The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry by Ransom Riggs

Seventeen-year-old Leopold Berry is seeing weird things around Los Angeles. A man who pops a tooth into a parking meter. A glowing trapdoor in a parking lot. A half-mechanical raccoon with its tail on fire that just won’t leave him alone. Every hallucinatory moment seems plucked from a cheesy 1990s fantasy TV show called Max's Adventures in Sunderworld—and that’s because they are.

Not a good sign.

In the blurry weeks after his mother’s death, a young Leopold discovered VHS tapes of its one and only season in a box headed for the trash—and soon became obsessed. Losing himself in Sunder was the best way to avoid two things: grieving his mother and being a chronic disappointment to his overbearing father. But when the strange visions return—at the worst possible time on the worst possible day—Leopold turns to his best friend Emmet for help. Together they discover that Sunder is much more than just an old TV show, and that Los Angeles is far stranger than they ever imagined. And soon, he’ll realize that not only is Sunderworld real, but it’s in grave danger.

Certain he’s finally been chosen for greatness, Leopold risks everything to claim his destiny, save the world of his childhood dreams, and prove once and for all that he’s not the disappointment his father believes him to be. But when everything goes terribly, horribly, excruciatingly wrong, Leopold’s disappointments prove to be more extraordinary than he ever could have imagined.

How do you battle darkness when no one believes in you—not even yourself?

Welcome to Sunderworld.

Tales from the Territory by Travis Baldree

From international bestseller Travis Baldree, Tales from the Territory is a beautiful collection of cosy fantasy tales, set in the much-loved world of Legends & Lattes.

There are many tales yet untold . . .

'GOBLINS & GREATCOATS': Chaos goblin Zyll is involved in a case of mistaken identity, where she solves a murder at an inn whilst simultaneously stealing all the cutlery.

'JUST A THIMBLEFUL': The sweet rattkin baker Thimble finds a new home for his soon-to-be famous cinnamon rolls.

'PAGES TO FILL': An act of mercy leads to a life-changing discovery for warrior orc Viv.

In 'MIROGRAPH', young succubus Tandri assists a university professor on a mysterious project where art and science collide.

In 'CAVALIERS & COFFEES', Viv, now the owner of Legends & Lattes coffee shop, discovers that imitation is not the highest form of flattery.

Georgie by Malachy Doyle

Fourteen-year-old Georgie hasn't spoken in years. Withdrawn, isolated and full of rage, no one trusts him and no one gets close to him.

But then he is moved to a new home in the Welsh countryside. Instead of an empty room with a bare mattress on the floor, he has a proper bed, a music system, a mirror. There even seems to be someone here who might want to be his friend.

Is this the place where Georgie can finally overcome his fears and start to unlock the secrets of his past?

A raw, gritty, yet hopeful and uplifting story about mental health and the power of care and kindness.

When Life gives you Corpses by Lene D Buttner

Theory has a monstrous secret. He isn’t an ordinary search-and-recovery guide at Fiendworld, the world’s premier magical-sinkhole-turned-amusement-park; he’s a cursed, human-eating mantis. But not to worry—he has an excellent solution for his particular diet. Whenever he’s asked to retrieve the corpse of a lost adventurer, he simply snacks on a finger or two. No harm done.

That is, until he’s given his latest assignment: recover the body of park management’s missing son. Great. Yet another foolish wizard who got lost adventuring, and this time the direct descendant of the very person who cursed Theory in the first place. Worse, when Theory reluctantly sets off on the search, he’s shocked to find the wizard somehow still alive.

Nim—the wizard in question—has no desire to be rescued. He’s on a mission to the bottom of the sinkhole, and refuses to return to the surface before he gets there. He may be a subpar wizard, as his parents constantly remind him, but he’s got a positive attitude, an enchanted backpack, and now a mysterious rescue worker to recruit to his cause! Even though said worker is quite rude and seems to be getting Nim into more danger rather than out of it.

To survive, Theory and Nim must brave man-eating fish, walls of tentacles, and devastating both their own, and ones the park desperately tries to keep hidden. Along the way, they may just discover that they’re stronger together than apart.

