Category: Soho Press

The Deepest Lake by Andromeda Romano-Lax

Publisher: Soho Press, Soho Crime

Date of publication: May 7th, 2024

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Adult, Contemporary, Travel, Adult Fiction

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | Kobo | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this atmospheric thriller set at a luxury memoir-writing workshop on the shores of Lake Atitlán, Guatemala, a grieving mother goes undercover to investigate her daughter’s mysterious death.

Rose, the mother of 20-something aspiring writer Jules, has waited three months for answers about her daughter’s death. Why was she swimming alone when she feared the water? Why did she stop texting days before she was last seen? When the official investigation rules the death an accidental drowning, the body possibly lost forever in Central America’s deepest lake, an unsatisfied Rose travels to the memoir workshop herself. She hopes to draw her own conclusion—and find closure.

When Rose arrives, she is swept into the curious world created by her daughter’s literary hero, the famous writing teacher Eva Marshall, a charismatic woman known for her candid—and controversial—memoirs. As Rose uncovers details about the days leading up to Jules’s disappearance, she begins to suspect that this glamorous retreat package is hiding ugly truths. Is Lake Atitlan a place where traumatized women come to heal or a place where deeper injury is inflicted?

Perfect for fans of Delia Owens, Celeste Ng, and Julia Bartz, The Deepest Lake is both a sharp look at the sometimes toxic, exclusionary world of high-class writing workshops and an achingly poignant view of a mother’s grief.

First Line:

I should be terrified stepping into the rowboat, but for the first adrenaline-spiked moment, I’m not.

Important details about The Deepest Lake

Pace: Fast

POV: 3rd person (Rose), 1st person (Jules)

Content/Trigger Guidance: The Deepest Lake contains themes that include bullying, classism, gaslighting, emotional abuse, depression*, alcohol consumption, drug use, miscarriage*, SIDS-related death*, blood, lack of medical treatment, physical injuries, dehydration, death of a child, grief & loss depiction, captivity & confinement, disappearance of a loved one, fire, attempted murder, physical assault, and mental illness*. Please read carefully if any of these triggers you.

  • Depression: It is revealed that Jules suffered from depression during college.
  • Miscarriage: Eva reveals to Jules that she had a miscarriage at 24 weeks.
  • SIDS-related death: In Eva’s memoir, she tells how her child died from SIDS at 13 days old.
  • Mental Illness: Eva had an undisclosed mental illness. It became more pronounced at the end of the book. The author never tells what the mental illness is (only that people had to walk on eggshells around her, and she became erratic).

Language: The Deepest Lake contains mild to moderate swearing and language that might offend some people.

  • Both Jules and Rose speak fluent Spanish, and they converse with the locals throughout the book. The author does include an English translation, but it was easy enough to guess what they were saying from the context of their conversations. There were only a couple of times I had to use the translation feature on my Kindle.

Sexual Content: There is no sexual content in The Deepest Lake.

Setting: The Deepest Lake is set on a resort bordering a small village (San Felipe) and a lake (Lake Atitlan) in Guatemala. There is also an epilogue set in Chicago, Illinois.

My Review:

Thrillers have always been one of my favorite books to read. Besides romance, they were one of the most reviewed genres on this blog. When I read the blurb for The Deepest Lake on Soho Press’s NetGalley page, I became very interested in it. The storyline caught my attention, but the location also made me double-take. I haven’t read many books set in Central America, and I have read no books set in Guatemala. I hyped this book up in my mind, and in most cases, the book falls short. But not in this case. I enjoyed reading The Deepest Lake.

The Deepest Lake is a dual storyline, dual POV book. In my years of reading, I have noticed that books that go between characters and POVs become choppy towards the end (when the author tries to merge the storyline for the ending). But not in this case. The transition between Rose and Jules was smooth. The author marked whose chapter it was and when it was happening (this is very important towards the end of the book). And the merge of the storylines was seamless. All of this made the book very enjoyable to read.

There are two storylines in The Deepest Lake. One centers on Jules and her experiences working for Eva. The other storyline centers on Rose’s quest for answers about Jule’s disappearance/drowning. Both storylines were well-written and kept my attention focused on the book.

Jules did rub me the wrong way at the beginning of the book. She came across as a brat (for lack of better words) who felt suffocated by her parents. She also suffered from a severe case of hero worship, which lasted until the middle of the book. However, a significant scene in the middle of the book opened her eyes to everything and set up the events at the end of the book.

