which may have ties to a decades old cold case. This book is a bit of a destination mystery, set in a posh hotel resort, and features main characters outside their usual settings. The plot is well engineered and the clues are fair play and cleverly presented. 

Although not as adept as the inimitable Ann Cleeves' Vera books, fans of the latter will find a lot to enjoy with this series. The settings (the Cornish coast and Northumberland respectively) feature prominently in both, and both authors have a virtuoso command of description and setting.

Four stars. It continues to develop and go from strength to strength.  It would make a good choice for public library acquisition, home reading, and gifting. With 7 books extant, and an eighth due out 4th quarter 2026, it would be a good candidate for a long binge or buddy read. Although it works very well as a standalone, readers should be aware it's a continuing series and be prepared for small spoilers if read out of order.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

 

 

The Hearth Witch's Guide to Magic & Murder - The Hemlock Saga #1

 

The Hearth Witch's Guide to Magic & Murder is a fun urban(ish) fantasy mystery with some neat Holmes (and Watson(ish)) pastiches by Kiri Callaghan. Released 7th Oct 2025 by Sourcebooks on their Poisoned Pen Press imprint, it's 448 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

The pacing is sedate, and the murder mystery plot gets lost in the world building, which is detailed and very well done. The author teases a F/F (demi-fae/human) romance but it's lukewarm (and no spice, if that's what readers are after). It's the first book in a series, book 2 is due out Oct 2026, so much of the slow pacing is probably background and world building. 

One feature of the book which will either appeal or drive readers to distraction, are the multitudinous footnotes and asides the book is absolutely loaded with. More or less every page has an additional hyperlinked comment. 

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 15 hours, 51 minutes and is narrated by an ensemble cast which includes the author. It's not clear how the hyperlinks, asides, and footnotes are handled during the read, but that could definitely be a factor in readers' enjoyment of the audio format. 

Three and a half stars. Readers who aren't huge Holmes/Watson/Mrs.Hudson fans will be ok with the setup and execution. Rabid Conan Doyle fans will likely be frothing at the mouth. The Holmes pastiche is not a huge part of the book. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.  

My Unfamiliar

 

My Unfamiliar is a sweet YA romantasy by Mara Rutherford. Due out 1st Dec 2026 from Macmillan on their St. Martin's/Wednesday imprint, it's 352 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout.

This is a standalone, very whimsical, somewhat high stakes (for a romantasy) with lots of angst and drama, some witty repartee, truly boo-hiss-worthy dastardly villains, and lots (and LOTS) of cute animal familiars including a tiny unicorn. There are lots of familiar tropes: grumpy-sunshine relationship, one bed/proximity(lots of blushing, no real spicy scenes), friends to lovers, oafish ex fiance, complicated dysfunctional family, and a satisfying HEA. 

Four and a half stars, with the codicil that this is a romantasy meant for YA readers, for whom it will likely tick *all* the boxes. 

Due out in December, but worth the wait. Unabridged audiobook has a run-time of 10 hours 48 minutes. Voice actor(s) not yet announced. Publisher is Macmillan Young Listeners. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.   

Accidentally Wedded to a Werewolf - Claw Haven #1

 

Accidentally Wedded to a Werewolf is the first cozy small-town paranormal romance in the Claw Haven series by Isabelle Taylor. Released 17th March 2026 by Harlequin, it's 320 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats.  It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout.  For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. The other books in the series are not currently available on KU, but they're available to purchase.

This is a fated-mates, sunshine/grumpy monster romance. De rigueur for the genre, there's lots of snark, some questionable motives, forehead slappingly unnecessary drama (which could have been fixed with frank communication), and a happy low-stakes denouement. The MCs are superficial and trope-y. Moderate spice. 

Readers should bring a prodigious suspension of disbelief. 

Three stars, edging toward 3.5. It would possibly be a good choice for a very light binge/buddy read. Each of the books in the series features a new couple, so this is a standalone. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.     

Nun More Deadly: Forgiveness Is Overrated

 

Nun More Deadly: Forgiveness Is Overrated is the first book in a completely silly, over the top, unhinged, farcical romp by Dominicka Kane. Book 1, Nun More Deadly is 158 pages, released 15th March 2026, and is available in paperback and ebook formats. All 12 books currently extant in the series released the same day. The series is available in a collected format with over 2100 pages. This book is currently available from retailers free as an ebook. 

