Two down, one to go! Can't all be science fiction, but I certainly miss it when it's gone...Waiting on yours Michael, hope it's as good as the other 2 on my list!

Alright, y'all, we have another interview on our hands and this time with the inimitable Taylor Grothe! Taylor is a nonbinary author of both YA and adult horror, so I thought it would be great to chat with them about their upcoming release Lethal Kiss, which you should DEFINITELY BE READING when it releases October 20! Grab a Snickers and strap in!

• What was the biggest inspiration for writing Lethal Kiss, which features perhaps the hottest revenant to ever exist in the history of literature? I might be biased, though.

Hahaha thank you so much! I am very partial to Marcella myself!

The seed of Lethal Kiss came from my experience at university and in academia generally. I am who I am (i.e. a glutton for punishment and an overachiever) I decided to design my own major and focus on fairytales and folklore—and ended up focusing on the intersection between Nordic saga tradition and continental Arthurian romance. I went to Duke University, a school with a very fine Medieval Renaissance department, and spent a lot of time in the Rare Book Room researching old texts and holding medieval manuscripts in my hands. 

And yet, even though I really loved the work I was doing, I often felt roundly dismissed by the white cis male academic establishment. There was a sense that what I was doing was “girly” or unserious in scope. I had a particularly bad experience with a professor who ended up as the MedRen department dean. So you could say that this book comes from both a place of passion in medieval studies as well as absolute spite. I wanted to critique academic culture through a queer, hyper-femme lens.

• Cassie from Hollow was working through her autism diagnosis and how to be a person with it. Lacie seems to have a far better management system as an assistant professor. I know you've mentioned your own ASD before. When it comes to writing your characters, how do you determine how much of yourself you want to share in them?

It’s so important to me to have my characters be neurodivergent in general and autistic in particular. I don’t know, really, if I could write my characters as neurotypical. But, to your question: characters often come to me fully realized, so it’s not really a conscious choice. Their ASD is absolutely nonnegotiable in edits—all my editors are on notice from the outset! And while I like to think my characters all have parts of me in them, they really are just themselves. We’re all in a Venn diagram with ASD at the center.

• Did you model Marcella on any specific inspiration? I saw her as a perfect mashup of several of my favorite "mentor" characters, so I’m curious!

Let me be so real with you: I was like, what is the hottest I can make a character and get away with it, without making her feel like a pastiche? Lethal Kiss is satirical and campy, but I wanted Marcella to feel like she was the strongest, most aggressive, zero bullshit character I could—at least on the surface. I was really keeping my eye on Jennifer’s Body though; I love Megan Fox’s unhinged portrayal of Jennifer. 

• So your official debut was Hollow, a YA horror novel featuring autistic rep as well as LGBTQIA+ rep!
Which did you actually write first, Lethal Kiss or Hollow? If Hollow came first, did you know you wanted to break into the adult genre with horror as well?

I wrote Hollow first! But it had long been my goal to have a career both in YA and adult books, and the markets are very different, especially in horror. 

• If you could distill Lethal Kiss down to one song, what would it be?

An impossible question! I would say I Am Not a Woman, I’m a God by Halsey.

• Monstrous Beautiful Things is coming up next for you from Peachtree Teen and I know The Mage and the Liar Knight is coming out next summer. Are there any other novels in the works that you'd like to mention?

There are but I can only hint at one: my next Nightfire book! Think a grief horror in a haunted house plus mushrooms. It’s also a horror romance, but more literary.

LITERARY HAUNTED HOUSE HORROR PLUS MUSHROOMS???? SIGN ME THE FUCK UP. Anyway, I sincerely hope you'll pick up all of Taylor book's because they are all amazing. I devoured Hollow in one sitting! Plus the rep in their books is incredible, and ahem that scene in Lethal Kiss...so good! I'm reading their next book Monstrous Beautiful Things on my Kindle now and y'all aren't ready!

Till next time!

Ryn

Can we talk about how elite the late 2000s and early 2010s were for reading?

For a lot of us, it was a time of reading banger after banger across every single genre, from small-town romances to completely unhinged vampire and werewolf sagas. I devoured them all.

I used to go to the library and spend hours picking out my books. Back then, we didn’t have algorithms, TikTok aesthetics, or a checklist of "tropes" plastered all over the back cover. You didn’t walk into the library looking for an "enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, billionaire romance with a 3-spice rating."

Instead, you walked in, looked at a cover of a girl in a massive gown or a guy wearing a gas mask, read a wild synopsis, and took a gamble. Because authors weren’t trying to write to fit a specific internet subgenre or satisfy a marketing keyword, the stories felt organic. The angst and the intensity came naturally from the characters being pushed to their absolute limits, not because the author was trying to hit formulaic beats.

