Book Review: Palaces of the Crows by Ray Nayler

 I had the opportunity to read/listen and review the Palaces of the Crows by Ray Nayler - produced by Macmillan Audio. 

   This was my first book by Ray Nayler, and it was INTENSE. I am not entirely sure it is representative of his other works, but I do intend to check out more from him. 

This book is really quite unique and I noted several folks doing reviews didn't finish it. Crows, and Crow friends are kind of a hot commodity in the Book tok world  So perhaps readers were expecting one thing, and got something different. I personally initially ignored this one because I am wholly exhausted from the onslaught of World War Two historic fiction. In the current climate, it makes me feel some kind of way. that said, I'm glad that I took this one on, because it fed a piece of my soul. 

For me, this was a book that grew on me. The initial chapters- which introduced us to the main characters were admittedly not the most engaging/easy to follow, AND, they introduced readers to a bit of a bleak landscape and situation, which at times overwhelmed me with a sense of doom, and dread. As much as I didn't enjoy that, I have to hand it to Nayler.  I was immersed.  I listened to this as part of my daily commute and at the beginning found that I often walked into my house after my commute home with a severe sense of dread.  I finally fully comprehended that my entire sense of dread was Audiobook induced, and I started to enjoy Nayler's work more. 

     The basic premise - without any spoilers-  is 4 young people find themselves sandwiched between the German troops,  and the Red Army troops in a forest during WWII. They didn't know each other "before"  and their alliance seems to be one of the most unlikely ever. These children band together and are helped by a variety flora, fauna, and some humans.  But they are especially helped by a band of highly intelligent crows that one of them had befriended over the years. This survival story unfolds into a panorama of survival through mutual aid, loyalty, storytelling and a unique human/animal relationship. 

I stuck with this book, despite also not really vibing with the first part because I was curious about why Nayler had taken on this topic and decided to tell this story. I feel that it's worth it for the "third act" if you will which shows the eventual resolution of the desperate situation the characters began in and gave me a unique view on power, people in power, and the motivations of those who seek, obtain and maintain power. The choices made by the young persons- if they can be called choices- were heart wrenching. If someone had told me I'd be sobbing at any time reading a Ray Nayler novel, I would not have believed it, but I actually did shed a tear or two. The third portion of the novel really hits home. 

 This was narrated by Eunice Wong,  who showcased her talent to take on this project and deliver a reading that was clear, but also reflected many difficult emotions throughout the novel. 

This is a unique book, one that transported me to a very uncomfortable spot, but also left me with many small gifts and realizations.  I recommend it for readers particularly interested in difficult choices, mutual aid, and of course, human/animal relationships. 

First Published :  5/19/26

Pages: 384

Available as an Audio Book :  yes ~ 8 hours

Trigger Warnings:  War, death, violence, extreme cold, parental loss, loss of identity  (this is not a full list, read responsibly)

Book Review Sublimation By Isabel Kim

   Ok so, I was NOT PREPARED for the utter delicious-ness of this debut novel. 

Where has Isabel Kim been? 

I feel like this is probably the most impactful book I've read all year.  I keep recommending it to all sorts of people, and I cannot wait for it to come out.  

In fact, my only regret is that when reading this, I wanted desperately to dissect little parts and discuss it with someone else. 

I wasn't  a huge fan of the cover, but it reflects the novel so perfectly, that I now see why it was chosen.  This book is a perfect mix of speculative fiction, science fiction, literary fiction and corporate espionage thriller, all rolled into one. Sometimes this doesn't work, but in this case, it worked so well for me. At the crux of this novel is the familiar question: 

Can a person really ever go home again?  It is an age old question, and one that you'll have to answer yourself at the conclusion of the novel. 

     In short, readers enter in to a near future world where persons can split in two at borders. It doesn't always happen, and in fact it's a bit unpredictable, and messy. These folks often live two separate lives, or later may choose to reintegrate into one individual. We follow two young persons who have "body doubles/" in the US while their "original copy" lives in Korea. As these people navigate desire, and choices regarding separation and integration or re-integration, we are also treated to an expansive family saga, detailed and completely fleshed out technology systems, a bit of an espionage thriller, and a reckoning or what's lost and gained when one leaves home. In addition, the novel gets a bit meta with all sorts of references to the books premise but applied creatively to age old stories from the Bible and Greek myths/poetry. It is quite an accomplishment that this work hung together so cohesively. At every chapter I was kind of turned around with the multiple references that really fit quite perfectly within the narrative!  