It's the first book in a 12 book series, featuring a warrior nun (Sister Mary Mercy), doing the Lord's work, fighting dastards robbing elderly ladies on cross-town busses (and threatening their emotional support ferrets), dispatching evil monks in the Vatican, and generally living her best religious life. 

There are some flags. All 2100 pages released the same day, from a clearly pseudonymous author without an online presence. A casual search reveals no other works, no other publisher associations, and no reader/fan engagement. Is it AI? Possibly. 

It is a constant careening silly romp. It's violent, but not offensively so. It's definitely irreverent and unashamedly lampoons religious observance and religious life. It's juvenile, and the author passes no opportunity to go for the low-hanging pratfall, sight gag, and sophomoric jokes. 

Four stars, with the fervent hope that it's NOT simply AI content. It's pretty funny, and bears a lot of similarities to the National Lampoon's parody works. With the amount of content available, it could make for a good binge/buddy read (book 1 is available gratis).  

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.    

Hexes & Hush Money: Paranormal Cozy Mystery

 

Hexes & Hush Money is a very light paranormal small-town cozy mystery by Hazel Caraway. Released 9th Sept 2025, it's 159 pages and is available in paperback, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout.  For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. 

This is a lighthearted island small-town cozy full of whimsy, a cat cafe, and eccentric small-town characters. Proprietress Ivy is unwillingly drawn into a murder investigation when the local law enforcement sets his sights on her as a suspect for the murder of a locally loathed property developer. Then her beloved cat (familiar) gets taken, and the gloves are off.

Very quick read, lots of spooky seasonal paranormal mystery fun, and a satisfying (if a bit rushed) denouement and resolution. It's not derivative, but fans of Lynn Cahoon and Gretchen Rue will almost certainly enjoy this one. No publishing info available for book 2 yet. 

Three and a half stars. It would be a good choice for a very short palate cleanser, or buddy read. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.    

  

Cooking the Borderlands: Spice and Smoke Between Mexico and the States

 

Cooking the Borderlands is a well written and curated culture cookbook with lots of Mexican/American recipes by Chef Claudette Zepeda. Released 2nd June 2026 by Penguin Random House on their Clarkson Potter/10 Speed Press imprint, it's 288 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats. 

The introduction includes warm reminiscence and the author's personal family photos. The recipes which follow are arranged thematically: everyday staples, family recipes, regional recipes from Tijuana (and the border), Sonora, Chihuahua, and Coahula (and Tex-Mex staples). Each recipe includes a title, yields, ingredients in a bullet list sidebar, followed by step-by-step cooking instructions. Recipe ingredients are listed with imperial (American) units. Ingen nutritional info is included. 

Roughly 25% of the recipes contain photographs. The food is professionally styled, attractive, and appealing. 

Four and a half stars. This is a well written book full of good recipes. It would be a good choice for public library acquisition, cookbook fans, and lovers of Mexican cuisine looking for authentic Tex-Mex and fusion recipes. The author has an inviting, warm, and friendly style. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

 

Elledge’s Nontrivial Trivia: The Seriously Enlightening Stories Behind Supposedly Simple Facts

 

Elledge’s Nontrivial Trivia is a thematically arranged collection of trivia facts to enlighten and entertain collected and curated by Jonn Elledge. Originally published in the UK in 2021, this worldwide reformat and re-release is due out 16th June 2026 from The Experiment. It's 320 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.  It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout, which is very useful since the entries are full of links to further info.

The information is arranged thematically: the cosmos, the human planet, measurement, history and politics, the natural world, communication (and language), leisure culture food & sport, oddities, and death & the afterlife. Each entry is roughly 1-2 pages in length and contains many factoids and short 1-2 paragraph length sub-entries. 

Interesting and relevant. It's appropriate for all ages. It would be a good choice for public or home reference library. 

Four stars. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.  

Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 1 - とんがり帽子のアトリエ [Tongari Bōshi no Atelier] #1-2

 

Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 1 is an engaging middle grade reader fantasy school adventure by Kamome Shirahama. Published 5th May 2026  by Kodansha Comics, it's 624 pages, manga style, and is available in a collector hardcover, foil enhanced format in this edition. It includes the first three volumes of the manga, as well as behind-the-scenes content, full color artwork, and an interview with the author. 

Definitely one for the fans of manga, with beautifully intricate kinetic artwork, fast moving high stakes action and plot, and an engaging storyline, but it *also* could be a good gateway/introduction to manga for all age readers. The art style is somewhat reminiscent of P. Craig Russel (in a very good way) and Linda Medley. It's full of lush backgrounds and landscapes as well as many small sweetly humorous nods to the genre scattered throughout. 