Dive Bar at the End of the Road by Kelley Armstrong

A forested road at night, slick from the pounding rain and eerily illuminated by flashes of lightning. Just before midnight, a car swerves to avoid something—or someone—mysteriously standing in the road, only to slam into a fallen tree instead. In the pitch black, four more cars follow in a pileup no one can seem avoid.

Stumbling out of the wreckage, soaked from the rain and nursing various injuries, five strangers find themselves in a backwoods dive bar, waiting for daybreak and hoping for cell service. But as tensions rise and the storm rages on outside, the occupants of the dive bar start to notice that not everything is as it seems. Time is moving differently, and they quickly learn that going outside—whether to assist another accident victim or to hike for help—is a very bad idea.

There’s something in the woods, something that isn't natural. Could the figure in the road have been a warning? Or something more sinister? None of this is normal, and they'll need to work together to figure out what’s happening if they have any hope of surviving through the night.

All the Hidden Places by Cadwell Turnbull

Eighteen stories. Unseen places that lie just within, beneath, beyond our reality.

A father and daughter traverse postapocalyptic America seeking safe haven and the truth about why the world ended. Three siblings write intimate letters as their society slips ever deeper into dystopia. On an island where locals use cooperative AI to survive hurricanes, a journalist returns home to cover their story and reconnect with her past. A wayward god sets out to find the source of all gods. But can they survive to tell the tale? After a whimsical attempt to teleport proves successful, a couple finds that their conflicting feelings about the event are threatening their marriage. In a world where multiple souls can inhabit the same body, a recovering addict confronts his family about a terrible secret. A monster who lives on human blood finds her undoing in the loneliness she carries within her heart.

In his debut collection, acclaimed novelist Cadwell Turnbull takes readers across an omniverse of monsters, gods, and people, all trying to make peace with the parts of themselves they don't want others to see. Until they are forced to face all their hidden places.

Blog Tour: The Redwood Bargain by Markelle Grabo

To free her cousin from an indentured contract, Katrien agrees to fulfill their lord’s bargain with the fabled “Redwood Man.” Three maids before her have posed as his stepdaughter, Lady Zaviera, and met this lord of the forest as promised. But Katrien means to be the first to fool him—and live.

Impersonating a Lady is no easy feat, especially one as beautiful and aloof as Zaviera. With six weeks before she’s sent off, Katrien is put through endless lessons, even as The Redwood Man’s suffocating vines overtake the manor and threaten its staff.

Zaviera takes a special interest in her training, and their shared interests grow into shared affections. But The Redwood Man awaits his prize. Caught between duty and desire, her future and her past, Katrien must navigate a tricky bargain—or risk failing those she holds dearest.

Andromeda by E. S. McLeod

Blessed by the gods with unparalleled beauty, Andromeda lives a life of ease within her Aethiopian palace walls. Content with her sanctuary, the young princess has no concerns other than the royal expectations her parents have for her – until a single, fateful proclamation changes everything.

When the queen defies the gods with a blasphemous claim, Poseidon, fearsome God of the Seas, delivers a deadly ultimatum that puts the queen’s life in Andromeda’s hands. Poseidon sends his loyal servant, the shape-shifting Ceto, to seal the princess’s fate.

But Ceto is not just a servant. With a sharp tongue and hardened heart, she has little interest in the princess’s appearance – and even less in the games of gods. Yet an undeniable tension begins to bloom between them, and both quickly realise Andromeda’s beauty is not only a gift, but a weapon to wield. As Poseidon’s judgement draws ever closer, the two women find themselves pulled into something far more passionate – and dangerous – than either could have predicted...

Love by the Book by Jessica George

Friendship is the love story you can count on.

Remy is lucky. Her debut novel, based on her three best friends, became an instant bestseller when it was released, and her agent and publisher are clamoring for a follow-up. But just as Remy’s creative inspiration seems to leave her, so too do her friends: one moves to New York, one gets pregnant, and one gets back together with her (awful) boyfriend. After an ill-advised one-night stand complicates matters further, Remy is left deeply alone—and unable to find her next book idea.

Simone is successful. A Kindergarten teacher with a passion for kids, and a well-paying side hustle that affords her all the material comforts she desires, she doesn't have time for a robust social life. All Simone needs is her close-knit family—but after the true nature of her work is revealed, they cut her off, and she realizes for the first time just how isolated she is.

