Three Recent ARCs — kelsey holtaway

ARCs, or advanced reader copies, are early editions of books sent out to reviewers and book sellers to get people reading and reviewing before the book officially comes out. Truly and honestly all hail the ARC. Many times ARCs are in the final stages of editing so you might come across a typo or two, or parts of the story might get refined in the space in between ARCs and the final release.

Here are a few recent ARCs I’ve read and enjoyed so you, too, can enjoy them!

A SPINDLE SPLINTERED by Alix E. Harrow

A SPINDLE SPLINTERED is a novella and Sleeping Beauty retelling, the first installment in what looks to be a series titled Fractured Fables.

We’re following Zinnia on her 21st birthday. Zinnia has a rare illness, and thus, a projected short life. When she pricks her finger on her 21st birthday and is hurtled into another dimension, she comes across a real life Sleeping Beauty who is in desperate need of help.

This sounds heavy but it is so delightful. And also SO GAY HELL YEAH. Zinnia is an irreverent narrator, and we are treated to chaos of the highest order throughout this story. It’s small but packs of punch, balancing themes of found family, group quests, chronic illness, and feminism.

I loved this! You will, too.

MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW by Stephen Graham Jones

Listen I know I don’t have children but even if I did, the day I was approved for this ARC would still be the happiest day of my life. I have yet to meet a Stephen Graham Jones book I didn’t love. I say this frequently when I’m talking about his books but his brand of weird is my brand of weird.

In MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW we’re following Jade, a horror-obsessed indigenous teen living in a small town that is on the brink of gentrification. When people actually start dying in her small town, Jade is convinced it’s the work of a slasher. As she descends deeper into the mystery of the deaths, it becomes unclear if it’s the work of Jade’s obsession or if the horror is real.

This book is clever, weird, creepy, and will make any horror-lover’s heart sing. I love Stephen Graham Jones’s take on the final girl trope, and as always the social commentary and action are spot on.

THE WILDSEED WITCH by Marti Dumas

In WILDSEED WITCH we follow Hasani as she learns she's a witch, attends Les Belles Demoiselles charm school for young witches, and works through the trials of finally learning who she is at a later age than all the other witches at her charm school.

This is a lush, atmospheric summer camp/magic school setting, with a character driven story at its core. Hasani is GOING THROUGH IT in this book, and she definitely learns the hard way! She's imperfect and messy at times, and that makes this story and what she's going through both at home and at school (and online) that much more meaningful.

This is a FULL BIPOC cast, with themes of identity, friendship, growth, privilege, and morality. Hasani really and truly develops over the length of this book, despite so many tribulations.

My one drawback to this is it felt a bit unbalanced. We didn't get to enjoy very much of the charm school or Hasani's new-found identity as a witch. This is definitely a story focused on character development and growth and Hasani really goes through it (for good reason! and it's so well done) but I would have loved to see more moments of just JOY. And I think this setting and her newly-discovered powers could really lead to more joyful moments in a very natural way, and maybe we'll get to see more of that in the upcoming books in this series.

This book is out May 2022, which is a good chunk of time from when I’m writing this so what I read very well could be different than the final book. But even if it stayed the same I’d still recommend this!