How is it May already?

For May, I'm excited to discuss The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan with you and hope that you'll pick it up, too!

Here is my schedule for discussion:

• May 1: Chapter 1-4 (p.1-72)

• May 8: Chapters 5-9 (p. 73-164)

• May 15: Chapters 10-14 (p. 165-241)

• May 22: Chapters 15 - end (p. 242+)

So, now on to my thoughts on chapters 1-4!

I've heard some recent critique of the dystopian elements of this book (that we haven't really gotten to yet). But these first chapters remind me why I love this book so much, as the themes are evident from the beginning.

This is my 3rd time reading it, but on my first time reading it, my daughter was just a bit older than Harriet. While my circumstances were different than Frida's, I very much related to what Frida is going through.

Here are a couple of themes I observed:

Us vs. Them

Repeatedly we're reminded that Frida isn't like "those" mothers who harm their children. Class and race separate her from the "those" people who don't deserve to be mothers with an emphasis that it's not typically mothers from her neighborhood under investigation. While Frida isn't white, she is "pale enough" that she will likely be treated better than others who are not.

The Expectations on Mothers

Frida is on trial for her mothering. While I think we would all agree she made a bad decision, it's not hard to see why she was brought to that point. The expectations on mothers is high, but the supports are lacking.

And now that Frida is under investigation, even reasonable and typical behavior will be frowned upon. She must be perfect.

And even fellow mothers are holding each other to these standards. Any weakness or struggle must be hidden, while the front of perfect, sacrificial motherhood is showed to others.

And finally, Frida is holding herself to unreasonably high standards, being her worst critic. This has always been me (even before becoming a mother) to the point where my parents would regularly tell me that they wouldn't punish me for less than perfect grades, because I would punish myself plenty.

Some questions for further discussion:

• What stood out to you from these first few chapters?

• Did you relate to Frida? Did you find yourself judging her?

• What about Gust and Susanna?

Friends! Enemies! Everyone in between!

I hope you're all doing as best as you can be and taking care of yourselves. It's time to vote for the June book club!

Two unlikely heroes embark on quests to win God’s favor in this outrageously entertaining, profoundly heartfelt novel that announces an ingenious new voice in the tradition of Chain-Gang All-Stars, No One Is Talking About This, and Martyr!

Yara can’t comprehend why God has chosen them to slay Dominic, the ruthless leader of the army of Bad Guys. Cast out by their family and reeling from a destructive relationship, Yara has never felt weaker—but with nothing left to lose, they strike a deal. Abandoning their solitary days of embroidery and obsessive cleaning, Yara reluctantly embarks on a perilous odyssey designed to prepare them for the daunting mission ahead.

Meanwhile, Adrena, a disillusioned prophet with a terrifying secret power, is determined to become the hero of this story. Desperately seeking the glory of God’s approval and the promise of heaven, where she hopes to reunite with her beloved mother, Adrena must first persuade Harpo, the leader of the Good Guys, that her plan is God’s will.

As their journeys unfold in a series of unforgettable adventures, Yara and Adrena are propelled toward each other and transformative revelations about life, death, and destiny in this intensely captivating, irreverent epic from a singularly brilliant new voice in fiction.

Dog Days unfolds in the long shadow of freak violence--where language stammers, time loops, and the body remembers what the mind can't.

"An incandescent book, a landmark in how to bring language to bear on the unspeakable. Beautiful, uncompromising, rigorous and totally original."--Olivia Laing, author of The Lonely City

In 2009, Emily LaBarge and her family were held hostage while on vacation. A crocheted blanket was placed over her head while Mrs. Doubtfire and "Agnus Dei" played on repeat.

In the years that follow, a therapist encourages her to lie in exactly the same position, "just like how it happened, for as long as it happened, and for as long as it takes until the pain comes out"--otherwise it will never leave. She tries to find "the good story" neat, polite, reassuring. But what happens to the things the good story leaves out?