Don't get me wrong, I love that we can talk and even laugh about tropes now, but somewhere down the line, reading lost a little bit of its magic. To bring some of it back, I made a curated collection of the chaotic, fun, romantic, insane books I lived for during the golden age of millennial reading.

Head over to the Book Shelves tab to check out the full nostalgia trip and see how many you remember!

And comment some of your fave books from that era!

Non-fiction

• "Mountains of Fire: The Menace, Meaning, and Magic of Volcanoes" by Clive Oppenheimer

Meeting with volcanoes around the world, a volcanologist interprets their messages for humankind.

• "The White Darkness" by David Grann

In 2008, Worsley set out across Antarctica with two other descendants of Shackleton's crew, battling the freezing, desolate landscape, life-threatening physical exhaustion, and hidden crevasses. Yet when he returned home he felt compelled to go back. On November 13, 2015, at age 55, Worsley bid farewell to his family and embarked on his most perilous quest: to walk across Antarctica alone.

• "Madhouse at the End of the Earth" by Julian Scanton

Drawing on the diaries and journals of the Belgica’s crew and with exclusive access to the ship’s logbook, Sancton brings novelistic flair to a story of human extremes, one so remarkable that even today NASA studies it for research on isolation for future missions to Mars.

Memoir

• "The Last Cold Place: A Field Season Studying Penguins in Antarctica" by Naira de Garcia

Lab Girl meets Why Fish Don’t Exist in this “compelling blend of memoir, environmental writing, and scientific exploration” ( Kirkus Reviews ) from a young scientist studying penguins in Antarctica—a firsthand account of the beauty and brutality of this remote climate, the direct effects of climate change on animals, and the challenges of fieldwork.

• "South" by Ernest Shackleton

The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition 1914-1917.

• "Antarctica" by Gabrielle Walker

Drawing on her broad travels across the continent, Walker weaves all the significant threads of life on the vast ice sheet into a multifaceted narrative, illuminating what it really feels like to be there and why it draws so many different kinds of people.

Fiction

• "Chasing the Light" by Jesse Blackadder

A fictional recounting of the little-known true story of the first woman to ever set foot on Antarctica, and her extraordinary fight to get there.

• "The Dark" by Emma Haughton

A&E doctor Kate North has been knocked out of her orbit by a personal tragedy. So when she's offered the opportunity to be an emergency replacement at the UN research station in Antarctica, she jumps at the chance. The previous doctor, Jean-Luc, died in a tragic accident while out on the ice. The move seems an ideal solution for Kate: no one knows about her past; no one is checking up on her. But as total darkness descends for the winter, she begins to suspect that Jean-Luc's death wasn't accidental at all.

• "My Last Continent" by Midge Raymond

Each year, Deb and Keller play tour guide to the passengers on the small expedition ship that ferries them to their research station. But this year, when Keller fails to appear on board, Deb begins to reconsider their complicated past and the uncertainty of any future they might share.

🗺️If you want to see more book recommendations from all the countries in the world, check out my Reading the World Spreadsheet.

And if you want to support this project, consider becoming a paid member of my Bindery!

It's time to pick a discussion date for Melissa Albert's THE CHILDREN! I have a poll going on our Inky Phoenix Discord so please chime in!

Also, if you haven't attached your account to our Discord, now's the time! Don't miss out on our great community:)

Okay, so this might be an unpopular opinion but Taming the Heart is not the book for me. I wanted to like it so bad but maybe, personally, now is not the time.

Taming the Heart by Elliot Rose is a steamy romance between the bull rider Beau and his new, younger marketing manager Sage. They are physically attracted to each other since their first meeting, but their relationship is taboo because he is married.

The actual plot and the spice commences in the second half. The first half was very descriptive and slow. I was expecting something, anything to happen but I was sadly disappointed there.

Moving on to the second half, this is where things get exciting - metaphorically and literally. ;) The spice is good but honestly at some places, it did not match the plot. There are some chapters where I felt it the author wanted to bring the two characters close by having a heart to heart, but last minute decided to change it into a smut scene. But still, second half gives much needed tension and action.

I liked Sage's sass and confidence but some more focus on her work would have been great. Maybe a little bit more about her upbringing, her perspective, her insecurities.

Also, Beau was almost a red flag. Almost seemed like labelling himself a victim when he could have turned things around for his divorce.

Honestly, if you want to read it just for tension and the fire, go for it. I would recommend to quickly reach the second half. 🔥

This was a gifted copy, and I am very grateful for it. Hopefully other books by the author work out for me.

Hi everyone! This weekend is our seasonal readathon to celebrate summer! It goes from Friday, July 10th to Tuesday, July 14th starting at midnight in your time zone and going until 11:59PM to Tuesday, July 14th (in your time zone). Join us in Discord!

The Rules: This is a laid-back readathon. Read as much or as little as possible, mood read or use the bingo card linked below. My only ask is that the books you're reading have queer rep and/or are written by a BIPOC author. I'm cultivating a space where we diversify our reading.

