Knives Out meets The Hazel Wood in this twisty contemporary fantasy about an amusement park shrouded in dark secrets—and the family desperate to inherit it at any cost.
Welcome to Whisperwood, a sprawling theme park nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, where thrilling rides and picture-perfect scenery bring cult-classic fairy tales to life. Or at least they did until eighteen months ago, when the family matriarch, Virginia Strauss, suddenly shut Whisperwood’s gates and the beloved park was left to wither away along with the family’s dwindling fortune.
For seventeen-year-old Frankie Strauss, Whisperwood’s closure has been a blessing in disguise. After seeing three generations of wealth’s corrupting influence, she is more than ready to shed the Strauss-family’s gilded handcuffs.
But when Virginia goes missing, Frankie realizes that her family might be guilty of something much worse than mere dysfunction. With the help of the mysterious and handsome groundskeeper Jem, Frankie sifts through a web of near truths and outright lies, uncovering a reality where nothing is as it seems and fairy tales aren’t just real—they’re deadly.
My Thoughts
With nods to many, many sources – folkloric, modern film, YA horror – The Whisperwood Legacy turns them all inside out in this fabulous, creepy, dark fairytale. Just when I think I won’t find another author or story to surpass books like The Hazelwood and The Clackity, along comes something new that just blows my mind.
Emerging readers of dark fiction will adore this twisted, anxiety-ridden tale as our protagonists attempt to control a story centuries in the making. Schulte spins a tale that envelops you with sticky little tendrils that just won’t let go until the last little bit of your nerve has been shredded.
This one will be at the top of my October spooky reads list this year.
Highly recommended.
“Atmospheric and delightfully eerie with monstrous fairy tales and toothy secrets.”—CG Drews, New York Times bestselling author of Don’t Let the Forest In
Publication Date: May 27, 2025 Published By: Little Brown Books for Young Readers Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy
I am a series reader. I find an author and set of characters that appeal to me and I keep going back for more. Turns out, many of my friends and family are also series readers and they had plenty of recommendations for your summer reading!
From Me…
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear – Follow the adventures of Maisie who grows from a teenage maid to an adult detective through this fabulous historical series set in the first half of the 20th century. Winspear has just published the final entry in the series, which you can read about here. Start with the very first book, Maisie Dobbs, and progress through the rest. Just as good in audio form as print.
James Rollins is the complete opposite of the previous author! He specializes in pulse-pounding adventure featuring the Sigma Force, a super-secret and multi-talented government agency whose job is to keep the world from imploding. Rollins has written multiple books in the series that all revolve around an intricate, well-researched piece of history. My favorite in the series is The Last Odyssey which features plenty of the monsters from the Greek myths I love. Start with the first in the series, Sandstorm, and go from there, although I started with #2 in the series, Map of Bones and was totally hooked. If you’re already a Rollins fan, there’s a new Sigma Force novel out this summer – Arkangel. You’re welcome!
Kate Mosse is the author of some very chunky books! However, those books will keep you up late turning page after page. My favorite is Sepulchre but her other work is just as fascinating. Meticulous historical fiction, mostly set in France. Reading her work is a commitment well worth your time.
Erin Hart is the author of what I call the “bog mysteries.” I found Hart’s work as I was randomly researching the topic after seeing a news story about an ancient body discovered in an Irish peat bog. Hart’s bog series features two recurring characters – pathologist Nora Gavin and Irish archaeologist Cormac McGuire. Start with the first in the series, Haunted Ground.
Katherine Arden is the author of one of my all-time favorite high fantasy trilogies – The Winternight Trilogy. Start with the first, The Bear and the Nightingale and immerse yourself in Slavic folklore and magic. This is an absolute stunner of a series!
From Cynthia Dana…
Record Shop Mysteries by Olivia Blacke is a fun series featuring three sisters who take over the operations of a family record shop and cafe in their small Texas hometown. They serve up delicious coffee, spin some hot tracks, and solve murders in their spare time. There are three entries in the series – easily readable during the summer months!