A high-voltage synthesis of memoir, criticism, and psychoanalytic theory--drawing upon film and writing from Mulholland Drive to It's a Wonderful Life, Virginia Woolf to Janet Malcolm--Dog Days writes into this question. How do language and institutions constrain and distort our understanding of trauma, violence, and care? How might we write otherwise, telling a story, and its aftermath, on our own terms? The result is not only a prose work but also a practice: an insistence on more radical, more complex forms of engagement, a search for the place where writing becomes a way of surviving.

"Obscenely good and very funny."
—Catherine Lacey, author of The Möbius Book

In Avigayl Sharp’s brilliant and bold debut novel, Offseason, our fiercely observant but self-deluded narrator finds herself teaching at an all-girls boarding school on the Eastern Seaboard. In between manic lectures that veer from Charles Dickens’s Bleak House to the childhood maltreatment of her beloved Iosif Stalin and the generational legacy of the Holocaust, she consorts and canoodles with the town’s locals—including the possibly disgraced male teacher whose job she’s taken over—implicating everyone she meets in her obsessive quest to pin down where, exactly, her own life went wrong.

Though she's vowed never to return to her hometown in the middle of the country, the holiday season sends her careening back into the orbit of her overbearing, maladjusted family. Drunk at a bar on the frigid afternoon of the seventh night of Chanukah, she encounters the figure from her adolescence who may or may not be responsible for violating her, bringing her down, and ruining her life. The past collides with the present—but catharsis and closure are nowhere to be found. Not at the bar. Not in her childhood home. And certainly not in the unruly spirals of her mind.

Serious yet irreverent with a delirious velocity, Offseason reimagines the conversation around trauma while reckoning with the doomed project of “speaking your truth,” the compulsion to repeat, and whether we can be transformed by art and love.

National Book Award finalist Mónica Ojeda returns with a blazing, psychedelic novel about girlhood, violence, and the loss of innocence.

"Mónica Ojeda is a dazzling black sun in the astral chart of contemporary horror." --Fernanda Melchor, author of Paradais

In the near future, best friends Noa and Nicole flee their home in Guayaquil, Ecuador to attend the Solar Noise Festival, a week-long, retro-futuristic gathering at the foot of an active volcano. While Noa fully embraces the haze of narcotics and hedonism in an effort to obscure her true reason for attending, Nicole senses something darker at play behind the festival's so-called "celebration of life." Amid technoshamanic poetry, collective hallucinations, and ritualistic dances, each girl navigates her own path in an effort to escape her past and reclaim her right to a future.

Vivid, terrifying, and celebratory, Electric Shamans at the Festival of the Sun blends the primal with the supernatural, solidifying Mónica Ojeda as one of the most singular and exciting voices in Latin American and world literature today.

Four very compelling choices! Happy voting and remember we are reading The Hill by Harriet Clark in May, today is your last day to sign up.

Love what we do? Become a paid subscriber for less than a cup of coffee a month. Your ongoing support helps us plan ahead, fund causes we care about, and create meaningful programming for our community.

Except that I'm 2 days late. Listen, this is my hobby, my real job is running 2 businesses, swimming lessons on the side, and attempting to raise 3 white boys to be good human beings when the entire world is telling them to be entitled shits. Nina Pool has no MUNEY, I have no TIME.

So what did you miss due to my untimeliness? Let me try to be QUICKABOUTIT

Your Behavior Will Be Monitored by Justin Feinstein (Tachyon Publications) — A near-future satire asking what happens when AI gets just a little bit smarter and the people profiting from it remove the guardrails. Or...is that the future at all? Sounds like now. Epistolary structure (had to look this one up, it's formatted in a series of emails, data readouts, chats, transcripts etc.) Tachyon is indie and this is very timely in this day and age of tech bros and their accountability-free playground otherwise known as Silicon Valley.

Pixerina by Joanne Anderton (Bad Hand Books) — More horror than sci-fi but I don't decide the genre, if it's listed as scifi or if I just feel like it it's here. A ghost story about an artist who is obsessed with a house haunted by a little girl, only it's about writer's block for artists, and the little girl just wants a friend, but the artist wants a muse. Is that actually called artist block? Creative block? Listen, I just paint shitty pictures of my dogs, I don't know. What I DO KNOW is that Bad Hand is a small Australian indie press, gets zero marketing budget and is maximum deserving of your attention. I mean, LOOK AT THAT COVER!