I'll be hosting sprints for free and paid members on Sunday, July 12th from 12pm to 3pm EST. CLICK HERE to access the stream. I'll make an official post leading up to the sprints for an extra reminder. The stream will be available to access afterward.

For anyone who wants it, I created a bingo card. CLICK HERE to access the bingo card.

BINGO CARD PROMPTS

1. Read a book set at the beach

2. Read a book where the character completes a bucket list

3. Read a novella

4. Read a book that starts with 'J'

5. Attend reading sprints

6. Read a book featuring ice cream

7. Read a book published in July

8. Read a book with disability/neurodivergent rep (It's Disability Pride Month!)

9. Read a book on your summer TBR

10. Read a book with your favorite color on the cover

11. Read a graphic novel, comic, or manga

12. Read a book set during the summer

13. Read a romance book

14. Read a middle grade book

15. Have a summer treat

16. Write a book review

RECOMMENDATIONS

Disability & Neurodivergent Rep

• Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun (ADHD)

• Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White (Autism)

• How to Become a Planet by Nicole Melleby (anxiety & depression)

• Someone to Daydream About by Sydney Langford (deaf FMC, MMC w/ ADHD, dysgraphia & dyslexia)

Graphic Novels

• Magical Boy by The Kao

• The Chromatic Fantasy by H.A.

• Homebody by Theo Parish

• This One Summer by Mariko & Jillian Tamaki

Manga

• Blue Flag by KAITO

• Dinosaur Sanctuary by Itaru Kinoshita

• Confessions of a Shy Baker by Masaomi Ito (CW: Dieting, calorie counting)

• Cat + Gamer by Wataru Nadatani

Summer (Beach) Reads

• Melt My Heart by Bethany Rutter

• The House of Now and Then by Edward Underhill

• The Summer of Everything by Julian Winters

• If You Change Your Mind by Robby Weber

• Our Way Back to Always by Nina Moreno

Books starting with 'J'

• Just As You Are by Cameron Kellogg

• Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead

• Just Between Us by Adeline Kon

• Joy, to the World by Lisa Bunker, Kai Shappley

• Junior High by Tegan & Sara

Books Published in July

• Buried Feelings by Kit Rosewater (July 7, 2026)

• Heartstopper: Volume Six by Alice Oseman (July 2026)

• Melt My Heart by Bethany Rutter (July 23, 2020)

Middle Grade books

• The Beautiful Something Else by Alder Van Otterloo

• The House of Sunrise Lagoon series by Nicole Melleby

• Glitch Girl! by Rainie Oet

• Dear Mothman by Robin Gow

Novellas

• Finna by Nino Cipri

• Peter Darling by Austin Chant

• Read Between the Lines by Bee Medina

• Loading...The Machine Child by T.T. Wadden

Romance Books

• The Next Chapter by Cameron Kellogg

• And They Were Roommates by Page Powars

• Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon

• The Broposal by Sonido Reyes

I had hoped to be able to share a recording of our first meeting for Tender is the Flesh, but I have not been able to download the recording from Zoom. I am not sure why, because we did record it, but it is not available in my zoom storage. I will reach out and see if their support team can help, but as of now, I don't have access to it.

If and when that changes, I'll share it, but for now, here is what you need to know:

Our conversation focused on a few key points. We discussed:

• Systems of oppression are designed to illicit complicity from even those who resist them

• While this specific story is a horrific display, it is meant to help us reflect on the way we, ourselves, justify the complicity our everyday lives require from us

• Tejo's history of neglect and abuse and how he uses those memories, and the relationships in his life, to justify his choices

• The contrast between the people at the bottom of this system and the people at the top

• Tejo's relationship with himself and the world around him

We also discussed specific scenes in the book and how we felt about them, but overall, we stuck to these larger conversations.

I also dropped a blog last week asking people when we would like to meet to discuss the second half of the book, and it looks like the date that worked best for everyone is Next Tuesday, July 14th, at 7pm CST

HERE is the Zoom link for that meeting. Based on our last meeting, I would expect this one to last from an hour to an hour and a half. Come ready with your questions, observations and challenges!

Also, at the end of that meeting, I would love to get some feedback from all of you on how we can do this better with our next book! I want to cultivate a really good experience for everyone and would love to know what would make that easier for you. So think on that this week too so that we can talk about it when we meet!

Thanks everyone! Look forward to speaking with you Tuesday!

So I recently dove into an oft-unmentioned book by sci-fi great C.J. Cherryh called Hammerfall. The first in a duology, I was excited to get into it and read something obscure she wrote - something new an interesting I had missed somehow.

I do, sadly, see why it was obscure and unmentioned.