This is an excellent Book Club book as it brings up all sorts of topics of discussion: Immigration, Migration, Ethical issues with the use of technology, Family relationships and how they shape our world, Friendships, Personality, and so much more.  

   I was gifted an audiobook copy from Macmillan Audio and I really really recommend that you do choose to use the audio version.  Narrators Major Curda and Michelle H. Lee did a great job giving a clear narration, but what REALLY stands out is the production of the novel. Studio Sound engineeers did an amazing job at translating certain parts of the text in some very specific sound effects which really drew me into the reading and made me feel as if I was experiencing the very thing the narrator was communicating. There was nothing distracting about this, and all the production really served to pull me further into the novel. 

   Even if you aren't a Sci-Fi fan, this is one to put on your list.  Kudos to Isabel Kim, I've been looking up everything else she's got out there all week. 

Many Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the ALC, this was a joy to read. 

First Published :  6/2/26

Pages: 368

Available as an Audio Book :  yes ~ 12 hrs 

Trigger Warnings:  mild violence, mild body horror, (this is not a full list, read responsibly)

 

Book Review: Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather

  This is a bit of a Beat the Backlist kind of novella.  I found it oddly, on good reads as part of a challenge for novellas and I immediately was thinking SIGN me UP!  Nuns in space? I felt this was going to be bonkers and I really was not incorrect.  

The cover is not bad, but it really really doesn't do the novel any favors.  (the novel is much more interesting than the cover.) 

Lina Rather is a talent to continue watching. Her writing is tight, and concise while still being descriptive and immersive. While she's not writing in the same genre, I feel her style compares to Georges Simenon. Both have short works that are completely immersive with well developed characters and environments despite sparse word counts. 

   No Spoiler summary here: Readers are given the story of the Sisters of the Order of Saint Rita. These sisters serve aboard a spacecraft "Our Lady of Impossible Constellations"  a consecrated ship that happens to be a living, semi-sentient slug like creature. Like many missionaries of old, the sisters have joined the order for various reasons- some of which were related to religious calling, many not so much. The focus of charitable and practical aid looms larger than proselytizing.  I was initially struck by the similarities between these space nuns and early earth missionaries. I thought I was going to be getting a cautionary tale of colonialism but set in space. Instead, I got much more.  The novella opens with discussion of what to do about the living ship's imprinting on another ship, and as the sister's debate and discuss, a distress call arrives from a new colony. The sister's respond and find themselves embroiled in a conflict with Central Governance, the Church and themselves. 

   For me this was such a treat, in 160 short pages, we explore a living space ship made of muscle, viscera and more, the public and private lives of nuns, the ethics of power dynamics in religion, government, and relationships, all while being treated to space adventure that is propulsive and interesting. 

  I couldn't put it down,  but it was also very short, so there was no need to put it down. 

I did not like the sort of abrupt, cliff hanger-y type ending but the good part of reading back list books- is that the second book, which continues the story of our Nuns and their unlikely allies, is already available. I do want more space faring nuns. 

I did do this on audio.  The audiobook was well done and did not detract from the story. 

I really do recommend this one, and I can't wait to read more from this author. 

STATS

First Published: 10/29/2019

Pages: 160 pages

Available as an Audio Book : YES  (~ 4 hours) 

Trigger Warnings:  violence, colonialism, religion, plague, infectious disease

(this is not a full list, read responsibly) 

Book Review : SALTCROP by Yume Kitasei 4.25/5 Stars

 

 Saltcrop is going to possibly be my surprise book of 2025. 

I was not a fan of The Stardust Grail . So when I saw an opportunity for the Advanced Audio copy of a new book by Yume Kitasei, I sat on that. After realizing it was centered on sailing and the ocean, I found myself hitting the request button, and was surprised to find the audiobook downloaded soon after. 

(A HUGE THANK YOU TO MACMILLAN AUDIO - they have been very generous this year!) While I do love a physical book trophy, with my recent vision issues, having an audiobook available is a delight. 

    

Of course, the cover is stunning, understated, and just made me want to pick it up. In fact, I like the cover so much, I feared for the story. 

As a Summary: Three sisters grow up in challenging circumstances in a future earth that is more ocean than dirt. Each sister makes her own way, but when one sister goes missing, the other two embark on a quest to find her. In finding her, they reaffirm their bond, and also, it seems, find themselves. 