The translation work by Stephen Kohler is impressively seamless, maintaining the *feel* of the Japanese, without sacrificing the scansion or meaning in English. Nothing gets lost in translation. 

There's a companion anime airing on Crunchyroll currently. 

Five stars, gorgeous edition. Engaging, entertaining, and well written and illustrated. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.     

Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 1 - とんがり帽子のアトリエ [Tongari Bōshi no Atelier] #1

 

Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 1 is an engaging middle grade reader fantasy school adventure by Kamome Shirahama. Released in 2019 by Kodansha Comics, it's 208 pages, manga style, and is available in paperback and ebook formats. 

Definitely one for the fans of manga, with beautifully intricate kinetic artwork, fast moving high stakes action and plot, and an engaging storyline, but it *also* could be a good gateway/introduction to manga for all age readers. The art style is somewhat reminiscent of P. Craig Russel (in a very good way) and Linda Medley. It's full of lush backgrounds and landscapes as well as many small sweetly humorous nods to the genre scattered throughout. 

The translation work by Stephen Kohler is impressively seamless, maintaining the *feel* of the Japanese, without sacrificing the scansion or meaning in English. Nothing gets lost in translation. 

There's a companion anime airing on Crunchyroll currently. 

Four and a half stars. Engaging, entertaining, and well written and illustrated. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.     

Murder and Mayheim

 

Murder and Mayheim is a silly over the top romance murder cozy by Ronica Black & Toni Logan. Due out 16th June 2026 by Bold Strokes Books, it's 222 pages and will be available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout. 

This is a undemanding and very light cozy mystery, first in a series, featuring a 40 year old bookstore owner as an amateur sleuth. The largely female cast is filled with quirky humorous characters, over the top and silly, but mostly superficially appealing. 

There are a lot of trope aspects: a collection of eccentric oddballs for local color, amateur dramatics in the form of a murder-mystery themed cruise, and lots and lots of snark. The dialogue aims for very light bantering humor and mostly succeeds. Some of the dialogue is so unrealistic that it yanked me out of the story, but mostly, it's standard for the subgenre. The author does a good job with including enough world building backstory to move the narrative along without drowning readers in too much info. 

The romance plot is F/F and there is light spice/intimacy involved. Language is PG/R rated for a few scattered f-bombs.  

It's a very lighthearted, often silly cozy mystery with oddball characters and a completely over the top denouement and resolution. The solution was foreshadowed fairly heavily, but there were a couple of twists in the climax which, although completely crazy and entirely unrealistic, added a bit of excitement. 

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 7 hours 44 minutes and is capably read by Kate Wisniewski. She has a well modulated alto voice and a neutral American West Coast accent for this read. She does a good job of delineating a disparate cast of characters, both male and female, and a range of ages. There are some regional accents which seemed to be difficult for her, but they're brief and fleeting and don't really detract from the read.

Three and a half stars. It would be a good choice for a binge/buddy cozy read. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.    

The Mistletoe Murder Club - The Bad Girls Detective Agency #4

 

The Mistletoe Murder Club is the fourth book featuring Clio (and the "bad girl detectives")  by Katie Marsh. Released 5th Sept 2025 by Boldwood Books, it's 290 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout.  For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. The other books in the series are also currently available on KU. 

This is a undemanding and fun holiday themed cozy mystery with a former actress in her second career as a private detective. The largely female cast is filled with quirky humorous characters, over the top and silly, but not egregiously so, given the very (very) light cozy genre. 

There are a lot of trope aspects: a collection of eccentric oddballs for local color, amateur dramatics/panto, and lots and lots of snarky in-fighting. The dialogue aims for very light bantering humor and mostly succeeds. Some of the dialogue is so unrealistic that it yanked me out of the story, but mostly, it's standard for the subgenre. The author does a good job with including enough backstory to move the narrative along without drowning readers in too much info. Despite being the fourth book in the series, it works well enough as a standalone read.

It's a very lighthearted, often silly, humorous holiday cozy mystery with oddball characters and a completely over the top denouement and resolution. The solution was foreshadowed fairly heavily, but there were a couple of twists in the climax which, although completely crazy, added some excitement. There are some issues with cultural differences between Americans and Brits which are belabo(u)red and unnecessary. (For example saying that Americans don't eat baked beans... they're not the SAME as beans in tomato sauce which Brits eat on toast, but they DO eat them)... 