The premise? Very cool. Marak has visions and after being betrayed by his father, he is sent to be taken before the immortal god-ruler called the Ila. Marak suffers from what's called "the madness" where a person is plagued by repeating visions and hallucinations, all of them suffering identical ones about a tower followed by the relentless compulsion to journey east. The Ila, strangely, decides Marak has enough of his faculties that he should just... follow them. See what happens.

So after bartering for his fellow madpersons' freedom to join him, Marak ventures across a desert as his visions intensify. During their travels, we see them weather storms, a power exchange, his budding relationships with two women who become his wives, Hati and Norit. Finally, after months, they come upon the tower. We learn about a galactic war between the Ila and these mysterious creatures and how the Ila has rebelled by creating things she wasn't supposed to and putting life on this planet. Luz and Ian, the two figures manning this tower, warn Marak that the end of the world is coming and they have to return and get as many people as they can to the tower for safety.

That's about where the interesting stuff stops.

After our journey through the desert, we then have to... journey back through the desert. Where we argue with the Ila, but then she rallies the tribes to go across the desert. Then... we go back across the desert. Again. Racing time as the "hammerfall" or apocalypse arrives.

I can only read so many passages about getting off and on a pack animal, resting in midday tents, and walking before I am skipping pages begging something to happen. To and fro. That is all the journey was. Just... coming and going.

It's a shame because Cherryh is a beautiful writer, her prose is fantastic and remains so strong in this. It was just so ceaseless in its monotony that I couldn't bring myself to be anything but annoyed. I skipped and skimmed so much hunting for when things would happen only to annoyingly discover they never did. We never got clarity on the ondats and what they are, very little came out about the nanotechnology other than it lets them live forever if they're infected with it, and Marak got closure by killing his dad after his dad killed his mom.

This all sounds extremely exciting, I know, but let me tell you that it was not. Somehow, we made it bland and tasteless and boring. I love weird sci fi, but there's a line between weird sci fi and pointless sci fi and Hammerfall was unfortunately the latter.

This got me thinking about a bigger picture item, mostly because I just finished Throne of Glass and there's a lot about the weakness or "bad writing" in the series' early installments. Even the greatest writers stumble. That's the nature of writing. Some big, colossal, genre-defining names have had bad or weak or forgettable books. Not every book is going to be a masterpiece and that's just fine.

We put so much pressure on authors to always produce masterworks, always getting better and better. Typically, they do! This is the nature of repeatedly flexing a talent! But sometimes, even masters of their craft slide. The true test of greatness is what they do with that slide, that reminder of the kind of author or talent or creator they used to be and how far they have come. Cherryh is a powerhouse in sci fi. She will always be. It's because of this folding-in of a less than ideal series that she continues to be known as a great writer. It didn't stop or deter her, she just folded it in and went back to her desk.

We have to let our favorites fail sometimes. They're humans. The beauty of human-made art is in the occasional failure of that art to connect. There is something painfully real about pushing through a book I should've put down and getting to the end, to seeing it through. It reminds me of fallibility, of how much we can change and still fall back a few steps, of how everyone including these colossi of their craft can miss sometimes.

So Hammerfall was not what I wanted it to be, but it was also a reminder that it doesn't make Cherryh any less of a great. That, alone, was worth finishing for the reminder.

Hey hey gonna make this intro super quick because World Cup is on. Let me know what you're reading this week in the comments and I'll fill ya in on what I'm planning on reading with my eyeballs. There's a buncha updates at the bottom on other stuff. Let's boogie!

READING

REVIEW

GUARDS! GUARDS! by TERRY PRATCHETT [City Watch #1, Discworld #8] (satirical fantasy)

Progress: Finished

Everybody that said I would love this was correct and I stand by what I said last week about it. I started #2 of City Watch, Men at Arms, today! The plan is to read that and maybe #3 of City Watch, Feet of Clay, before inserting a standalone into the rotation. Fantasy worlds with massive catalogs can be intimidating but there's nothing like vibing with the first book you pick up in one of those because it means you have so much goodness to get to.

JURASSIC PARK by MICHAEL CRICHTON

Progress: Finished

The Fiction Sickos Book Club "Jurassic July" has been a huge hit for me thanks to this book. Just finished it this morning and holy hell balls I loved it. It's been a while since I'd read Crichton (the last one was maybe Next over a decade ago) and I'd forgotten how smooth and bingeable his writing is. Over the past few days I've been watching the movies as well and I'm all the way through Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. My stepson is a massive JP fan and he recently read this book and it's been great connecting with him about the differences between the book and movie and our preferences for each.

I can't believe it took me this long to read it, get the hell in the Discord and chat with us about it if you're reading it!

Progress: Finished

NOT BUILT IN A DAY: HOW SLAVERY MADE THE ROMAN EMPIRE by EMMA SOUTHON

Progress: 227/357

I could share a billion highlights in the Discord forum for our History Sickos Book Club pick this month and I've been enjoying the discussion in there. Everyone should know by now that Southon is my favorite Roman historian in the book game so all the usual praise I heap on her for being brilliant and witty apply here.

