Paper Ghosts by Sarah Addison Allen

 

Paper Ghosts has just the right combination of magical realism and plausibility to draw the reader in and prompt them to ponder what reality is for the Wester women. Do they see ghosts, or do they have overly active imaginations?

It's 1976, and young Willamena Wester, a popular high school senior, has her future set. While her friends are considering marriage or college, Wills is determined to stay at her ancestral home with her grandmother and carry on the family tradition of being a know-all in a small North Carolina town. Some townspeople call the Wester women witches; others say they use information to their advantage. Either way, the women of Wester House are both revered and feared. All is going according to plan until Wills meets a charismatic musician who charms her and makes her see another possible future. Fate has a heavy hand on the Wester women, however, and Wills' future is unexpectedly sealed.

Fast forward to the present: Bailey Wester is returning to Wester House and to her grandmother, Willamena, under less than ideal circumstances. Bailey's troubled past is again coming to the forefront and threatening to overshadow Bailey and those around her. Trying to make peace with her grandmother while rectifying past wrongs consumes her.

I found the premise interesting and the characters intriguing. Wills and Bailey are at odds because of their similar natures, which makes the reader wish they would overcome their differences and be honest with each other. Wills withholds family secrets from Bailey that would help Bailey understand herself and erase some of the guilt she feels about her past. Theirs is a complicated relationship full of heartbreak and miscues. The writing is excellent and the story compelling.

4.5/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is September 1, 2026.

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The Midnight Train by Matt Haig

 I enjoyed the other book in The Midnight World series, The Midnight Library, so I was looking forward to seeing what Matt Haig could do to top that book, and top it he did! I usually enjoy books where characters review their lives, and this book, although it reminded me of the Dickens book A Christmas Carol, is very good.

Eighty-one-year-old Wilbur Budd has led a long, eventful life. When he dies, he is transported to a train station with a ticket to board the Midnight Train. There he meets Agnes, a long-dead bookstore owner, who once helped a young Wilbur on his reading adventures. Now she is leading him on another adventure aboard the train--reviewing the important parts of his life. With few rules, the paramount one is not to interact with the memory; his goal is to reach eternity so he can be reunited with those he has loved. Sounds simple? Well, maybe not. Wilful Wilbur cannot leave well enough alone and attempts to change the events in his life.

This is a wonderful time-travel story about a stubborn Wilbur who hopes to change the past. Regrets? He has many. Forced to relive painful memories of events he hadn't come to terms with in life, Wilbur bucks Agnes and tries to focus on the magical time of his honeymoon in Venice. Venice is a pivotal point in his life where, if he could choose again, he would take another path. The Midnight Train is a reflective novel that encourages the reader to ponder their life choices. 

4.5/5 stars.

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Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt by Ben Reeves

 What a wonderful book! Ben Reeves does a good job of imagining how the specter of Death would operate in today's world. 

Travis is a tall, scruffy-looking individual with holes in his socks. He is also Death. His job is to comfort the dying without interfering with how or when they will die. We first meet Travis when he ushers out a young man killed in a car crash. Many years and many deaths later, Travis is living next door to that man's sister, Dalia, her precocious eight-year-old daughter, Layla, and Dalia's infant daughter. A cat has also adopted him. Although he doesn't intend to get close to the family, Layla draws him in, and he becomes an integral part of Dalia's life. This relationship changes Travis in unexpected ways — he is no longer just an usher into death but a participant in the feelings of those around him. 

Told with insight into the final moments of dying, this book, while sad at times, is more about appreciating life and how one person dealt with grief. The relationship between Travis and Dalia is interesting: both help each other grow, and Dalia helps Travis become more invested in the lives of the people he takes. It is beautifully written, the characters are sympathetic, and Travis's relationship to the dying is affecting. I highly recommend this book, not just for those who have experienced the loss of a loved one, but for those looking for an unforgettable, uplifting novel. 

4.5/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and Avid Reader Press, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is July 7, 2026.

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The Book of Lost Hours by Hayley Gelfuso

 I chose this book because it was compared to The Ministry of Time and The Midnight Library, and I can see why. Although not as well written as either of those books, it was good and had an excellent plot.

Lisavet Levy's father is a German watchmaker whose watches enable the wearer to access the realm known as time space, a library filled with books containing memories of both the living and the dead. In 1938, when her Jewish father failed to return, eleven-year-old Lisavet escaped the Nazis by entering the time space--only to become trapped there. When Lisavet sees government agents entering the time space to try to change history by erasing memories, she begins collecting what remains to preserve them. Time passes, and Lisavet grows up in the time space, with only a specter for company, until 1949, when she meets American spy Ernest Duquesne. They fall in love, and Lisavet is torn between the outside world and the safety she feels in the time space. 

Flash forward to 1965 in Washington, D.C., and sixteen-year-old Amelia Duquesne is mourning the disappearance of her uncle Ernest. She is approached by Moira Donnelly, head of the CIA-controlled department for which her uncle worked. Moira enlists Amelia to try to find a book her uncle was looking for in the time space when he disappeared. Amelia wants answers, and working with Moira is the best way to get them. 

This is an enjoyable book that follows the exploits of Lisavet, Moira, and Amelia across different time lines. The time space realm is especially intriguing. The point that no two people remember the same incident the same way, and whose memories are unreliable, was brought home. It gave me pause about the perspective of those responsible for writing history, and just how fragile truth is. 

4/5 stars.

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King Sorrow by Joe Hill

I've liked Joe Hill's previous novels and short stories, but with his latest novel, King Sorrow, I've been converted to a full-on fan. This book, an epic tale of greed, ambition, and friendship, is his best yet. 

Arthur, Colin, Allie, Van, Donna, and Gwen are college friends who enjoy experimenting with the occult. When Arthur is blackmailed into stealing rare books from the college library, they band together to summon a dragon, King Sorrow from the Long Dark. Little do they realize that their seemingly innocent act will have grave consequences, as they find themselves in a lifelong pact with the dragon--they must choose a sacrifice every year or one of them will be the next victim. This burden weighs heavily on their shoulders. 

Spanning decades, the book follows the friends as they mature and go their separate ways. Bound by the pact with King Sorrow, they face a never-ending commitment to finding a yearly sacrifice, often with innocent individuals as collateral damage. Arthur explores ways to end the Faustian agreement, but not all his friends are willing to relinquish their power. As the rift among the friends deepens, they each face a moral dilemma that strains their relationships, inviting the reader to empathize with their predicament. If you enjoy horror stories with great characters facing morally dubious situations, I recommend this book. 

5/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and William Morrow, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is October 21, 2025.

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North Woods by Daniel Mason

 

What a fantastic book! Although it took a while to get used to the format, once I did, I was transported to a world of remarkable characters—all housed in a yellow house in the mountains of Western Massachusetts.

Seeking freedom from their Puritan colony, a couple escapes and builds a house in the woods. What follows are the lives and passions of the people who come to inhabit the house over the centuries: a soldier and his twin daughters whose apple orchard is the envy of the community, an escaped enslaved person trying to get to Canada, a landscape artist whose forbidden affair wreaks havoc, a mother trying to deal with her son suffering from schizophrenia, and many more. Each inhabitant leaves their mark on the house, and the house, in turn, sometimes offers more than just shelter.

I love how Mason interconnects inhabitants' lives; the house is also a character. The writing is superb, and the storyline is original and intricate. I found myself reading more slowly toward the end of the book because I didn't want it to end. I haven't read a book this good in a long time. 

5/5 stars.

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