The Blood Year Daughter by G.G. Silverman (Creature) — This is actually a horror short story collection. Silverman described it as "a response to my experience of being female, being the daughter of immigrants, and being disabled." Stories include a woman builds husbands out of gravel and slaughterhouse feathers, two sisters eat cinnamon-scented pieces of their mother, and a charming doctor’s murdered brides whisper warnings to his newest wife. I've seen someone describle it as "a rallying cry against the patriarchy." So no, it's again not really scifi, but it looks hella cool.

Ode to the Half-Broken by Suzanne Palmer (Penguin Random House/DAW) — 40 years after the world almost ended, a worn-out robot in the abandoned New York Botanical Gardens gets attacked and realizes old evils are stirring. I don't really know what that means but that's the blurb. Palmer has been featured in Clarkesworld multiple times and I'll read just about anything about robots. Hope-punk, themes of loneliness and purpose, comped to Becky Chambers' Monk & Robot, which if you haven't read is one of the most complete novelettes EVER. Seriously, how can she change your life in so few pages? Features a very good cyborg dog, which is obviously the most important detail.

The Radiant Dark by Alexandra Oliva (PRH) — Follows a family across fifty years after a first-contact event in Michigan connects their minds. It says Arrival meets Wild Dark Shore, neither of which I've heard of so there's that. Described as a "bold exploration of what it means to be human." Literary sci-fi, standalone. NGL, this cover sucks. Like who is making these decisions?

That old addage "don't judge a book by it's cover" is completely disregarding some pretty major tenets of human psychology. I don't know of a single reader who doesn't browse a bookstore based on covers (well, except maybe that guy who rips books in half to make them easier to carry in his pocket, who KNOWS what's going in in his brain.) Covers are SO IMPORTANT, especially to a newer author. Do better PRH!

A River From the Sky by Ai Jiang (Titan Books) Now THAT is a cover. I hope in person it's got embossing because that would be sexy. Science-fantasy novella sequel to A Palace Near the Wind. Which I haven't read, sorry, I wish I could read them all! Sisters Lufeng and Sangshu fight to protect their culture and their world. For readers of Nghi Vo and Amal El-Mohtar, WHICH I AM.

We Burned So Bright by TJ Klune (Macmillan/Tor) — Elder gay couple, 40 years together, rogue black hole incoming. They have one month and one last road trip to take care of unfinished business before Earth is gone. 176 pages. Remember that Klune pulled some problematic Stephenie Meyer shit with The House in the Cerulean Sea (If you missed it he used for inspiration the Canadian government's practice of abducting Indigenous children and placing them in residential schools for forced assimilation, made no public advocacy for First Nations communities, never addressed the backlash from Indigenous readers, and then wrote a sequel anyway.) So do with that info what you will. I know what I will do with it, and that's read an author who takes some fucking accountability. He doesn't get a snippet of his cover because I am petty.

WOW. I was not in any way QUICKABOUTIT. I make no apologies for rambling. I yam who I yam.

See you next week. I'll definitely be here, at my house, because with gas prices i can't afford to go anywhere.

— Zee

If you liked this and want more of whatever THIS is (unhinged book analysis, barely contained rage at the state of the world, and occasional Tamsyn Muir references and em dashes that I will never apologize for) consider subscribing for $5/month. Every cent goes to people who actually need it, because I have a day job and a cause, not a brand deal. This is my middle finger to Big 5 publishing, dressed up as a book blog. Come hold it up with me.

A Deep Dive into the Heart Mage Trilogy

If you’ve been hanging out with me on Instagram, you know I recently spiraled in the best way possible over A King’s Trust and A Villain’s Hope by S.E. McPherson. While a quick caption is great for the highlights, some books just demand a deeper look especially when they involve secret societies, cinnamon roll princes, and the kind of romantic tension that makes you forget to breathe.

If you are looking for your next binge-worthy fantasy romance series, let’s get into why the Heart Mage Trilogy should be at the top of your stack.