DEFIANCE: A MEMOIR OF AWAKENING, REBELLION, AND SURVIVAL IN SYRIA by LOUBNA MRIE (nonfiction memoir)

Progress: 102/417

No progress as I didn't even mean to get this far into it and have pivoted to the book club book. Nothing at all against this book as I will pick it back up immediately after I'm done with the current read.

EVERYTHING ELSE

• Monthly Wrap Discord Video Call is tonight at 8pm EST! These are always packed and wild so come hang for the shenanigans.

• We have a winner for the Heated Rivalry giveaway! S/O Cat4141! (check your email if you haven't yet)

• I'm fed up with TikTok and am going to be taking a break from posting there until late in the month, and even then it will be in a limited capacity. TL;DR their support team continues to be entirely useless and incompetent. That won't impact other content on YT/IG/FB so if you don't watch me on TikTok you probably won't notice different.

• We're so very close to announcing the second book acquisition for Kist Reads. Hoping everything is all signed, sealed and delivered today and then we can map out an announcement plan to share with y'all.

• I started ADHD meds today which is either going to make me crazy locked in on productive work stuff or Civilization VI, who can say?!

• The current TV watches are House of the Dragon, Narcos and The Boys. I'll need something new to binge when there are no sports I care about happening.

• World Cup fever is still dominating my watch schedule. Bummer about the US stinking it up last night, currently watching Egypt 1-0 up on Argentina which is a shocker. Less shocking is VAR being Slow-Mo Big Brother bullshit and ruining a part of sports that I love (chaotic injustice perpetrated by a human). OH MAKE THAT 2-0 EGYPT?!

One of my goals this year is to help you spend less time wondering what to read next and more time actually reading.

This week's releases took me from a haunting island that shouldn't exist, to the forests of Denmark hunting a serial killer, to the pages of a Victorian gothic vampire novel. It was a week full of lush atmosphere, slow-building dread, and stories that couldn't have been more different from one another.

As always, these are simply my personal reactions. A book that didn't work for me may become your next five-star read, and one I couldn't stop recommending might not be the right fit for someone else.

Let's get into it.

🌊 Habits of the Sea

Read or Skip: READ

Rating: 5 stars

This was one of those rare books that I almost didn't want to finish because I wasn't ready to leave its world.

I've loved Shea Ernshaw's previous novels, but this felt like stepping into a dream I never wanted to wake from. It's lush, gothic, fairy-tale-like, and quietly devastating all at once.

At its heart, Habits of the Sea is about home, identity, grief, and the people who leave marks on our lives across impossible distances. Ernshaw blends magical realism with ecological anxiety, folklore, and an almost dreamlike melancholy so effortlessly that the impossible begins to feel completely believable.

The imagery is stunning. Every scene carries equal amounts of beauty and dread, and I found myself constantly slowing down just to appreciate the writing. Beneath all of the magic is an incredibly human story about loneliness, belonging, and finding your way back to yourself.

Final thought: Beautiful, haunting, and utterly immersive. This is easily one of my favorite books of the year and a must-read for anyone who loves lyrical speculative fiction.

🩸 Hide and Seek

Read or Skip: READ

Rating: 4.75 stars

Scandinavian crime fiction has always approached suspense differently than many American thrillers.

Rather than relying on constant twists, Hide and Seek builds tension through meticulous police work, creeping dread, and the feeling that every answer only opens the door to another question.

On paper, this is a 500-plus-page police procedural; in reality, it flies.

Every interview, every clue, and every conversation between Hess and Thulin moves something forward, whether it's the investigation itself or the unresolved tension between the two detectives. Their relationship continues to be one of my favorite parts of this series, and there were multiple moments where I wanted to force them to simply have an honest conversation already.

I also appreciated how much care Sveistrup gives to the victims and the families left behind. The investigation never becomes just a puzzle. It remains grounded in the people whose lives have been permanently changed.

Final thought: If The Chestnut Man hooked you, this is an easy recommendation. I somehow loved it even more than the first book.

🧛 The Brides

Read or Skip: SKIP

Rating: 3 stars

This was probably my most complicated read of the week because I don't actually think it failed at what it was trying to do.

I simply expected a different book.

Rather than modernizing vampire fiction, The Brides is deeply committed to recreating the experience of reading classic Victorian gothic novels. The epistolary structure, fragmented perspectives, and slow accumulation of dread all feel like an intentional homage to Dracula.

The atmosphere is genuinely phenomenal. Dark, eerie, unsettling, and beautifully written.

The problem was that I never emotionally connected with the story. I admired the craftsmanship from beginning to end, but I always felt like I was observing the novel rather than living inside it.