     Overall, the novel starts off a bit on the slower side. I was not immediately hooked. Eunice Wong is the narrator and her smooth narration really did help me move through the chapters. At a quarter of the way in, I was thinking this was pretty good. I liked the way Kitasei uses minute details to flash out a character. Her style was easy to read/listen to, but I also noted that I wasn't that intrigued. As a person with a sister, some of the relationship points were maybe even a little too on the nose for me. 

then... BAM at the halfway point, I found myself choosing this novel over all the others I have on deck. I had to know what happened next, and then next and then next. I was astounded at my abrupt change from a casual listener to one on the edge of my seat.  I finished this off in record time. 

Do I recommend?  Yes! I really do. With themes of family, climate/environment change, justice and self fulfillment, this is one that could capture a lot of imaginations! 

Publishing in September 2025, this is one for your TBR!

STATS

First Published : 9/30/2025

Pages: 384

Available as an Audio Book :YES

Trigger Warnings: death, drug use (minor), blood, medical situations, violence, murder, climate change, parental death

Not a full TW list, please read responsibly. 

Book Review Someon You Can Build a nest in by J. Wiswell 4.5/5 Stars

 Wiswell's Someone you can Build a Nest in  is another Hugo award Nominee. (and OhGosh! It is also nominated for a Nebula Award and a Locus!!!)   I saw this book ALL over Book tok  when it came out and people were loving it. I may have formed some opinions, as many of the popular Booktok Books turn out to be popular mostly due to strong marketing.  After delving into it, I think in part, it was being  marketed by lots of creators that normally market romantasy books and they had a bit of a hard time seeing the nuance in this novel and talking about it, because it is nothing - nothing- like what they described in effusive tones. 

Someone you can Build a Nest In, is a cut above all those romantasies, and romance disguised as fantasy. 

  I was - in equal parts- enchanted and repulsed by the narrative!  Quite a feat for an author!

  A No-spoiler "synopsis"  for those who haven't read this yet.  Our protagnoist is Shesheshen, a very terrifying blob of a monster. She is singular, but for an odd companion - a Blue Bear she has named Blueberry. Society loathes and fears her and spends quite some times looking for ways to repel and eliminate her. After a bad encounter with society, Shesheshen finds herself tended to by a human, and she must reexamine her beliefs about humans, relationships, family and belonging.

Obviously there's "So MUCH More"  but we are keeping things spoiler free here. 

For me, the horror was horror-ing but not in a jump scare kind of way, just more in a way that I found myself entirely ready to gag at some of the great descriptive, evocative writing in the book. Totally creeped me out! I felt like Wiswell did a great job keeping me engaged well through the novel and that the story was well paced.  It left room for thought on issues of identity, relationship, community, and love. 

   The world he built was familiar but also somewhat unique in nature and I thought he struck a nice balance between the two, it was very easy to understand, and as a reader, I appreciated the lack of a very complex magic system that I would need to dissect carefully. 

The conclusion was sort of a soft landing after a book filled with quite a bit of body horror, family trauma and violence, so it's worth sticking around for. 

Wiswell is an interesting author who is living with a neuromuscular disability  which he talks about candidly HERE. 

   So,  overall I've now read 4 of the Hugo nominated novels.  I enjoyed this one, but it was not my favorite. I can see it being the winner, however, because it hit all the right plot points, told a delightfully macabre story without jumping down any long winded rabbit holes. The world was original as was the plot, and it was so very relatable for anyone who's felt like an outsider. 

So do I think this will end up winning?  There's definitely a good chance of it. Have you read this?  Would you nominate it for a Hugo? 

Book Review The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar 5/5 stars!

   For a short novel... this one packed a punch!   I obviously was delighted to see that a highly regarded author had a book coming out that centered a bit around a river during my Water 2025 extravaganza.  I would have wanted to read this regardless - the water theme was a happy happy occurrence.  I finally got it on audio from the library.  I was then kind of intimidated by it. It sat on my Libby shelf, innocuously looming. I was a bit paralyzed by the concern that I might not enjoy this novel as others have.  I had the opportunity to request it as an Advance Reader Copy and I was so concerned that I wouldn't like it, that I did not even request it. Well. I'm putting those concerns away.   5/5 Stars. I want to read more from El-Mohtar. Today. 

  

 Quick Synopsis of the novel with no real spoilers, because SPOILERS are JUST TERRIBLE! 

  Two sisters grow up in a world of both magic and the mundane. As they go out into the world- they face life decisions, and make lots of promises and one in particular creates a lot at risk for at least one sister. For me, the novella embraces the world of the unreal and often unseen, sisterhood, family and language -- particularly the language of love, all highlighted by the specific and special language of music. 