From Allison McDonald Fredericks
Scot Horvath series by Brad Thor is a thrilling, fast-paced action-adventure series in which the main character, Scot Horvath, protects the United States and its people at all costs. For fans of James Rollins, Steve Berry, and Clive Cussler.
Keeper of Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger is a captivating series for kids who are into fantasy. The main character is 12-year-old Sophie Foster who discovers she’s a telepath. The series follows Sophie’s adventures and includes plenty of action-packed mysteries and challenges.
Tristan Strong trilogy by Kwame Mbilia is part of the Rick Riordan presents series which features fascinating characters and world lore. In this case, Mbilia explores the world of African American folklore and West African gods with his engaging character, 7th grader Tristan Strong. Check out other entries in the Rick Riordan presents series.
From Beth Nash…
Ruth Ware is one of the best authors of psychological suspense fiction working today. She has a new one coming out this summer – One Perfect Couple – but there are plenty of others to dip into. Check out her catalog of work on her website.
Looking for a lighter mystery ion the cozy vein? Try Amy Van Sant’s books which include the Pineapple Port mysteries, the Shee McQueen series, and many others.
Louise Penney’s Inspector Gamache mystery series is a long-running, beloved set of suspenseful adventures set in Quebec. If you haven’t read these novels, start this summer and stay occupied for the rest of the year!
Here’s one more series for the mystery & suspense readers out there: The Cold Case series by Lissa Marie Redmond follows cold case detective Lauren Riley through many fascinating investigations.
Strange and terrifying things are suddenly happening in a mysterious town where people are disappearing and changing into characters from the Grimm fairy tales.
Twins Willow and Jake Grimm are not prepared for the bizarre gadgets and scary changes in their new home of New Marburg, the location of the top-secret Think Tank where their parents now have jobs as scientists. In this town, people jetpack to work, robots direct traffic, and senior citizens duel with laser swords.
Yet nothing compares to what happens the day after lightning strikes the twins’ house. Their school building transforms around them, becoming a medieval castle—complete with moat, drawbridge, and a dangerous giant who looks strangely like the school’s overly aggressive hall monitor.
Barely managing to escape before a massive beanstalk lifts the castle above the clouds, Willow and Jake learn that their ancestors, the original Brothers Grimm, were more than storytellers. They were Grimmwalkers, able to travel from our universe to Grimmworld: the universe where all fairy tales are born.
Somehow, Willow and Jake have been transported to Grimmworld as well. But before the twins can figure out how to get back to their own universe, they discover that their best friends, Hank and Pearl, have morphed into the fairy tale characters Hansel and Gretel and been captured by a candy-obsessed witch deep in the Cursed Forest.
Now, aided by a mysterious wizard with shimmering golden eyes and a befuddled, talking naked mole-rat named Chet, the twins must trust in each other, believe in themselves, and find the courage to face their darkest fears in order to save their friends, return to their family, and maybe—just maybe—save the world.
My Thoughts
The middle grade adventures coming out this spring are some of the best I’ve seen in years, and this one adds a lot of fuel to an already hot list. I was completely taken in by the imaginative blend of 21st century science and traditional Grimm fairytales in this fast-paced and fascinating mystery-adventure.
The modern day Grimms, Willow and Jake, are as appealing a set of characters as I’ve come across. They display the best and worst of sibling rivalry and support – very real life. The theme of family devotion and strength runs throughout the story, leading up to an ending that points to more adventures to come.
Middle grade readers who are familiar with Grimm’s Fairy Tales will thoroughly enjoy this 21st century upgrade.
Well done!
Publication Date: March 5, 2024 Published By: Shadow Mountain Publishing Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy
A dark YA fantasy debut perfect for fans of House of Hollow and Small Favors. In the wake of her father’s death, a teen girl discovers a side of her family she didn’t know existed, and is pulled into a dark—and ancient—bargain she is next in line to fulfill.