The depth of Rose’s grief crushed me. All she wanted was answers; the one person who had them (or she thought had them) was Eva. I got why she joined the writer’s workshop. I also got why she kept quiet about who she was and her relationship with Jules. I also loved that she was determined to figure out what happened to Jules, even though her ex-husband had already been to San Felipe and the resort looking for her.

Eva was a great villain. The more page time she got, the more unhinged she became. It was apparent early on in Rose’s workshops. But with Jules, it was evident when, well, the spa scene and after that scene, it just snowballed. I want to say grief was a significant factor behind everything, but you know what, I don’t know. And that is what made her such a great villain. You didn’t know the real reasons of what drove her and why (there were reasons given, but I took them with a grain of salt). I was also shocked by what was revealed at the end of the book about her (on so many levels).

The thriller and mystery angle of the book was good. The author was able to keep me on tenterhooks with both Rose and Jules. She would end chapters a certain way, go to the other POV, and I’d have to wait to see what happened. Also, two massive twists and a few smaller, more insignificant ones were thrown into the storyline. The big twists did surprise me. I did not expect what was revealed and what happened actually to happen. The more minor twists didn’t surprise me, but they added extra padding to what was revealed by the more significant twists.

The end of The Deepest Lake was one of the best endings to a book I have read. I loved how the author wrapped everything up. There was a surprise that the author included at the very end that surprised me, mainly because of who was involved and where that person was.

Many thanks to Soho Press, Soho Crime, NetGalley, and Andromeda Romano-Lax for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Deepest Lake. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to The Deepest Lake, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Andromeda Romano-Lax

Skater Boy by Anthony Nerada

Publisher: Soho Press, Soho Teen

Date of publication: February 6th, 2024

Genre: Romance, Young Adult, LGBT, Contemporary, Queer, Fiction, MM Romance, Gay, Young Adult Contemporary, High School

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this YA pop-punk debut about queer romance and destroying labels, a teen risks everything to write his own story. Perfect for fans of Sonora Reyes and Adib Khorram.

Stonebridge High’s resident bad boy, Wesley “Big Mac” Mackenzie, is failing senior year—thanks to his unchecked anger, rowdy friends, and a tendency to ditch his homework for skateboarding and a secret photography obsession. So when his mom drags him to a production of The Nutcracker, Wes isn’t interested at all . . . until he sees Tristan Monroe. Mr. Nutcracker himself.

Wes knows he shouldn’t like Tristan; after all, he’s a ballet dancer, and Wes is as closeted as they come. But when they start spending time together, Wes can’t seem to get Tristan out of his head. Driven by a new sense of purpose, Wes begins to think that—despite every authority figure telling him otherwise—maybe he can change for the better and graduate on time.

As a falling out with his friends becomes inevitable, Wes realizes that being himself means taking a stand—and blowing up the bad-boy reputation he never wanted in the first place.

From a debut author to watch, Skater Boy delivers a heart-wrenching, validating, and honest story about what it means to be gay in a world where you don’t fit in.

First Line:

I hate people.

Skater Boy by Anthony Nerada

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: Medium and stays medium throughout the book.

POV: 1st person (told from Wes’s POV)

Trigger Warnings: There are scenes of alcoholism (off and on page), alcohol (consumption/off and on page), bullying (graphic and on page), drug use (marijuana only/on page), panic attacks/disorders (on page), violence (on and off page), car accident (on page), domestic abuse (off page for actual assaults but on page with the aftermath—bruises, etc), homophobia (on page), injury/injury detail (on page), child abuse (off page/remembered through memories), and racism (on page). If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book.

Language: Graphic swearing is used in Skater Boy. There is also language used that could be offensive to some people.

Setting: Skater Boy is mainly set in Valentine, Ohio. Towards the end of the book, a chapter is set in New York City. Wes also remembers living in Louisiana.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

Wes “Big Mac” Mackenzie is known for his anger, petty crimes, bullying, and rowdy friends. What people don’t understand about him is that he loves photography and musicals-and he is gay. On top of that, Wes is in danger of failing out of school. The day he receives that information, his mother makes him go to a local production of The Nutcracker with her obnoxious boyfriend and his daughter. He was expecting to be bored out of his mind, and he was until he got a look at who was playing the Nutcracker: Tristan Monroe. Tristian is everything Wes isn’t, including being comfortable in his skin.