A King’s Trust: The Reluctant Heir & The Grumpy Duchess

In the first installment, we are introduced to Beau, the spare prince who suddenly finds himself thrust onto a throne he never wanted after the suspicious death of his brother. Beau is a rare find in fantasy: he’s a genuine cinnamon roll. He’s kind, he’s magical, and he’s trying his absolute best in a world that wants to use him as a pawn.

But he isn’t alone. He’s flanked by two of the most compelling characters I’ve read this year:

• Elias: His loyal guard who is carrying a weight of secrets that could sink a ship.

• Penny: A brilliant duchess who has zero time for Beau’s royal growing pains.

The Trope Factor: This book is a masterclass in the enemies-to-lovers and royal/guard tropes. Watching this trio navigate their distrust while searching for lost relics is pure entertainment. It’s a slow-burn buildup that feels earned, set against a backdrop of a secret society pulling political strings from the shadows.

A Villain’s Hope: High Stakes and Supernatural Debts

While the first book sets the stage, the sequel, A Villain’s Hope, completely raises the bar. We shift into higher gear as the consequences of the first book come knocking.

Elias takes center stage here. Having been resurrected with deadly supernatural powers, he’s no longer just a guard, he's a wildcard. The theme of identity is so strong in this installment. Elias has to reckon with the man he was before he met Beau and the man or monster he might have to become again to save their kingdom.

The world-building expands significantly here. We move beyond palace intrigue into a centuries-old battle between ancient magic and the defenders who want to suppress it. The stakes aren’t just about who wears the crown anymore; they’re about whether magic will break the world entirely.

Why This Series Stands Out

1. The Power of Three

The chemistry between Beau, Elias, and Penny is the beating heart of these books. S.E. McPherson writes relationships that feel messy and multidimensional. It isn't just about romance; it’s about a found family learning to survive together.

2. A Different Kind of Hero

Beau is such a refreshing protagonist. In a genre full of dark and brooding lords, having a mage-king who leads with empathy even while discovering he has dangerous power is a breath of fresh air.

3. The Atmosphere

The blend of political maneuvering and spooky supernatural elements creates a vibe that is both cozy and high-tension. You’ll feel for the characters during their quiet moments and bite your nails during the magical showdowns.

Final Thoughts

The Heart Mage Trilogy is a must-read for fans of character-driven fantasy. It has the heart of a romance and the bones of an epic adventure. I’m currently waiting impatiently for book three to see how this beautiful, chaotic trio finally saves their world.

Perfect for fans of: The Bridge Kingdom, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and anyone who loves a "he’s a 10 but he’s possessed by ancient magic" love interest.

Question for the comments:

When reading fantasy, do you prefer a story that focuses more on the political game of thrones or the gritty, ancient magic systems? Let’s chat below! 🏰✨

#AKingsTrust #AVillainsHope #SEMcPherson #FantasyRomance #BookReview #HeartMageTrilogy #FoundFamily

I haven’t been posting much about what I’ve been reading so here are some thoughts on books I’ve read recently!

Monstrilio- SO worth the hype. I loved how real this story felt despite being tilted with a grim fantasy strangeness. I find that takes a really talented and creative writer. It is beautiful but totally gutting (pun….intended). I can’t wait to see more from this author.

Best quote “god is a scumbag“ lmaoo

How to Lose Everything- this hurt my heart so much. The title says it all- someone who really loses everything. And this is felt hard while reading. The author is a queer Indigenous woman who went through hell but still grew a life blooming with flowers and joy. A very empowering memoir.

Heart the Lover- I had super high hopes for this one and I think it met them?? It was extremely well written. I didn’t love the plot but the writing was so engaging, I really felt like I too was experiencing everything the characters were going through. The references to other renowned works was a cool element in this one. Also, the card game I am dying to play because it sounds so good lol who wants to play Sir Hincomb Funnibuster???

Lost Lambs- Major ICK. How does this have so many rave reviews? It’s racist and ableist as fuck.

There is a way to portray shitty characters and this just isn’t it. I don’t even feel comfortable typing out the quotes. 🥴 gross

This isn't even remotely related to bookish content, but it's been on my mind and ties in with yesterday's post. Being upset about an interaction that didn't go the way you wanted is valid; however, we rarely, if ever, have all the facts about an interaction, because we cannot know everyone's perspective.

