Book Reviews

By Kathleen Jennings
9/2/25
272 pages
$27.99
Tor Books

‘Honeyeater’

This is not an easy book to read. Just throwing that out there if you’re not the kind of person who likes a challenging read. This is a slow-burn, convoluted, stream of consciousness style story that performs literary acrobatics while it breaks your heart.

If you are up for a complicated, foggy whirl of beautiful prose and haunted characters, then get ready; this is a doozy.

Charlie wants out of the flooded mess of Bellworth, a town full of childhood ghosts and regret. However, before he can break free, a woman with roses piercing her skin turns his world inside out. Grace drags Charlie into the depths of the secrets and mysteries of this creepy town, and terrifying choices await the pair when the muck comes loose.

Dizzy, unsettling, twisted and experimental, this is a whirlwind of a book I read twice, just to catch the things I missed the first time. I may tackle it a third time, to revel in the beauty of the writing. Be prepared for this one to seep into your bones in the best way. ♦ — Review by Julie Goodrich

By Yume Kitasei
9/25/25
384 pages
$30.99
Flatiron Books

‘Saltcrop’

Sisterhood is one of those things that is endlessly fascinating to me. I didn’t grow up with a sister, and like many people who are always seeking the unfamiliar, stories about the complexities of sisters draw me in. “Saltcrop” delivers a powerful jolt of a story about sisters searching a crumbling world for answers, for themselves and, ultimately, for hope.

Skipper and Carmen are as unalike as two people can be, but they are sisters, nonetheless. Brought together by a strange plea from their eldest, accomplished sister Nora, they will have to travel through a world in the throes of ecological collapse and a society that may be imploding even faster. 

Full of richly realized characters, strange vistas and threaded through with a strange sense of unease, this is a wildly beautiful story told with immense skill and pitch-perfect pacing. Kitasei is a powerful writer, and she absolutely shines in this one. I flew through it and have been recommending it to anyone who likes a good family drama, an ecological horror story or just a good heroine’s journey.  ♦ — Review by Julie Goodrich