As Wes meets and spends more time with Tristian, he starts falling head over heels for him. Wes begins to see a future that isn’t as grim as the school’s counselors and teachers have made it out to be. But when Wes’s friends find out that he is seeing Tristan, it sets off a chain of events that could ruin not only Wes and Tristian’s relationship but also Wes’s future. It is up to Wes to set everyone and everything straight. And if that means coming out, then he’ll do it. Can Wes make things right? Will he get his happily ever after? Or will everything crash and burn?

Characters:

The main character in Skater Boy is Wes. I will be brutally honest about him—Wes was not likable for more than half the book. But he was a sympathetic character. He had gone through a lot as a child, and that shaped him into the angry, violent teenager portrayed in the book. But, as the author peeled back Wes’s layers (surprisingly, there were many), a different person was revealed. This person was artistic, sweet, a little (who am I kidding, a lot) insecure, unsure, and an anxiety-ridden mess. I loved Wes and liked that the more he hung out with Tristian, the more that side of him came out.

I do want to talk about Tristian. While he technically wasn’t a main character (the book was more focused on Wes), he was a considerable part of Wes’s life and the driving force behind Wes doing certain things. I wasn’t a fan of his to begin with (the whole talking about Wes behind his back was crappy), but that didn’t last long. I could see his feelings for Wes growing and understood his impatience with Wes (who was in the closet) to go public with their relationship.

Other secondary characters in this book are fascinating and have backstories that pique my interest. The author was able to incorporate those backstories into Wes’s story without taking Wes’s story over (if that makes sense). The author also used them to show how much Wes grew during this book.

My review:

The main storyline of Skater Boy centers around Wes, his relationship with Tristian, his growth throughout the book, and how his past trauma shaped him into the person he was. It was an emotional read for me. There were times when I wanted to hug Wes and tell him it was OK. But mostly, I was a captivated bystander to Wes’s ups and downs and his character growth.

As I mentioned above, I enjoyed seeing Wes’s character growth. At the beginning of the book, Wes is miserable. He had this facade of a bad boy to maintain. That included doing petty crimes, ditching school, bullying people, and just being a jerk. Add in his massive panic attacks (as someone who suffers from those, I sympathized with him) and the fact that he was gay and hiding it, and I could understand why he was stressed all the time. By the middle of the book, a different Wes emerges after he starts seeing Tristian. I wished this Wes showed up more initially, but I understood why the author let this Wes gradually out.

Wes and Tristian’s relationship is interesting and cute. I say interesting because I didn’t think Tristian liked Wes (only tolerated him). It wasn’t until Wes started shooting Tristian’s headshot and other pictures (for his portfolio) that I think Tristian started to like Wes. However, their relationship is very rocky throughout the book. Wes was very closeted, and it did affect their relationship. The whole bridge scene made me mad. No one deserves to be treated like that, and Tristian had every right to be upset with Wes.

Interwoven with the main storyline are numerous secondary storylines. Each storyline added extra depth and understanding to Wes’s character. Some of them explained why he wanted to keep Tristian a secret. Others explained why he bullied people (and it wasn’t as black and white as the author made it to be). And still, other storylines explained his past.

The end of Skater Boy was interesting and sweet. Once Wes did something, he committed wholeheartedly to it. I was surprised at the music Tristian chose to dance to. Also, his reaction to Wes outside the audition was one of the sweetest ones I have ever read. And the last chapter warmed my heart!!

Many thanks to Soho Press, Soho Teens, NetGalley, and Anthony Nerada for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Skater Boy. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Skater Boy, then you will enjoy these books:

Suggested Playlist (feel free to add songs or remove songs)

  1. “Sk8er Boi” – Avril Lavigne
  2. “Superman” – Goldfinger
  3. “All the Small Things” – Blink-182
  4. “Basket Case” – Green Day
  5. “Crazy Train” – Ozzy Osbourne
  6. “Welcome to the Jungle” – Guns N’ Roses
  7. “Icky Thump” – The White Stripes
  8. “Misery Business” – Paramore
  9. “The Middle” – Jimmy Eat World
  10. “Teenagers” – My Chemical Romance
  11. “American Idiot” – Green Day
  12. “Anarchy in the U.K.” – Sex Pistols
  13. “Nothing Else Matters” – Metallica

Love in Winter Wonderland by Abiola Bello

Publisher: Soho Press, Soho Teen

Date of publication: October 3rd, 2023

Genre: Romance, Christmas, Holiday, Young Adult, Contemporary, Young Adult Romance, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, African American Romance

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

‘The Sun Is Also a Star’ meets ‘You’ve Got Mail’ in this YA Christmas love story set in a London Black-owned bookshop.