Kit’s father always told her he had no family, but his sudden death revealed the truth. Now Kit has a grandmother she never knew she had—Agatha Starling—and an invitation to visit her father’s hometown, Rosemont.
And Rosemont is picture perfect: the famed eternal roses bloom all year, downtown is straight out of the 1950s . . . there’s even a cute guy to show Kit around.
The longer Kit’s there, though, the stranger it all feels. The Starling family is revered, but there’s something off about how the Starling women seem to be at the center of the all the town’s important history. And as welcoming as the locals are, Kit can’t shake the feeling that they’re hiding something from her.
Agatha is so happy to finally meet her only granddaughter, and the town is truly charming, but Kit can’t help wondering, if everything is so great in Rosemont, why did her father leave? And why does it seem like he never wanted her to find it?
My Thoughts
This dark but uber-compelling blend of fantasy and horror with a touch of fairy tale will keep readers glued to their seats, devouring this in one sitting.
The base story is somewhat familiar – parent keeps their family secret from child, child is key to some age-old ceremonial activity, child kicks butt and breaks curse. In the hands of a less skilled writer, this could be second-rate drivel, but Linsmeier is no second-rate hack. Her plot is well-constructed and very clever, and her narrative prose is lovely and horrifying at the same time. I look forward to more from this debut author.
Fans of fantasy-horror will adore this.
Publication Date: June 27, 2023 Published By: Random House Children’s, Delacorte Press Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy
The start of a swoony, high-energy duology that Emily Lloyd-Jones, author of The Bone Houses, calls “reminiscent of classic fairytales yet brimming with a charm all its own.”
“A world of glimmering fae that sparkles with mystery, adventure, and enchantment.” —Andrew Joseph White, New York Times bestselling author of Hell Followed with Us
Iselia “Seelie” Graygrove looks just like her twin, Isolde…but as an autistic changeling left in the human world by the fae as an infant, she has always known she is different. Seelie’s unpredictable magic makes it hard for her to fit in—and draws her and Isolde into the hunt for a fabled treasure. In a heist gone wrong, the sisters make some unexpected allies and find themselves unraveling a mystery that has its roots in the history of humans and fae alike.
Both sisters soon discover that the secrets of the faeries may be more valuable than any pile of gold and jewels. But can Seelie harness her magic in time to protect her sister and herself?
“Housman’s stunning debut is the sort of love letter only an autistic author could write. Fae canon has been waiting for this one.” —H.E. Edgmon, author of The Witch King
My Thoughts
The author provides an informative and thought-provoking introduction to Unseelie where she discusses what it’s like to be a changeling. Ivelisse Housman, you see, is autistic. She presents an interesting case for the changelings – those unusual beings well-known in folklore as fairy children who have replaced human children – having been children with autism whose differences made them part of folklore.
In Unseelie, Housman has created a character who is different. Whose differences are acknowledged by her family, if not fully accepted, and who is loved unconditionally. Iselia or Seelie as she is called throughout the book, doubts herself and feels responsible for bad things that happened to her family. In Housman’s hands, though, Seelie becomes powerful as she accepts who she is and what she can do.
The story follows many of the familiar themes in folklore – there’s a quest, a treasure, and a band of misfits who battle powerful forces. There is also a strong theme of family and friendship which provides the backbone upon which the story is built. And this is a cracking good story – imaginative, clever, and full of vivid description.
This is a beautiful and powerful story that will surely appeal to fans of fantasy and folklore of all ages. Appropriate for upper middle grade and older.
Publication Date: January 3, 2023 Published By: Inkyard Press Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy
A curmudgeonly professor journeys to a small town in the far north to study faerie folklore and discovers dark fae magic, friendship, and love in the start of a heartwarming and enchanting new fantasy series.
Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party—or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people.
So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of Emily’s research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.
But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones—the most elusive of all faeries—lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she’ll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all—her own heart.
