News - Book Reviews

News - Book Reviews

March 15, 2024

In its first trade review, Catherine Con Morse's debut novel THE NOTES is hailed by Kirkus as "[a] compelling exploration of art, identity, and falling in love." Crown Books for Young Readers will publish the book on April 30, 2024.

March 15, 2024

The first trade review for Emily Hamilton's debut novel THE STARS TOO FONDLY is in, with Library Journal declaring: "This delightful debut is a space odyssey with just enough mystery and romance to keep readers thoroughly entertained.” NetGalley also named the novel one of its "Top 25 Debut Novels of 2024." THE STARS TOO FONDLY will be published by Harper Voyager in the US and Gollancz in the UK on June 11, 2024.

March 15, 2024

Electric Literature recently published the story "A New Book of Grotesques" by Jessi Jezewska Stevens, excerpted from her forthcoming debut collection GHOST PAINS, with a warm introduction by her editor Jeremy Davies: "[Stevens'] fiction perches upon and pries open little fissures in our prejudices about what fiction 'ought' to be doing at this moment in history. She manages, with rigor and strangeness, to make the old wounds hurt, to make our shallowness feel dangerous again." And Other Stories published GHOST PAINS on March 5, 2024.

March 15, 2024

In a glowing review, the New York Journal of Books celebrated the "virtuosic storytelling" of WAYS AND MEANS by Daniel Lefferts, declaring the book "an amazing debut novel from a prodigiously gifted young writer” and “a fascinating, complex, often funny saga of life in our troubled time.” A review in The Rumpus compares the novel to the works of Edmund White, praising its "freshness," "clever melding of high and low," and "propulsive energy," as well as "the wise and even important story Lefferts’ novel has to tell about power in sexual relations" with an "achingly self-conscious" voice. WAYS AND MEANS was published by Abrams on February 6, 2024.

March 15, 2024

WAIT, Gabriella Burnham’s forthcoming second novel, earned a glowing review from Booklist. Reviewer Zeja Z. Copes praises Burnham’s “disconcertingly accurate insights on class,” adding: “Whimsical and poignant, this is a story readers will return to again and again.” One World will publish WAIT on May 21, 2024.

March 8, 2024

HABITATIONS by Sheila Sundar received a rave review from BookPage. Reviewer Chika Gujarathi writes: “There are many reasons to love this novel. Vega’s journey will resonate in one way or another with anyone who has suffered loss or struggled with self-doubt. Sundar’s supporting characters and rich depiction of immigrant life round out Vega’s story, no doubt drawing on the author’s own experience growing up in the ’90s as the child of Indian immigrants to the U.S. Best of all, the novel speaks to the human experience of how the burdens we carry even¬tually come to define our strengths. Insightful and hopeful, HABITATIONS delivers on all fronts.” Simon & Schuster will publish the book on April 2, 2024.

February 16, 2024

Sheila Sundar’s HABITATIONS has been receiving fantastic reviews leading up to its publication in April. Booklist calls it “a wondrous mix of quiet heartache and unexpected hope, making it the best kind of literary fiction,” adding: “The crisp plot and uncluttered writing make Habitations a remarkable first novel.” A review from Kirkus praises: “The story unfolds episodically, in a good way; in Sundar’s hands, the scenes tumble together hypnotically… A debut novel that explores the contours of grief and globalization with conviction.” Lastly, Publishers Weekly raves: “Sundar debuts with an earnest meditation on an Indian American graduate student’s grief, loneliness, and longing…offer[ing] a fresh perspective on the pressures of motherhood and desire for self-fulfillment…This leaves readers with much to chew on.” Simon & Schuster will publish the book on April 2, 2024.

February 9, 2024

HOT SHEET, the forthcoming sheet pan cookbook by Olga Massov and Sanaë Lemoine, earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly. The reviewer praises: “Home cooks interested in exploring and expanding their sheet pan repertoire will find this invaluable.” Harvest publishes HOT SHEET on March 5, 2024.

December 15, 2023

AMONG THE BROS by Max Marshal received a stellar review from Air Mail. Reviewer Sarah Weinman writes: “There’s a jauntiness to Marshall’s voice that makes AMONG THE BROS a contradictory reading experience: it’s entertaining, in the way that reminded me of a certain type of magazine journalism that largely died out in the past decade. His decision to present many of his interviews in oral-history style generally works, too. But because the story Marshall tells is marinated in the toxicity of being a young man in contemporary America, particularly one where access to whatever you want without real consequence produces even greater dissonance, there’s a jarring quality overall… AMONG THE BROS is a sobering tour of the mindset of such men and how even when the party curdles into violence, drug dealing, and murder, it doesn’t really stop.” Marshall also appeared on Good Day LA to discuss “[t]he grim realities of ‘Frat Bro Culture.’” Harper published the book on November 7, 2023.

December 1, 2023

The New York Times published a striking review of the audiobook for Jessie Gaynor’s debut novel THE GLOW. Reviewer Olivia Craighead calls it “a deft sendup of wellness culture that delves a few levels deeper,” adding: “Gaynor understands what makes wellness appealing, and why even the most staunch nonbelievers could find themselves feeling completely satiated by a diet made up mostly of zucchini, kelp and money.” Random House published THE GLOW on June 20, 2023.