Three stars. It would be a good choice for a binge/buddy cozy read (the whole series is available on KU). 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.    

The Dying Light - Two Rivers #4

 

The Heron's Cry is the fourth Matthew Venn procedural murder mystery by Ann Cleeves. Due out 29th Sept 2026 from Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 384 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.  It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout.

This is another beautifully written mystery set in North Devon and featuring Detective Matthew Venn, a cerebral and solemnly intelligent investigator tasked with unraveling the tragic deaths of two young women at a very high-end summer home. The pacing of the investigation is unhurried and the characters built up so well and in such detail that they live and breathe. The secondary characters are carefully and completely delineated and distinct. Even Lucy Braddick from the earlier books in the series is included tangentially in this book as well. It really was a delight to read. 

Although it's the fourth book in the series, it works very well as a standalone. This book is also quite intricately plotted, but there aren't any major spoilers if they're read out of order. The denouement and resolution were exciting and well crafted, although melancholy.

The language is rough in places (R-rated), and there are some blood/gore descriptions on page. 

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 10 hours 48 minutes, and is expertly read by series narrator Jack Holden. He has a pleasantly nuanced voice and manages numerous characters with widely divergent accents (and ages, and both sexes) impressively well. One of the main characters is from Liverpool, the secondary characters are varied and have accents from Scotland to the Southwest and points in between, and he manages all of them with expertise and precision. Sound quality and production values are high throughout.

Four and a half stars. It would be an excellent choice for public or home library acquisition, as well as a series binge or buddy read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

 

A Murder Most Camp

 

A Murder Most Camp is a b*tchy, campy, martini-fueled cozy mystery by Nicolas DiDomizio. Released 28th April 2026 by Sourcebooks on their Poisoned Pen Press imprint it's 368 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout.

Utterly out of touch, spoiled nepo baby's father decides to "teach him a lesson about life" by giving him a directive to "do good" before his 30th birthday, or miss having unfettered access to his full inheritance. There's a very (very!) campy Scooby-Do vibe to the whole long-ago-cold-case disappearance, and in this case the "gang" of sidekicks are 12 year olds he's supposed to be engaging in learning activities. 

Lots of character development arcs here, very very weird dysfunctional family dynamics, and lots of fun poked at a spoiled out of touch rich gay queen thrust into lots of antithetical situations (timed showers! skincare routines disrupted! no dirty martinis by the pool! no pool!!)... The author seems incapable of passing up any stereotypical gay trope, but the whole is tongue in cheek (sometimes too much), but overall entertaining.

The mystery itself, isn't. The setup is so completely over-the-top outlandish and silly that readers will need a prodigious load of suspension of disbelief. The big twist/reveal at the climax and denouement won't be a huge surprise for most readers (but was moderately delicious anyhow). 

That being said, it -is- cute and entertaining. Props to the author for a nice bi-positive character representation; that's a bit of a unicorn in gay fiction. 

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 9 hours 33 minutes and is capably read by Mark Sanderlin. He has a well modulated, professionally trained neutral East Coast US accent for the read, and does a decent job of delineating the multitude of disparate voices, female, male (very gay male, and straight), and children  (without making it too saccharine or awful). Sound and production quality are very high throughout the read.

Four stars. It would be a good choice for public or home library acquisition, or possibly a buddy read. Light content warnings for mild M/M spicy scenes. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.   

Hot Chocolate on Thursday - 木曜日にはココアを #1

 

Hot Chocolate on Thursday is a beautifully atmospheric slice-of-life vignettes by Michiko Aoyama. Originally released in 2017, this English language edition was released 17th Feb 2026 by HarperCollins on their Hanover Square Press imprint. It's 208 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. 

This is such a comforting, nostalgic, and sweetly uplifting collection of related stories. The translation work by E. Madison Shimoda is seamless and manages to flow very well in English without losing the indelible Japanese cultural nuances. 

The stories are related by a common thread: customers and friends who gravitate to a tiny cafe; their daily lives and the ways they touch one another's orbits are delicately and appealingly portrayed. Despite the lack of danger or dramatic tension, the stories are moving and told effectively. Food manga and food-centered narrative is a popular subgenre in Japan, and this is a wonderful collection. 

Four stars. Utterly charming. There are 2 books extant in the series, and the second book in English translation is due out from the same publisher in July 2026. It would be an excellent choice for public or home library acquisition or a nice binge/buddy/bookclub read. Highly recommended and very relaxing.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.