So we have this interaction, feel something, and our brain tells us it must be true. That belief drives much of our emotional suffering.

From a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy lens, there's an important distinction that changes how we relate to our internal world.

All emotions are valid. Not all emotions are accurate.

This difference matters because it shapes how we respond to ourselves in moments of distress. If we treat every emotion as proof of reality, we react to our thoughts as facts. And one thing I always tell my clients: "Thoughts aren't facts."

If we dismiss our emotions, we lose useful information about our needs and patterns. CBT offers a middle path. We take our emotions seriously without assuming they're telling us the full truth.

Let's start with what validity means.

An emotion is valid when it makes sense based on our internal experience. Our brain processes a situation, generates a thought, and produces a feeling. That sequence happens quickly and often outside of awareness. The feeling that follows isn't random. It's a direct response to how we interpreted what happened. Our perception of events.

If we feel anxious after someone doesn't respond to a message, that anxiety is valid. Our mind may have linked the silence to rejection. If we feel shame after making a mistake, that shame is valid. Our mind may have linked the mistake to our sense of worth.

Validation does not mean agreement. It means acknowledging that our emotional response has a cause.

Accuracy is a separate question.

An emotion is accurate when the thought driving it reflects the full context of the situation. In CBT, thoughts are evaluated for distortions. These include mind reading, catastrophizing, overgeneralizing, personalization, and more. When a thought is distorted, the emotion that follows feels intense and convincing, but it may not match reality.

Here's an example of a common experience we have.

You send a message and don't get a reply.

Your automatic thought might be, “They are ignoring me. I did something wrong.”

The emotion that follows is anxiety or rejection.

That emotion is valid. It follows the thought.

Now examine the thought.

What evidence supports the idea that you're being ignored?
What evidence suggests other explanations?
Have there been times when this person responded late for neutral reasons?

When you step back, you often see that you don't have enough information to confirm the original belief.

You try a reframe.

“They might be busy. I don't know why they haven't responded yet.”

The emotional shift is immediate. Anxiety decreases. Curiosity or mild concern replaces it.

The first emotion was valid. The second emotional response is more accurate because the thought aligns better with available evidence.

This is the core of perspective taking.

Perspective-taking expands the frame beyond our initial interpretation. It asks us to consider multiple explanations, not only the one that feels most emotionally charged. This doesn't invalidate our experience. It updates it.

Another example shows how this plays out with self-evaluation.

You make a mistake at work.

Your automatic thought is, “I'm incompetent.”

The emotion is shame.

That shame is valid. It reflects the meaning you assigned to the mistake.

Now challenge the thought.

Does one mistake define your overall ability?
What is the actual impact of this error?
What would you say to a colleague in the same situation?

A more balanced thought might be, “I made a mistake. I can correct it and learn from it.”

The emotional response shifts to disappointment or accountability. These emotions are still uncomfortable, but they're proportionate to the situation and more useful for problem-solving.

The distinction between valid and accurate emotions becomes especially important in relationships.

When someone cancels plans, we might feel hurt and think, “They don't care about me.” The hurt is valid, but the conclusion may not be accurate. Without examining the thought, we risk reacting in a way that damages the relationship. With perspective-taking, we create space to respond rather than react.

This approach changes how we treat ourselves.

Instead of saying, “I shouldn't feel this way,” we say, “It makes sense that I feel this way, given what I'm telling myself.” That reduces shame around the emotion. Then we ask, “Is my thought the only explanation, or the most accurate one?” That invites flexibility.

The goal is not to eliminate emotion. The goal is to align our emotional responses with reality as closely as possible.

In practice, this means slowing the process down.

Identify the situation.
Notice the thought that came up.
Name the emotion that followed.

Then examine the thought.

What am I assuming?
What evidence supports this?
What evidence does not?
What are alternative explanations?

When the thought shifts, the emotional experience shifts with it. This is not about forcing yourself to feel better. It is about responding to a more complete picture.

You don't have to choose between honoring your emotions and staying grounded in reality. You can do both.