Final thought: If you're looking for an authentic gothic reading experience, this may absolutely work for you. If you're hoping for a faster-paced vampire novel, your expectations may need adjusting.

Also Hitting Shelves This Week

Didn't see your next read above? Here are a few other releases arriving this week that caught my attention.

🔍 Get Lost

A missing mother. A deadbeat dad who's suddenly the prime suspect. Add Russian mobsters, family dysfunction, and sharp humor, and this sounds like a mystery that's just as emotional as it is entertaining.

Pick this up if you enjoy: Carl Hiaasen, dysfunctional family stories, and fast-paced mysteries.

💍 The Wedding Week

An eight-day destination wedding in the Everglades quickly turns into a nightmare as buried family secrets resurface and someone begins sabotaging the celebration.

Pick this up if you enjoy: family drama, destination thrillers, and suspense with messy relationships.

🩸 We Will See You Bleed

A literary crime thriller set during a devastating paper mill strike in 1984 Maine, where the women of a struggling town decide they've had enough.

Pick this up if you enjoy: gritty crime fiction, morally gray characters, and atmospheric literary thrillers.

🏡 The MASH Up

A woman wakes up inside the M.A.S.H. game she played as a kid and discovers that her destined soulmate is... her brother's best friend.

Pick this up if you enjoy: magical realism, nostalgic rom-coms, and brother's best friend romance.

✨ An Education in Longing

A haunted magical university, a dangerous rival, and a magic system fueled by desire make this one of the week's most intriguing dark fantasy releases.

Pick this up if you enjoy: dark academia, enemies-to-lovers, and gothic fantasy.

🎭 Our Wicked Gifts

Succession meets House of Hollow. A cursed magical family, a deal with the devil, a masquerade murder, and a romance where love and betrayal are never far apart.

Pick this up if you enjoy: gothic fantasy, family intrigue, and dark romantic fantasy.

⚡ Ungodly Rich

The Greek gods are reimagined as a billionaire dynasty where divine powers, family rivalries, and ancient grudges collide.

Pick this up if you enjoy: mythology retellings, wealthy dysfunctional families, and high-stakes drama.

🏕️ The Roommate Rule

Two complete opposites share a cabin in Wales with one simple agreement: they're roommates, nothing more.

We all know how well that usually works.

Pick this up if you enjoy: forced proximity, opposites attract, and cozy vacation romances.

🕵️ The Spy and the Snake

A veteran MI5 agent returns to fieldwork for one last mission involving a fake marriage, Cold War espionage, and unexpected sparks in Budapest.

Pick this up if you enjoy: spy thrillers, capable heroines, historical espionage, and slow-burn romance.

Which of these is heading straight to your TBR?

If you've already picked one up this week, I'd love to hear what you're reading in the comments. And if you're looking for even more recommendations, be sure to follow along: I share new release roundups every Tuesday to help you find your next great read.

Welcome to your exclusive, unrestricted look into the creative world of debut romance author Ellis Darnell! While the public preview gives readers a taste of her charming coastal setting, we saved the full, raw, and delightfully honest 30-question chat for our First Editions members.

Grab a Diet Pepsi and some Taco Bell (Ellis’s ultimate writing fuel), and dive into this deep conversation about battling imposter syndrome, drafting an entire novel on an iPhone, and what the future holds for the cozy town of Driftbay.

1. The Debut Milestone

Q: Congratulations on your debut release! What has been the most exciting part of preparing for the launch of What The Heart Wants?

Ellis Darnell: "Thank you so much! Honestly, the most exciting and special part before launch was getting my first proof copy. Getting to physically hold the story in my hands was such a monumental moment, a culmination of so much hard work. I cried when I unboxed the first copy!"

2. Describe the Vibe

Q: For readers discovering your work for the first time, how would you describe What The Heart Wants in three words?

Ellis Darnell: "Cozy, sweet, and heartfelt."

3. A Long-Awaited Spark

Q: What inspired you to write a story centered around love, grief, family, and fresh starts?

Ellis Darnell: "I got the basic idea when I was seventeen, of a young girl reeling from the loss of her mom and going to live with her aunt. I wrote a (very rough) story around that time. Then life happened and so many years went by and I stopped writing for a long time. I got inspired again about two years ago for the diner aspect, and just stuck a note in my phone about it.

Then last fall, the story hit me like a ton of bricks and I knew I had to tell it. I had always wanted to tell stories from different perspectives but didn’t know how to structure it when I was younger. It wasn’t until I started reading Freida McFadden books that I realized I could write different perspectives and how I could structure it. I knew I wanted to write from Thea’s perspective, and adding her aunt’s in changed so much with what I could do for the draft."

4. Dreaming of Driftbay

Q: Driftbay sounds like a charming coastal town. What drew you to that setting, and is there anything readers should know about it before diving in?