Charming, handsome Trey Anderson balances the pressures of school popularity with a job at his family’s beloved local bookshop, Wonderland.

Quirky, creative Ariel Spencer needs tuition for the prestigious art program of her dreams, and an opening at Wonderland is the answer. When Trey and Ariel learn that Wonderland is on the brink of being shut down by a neighborhood gentrifier, they team up to stop the doors from closing before the Christmas Eve deadline—and embark on a hate-to-love journey that will change them forever.

Heartwarming and romantic, this read is the gift that keeps on giving, no matter the season.

First Line:

I’m about two seconds away from committing murder.

Love in Winter Wonderland by Abiola Bello

Important things you need to know about the book:

Love in Winter Wonderland is a medium to fast-paced book. The book starts fast, slows down around the middle of the book, speeds back up, and then slows down for the ending. I had no issues with the pacing of the book. It allowed me to digest some things that the author brought up and discussed. There was some lag in the middle (right around Trey’s shop party for Blair), but it didn’t affect how I liked the book.

There are trigger warnings in Love in Winter Wonderland. If any of these trigger you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:

  • Alcohol: Trey and Ariel underage drink throughout the book (in England, the legal drinking age is 18; both are shy of 18). Trey drinks until he is blackout drunk during Blair’s second birthday party.
  • Anxiety: Ariel suffers from anxiety due to bullying. Trey and his mother suffer from anxiety over the bookshop closing down.
  • Bullying: Ariel is bullied throughout the book by Blair and Bebe. She is bullied because of her weight, her painting (her hands are usually covered in paint), and her friendship with Trey. It is painful to read because, until almost the end of the book, Ariel doesn’t say anything back to them and internalizes everything.
  • Cancer: Ariel’s father passes from cancer before the book starts.
  • Cheating: I went back and forth on including this and eventually decided to include it. Trey emotionally cheats on Blair with Ariel. It never gets physical but emotional; he’s all in. Ariel discourages it at first but then gives in to it. Trey’s friends (including Blair’s sister) encourage his relationship with Ariel, which I found weird.
  • Death: Ariel’s father died from cancer earlier in the year.
  • Depression: Ariel’s mother suffered from a deep depression after Ariel’s father died. But she has come out of it by the time the book starts.
  • Eating Disorder: Ariel binge eats during the book. It is mentioned that she had an issue with binge eating and worked to keep her compulsion to do so under control.
  • Fat shaming: Blair and Bebe bully Ariel over her weight. Blair because she is insecure over Ariel’s relationship with Trey and Bebe because, well, Bebe is a colossal jerk.
  • Grief: Ariel is grieving the death of her father throughout the book.
  • Gentrification: Wonderland is a Black-owned business in an area that is in the process of being gentrified. Trey mentions that the area used to have multiple small businesses owned by different cultures that white developers were buying out. These white developers are looking to buy Wonderland, so Trey decides to save his family’s bookshop.

Sexual Content: There is sexual content in Love in Winter Wonderland. It mainly centers around Trey and Blair. There is a nongraphic sex scene, where Blair shows Trey her boobs (after he spends the night with her), scenes where they kiss, and one scene where Blair strips to her underwear and attempts to have sex with Trey. There are also a couple of near-miss kiss scenes between Ariel and Trey.

Language: There is a lot of language in Love in Winter Wonderland. There is swearing. There is also language centered around bullying.

Setting: Love in Winter Wonderland is set entirely in Hackney, England. Hackney is a borough of London. The author does a great job of describing Hackney and its community. She made it to a place that I would love to visit. I would also love to visit Wonderland!!

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

Trey hates working in his family’s bookstore, Wonderland. He doesn’t want to run it. Instead, he wants to be a singer. But his thinking changes when two things happen. First, his mother tells him that Wonderland is on the verge of closing and is considering a developer’s offer to buy it out. The second, Trey’s father falls and breaks his leg. The shop becomes his responsibility and, soon, his passion. He would do anything to save Wonderland.

