Short AF Book Review | The Restorative Artist | ARC Received By Netgalley

 Hi friends!  So today I'm going to be doing a review on "The Restorative Artist" by Cecil Fenn. This review is going to be short and sweet (like the title suggests) and spoiler free (however there will be the Netgalley synopsis in this and sometimes it can contain spoilers so please keep that in mind!)

"An embalmer haunted by the death of his lover pulls apart his relationship and his funeral home to escape the pain of grief. Queer book club meets gothic horror in this debut novel from a former funeral professional.

Graham has built his life around the dead. He's a talented embalmer, the devoted director of his own funeral home, and the guiding hand behind a small but respected team. After a corpse - carried illness forces him to reckon with his own mortality, Graham struggles to confront the lingering pain of  a recent loss. Grief, he finds, is not so easily diagnosed, dissected, and named. It is not so easily cured.

Betrayed by his body and unable to accept the pain death has caused him, Graham loses faith in his profession and the person he's become in its service. The past - which he imagines as a story of love and self - acceptance - becomes Graham's refuge. But in the present, influenced by increasingly gruesome visions of the deceased, Graham withdraws from his funeral home with devastating consequences for himself, his new girlfriend, and his colleagues. As his life, and even his sanity, starts to fragment, Graham struggles to rediscover the importance of his work and the history that haunts him before he loses everything and everyone close to him.

The Restorative Artist is a dissection of memory and embodiment, set against the morbid decadence - and sterilising secresy - of the US funeral industry. Through Graham's confrontations with the spectre of his deceased lover, the horror of his work, and the uneasy relationship with his own transgender body, it dares to ask how anyone can continue in the face of loss."

I received this book as an ARC on Netgalley, however all opinions are my own.

So the reason I wanted to read this is genuinely because I saw it on Netgalley and the description sounded like it'd be something right up my street. Friends, I was right. This story was so incredibly beautiful, jarring, and heartbreaking. This is described as both a "literary fiction" and a "horror" on Goodreads, but this for sure falls more into the literary fiction catergory, as the horror elements of this story felt more sad than horrifying. Which also means we've finally found a literary fiction I like! This book truly was filled with a heartbreak that I don't think I was ready for. The way that this character dealt with their queerness, them being trans and their grief was both beautiful and devestating at the same time. I genuinely found myself tearing up throughout this book and just wanting to jump into the story and give our main character a hug. I would absolutely recommend this if you want something that's going to tear your heart out and put it back together again, but please note there are some triggering topics throughout so please look up the trigger warnings before you read this book.

I gave this book a 5/5 star rating on Goodreads!

This book comes out on the 17th September 2026!

What did you think of this book? Who were your favourite or least favourite characters? Do you have any books you'd recommend for me to read and do a review on? Please let me know down in the comments below!

Have a wonderful day!

Love, Doe!

Short AF Book Review | The Misfit Witches Of Marigold Island | ARC Received By Netgalley

  Hi friends!  So today I'm going to be doing a review on "The Misfit Witches Of Marigold Island" by V.K. Ruiz. This review is going to be short and sweet (like the title suggests) and spoiler free (however there will be the Netgalley synopsis in this and sometimes it can contain spoilers so please keep that in mind!)

"A spell gone wrong leaves a witch powerless - but opens the door to a new kind of magic.

Paloma has spent a decade as a witch's apprentice, dedicating herself completely to the craft of spell casting. But even with her whole future planned, all it takes is one sneeze to send a spell awry, extinguishing her magic completely. Paloma's distraught: Without her powers, can she even call herself a witch?

At the gentle urging of her mentor, Paloma returns home to verdang, magical Marigold Island. There, she launches By The Broom, a successful courier service, and finds community in a house of other queer misfit witches and their familiars - indcluding a straw hat - wearing raccoon named Nori. Still, the ache of losing her powers - and her sense of self - lingers. Even a flirtation with Liss, the charming cafe owner whose chocolate chip cookies are literally enchanted to feel like a hug, cant quiet her grief. As she zooms around making deliveries, she can't ignore the blight creeping across the island - or the feeling that Marigold's magic is fading too.

Paloma's used to solving problems on her own. Can she learn to accept her limitations and trust her new housemates to help her save the island they all love before it's lost to them forever?"

I received this book as an ARC on Netgalley, however all opinions are my own.

So the reason I wanted to read this is genuinely because the cover was gorgeous and caught my eye on Netgalley, so once I saw it was queer I knew I had to read this. Friends, this book was absolutely adorable. This had everything I could ask for in a queer romance, found family, a beautiful support system and magic. If you want a cozy, lighthearted easy to read queer romance then this is definitely the one. The wrting was flowery, soft and gentle in all the ways I needed to be. I giggled with these characters, I cried with these characters. My heart was filled with so much love and warmth throughout this story. If anything, reading it felt like a warm hug. I genuinely would recommend this to everyone and anyone, especially if you're in the mood for a soft queer witchy romance. I cannot wait to see what V.K. Ruiz writes next.

I gave this book a 4/5 star rating on Goodreads!

This book comes out on the 23rd March 2027!

What did you think of this book? Who were your favourite or least favourite characters? Do you have any books you'd recommend for me to read and do a review on? Please let me know down in the comments below!

Have a wonderful day!

Love, Doe!

Short AF Book Review | Gingerbread Bones | ARC Received By Netgalley

 Hi friends!  So today I'm going to be doing a review on "Gingerbread Bones" by Lindsay Lovise. This review is going to be short and sweet (like the title suggests) and spoiler free (however there will be the Goodreads synopsis in this and sometimes it can contain spoilers so please keep that in mind!)

"They're being hunted...

When sixteen - year - old Georgie and her troublemaking brother are shipped off to the wilderness for their stepmother's newest reality show, Georgie is convinced it'll be the worst experience of her life. Two weeks. No phones. Hiking. Camping. Cameras catching every humilating second.

Then she meets Mack Gray. Tattooed, unreadable, and - among a cast of kids already branded as trouble - he's the one she's sure is dangerous.

One night, the counselors are chanting affirmations around the fire. By morning, they're gone.

But the kids are not alone.

Georgie can feel it, stalking them from the shadows - watching, waiting, picking them off one by one. Whatever it is, it isn't just hunting.

It's playing.

And in this game, there seems to be only one ending: no one gets out alive."

I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley, however all opinions are my own.

I'm not going to lie friends, the only reason I requested this book is because I wanted the camp Netgalley badge and this looked like the most interesting story available for the badge on there. However, I was pleasently surprised at how much I loved this book. This book did start off a little slow, obviously it took the time to get us to figure out the setting they were in and who each of the kids were and what they did to be there. But once that was all done the story was non stop horror and action. This book genuinely had me sat on the edge of my seat throughout, and whilst I found the twist a little predictable, it still was exciting to read all the same. I loved to see the character development shine throughout the book, and even found myself rooting for characters I truly hated from the beginning. Even though the main twist was predictable to me, there were so many other twists and turns throughout this story I did not see coming and made it all the more enjoyable to read. I adored this story and definitely think it would be the best halloween read. Please note, however, there are some triggering topics in this book, so please look up the trigger warnings before reading.

I gave this book a 4/5 star rating on Goodreads!

This book comes out on the 4th August 2026!

What did you think of this book? Who were your favourite or least favourite characters? Do you have any books you'd recommend for me to read and do a review on? Please let me know down in the comments below!

Have a wonderful day!

Love, Doe!