A short read that had me chuckling more than once. It’s a rather hodgepodge of funny stories and quips from the perspective of a very relatable new parent, and the narration was excellent. Light and sweet, I’d recommend for any new parents looking for a read to give them a laugh and make them feel seen.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thanks for reading!
Loved the hook and the premise, but I thought we lost a lot of tension in the middle. I feel like I didn’t connect with the characters as much as I would’ve liked, and I got a little frustrated with the characters not really utilizing the powerful books to their full potential. Or taking steps to defend / protect themselves when someone is actively trying to un-alive them over the course of years. I nearly DNF’d a couple times, but came back to it at the encouragement of a friend. To be fair, the full-circle elements of time travel were satisfying and the narrator was great.
⭐⭐⭐½
Thanks for reading!
So, this was an interesting find! The narration and writing were both lovely, and this was an interesting, unique take on a portal fantasy. The (very) slowburn romance was well executed with solid chemistry & tension, but fair warning, this book doesn’t really stand alone. While this world and magic system was obviously lovingly crafted with fantastic imagery, I personally had some trouble appreciating the concept of Ruhaven’s mechanics, Roe’s ups and downs were a little frustrating to me, I was a little disappointed by the lack of satisfaction in the ending, and I found the pacing tested my patience (though take that with a grain of salt, because, as a rule, I like short, fast-paced reads and I’m definitely not a fan of cliffhangers.) That said, if you’re interested in an atmospheric fantasy that takes its time as it bridges worlds with solid side of slowburn romance, then I’d give this one a try. Thanks to the author for the audible code!
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thanks for reading!
Trying a few short novella reads to try to dig myself out of my reading slump. I always enjoy Backman’s writing and this novella packs a lot into a short number of pages—so many good lines. Overall though, from a story perspective, I don’t think it’s one of my favorites of his.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thanks for reading!
Not-so-fun fact: my books were among those that Meta used to train their AI without my permission. You can find the list here. (My books are listed under Hayley Chow.)
Personally, I can guarantee you that I will never use generative AI in my books or literally anywhere else. When I write anything, be it a story, a social media caption, or even this post, it is me talking to you.
This is one human being trying to connect with another. My stories are me trying to make sense of the world we live in, my experiences, and my perspective, and bottle all of that into a narrative that helps me (and others) process our human condition. Yes, I write science fiction and fantasy and romance, but when you boil a good story down—the characters, their struggles and emotions—you will find our humanity. When you read my books, at their heart, you will find me trying to sort out how I feel about the realities of being human in this world.
And humanity is something I have no desire to be replaced by a machine.
I do not need a machine to tell me how or what to think and feel. I don’t need a machine to tell me what it’s like to fall in love or get my heart broken. What it’s like to feel on top of the world. When I need to feel seen in the pages of books, I’m looking for my reflection in the eyes of another person. I’m looking for those author’s words to tell me I’m not alone.
Because in the mouth of a machine, those words only ring hollow and false.
But then of course, the next question you might ask is, “but Hayley, what about visual art?” Because people have asked this. And honestly, I feel like it’s amusing that people feel the need for this follow-up.
It’s no secret that I commission lots of character art to help promote my books. But I only commission human artists. I love to see how visual artists take my books and my characters, and, using their own human perspective, bring them to life on paper. It is their world connecting to mine with honest emotion and skills that I cherish.
After all, what is art?
The answer, of course, is subjective, but for me, art is human expression through a skilled medium with the intent to connect to another human being.
You see, there’s no room for AI in that definition.
Because I’ve been lucky enough to stand beneath the Sistine Chapel, to see the Raft of the Medusa in the Louvre, and Michelangelo’s David. And the wonder, for me, is not that those things exist. (Because, of course, I’m sure in this day and age a machine could replicate them.) But rather, that a person crafted them, with the intent to communicate across time and space with me and so many others.
So yeah.
I’m not here to tell you what to do. Rather, I’m here to explain while no matter how AI advances, I will always support human authors and artists.
To me, they are the bedrock of a vibrant culture of humanity that reminds us of what it is to create. What it is to mourn. To imagine. To transcend from one singularly unique mind to many. What it is to be alive.
And they are irreplaceable.
Thanks for reading!
Okay this is my last Rick Riordan book review for a while. Even though my kids are still fully immersed in the Rick Riordan universe, I think I need a breather from MG. (Not because I didn’t enjoy this one, but just because we’re on Riordan Book 8, and that’s *a lot* for me.)
In general though, I don’t have a ton to say about this series. These characters do act a little older than their counter parts in Percy Jackson & the Olympians which I enjoyed, and my 7yo & 9yo continue to be hooked on this series. This is a solid continuation of the Percy Jackson series (in which Percy Jackson & co plays a solid role) and I really liked the action, development, and universe-expansion in this one! My 9yo inhaled this series and has now moved onto Apollo’s trials, but he will have to forge on ahead without me, because I need a change-up! Still, I do love all the Percy Jackson and Greek God our house is decked out in now, so this of course gets:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thanks for reading!
So we read these two immediately after finishing Percy Jackson and the Olympians, but in retrospect we should’ve (at a minimum) read Heroes of Olympus first. Derp. It wasn’t a huge deal, but Percy does reference characters and events from Heroes of Olympus in passing.
Chalice of the Gods:
The stakes are much lower in this series, and even though Percy is 17, he still pretty much seems like the same Percy from the original series. Once again this is fantastic news for my 7yo & 8yo who have now both binged all 7 Percy Jackson books (and are waiting for book 8.) But for me it makes the Percy’s adventures start to seem a little episodic, but if you read the first series and wanted more Percy, Grover, & Annabeth, this series is for you!
Wrath of the Triple Goddess:
My 7yo and 8yo have been loving this series so I’ve been trying to keep up with them, but I don’t like this trilogy as much as the original Five. The stakes are way lower, the quests seem episodic, and I don’t feel like we get a ton of character growth.
But if you love Percy Jackson, then you will probably love these. My 7 and 8yos certainly do. Four stars from me. Five from them, and they are happily reading Heroes of Olympus and Trials of Apollo while they wait for Percy’s Senior Adventures #3. Since there’s two of them and one of me, we’ll call it five stars here:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thanks for reading!
And here we go with another series review!
Book One:
So I told my 8yo I would buddy read this with him since I wanted him to get into the series because I thought it would be right up his alley.
Self-five because I was riigghhttt!!
He’s is now flying through book 3, and is LOVING it.
And then my 7yo didn’t want to be left out, and he finished the audiobook yesterday and is very sad our hold on book 2 isn’t ready yet.
I finished today and I can firmly say I get the hype and I’m excited for book 2. A sassy demigod, loyal friends, the cool universe of Greek mythology, and lots of monsters? We are so in.
My husband (who is now also reading these books) better catch up because we’re totally liable to leave him behind!
Book Two:
I’ve been in a reading slump, so it’s been so fun to buddy read this series with my 8yo & 7yo! Honestly, I totally get the hype. This series is fast-paced, the voice pops, the characters are so easy to root for, and the world-building is chef’s kiss.
My 8yo has already finished all 7 Percy-POV books, & honestly just ask for Percy Jackson merch & more Rick Riordan books for his birthday. Even my 7yo is halfway into book 3, so I’ve got to catch up! And I’m so looking forward to it! Middle grade perfection recommended for all!
Book Three:
Another great entry to the series with more intensity, higher stakes, and great character/plot progression. Chef’s kiss.
Book Four:
(4.5/5) Really liked everything about the labyrinth, Percy’s adventures, and Nico’s development in this one… but I feel like Annabeth got short-changed here. I really wanted to see her wisdom shine in the labyrinth, but instead her jealousy really defined her throughout this one. Honestly though, I’ve really enjoyed listening to these as I get back into running, and I’m excited to read book 5!
Book Five:
(4.25/5)
So this series was interesting, because even though Percy Jackson is 16 at the end of the series, this book stayed squarely in the MG territory (rather than skewing into YA), which, honestly, is perfect for my elementary-school kids who are reading it.
But for me, personally, I think it would’ve been cool to see a little more growth from Percy over the five years. (Please keep in mind though, I love me some YA, and I am not the target audience here.) In general, this felt like another solid entry in the Percy Jackson series and we definitely got resolution on the plot threads that have been stretching through the series, but somehow it didn’t feel as epic as I guess I was expecting after all the build-up. And (heads up, unpopular opinion coming in), the chemistry between Percy & Annabeth wasn’t there for me. Their relationship seems high in jealousy content, and in general, I wish Annabeth had gotten more development throughout.
Also, maybe it’s because I’ve been on a Percy Jackson binge, but the narration was bugging me in this book. Hermes & Persephone’s voices didn’t seem to fit, and the mispronunciation of Hera’s name was killing me.
Overall though, my 7yo & 8yo absolutely LOVED this series, and it was super cool to be able to buddy read it with them. I loved the fast-pace and Percy’s voice, and they kept me seriously entertained as I get back into jogging.
Honestly, Nico de Angelo may be my favorite character and apparently there’s a series about him? So totally stoked for that. My 8yo says I have to also read the next two books, so I’ll be getting into those as well, but I think I’ll at least try to read a couple other books first.
(Side note though, we did also watch the show as my family, and my kids weren’t super jazzed about it. They were very disappointed it wasn’t EXACTLY as the books described word for word, and personally, I thought the shows had a darker vibe than the show. But it’d be hard to match the awesomeness of the books.)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thanks for reading!
So I usually try to include my writing updates in my bi-annual author newsletter (which you can sign up for here), but it’s been a while since I dropped one in the blog, and I’ve got a lot of irons in the fire, I figured I’d post a little recap.
As of this writing, I currently have ten books published.
The 5-book Odriel’s Heirs series is complete. Reading order: Odriel’s Heirs, Burning Shadows, Idriel’s Children, Night of Ash, Time’s Orphan. And honestly, I’m actively trying to step away from further investment in this series in the way of time or promotion. (It’s hard because I do love them so much, but I’m trying to look forward.) They’re all free to read somewhere, and Odriel’s Heirs pretty consistently lives in the top twenty of Amazon’s Free Teen & Young Adult Dark Fantasy ebooks and Teen & Young Adult Epic Fantasy ebooks. It’s downloaded regularly and has over Amazon 200 ratings with a 4.5 star average, so I’m pretty happy with that.
The Gatekeeper of Pericael remains as my only upper-middle-grade adventure, and again, I’m trying to actively step away from further investment. Also permafree, it still gets downloads on a weekly basis, and some reviews trickle in. An agent once told me, “You’ve written a beautiful book, but I have no idea how to market it,” and I completely agree with her. I love the creepy little monsterific book, but its target audience is strong middle grade readers who are looking for a good scare in their fantasy… which is a hard group to reach. As someone who was a horror-loving middle-schooler myself, I do absolutely love it though when it finds its way into the hands of the right reader. *So satisfying.* Strangely this “middle-school boy fantasy” is the only one I’ve sold out of at book signings, so that’s pretty cool too.
The 5-book Into the Churn series is also on the verge of completion. Reading order: Into the Churn, Into the Fire, A Churn in the Dark, Into the Abyss, A Churn in the (Virtual) Society. That last one now available for preorder and will release on September 16th. Since this is still a very new completed series, it’s currently the one I’m marketing most, and with Amazon ratings creeping up (184 now) I finally feel like it’s finding its audience. Overall, I’m super proud of this series, I can’t wait to hold that 5th book in my hands, and see what readers think of our last adventure in the Casolla system.
So where are we going here? Well, this year, my coauthor (E.P. Stavs) and signed a 2-book deal with Charlesbridge Publishing for Midnight Falls, our YA Paranormal Mystery (think of it as Gilmore Gils + Spirited Away + Addams Family.) But that won’t be coming out until Fall of 2027. Erin and I have two more Paranormal Adventures in that same universe—Borrowed Magic & Other Catastrophes (complete and with our agent) and A Witch’s Guide to Mischief and Moonlight (hoping to complete the first draft in June)—that we’re hoping to package together into a magical tourism series, but we’ll see how it goes.
But what about a 2026 release?! Well… I may have a little secret up my sleeve. It’s a little too early to say for sure, but I’m thinking my other Paranormal Mystery (think Veronica Mars + Bride + The Office) maybe be launching into the world in September 2026. The first draft is complete, but I’m still working on the first revision before I send it off to the powers that be. If all goes well, the official announcement will go out in October, and that will be part of a trilogy slated for 2026, 2027, & 2028 release. Fingers crossed!
But what about all of these other books you talk about? Indeed, dear reader, indeed. The traditional publishing pipeline is a long one with many ups and downs. My contemporary YA romcom, Inky & Heater IRL (think You Got Mail + Falling Into Your Smile), is technically on sub, along with my creepy YA Paranormal, The Ninth Circle (Stranger Things + Supernatural + Buffy), but we’ll be pivoting our energies to focus on my other WIPs ready to launch into the sub trenches.
Most notably, Codename: CNDRLA (Ever After + Mission Impossible) is the newest penguin to jump off the iceberg into the unpredictable waters of submission, and my agent (Kristen Terrette) and I are super excited for it!
Exit Seats (When Harry Met Sally + Fangirl) is next in line. And then I also have a *dark* NA Fantasy, House of the Chosen, (Gideon the Ninth + Phantasma) that I’m hoping to send my agent at the end of the summer.
And that’s basically the long and short of it. To sum up:
10 books published
1 book scheduled for September 2025 release
1 book planned for a September 2026 release
2 books planned for 2027 release
2 books planned for a 2028 release
3 books on sub
1 book with agent
2 books on route to my agent this summer
So where is my energy concentrated right now?
– Promoting the Into the Churn series
– Bagging that September 2026 contract
– Crossing my fingers SUPER hard for Codename: CNDRLA (like SUPER hard. It’s seriously one of my favorite book children)
Anyways, thanks for coming on the journey with me! And if you want to make sure you hear about my releases, remember to sign up for my newsletter or follow me on Amazon for notifications when I have another book published!
If you’re looking for ways to support me and enjoyed my books, ratings & reviews help a ton.
Thanks for reading!
Picked this up on impulse at the recommendation of a friend who was also reading it.
What I liked:
– A fun, paranormal flavor
What I didn’t like:
– I just felt like there wasn’t a whole lot else that stood out for me here. I don’t even feel like I disliked anything in particular, but more like that it just didn’t stand out for me, and to me, a few of the plot points felt contrived.
Recommended for those looking for a light paranormal with friendly enemies-to-lovers and some spice.
⭐⭐⭐½
Thanks for reading!
Hayley Reese Chow 