Ariel is a quirky, shy artist who has known Trey from afar for years. When she gets invited to apply to the same art program her father attended, Ariel knows she needs a part-time job to cover the tuition. So, when the job at Wonderland falls in her lap, Ariel accepts. She becomes deeply involved in Trey’s plans to save Wonderland. But, with a monetary amount that is staggering (50,000 pounds) and a two-week time limit, she needs to think fast. What Ariel doesn’t take into consideration is her developing feelings for Trey. As the Christmas Eve deadline looms and the developers become brazen in their attempt to buy Wonderland, Ariel wonders if they will make it. She also wonders if her heart will survive working so close with Trey. Can Trey and Ariel save Wonderland? Will Trey realize that Ariel is the girl for him? Or will he miss his opportunity?

Main Characters:

Trey Anderson: I didn’t like Trey when the book first started. But his character growth throughout the book was terrific. He went from being a slightly self-involved kid only interested in his needs to this fantastic young man who wanted to save his family’s legacy. My only quibble with him was that he strung Blair and Ariel along. It wasn’t intentional, but he did it. And his treatment of Ariel when she missed the interview was awful, considering who was behind her missing the interview and how it happened.

Ariel Spencer: I loved her. Her character growth over the book was similar to Trey’s. I liked that she finally told Bebe and Blair what she thought of them. Of course, not before being put through hell by them. I loved her strong and supportive friend base (Annika and Jolie were her true ride-and-die friends). My only quibble with her is that she kept letting Trey in, and he kept hurting her. I wondered how the future would be for both of them.

Secondary characters:

Each of the secondary characters was great. They were just as fleshed out as Trey and Ariel. Of course, some of them did get what was coming to them. Others were great as the supportive best friends or parents. The main secondary characters are:

Trey’s parents and younger brother (Clive, Mrs. Anderson, Roen), Trey’s best friend (Dre Denton aka Boogs), Boogs girlfriend (Santi Bailey), Santi’s identical twin sister and Trey’s girlfriend (Blair Bailey), Bebe Richards (Ariel’s bully, Blair’s frenemy, and Annika’s cousin), Noah Spencer (Ariel’s younger brother), Annika (Ariel’s best friend), and Jolie (Ariel’s other best friend).

My review:

Love in Winter Wonderland is a well-written book focused on Trey and Ariel’s budding relationship and Trey and Ariel trying to save Wonderland, Trey’s family bookstore. This book touches on numerous subjects, from bullying to gentrification. The author did it in a way that it didn’t feel forced down your throat, and you wanted Trey and Ariel to succeed.

The storyline centers around Trey, Ariel, and their rush to save Wonderland. I liked that it was written realistically. Trey tried raising the money without the internet before listening to Ariel and posting about the shop’s plight. And, it took traction. I liked that while I knew it was a foregone conclusion that Ariel and Trey would save the shop, the author didn’t cement that idea at the end of the book. I also liked that Trey’s father slowly realized that he needed to modernize how he sold books. If Trey’s father wanted his business to survive, his store had to compete with the boxcutter bookstore down the street. It was painful to read, but I am glad he finally saw the writing on the wall.

The storyline centered around Trey and Ariel, and their relationship was cute. I liked seeing how they went from frenemies to friends to something more. But I wasn’t a huge fan of Trey cheating on his girlfriend. I want to clarify that he was emotionally cheating (he checked out of their relationship emotionally right after Ariel started working at the shop, so 3-4 chapters into the book). That aside, I loved the back-and-forth and the banter that Trey and Ariel had. Of course, they ran into issues (that pesky girlfriend), but they overcame them by being open with each other.

The end of Love in Winter Wonderland was what I expected. I did like how the author wrapped everything up. I also liked how she left it as happy for right now instead of a happily ever after. And the author’s note broke my heart. Before I forget, the author also does include a playlist for the book. At the beginning of each chapter (be it Ariel or Trey), she had a Christmas song sung by Black artists. I wrote each one down so I could listen to them (and yes, Mariah is featured).

Many thanks to Soho Press, Soho Teen, NetGalley, and Abiola Bello for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Love in Winter Wonderland. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Love in Winter Wonderland, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Abiola Bello: