Voices in the Sea Foam by Kotaro

Voices in the Sea Foam by Kotaro

My Rating: ★★★★★

I received a copy from Vertical Comics through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The first time Aioto fell in love, he remembered his past life as a mermaid princess who gave everything up for a chance at love. Things didn’t end well for the mermaid princess, but now that he’s human, he’s determined not to suffer the same fate. Love’s a curse, and in Aioto’s case, he loses his voice and walking is incredibly painful every time he’s in Toru’s presence. Will he find a way to break the curse or swear off love forever?

I’ve always been a huge fan of The Little Mermaid, so of course I had to pick up this retelling! We follow Aioto as he tries to figure out how to break the curse he’s carried with him into his first life as a human. Along the way, we get to know him, his close friend and roommate, and of course Toru! I enjoyed watching them get to know each other and eventually watch Aioto come to terms with the trauma that his very soul has been carrying. It was a wonderful story, and of course the artwork was amazing!

Strange Lights by Mira González

Strange Lights by Mira González

My Rating: ★★★

I received a copy from Bindery Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Reggie enjoys life on the road in their beat up old Winnebago. It’s not exactly a normal RV… and their daughter may or may not be a Chupacabra. They spend their days investigating all things paranormal while making sure their so-called mortal enemy and paranormal podcaster crush, Calvin, doesn’t stumble on anything legit. Things were going well until the anti-supernatural agency that Reggie’s been hiding from finally catches up to them, and their poor daughter, Eldi, is caught in the cross-fire! Now Reggie is ready to put everything on the line as long as they’re able to help Eldi escape to safety.

While I enjoyed reading this, I felt like the story was told out of order. We follow Reggie through the book, which is told in five parts. The first half was one crazy and wild ride that’s told in two parts. There was so much going on that it occasionally got overwhelming, but I was fully entertained and having a great time while reading it. Part 3 was totally out of place and should’ve actually been part 1. I was extremely confused at first because the story suddenly jumped into a very serious prequel detailing years of parental abuse without warning.

Other than this feeling like three books squished into one while being told slightly out of order, I did enjoy reading this. Just prepare to get your heart stomped on several times! I highly recommend starting with part 3 and then read parts 1-2 and 4-5. Trust me, it will make so much more sense this way!

The Book of Blood and Roses (The Callisto Chronicles #1) by Annie Summerlee

The Book of Blood and Roses by Annie Summerlee

My Rating: ★★★★★

Rebecca Charity is a vampire hunter working her way up the ranks, and her latest mission is to go undercover at a vampire university that’s recently started accepting human students. Finding the rumored Book of Blood and Roses will help Rebecca finally get closer to finding out who killed her parents, but at what cost? Not only is her roommate a vampire, but she’s also from the extremely powerful Astra family! Things only get worse when she accidentally becomes Aliz Astra’s familiar, amping up the attraction she was already failing to hide.

I liked this book so much that I forgot it was a new release and was ready to go buy the next book and start it ASAP! We follow Rebecca in this slow burn romance that makes her question everything she’s learned from the moment she learned of her parent’s murder at the hands of vampires. I don’t read a lot of dark academia, but this checked off every single box. I especially loved the supporting characters, which I hope to learn more about in the next book. Plus, the romance is on fire. The chemistry between Rebecca and Aliz was sizzling from the second they were finally face to face. I’m looking forward to the next book!

Honey Bee & Lemon Balm, Vol. 1 by Jil Hashikura

Honey Bee & Lemon Balm, Vol. 1 by Jil Hashikura

My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from Kodansha Comics through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fresh out of prison, Kaoru Mitsuya just discovered that not only have the people he once ran with abandoned him, but he also has nowhere to go! Running into the gentle and kind Yuichiro Shirouzu turns out to be life changing, and not just for Kaoru! It turns out that helping each other is just what they both need. Will this adorable and unlikely duo confess their feelings for each other, and will any secrets come between them?!

This manga had me at florist shop romance! We follow Kaoru and Yuichiro as they slowly fall in love in this funny and adorable story. The artwork is stunning, the story is cute and funny, and I really enjoyed following the leads and one of the supporting characters. However, I was surprised at how abruptly this volume ended. I was happily reading when it suddenly ended without warning, which was a strange way to go about things! Otherwise, I really enjoyed reading this and am excited to check out the next volume in what appears to be a trilogy.

Fly by Night by Tara O'Connor

Fly by Night by Tara O'Connor

My Rating: ★★★

When Dee’s twin sister goes missing, she returns to her hometown to finish the last of her senior year of high school while the search for Beth is on. Right after arriving at her mom's, she quickly discovers that she may no longer know her own sister after their parent’s divorce separated them. Restless, Dee searches for Beth and finds herself caught up in the race to save the pinelands in the name of building a pipeline. The more she becomes involved, the more she thinks her sister’s environmental activism may be the key to finding out what happened to her… unless it turns out to be the local cryptid she just discovered is real!