When Simone and Remy bump into each other (literally) in a bookstore, it isn’t exactly soulmates at first sight. Simone is guarded and prickly, Remy is insecure and heartbroken, and each woman is harboring a secret. And yet they might just be the missing piece the other has been searching for—if only they can let each other in.

Can Simone help Remy make one of the most important decisions of her life—and can Remy help Simone recover all that she’s lost? In Jessica George’s heartwarming, funny, and soulful second novel, she explores the restorative nature of female friendship and the life-changing power of platonic love.

Seek Immediate Shelter by Vincent Yu

---

✦ BLURB ✦

On an otherwise unremarkable morning, the residents of a small town in Massachusetts all receive the same alert: BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

Confronted with the options of fight or flight, planning or panicking, the people of Beckitt are stripped to their basest instincts and revealed as their truest selves. Russ squeezes his family into the bathtub, leaving his own survival in question; Nina sends an unforgivable text to her daughter; Milly confesses her unrequited love; and David hits the gas, speeding away from his wife and child.

Then the second message comes in: FALSE ALARM. PLEASE DISREGARD. ALL CLEAR. First comes relief, then comes the reckoning, as each person is forced to face the unforeseen aftermath of decisions they thought might be their last.

Vincent Yu’s searing debut follows this eclectic cast of characters over a period of many years, suggesting that the conflicts the missile exacerbated were simmering under the surface long before, and proving the ripple effects of the false alarm will be felt for years to come.

An urgent, fiercely heartfelt exploration of relationships in all forms, Seek Immediate Shelter explores the balance between love and loyalty, betrayal and forgiveness. What choices would you make if you thought your life were on the line? And if you survive, can you ever redeem yourself?

Room 706 by Ellie Levenson

When mother of two Kate goes to meet her lover James in a hotel room, she watches in horror when she switches on the TV and realises their hotel has been taken under terrorist siege. Told to stay silent and hidden, Kate is trapped in a room with a man she’s been having an affair with for years – her escape hatch, her release valve – but who she doesn’t really know at all.

In one room, with the possibility of death looming, Kate is left to contemplate what has led her here. She reflects on the grief and heartbreak of her young life, the complexities of her relationship with her husband, Vic, and the pure, unadulterated love she feels for her children. Intricately weaving Kate’s past in with her present, Room 706 follows one woman taking stock of her life, and considering what life might hold in store – if she makes it home.

Cabin by Patrick Hutchinson

---

✦ BLURB ✦

Wit’s End isn’t just a state of mind. It’s the name of a gravel road, the address of a run-down off-the-grid cabin, 120 shabby square feet of fixer-upper Patrick Hutchison purchased on a whim in the mossy woods of the Cascade Mountains in Washington state.

To say Hutchison didn’t know what he was getting into is no more an exaggeration than to say he’s a man with nearly zero carpentry skills. Well, used to be. You can learn a lot over six years or renovations.

CABIN is the story of those renovations, but it's also a love story; of a place, of possibilities, and of the process of renovation, of seeing what could be instead of what is. It is a book for those who know what it’s like to bite off more than you can chew, or who desperately wish to.

---

A love story between a man, a mossy patch of woodland, and 120 square feet of “what have I gotten myself into?”

Pre-Reading Thoughts

I love a good “taking on a project I have no business attempting” story — whether it’s watching someone build a shed or bingeing renovation shows. This sounded like the book equivalent of that, so I was curious to see if it would capture the same mix of chaos and charm.

Post-Reading

As I thought…
This really is a story of learning by doing (and sometimes re-doing). Hutchinson’s account of transforming a shabby cabin into a livable space is funny, reflective, and filled with the kind of details that will appeal to anyone who’s ever thought “how hard can it be?” only to find out: harder than expected.

It surprised me by…
How lyrical it is. At times it felt like every chapter circled back to the joys of going off-grid and building something with your own hands — which could feel a little repetitive — but it also reinforced just how deeply he loves both the process and the place. That earnestness makes the book sing.

