A funny, queer urban fantasy mystery set in supernatural London, with a half-fae detective worth meeting, held back by a slow, info-heavy start and a romance that plays second fiddle to the case.
Verdict: A witty, inventive Regency fantasy with a scene-stealing fae narrator and two starred trade reviews, held back by that same narrator keeping readers at arm’s length from the romance and a second half that loses momentum. Best for: Readers who love comedy-of-manners voice and Austen pastiche, who are happy to watch a romance through … Read more
Updated on October 9, 2026 Verdict: A ferociously voiced, genuinely inventive queer space retelling of Moby-Dick, undercut by the same digressions, drift and doom that make the original a hard read — and by a joke it tells a few hundred times too often. Best for: Readers who love a loud, unreliable, fourth-wall-breaking narrator and … Read more