After checking out one of Tara’s other books, I finally picked this up and started it. We follow Dee while she searches for her missing sister and becomes involved in the efforts to save the pinelands. Along the way, we discover a local cryptid is real, and Dee is about to find out if they’re her friend or foe! First off, the artwork is absolutely phenomenal and really helps bring the story to life. I think it will be hard for any reader to not notice how stunning the artwork is!

The story has a lot of depth with Dee’s home situation with divorced parents who are fighting like nothing has changed, Beth’s disappearance, grief, and a huge dose of environmentalism. There’s even more, but you’ll have to find that out for yourself! However, I think the environmental activism would have been far more fitting if Dee and her sister were in college rather than high school. Because of this, it feels like two different stories mashed together and the activism plot feels super out of place at times. 

While I loved the book, I just wish it didn’t feel like two completely different stories collided at times. I really like the environmental activism plot, but how huge of a plot it was seemed shoehorned into a story about sibling bonds, stress, grief, and betrayal. I think the activism plot should’ve either been the main plot of a different story or scaled back while still remaining important to the story. Otherwise, it was a good read, so prepare yourself to be emotionally wrecked.

Cry Out Loud by Tara O'Connor

Cry Out Loud by Tara O'Connor

My Rating: ★★★★

Nell is a super independent and stubborn teenager who just got suspended from school. Now she’s angry about being forced to spend the rest of the term with relatives she’s never even met, especially when she’ll be completely cut off from her friends. Her distant relatives are just as crappy as her mom, and she’s about to discover why: she’s this generation’s blood sacrifice for an ancient ritual that’s been performed for generations! At least there’s one person on her side, but can Nell really trust her?

This was such a good read! We follow Nell as she’s being sent to stay with some distant relatives after being suspended from school. Her mom has always acted like her existence was an inconvenience, so it’s easy to see why Nell is rebellious and struggling. Once she’s at her aunt’s place, things get a little spoopy when what appears to be a ghost keeps appearing to her. It seemed like things were going to lean toward the paranormal side with the ghost that was actually a banshee, but don’t let that fool you! This is very much the monster lives inside your own house type of story that I thought it’d be.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much town lore, and we get briefed on banshees at one point, but that’s about it. Banshees aren’t that scary when it turns out that poor Nell’s family has been plotting to kill her since the moment she was born, but because there’s next to no town lore and we never learn how Nell’s family got involved with the ritual or how far back it goes, it doesn’t hit as hard as it could’ve. However, I do think that part of the target audience likely won’t notice this while reading.

That said, I really enjoyed reading this. The artwork was beautiful and helped tell the story, Nell was an excellent and multi-layered character to follow, and the love story was cute. I just wish that we got more lore about the town and Nell’s family involvement in the ritual. I’m left with so many questions, including whether or not her parent’s marriage was an arrangement and if her dad knew she was this generation’s sacrifice. Otherwise, it was a good read and I felt bad for Nell the whole way through. I think a lot of readers are going to identify with a lot of what Nell is going through outside of the magical realism part of the story.

Behind Five Willows by June Hur

Behind Five Willows by June Hur

My Rating: ★★★★★

I received a copy from Feiwel & Friends through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Set in late 1700s Korea, Shin Haewon and her sisters spend as much time as they can at their local secret book lending shop, Five Willows. Not only does Five Willows secretly loan out books censored under Jeongjo of the Joseon Dynasty’s rule, Haewon is also an illegal book transcriber for them under the name Magpie. Everything changes when Haewon’s older sister, Jade, falls in love with a wealthy man who is accompanied by his uptight friend who looks down on Haewon and her family. The more time she spends with this irritating man, the more she realizes they may have misjudged each other on a colossal level because they have a lot more in common… including their secret identities with Five Willows!

I absolutely loved every second I spent reading this. We follow Shin Haewon and Lord Yu Seojun through their rotating perspectives in this excellent Pride and Prejudice retelling. Every time I picked up this book, I had a really hard time putting it down because it was just so good! I loved the characters and the story itself so much that I can’t wait to purchase the book when it comes out toward the end of May.

If you’re not familiar with the era and you want to pick this up, I encourage you to do at least a little research to familiarize yourself with what was going on politically at the time. While it’s not a must, and the author does give context in the opening and author’s note, I think it really can’t hurt before you get started!

All in all, this is an excellent book. If you’re a fan of June Hur, like Pride and Prejudice, enjoy a slow burn romance, strong sibling bonds, and/or top tier writing, you cannot go wrong with this. I enjoyed the previous novel I read from June Hur and got excited when I saw she had something new coming soon. I think this is going to make it into my top 5 books of 2026 even though we’re still early into the year.