For fans of:
I don’t usually do recommendations for nonfiction, but if you enjoy Grand Designs or any of those house-renovation shows that make you simultaneously inspired and exhausted just watching, this book will hit the same sweet spot.

Disclaimer

Cabin publishes on the 6th of November, 2025. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.

The Final Shelter by Rob Ramos

---

✦ BLURB ✦

Former conservation scientist Phoebe Jones is weary of humanity's descent into a dystopian society. When a mysterious silver card arrives with an invitation, Phoebe learns she's been chosen to take shelter in a secret bunker and help rebuild humanity. Skeptical but intrigued, Phoebe begins to investigate.

What catastrophic event are they preparing for?

Why are people already being chosen?

What do they know... that we don't?

The search for answers leads her to fascinating biblical prophecies, clairvoyant predictions, and alarming signs of the end of days, such as earthquakes, a blood-red moon, and broad public disorder. As global tensions rise, Phoebe realizes she must act. However, the journey to the bunker becomes an extreme test of her principles, trust, and faith.

Layered with mystery, suspense, and intrigue, The Final Shelter is a thought-provoking dystopian novel that blends realism with mysticism, culminating in a provocative story that unfolds into a powerful mystery-thriller twist.

Hollow by Taylor Grothe

---

✦ BLURB ✦

When Cassie Davis returns to her hometown in upstate New York, she's eager to mask her new autism diagnosis from her old friends. The group take a backpacking trip together to Hollow Ridge to celebrate her homecoming, but after the first night, Cassie wakes to an abandoned campsite - her friends all gone.

With severe weather approaching, and nearing sensory overload, Cassie meets a boy named Kaleb, who leads her to safety, to a place he calls The Roost - an off-the-grid compound lived in by a group of artists and outcasts. There, with Kaleb, Cassie begins to feel, for the first time in her life, that she can truly be herself.

But as the days pass, strange things start happening. Crows surround them, there are odd noises... But are the dangers in the eerie forest that surrounds them, or inside the Roost itself?

Body of Water by Adam Godfrey

---

✦ BLURB ✦

Don't let the water drag you down...

It's been six years since Glen Masters lost his wife in a tragic accident. In hopes of reconnecting with his grieving teenage daughter, Lauren, he decides to take her on a road trip through the Appalachian mountains, where he has fond memories of their past as a family. But what was supposed to be a quick diner pit stop suddenly transforms into a nightmare when armed men stumble in, ranting about a mysterious and deadly "living water" that attacked several people up the road. The story the men spin seems to be the rantings of drunken lunatics, but soon Glen, his daughter, and the other diners find themselves hostages to both the gunmen and the inexplicably terrifying entity.

Because there's truly something wrong with the water, and it has no mercy.

Panic grows as the diners play witness to a nature-defying being that seeks only to swallow everything in its path. With help nowhere in sight, the group of strangers must work together to devise an escape, and ultimately, Glen will have to face his worst fears to reconcile with the past or risk losing everything.

I Killed the King by Rebecca Mix and Andrea Hannah

✦ BLURB ✦

After a decade of war, the kingdoms of Avendell and Istellia have finally agreed to peace. As nobles and magic-wielders from both countries arrive at remote Castle Avendell for an historic, all-night masquerade to celebrate, King Costis summons an unlikely group to his chambers: the crown prince, his Istellian bride-to-be, his personal guard, a wild beast tamer, and the palace’s questionable new healer. But before Costis can reveal why he has gathered them, the castle goes dark.

When the lights come back, the king is dead—murdered with the princess’s knife, in a weak spot only his guard knew of, and with venom from one of the beast tamer’s monsters lacing the blade.

With no clear killer—and everyone a suspect—they make a risky pact: tell no one until the treaty is signed. But when a winter storm seals everyone inside, and someone aware of the king's untimely death begins to pick off guests one by one, the six suspects must work together to discover who killed the king . . . before one of them is next.

When we were Monsters by Jennifer Niven

---

✦ BLURB ✦

At an elite New England boarding school, eight students are selected for an exclusive storytelling workshop with the one and only Meredith Graffam—an enigmatic writer, director, and actress. For sixteen days, they will live in the isolated estate of the school’s founder, surrounded by snowy woods and a storm-tossed seas. Only one of the chosen will walk away with a lifechanging opportunity to realize their creative dreams.

