Book Reviews

By Petra Lord
2/3/26
432 pages
$22.99
Henry Holt & Co.

‘Queen of Faces’

Books with layers are always going to draw me in. This delightfully dark and gritty fantasy explores identity, power, resilience and the madness of survival all packaged in a riveting, magical story. 

Set in a politically charged world where appearance and perception can be as dangerous as any weapon, we follow Ana, a girl on the brink of some terrible choices. She is stuck in a dying body with no real way out. Desperate, she lies her way into an even more perilous situation where she must navigate court intrigue, shifting loyalties and threats from every side. 

Ana’s journey is as much internal as it is external, grappling with who she is and what authenticity means in a world where people shift bodies as easily as outfits. She has to maneuver through complex political dynamics, learn how to find allies, build relationships and survive the unsurvivable. 

This is a gritty, morally gray story with perfect pacing. Lord’s prose is accessible and vivid — sometimes so sharp I felt torn to shreds by the end. I can’t wait for the next one. ♦ — Review by Julie Goodrich

By Cameron Sullivan
2/24/26
544 pages
$29.99
Tor Books

‘The Red Winter’

Perhaps I am a bit jaded, but I wasn’t sure I could take another werewolf story. I am delighted to say that I was very wrong in judging it so harshly. I know it is winter in Iowa, and we are all sick of it, but Sullivan plunges us into a frost-bitten landscape full of mysteries that is far more enchanting than any snow-bound story ought to be. This is a story within a story, within a story. It even has a fourth story in the footnotes, one of my very favorite tropes. 

We open in the modern world with the immortal wizard Sebastian being reminded of an adventure from long ago. Ably abetted by his pet succubus, Livia, we learn of his sweet romance with a nobleman, their terrifying adventure in the French countryside, and how Joan of Arc really happened. Despite the gore and humorous asides peppered throughout, this really is an epic fantasy tale with enough romance to make all the BookTok people swoon.

Fast-paced, well-written and awash with magic, this book absolutely swept me away. If you are the audiobook type, I can’t recommend the narrators highly enough. They were perfect. ♦ — Review by Julie Goodrich