My Thoughts
This was exactly the book I needed in place of the negativity out in the real world right now. Heather Fawcett has given us a fabulous heroine who inhabits a world many of us fantasy fans only dream of – scholarly study of faeries. I mean, who wouldn’t love that job??? There’s no suspension of disbelief here. These things are REAL!
Fawcett’s writing is peppered with high-level vocabulary that incredibly flows through the text without bogging down the narrative. She tosses out words like “inchoate” like candy left as offerings for the fae. Main character Emily Wilde is delightful. She knows who she is and she definitely knows her value, even if she’s socially awkward. It’s refreshing and comforting to find a character who isn’t perfect and who lives in her skin no matter how odd that feels sometimes.
The only thing that keeps this from being a 5 star read for me is the goofy and IMHO unnecessary romantic entanglement that happens in the last half. However, I expect that will appeal to fans of romance/fantasy of which I am not one.
UPDATE: I’m re-reading this for a book club and I have to admit that my previous statement was off the mark. The relationship between Em and Wendell is, indeed, the very heart of the story. They seem to understand each other in ways others cannot, and I have begun to suspect that Emily may indeed be more than she seems.
Otherwise, this is a supremely fun read. I look forward to more of Fawcett’s stories.
Publication Date: January 10, 2023 Published By: Random House Publishing Group; Ballantine, Del Rey Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy
Twelve tales, twelve dangerous tales of mystery, magic, and rebellious hearts. Each twists like a spindle to reveal truths full of warning and triumph, truths that free hearts long kept tame, truths that explore life . . . and death.
A prince has a surprising awakening . . .
A beauty fights like a beast . . .
A boy refuses to become prey . . .
A path to happiness is lost. . . . then found again.
New York Times bestselling author Soman Chainani respins old stories into fresh fairy tales for a new era and creates a world like no other. These stories know you. They understand you. They reflect you. They are tales for our times. So read on, if you dare.
My Thoughts
I’ve read a lot of fairy tales retold and reimagined, but nothing – nothing! – like this. Chainani completely disrupts the old tales and rewrites them ferociously for all those readers who never once saw themselves in those stories.
There is power here – power of women and girls, power of color, power of sex – all woven together into a dark and delicious fist raised to the traditional, exclusionary tales.
Little girls with onyx skin and springy curls will see themselves here, as will beautiful boys who prefer red-haired thieves to brittle wives.
There is anger here, but there’s also righteousness. These are tales for our time.
Highly Recommended.
Publication Date: September 21, 2021 Published By: Harper Collins Childrens Books Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy
In this enthralling historical epic, set in New York City and the Middle East in the years leading to World War I— the long-awaited follow-up to the acclaimed New York Times bestseller The Golem and the Jinni—Helene Wecker revisits her beloved characters Chava and Ahmad as they confront unexpected new challenges in a rapidly changing human world.
Chava is a golem, a woman made of clay, who can hear the thoughts and longings of those around her and feels compelled by her nature to help them. Ahmad is a jinni, a restless creature of fire, once free to roam the desert but now imprisoned in the shape of a man. Fearing they’ll be exposed as monsters, these magical beings hide their true selves and try to pass as human—just two more immigrants in the bustling world of 1900s Manhattan. Brought together under calamitous circumstances, their lives are now entwined—but they’re not yet certain of what they mean to each other.
The Golem and the Jinni was one of my top reads in 2013 and I still recommend it to readers in my library. I was excited to discover this sequel and dove in right away.
That was a couple months ago.
As with Golem, Wecker takes her time introducing characters and floats the various storylines along a gently running river. Normally, I would find this a lovely and welcome difference to the suspense stories I usually read; in March 2021, I found it impossible to keep my attention on the story and had to put it down. This had nothing to do with the book – it was everything going on in both the world at large and my own little corner of it.
Fast forward to May and a slightly calmer environment. I picked this up again and spent a wonderful weekend immersed in the world of Chava and Ahmad. It was my time to read this.