Ellis Darnell: "The beach always relaxes me. I actually vacationed at the beach while I was working on the book and getting to spend a few days beachside while delving into these characters really helped me create the setting. I’m also from a small town in the Midwest, so combining both aspects created a perfect slice of heaven for me. I wanted somewhere peaceful where Thea could heal and discover that sometimes the smallest places take up the biggest room in our hearts."

5. The Ultimate Comfort Food

Q: Baking plays a role in the story. If you could choose one baked good that perfectly represents What The Heart Wants, what would it be and why?

Ellis Darnell: "While there’s many recipes mentioned in the book, I think Thea’s lemon-blueberry scones would represent the book the best. They’re sweet and a little tart, just like Thea’s and Beth’s journeys with grief and love."

6. The Swiftie Soundtrack

Q: Your author bio mentions that you're a huge Taylor Swift fan. If What The Heart Wants had an unofficial Taylor Swift soundtrack, what songs would make the playlist?

Ellis Darnell: "OH MAN - this is a tough one! Guilty as Sin? is included in the book playlist, but if I had to make just a Taylor playlist, it would be…

• Guilty as Sin?

• Ruin the Friendship

• Opalite

• You Are In Love

• State of Grace

• Treacherous

• Everything Has Changed

• Enchanted

• Fearless

• Labyrinth

• Midnight Rain

• evermore

• Daylight

• Lover

• Gorgeous

• Tied Together With a Smile"

7. A Note for Readers

Q: If readers could only know one thing before picking up your book, what would you want them to know?

Ellis Darnell: "Just like grief, love isn’t linear but it’s never too late for true love."

8. The Ultimate Comfort Read

Q: The Comfort Read: What is the one book you can re-read over and over again and never get tired of?

Ellis Darnell: "Dr. Franklin’s Island by Ann Halam - I discovered it in junior high and it’s still one of my favorite books to this day!"

9. Resting on the Nightstand

Q: The To-Be-Read Pile: What books are currently sitting on your nightstand waiting to be read next?

Ellis Darnell:

• A Kingdom of Salt and Stone – Liv Webster

• Comeback Season – Sarah Adkins

• Beneath The Broken Sky – Emily Scotto

• Everything’s Coming Up Rosie – Courtney Walsh

10. The Gateway Book

Q: The Gateway Book: What was the first book you remember reading that made you absolutely fall in love with reading?

Ellis Darnell: "Oh, gosh, there’s so many! But definitely the American Girls series - I remember devouring all of the girls’ stories. I had the Felicity doll, and was also a huge fan of Molly, Addy, and Samantha!"

11. Early Creative Sparks

Q: You've been creating stories since you were young. Do you remember the very first story you wrote that made you think, "I want to be an author"?

Ellis Darnell: "I wrote a Harry Potter-inspired story about mind readers when I was eleven. Fantasy is so much harder to write with all of the world-building. I’d like to dive into that genre one day."

12. Advice to My Younger Self

Q: Looking back, what advice would present-day Ellis give to eleven-year-old Ellis who was busy building fictional worlds?

Ellis Darnell: "Keep going, even on the hard days. Just like shows, it will always come together in the end."

13. The Self-Publishing Eye-Opener

Q: What surprised you most about the publishing process that readers might not realize?

Ellis Darnell: "Being a self-published author, I am responsible for every aspect. I’m surprised at how much time I spend on marketing - that is currently my main priority as I approach launch. I am surrounded by incredible people in my personal life that have helped me along the journey - I could NOT have done it without their help."

14. Facing the Inner Critic

Q: What was the biggest challenge you faced while writing What The Heart Wants?

Ellis Darnell: "Imposter syndrome. I still struggle with it, to be honest. I have days where I think I’m not good enough and that no one will want to read my story. But I love my characters and story and I think others will, too."

15. The Mobile Writing Studio

Q: The Writing Setup: Are you a desk-and-computer writer, a couch-and-laptop writer, or a hand-written notebook writer? What does your ideal writing space look like?

Ellis Darnell: "My laptop at the kitchen table. Fun fact, I didn’t have a working laptop for the majority of the time I wrote this book! My mom got me a new one for Christmas, which is amazing! I wrote about 85% on Google Docs on my iPhone!"

16. Literary Fuel

Q: The Fuel: What is your ultimate writing snack or beverage? Are you powered by coffee, tea, or something completely different?

Ellis Darnell: "Diet Pepsi, through and through. Also, Taco Bell - specifically, Doritos Locos Tacos."

17. Midnight Inspiration

Q: The Routine: Are you a morning bird who writes before the world wakes up, or a night owl who gets creative after dark?

Ellis Darnell: "A night owl! I cannot count how many good ideas that have come to me when I’m falling asleep or wake me up in the middle of the night. Thank God for my phone and the notes app!"

18. Transforming the Process

Q: Plotter vs. Pantser: When starting a new project, do you outline absolutely everything beforehand, or do some surprises reveal themselves while you're writing?

Ellis Darnell: "I used to be a pantser, but this was the first project I worked off of an outline. For my next project, I have an 11-page outline already!"

19. The Background Brain

Q: The Hardest Part: What comes easiest to you when writing—creating the world, drafting dialogue, or developing plot twists? Which part is the most challenging?

Ellis Darnell: "I’ve always said that my brain is like an old 90’s computer - always running something in the background. I can be at work, in a rehearsal, or even trying to fall asleep and the best ideas will hit me!"

20. Surprising Characters

Q: Without giving away spoilers, which character in What The Heart Wants surprised you the most while writing?

Ellis Darnell: "Judith."

21. A Day in Driftbay

Q: The Cast: If you could spend one day hanging out with any character from your books, who would it be and what would you do together?

Ellis Darnell: "Probably a tie between Thea and Beth. I’d love to spend a day in Driftbay eating their baked goods, reading a good book, visiting the diner, and relaxing at the beach."

22. Feline Feedback

Q: Your bio mentions two cats. If your cats could review your books, what do you think they'd say?

Ellis Darnell: "More fish."

23. From the Stage to the Page

Q: You also work in theatre. Has anything you've learned from stage management influenced the way you tell stories on the page?

Ellis Darnell: "Being in theatre has introduced me to a variety of personalities. I am always observing and constantly inspired by the most random, mundane things. I always tell actors that they are always auditioning for their next role and sometimes, my next book!"

24. Ready for the Screen

Q: If What The Heart Wants became a movie or TV series, what scene would you be most excited to see brought to life?

Ellis Darnell: "Either the scones scene between Thea and Graham or Charlie and Beth’s date night!"

25. The Island Provisions

Q: You're stranded on a beach with only three books, one album, and one fictional character. What are you bringing?

Ellis Darnell: "Books - Dr. Franklin’s Island by Ann Halam, The Teacher by Freida McFadden, and Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak.

One album - Gone Now by Bleachers.

One fictional character - Louise Belcher from Bob’s Burgers."

26. Vacation Destinations

Q: What fictional world would you most like to visit for a week?

Ellis Darnell: "Velaris!"

27. The Literary Confection

Q: If your writing style were a dessert, what dessert would it be and why?

(Ellis left us with a sweet cliffhanger on this one—but based on her book, we’re betting it tastes like a warm lemon-blueberry scone with a side of heartfelt comfort!)

28. Return to the Coast

Q: Can readers expect more stories set in the world of Driftbay?

Ellis Darnell: "Oh, yes. I’m excited to expand the collection."

29. Sneak Peeks & Signings

Q: Are there any upcoming projects or future releases that you're especially excited to share with readers?

Ellis Darnell: "While I can’t say too much, I am planning book two for these characters, focusing on early-reader fan favorites, Beth and Judith. I also will be having some signings this summer and fall! You can check the schedule on my Instagram, @authorellisdarnell."

30. The Lasting Impression

Q: Finally, what do you hope readers take away from What The Heart Wants after turning the final page?

Ellis Darnell: "Grief and love are messy, but what’s meant to be will always work out in the end."

Support the Author & Secure Your Copy!

What The Heart Wants is available for pre-order right now! Support Ellis's incredible self-published debut journey by ordering through these fantastic book boutiques:

• Signed & Special Pre-orders: The Enchanted Heart Booktique

• Sweet & Spicy Romance Picks: Coastal Cowboy Romance Bookstore

• Local Indie Support: Wallflower Book Co.

Connect with Ellis Darnell online:

• Official Website: Author Ellis Darnell

• Instagram/Threads: @authorellisdarnell

• Goodreads: Ellis Darnell Page

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📱 Instagram & TikTok Caption

Caption:

Pack your bags, we’re heading to Driftbay! 

🌊 Custom-designed for our favorite comfort romance lovers, we’re sitting down with debut novelist Ellis Darnell to chat all things healing, small-town charm, and the ultimate Taylor Swift bookish playlist. 🎧✨

From crying over her very first physical proof copy to drafting 85% of her entire manuscript directly on an iPhone notes app, Ellis’s journey is just as inspiring as her sweet, heartfelt storytelling.

Here’s a little taste of our interview:

📖 In three words, what is What The Heart Wants?

"Cozy, sweet, and heartfelt."

🧁 If your book were a baked good, what would it be?

"Thea’s lemon-blueberry scones... They’re sweet and a little tart, just like the journeys with grief and love."

💡 What's one thing readers should know before picking it up?

"Just like grief, love isn’t linear but it’s never too late for true love."

Ready for the full 30-question deep dive? 💎

Ellis gets completely candid about overcoming imposter syndrome, the theater management background that inspires her characters, and a sneak peek into Book 2! Tap the link in our bio to visit our Bindery page and read the full exclusive interview.

Link in Bio to Read More!

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