Everyone, including Graffam, has a compelling reason to be there—Effy, the orphan, Isaac, the legacy, Ness, the wallflower, Ramon, the outsider, and Arlo, whose unexpected arrival leaves Effy spiraling—but only the most ambitious will last the term. Graffam’s unorthodox methods push the students past the breaking point, revealing their darkest secrets, taking unthinkable risks, and slowly starting to turn on one another. But Graffam never expected they would turn on her . . .

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of All the Bright Places comes a psychological thriller about the monsters who walk among us—even in the glittering upper echelons of society—and the ways in which we seek redemption for the wrongs we’ve done.

Soulmatch by Rebecca Danzenbaker

---

✦ BLURB ✦

Two hundred years after World War III, the world is at peace, all thanks to the soul-identification system. Every eighteen-year-old must report to the government to learn about their past lives, a terrifying process known as kirling. Good souls leave the institute with their inheritance, a career path, and if they’re lucky, a soulmate. Bad souls leave in handcuffs.

It’s a nerve-wracking ordeal for Sivon, who, given her uncanny ability to win every chess match, already suspects her soul isn’t normal. Turns out, she was right to worry. Sivon’s results stun not only her, but the entire world, making her the object of public scrutiny and anonymous threats.

Saddled with an infuriating and off-limits bodyguard, Sivon is thrust into a high-stakes game where souls are pawns and rules don’t exist. As deaths mount, Sivon must decipher friend from foe while protecting her heart against impossible odds. One wrong move could destroy the future lives of everyone Sivon loves, and she can’t let that happen, even if they’ll never love her back.

The Namaste Club by Asha Ellas

---

✦ BLURB ✦

Just inland from Florida’s sun-splashed Treasure Coast is the Namaste Club yoga center. An exclusive oasis of palms, lakes, and adorable guest villas, it’s perfect for getaways where Shakti, a serenely blond Instagram influencer, holds yoga retreats for well-heeled Miami ladies. The Namaste Club is a place of reflection, a place of release and redemption…or at least, that’s the sales pitch.

This weekend, however, is Transcendence Week, and a new bunch of South Florida burnouts have arrived. There’s Indira, fabulously wealthy after her divorce from the fast-frozen fruit king of Florida. There’s Indira’s bestie Jessica, also divorced and trying to get her groove back. There’s Barbara, heir to a massive family fortune, who’s taken a vow of silence for the retreat that will be sorely tested. And then there’s Carol Anne from Vero Beach, a happy tradwife and proud gun owner who recently did something...inadvisable; she’s just here while things cool off in her hometown.

And then, of course, there’s Daniel, the toned, man-bunned apprentice yoga instructor. He’s cute if you like that sort of thing. And many of the rich ladies do.

Last but not least, there’s Bubba, the retreat center’s resident twelve-foot American alligator. Before Transcendence Week is over, Bubba will have his moment of glory as well—when one of the visitors winds up in his jaws.

Who will be living their best life? Who will get their comeuppance? Pour yourself a spicy margarita and settle in for your new favorite read!

Time After Time by Mikki Daughtry

---

✦ BLURB ✦

Nineteen-year-old Libby has always been inexplicably drawn to the old Victorian house on Mulberry Lane. So much so that when she sees a For Sale sign go up in the front yard, Libby uses all the money her grandmother left her to pay for college to buy the house instead, determined to fix it up herself--even though she knows her parents will be furious. Soon after moving in, she discovers a journal written by a young woman, Elizabeth Post, who lived in the house nearly a century earlier. It doesn't take long for the journal to reveal that Elizabeth was madly in love with her personal maid, Patricia. A love that was forbidden and dangerous, especially at that time.

Enter Tish, a brash, broke fellow college student, who passes by the house one day and is mysteriously compelled to knock on the door. Soon Libby offers Tish a room in exchange for her help in fixing up the old house, and the two young women quickly find themselves falling for each other. But as Elizabeth's journal entries delve deeper into her secret love affair with Patricia, uncanny similarities between that young couple and Libby and Tish are revealed, and it becomes clear that this may not be their first time in this house, or in this love. Is this their chance to get it right?