I thoroughly enjoyed the stories of Chava, Ahmad, and all the people who touch their lives, as well as the way Wecker ties in the significant historic events of the times, To be sure, there are lots of stories here, but Wecker keeps them all bound together, much in the way that people interact in real life. She presents a view of community and caring among people who are very different and shows that human decency can transcend differences – a message we all need right now.
Recommended.
Publication Date: June 8, 2021 Published By: Harper Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy
The New York Times bestseller! The Night Country is the highly anticipated sequel to Melissa Albert’s beloved debut The Hazel Wood.
In The Night Country, Alice Proserpine dives back into a menacing, mesmerizing world of dark fairy tales and hidden doors of The Hazel Wood. Follow her and Ellery Finch as they learn The Hazel Wood was just the beginning, and that worlds die not with a whimper, but a bang.
With Finch’s help, Alice escaped the Hinterland and her reclusive grandmother’s dark legacy. Now she and the rest of the dregs of the fairy tale world have washed up in New York City, where Alice is trying to make a new, unmagical life. But something is stalking the Hinterland’s survivors—and she suspects their deaths may have a darker purpose. Meanwhile, in the winking out world of the Hinterland, Finch seeks his own adventure, and—if he can find it—a way back home…
I confess I found this sequel to The Hazel Wood hard to read. The grim and bloody violence was wrenching at times, and the story seemed a bit convoluted. However, all of the odd story strands were pulled tight and tied off in a pulse-pounding conclusion that will resonate with fans of The Hazel Wood and the Hinterland.
All that said, I really think I was not in the right frame of mind to read this. It was early days of “New York on PAUSE” due to coronavirus and my nerves were super-taut. I’m recommending it because the writing is awesome and the conclusion to the story begun in The Hazel Wood is highly anticipated by fans.
Publication Date: January 7, 2020
Published By: Flatiron Books
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy
For fans of The Hazel Wood, this middle grade novel takes the dark stuff of fairytales and crafts it into a powerful story of friendship and light.
Every evening Lampie, the lighthouse keeper’s daughter, must light a lantern to warn ships away from the rocks, but one stormy night disaster strikes. The lantern is not lit, a ship is wrecked, and someone must pay.
To work off her debt, Lampie is banished to the Admiral’s lonely house, where a monster is rumored to live. The terrors inside the house aren’t quite what she thought they would be–they are even stranger. After Lampie saves the life of the neglected, deformed son of the admiral, a boy she calls Fish, they form a close bond. Soon they are pulled into a fairytale adventure swimming with mermaids, pirates, and misfits. Lampie will discover the courage to fight for friendship, knowledge, and the freedom to be different.
Ready for a weird and harsh twist on The Little Mermaid fairytale?
This twisted tale imagines the life of the offspring of the union between a mermaid and a human, told through the voice of a young, uneducated but fierce girl named Emilia.
Emilia, also known as Lampie, endures a hard life as a lighthouse keeper’s daughter, made more difficult by the loss of her beloved mother and her father’s subsequent drinking and depression. A horrible lapse in memory causes a terrible disaster, which separates Lampie and her father. Sent to live in the “Black House,” Lampie quickly comes to understand that there is something very wrong there. Lampie uncovers the secret of the household, the deformed son of the master who is kept locked in a tower room. Lampie finds that he is a rude little boy, but also much more. The two form an unusual friendship, which grows out of Lampie’s natural inclination to treat Edward, or Fish as she calls him, as any other person. Ultimately, they both find their way “home.”
This is not a sweet fairy story and includes some violence. It examines the darker side of human nature, focusing on the suspicion, fear and intolerance associated with people who are different, but also demonstrates the utter joy and beauty that can be found when human beings connect despite their differences. Beautifully written, with characters that jump off the pages and swim around in your mind long after the book is closed, Of Salt and Shore should be one of the most anticipated books of the year.
Publication Date: September 15, 2020
Published By: Charlesbridge Books
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy
The New York Times bestseller! The Night Country is the highly anticipated sequel to Melissa Albert’s beloved debut The Hazel Wood.
For fans of 
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