     I might have avoided this book, as I have avoided This is how you lose the Time War.  (I don't really like time travel novels, and my knowledge of El-Mohtar is really tied to that award winning novel.) 

I am SO GLAD I remembered that authors indeed do often write several different books- on many different themes and ideas. The River has Roots is soul and brain food all in one little novella.   It is gentle, but with a strong backbone, expressive without straying into the maudlin, and provokes some deep thought without feeling pedantic or academic. It feels like something wholly new- even though it clearly draws on some canonical elements of faeries, Arcadia and such. 

   This book is a great one for book clubs, as it's got many different themes and moments to generate discussion. It's also good if you're "getting back into reading"  or trying out a new genre (Fantasy/Speculative) as it's not a long tome and a reader could finish up in a day. If one is trying to read more diversely El-Mohtar has a unique and diverse background and the book does have representation of diverse characters.  I think it is also one that would be good for aspiring writers.  El-Mohtar is able to create her atmosphere without using a bunch of unneeded overly fluffy descriptions, and that's something I'd like everyone (myself included) to learn. Typically I do not like short stories or novellas as they rarely seem that complete to me, but this really did what the author seemed intent on doing. There weren't any clunky transitions or issues that I tend to notice and the ending was an actual ending, not some vague decide-for -yourself number. 

The audiobook is unique.  Environmental sounds are added to the narration.  We get the story and a rushing river, singing and other environmental sounds.  I never really decided how I personally felt about it.  Part of me really liked it, as it felt immersive and kind of different and unique.  Another part of me felt like it sort of took away from the words. But I can say I didn't particularly dislike it; I'm undecided.  Coming from a "read aloud" family, some books are lyrical enough without embellishment, and I personally felt the writing itself was fantastic and could carry the story without intermittent harps and singing voices.  That said, I was rather unbothered by the choices, and I felt that other readers might find this just ideal and really scene setting, so...who knows.  Maybe with more reflection I will decide how I really feel. 

  SO - make room on your TBR,  this is one you'll want to enjoy. 

STATS

First Published  March 2025

Pages: 144

Available as an Audio Book : YES

Trigger Warnings:  Death, near death, violent themes, threats, and jealousy.  

(this is not a full list, read responsibly)  

Book Review Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor 5/5 stars

 I'm a big fan of Nnedi Okorafor's writing  and when I saw Death of the Author up at Net Galley, I immediately requested to read it.  I was not disappointed! 

      Initially, judging from the cover, I was expecting a some sort of magical tale older than time, but this is not really that book, or maybe it is, just not in a sense of a fairy tale or legend

   The plot - without too many spoilers:  Zelu, our main character is a disabled Nigerian-American writer who after a series of hard knocks, writes a novel that become wildly successful.  This success, of course drastically changes her relationships and threatens to change her life forever. This is told basically as a story within a story and it is an amazing look at the publishing process, family life, and Chicago. Some have wondered if this work is a bit auto-biographical, but I'd argue that most novels of this sort are a bit auto-biographical and it probably isn't good to attach that label to a work by an author, unless the author herself attached the label. 

So... does all of this change lead to a forever life change?  A rendering with family and friends? Well... you'll need to read to find out.  Along the way you'll be thinking about AI,  robots, Nollywood, and a host of things that will likely tickle your brain in that spot that just wants new, new, new ideas!

Death of the Author is quite a provocative title as Okorafor has noted that she doesn't ascribe to the Death of the Author theory put forth in Roland Barthes essay from 1967 which argues persuasively (but for me not very successfully) that the meaning of a written work shouldn't be determined by the author's intent but rather by the reader, or the reader's experience of the work. 

  I fully believe that the author's intent, and the reader's experience fully shape a work or writing, how could one really try to separate the two?  Don't you agree? 

  Who should pick up this book?  Students of literature, for certain. Readers of Speculative fiction and Science fiction as well.  People looking to diversify their reading list- sure! 

This is probably not a book for someone looking to read a simple story with one general plot line. 

I am so grateful to Net Galley and William Morrow for the chance to read and review this fantastic novel. 

 Are you also a fan of Okorafor?  What's your favorite? Will this book be making it's way to your TBR?  Let me know in the comments! 

STATS

First Published 2025

Pages: 448

Available as an Audio Book : YES

Trigger Warnings:  sexism, culture erasure (whitewashing), abelism, attempted genocide,Gore, Death, suicidal thoughts 

(this is not a full list, read responsibly)