Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson

Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson

I have never read a novella quite like Delilah S. Dawson’s Bloom before. One review describes it as “sapphic cottagecore horror”, which is an accurate three-word summary. It’s an odd chimera of a story where cozy descriptions of gardens and cupcakes mingle with a disquieting mood and tension that eventually grows to a fever pitch….

The Maid by Nita Prose

The Maid by Nita Prose

In Nita Prose’s The Maid, we are given a first-person narrator in Molly—the Maid herself. Molly, a presumably neurodivergent young woman, finds her sole joy in working as a housemaid at the Regency Grand. Following the recent loss of her beloved Gran, Molly navigates a world where understanding others’ responses remains a constant struggle, leaving…

Lilith by Nikki Marmery

Lilith by Nikki Marmery

Lilith is many things in a single overstuffed package. It’s an overly-modernized take on the tale of the Bible’s first rebellious wife; it’s a cry for goddess worship that works and ought to be heard. As a Catholic schoolgirl who grew up on Tori Amos’ Mary Magdalene worship and ‘we both know it was a…

Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison

Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison

The best thing about Black Sheep is that it is funny. Mordantly so, knowingly so, and that’s part of what makes it so great. It’s also genuinely suspenseful, but it’s the way that it makes you care about its cranky heroine that makes it interesting. Twenty-three year old Vesper Wright escaped her bizarre family years…

Tom Lake by Ann Pachett

Tom Lake by Ann Pachett

Set in the crucible of Spring 2020, as the pandemic’s grip tightened, Ann Patchett’s Tom Lake is a marvel. The narrative takes place over a few weeks on a family farm–echoes of Chekhov’s cherry orchard–in Michigan, where Lara Kenison, her husband, and their three adult daughters labor amidst the lockdown’s restraint. As the book begins,…

Big Gay Wedding by Byron Lane

Big Gay Wedding by Byron Lane

Big Gay Wedding is sparkly and funny, with a winning narrative voice. I did wince a little, though, as our main PoV character struggles awkwardly through acclimating herself to her son’s life. But at least she does come around. Barnett Durang comes from a warm, though conservative, Louisiana family, and things got difficult for him…

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