Angelica and the Bear Prince by Trung Le Nguyen. RH Graphic, 2025. 978059312472. 218pp. Includes sketches and an author's note.
Angelica (aka Jelly or Jellybean) was just accepted as a tech intern at the Log House Theater, and she's super excited. (She's also a bit nervous because she's the kind of person who takes on too much, and she recently burned out.) She saw a play there for the first time when she was seven, and it was about a young girl sent off to live with a white bear by her father. In fact, Per the Bear is kind of the mascot for the theater. And Angelica has been texting whoever runs the Per the Bear fan account for a while. (It turns out he's the guy who wears the costume at the theater.) When Angelica tells her friend Christine (an actress) about all the texting, it's clear Angelica has a crush on him.
The rest of the book involves their romance, Christine's relationship, the boy in the bear costume's backstory, and Angelica and Christine's mothers and their restaurants. It's adorable in a way that didn't annoy me, and I loved Angelica's parents.
This is one of those books that makes me wish my daughter was still young enough to read to. Though my local library classifies this as a young adult book (it has high school-age characters), I wouldn’t hesitate to hand it to a 5th grader.
Nguyen's previous graphic novel, The Magic Fish, was also lovely and sweet; though that felt a bit more personal, this is a beautiful fairy tale.
A VERY Straightforward Book Review of Phantasma by Kaylie Smith
HEYYY writer friends! ✨ i have NOT been active for a very very long time (about 3-4 months) i am SOOO sorry about that. i've been trying to decide what to do with my blog, and i really want to work on REBRANDING it. but, i decided to crawl back into tumblr and bless you all with a short book review of this "romantasy."
alright, so... I just emerged from the depths of Phantasma by Kaylie Smith, and to be completely honest? My brain is a literal puddle of conflicting emotions. I wanted to LOVE this. I wanted to be consumed by it. I wanted to be so haunted that I’d have to leave the lights on while I worked on my own manuscript. But instead, I’m sitting here at 2 AM, three coffees deep, feeling… well, a little bit GUTTED.
We’re giving this one a solid 3 stars. It wasn’t a disaster, but it definitely didn’t set my soul on fire the way I hoped a Southern Gothic YA fantasy would. 🕯️💀
Let’s break down the "why" behind the rating, because there are some MASSIVE lessons here for us as writers. If you’re working on a fantasy romance or a high-stakes "game" plot, pay attention!
The Atmosphere (Or, Where is the Humidity??)
When I hear "Southern Gothic," I expect to feel the dampness in the air. I want to smell the decay, feel the oppressive heat, and sense the weight of a thousand family secrets pressing down on my chest. I want that GRIT. for "Mirror Girls" by Kelly McWilliams. let me tell you. it hit EVERY SINGLE POINT AND ELEMENT a southern gothic novel needs. LOVEDDDD the atmosphere. highly recommend it.
But with Phantasma, the vibe felt… thin? It lacked that heavy, atmospheric "chokehold" that makes the Southern Gothic subgenre so iconic. As writers, we have to remember that setting is not ONLY a backdrop, it's a CHARACTER. Especially in horror-adjacent fantasy!
• The Lesson: If you tell your readers a story is "Gothic," you have to deliver on the sensory overload. Don't just tell us the house is old; make us hear the wood screaming under the weight of the ghosts. Make us feel the dust in our lungs. Phantasma felt a bit too "clean" for a world that was supposed to be terrifyingly haunted.
The Romance: Lust vs. Connection 🥀
Okay, let’s talk about Ophelia and Blackwell. Sigh.
I wanted to ship them. I really did. But, the chemistry felt… artificial. It felt like "insta-lust" disguised as "fated soulmates," and it just didn't hit the mark for me.
• The Problem: Their connection felt purely physical. Every time they were on page together, it was all about the tension of touching, but I didn't feel the tension of their souls colliding.
• The Fix for Your WIP: When you’re writing a romance, especially a dark one, you NEED emotional stakes. Why do they NEED each other? Not just "why do they want to kiss?" but "how does this person fill a hole in the other's identity?" If the romance is only built on "he’s dark and mysterious" and "she’s the only one who seessss him," it starts to feel like a trope-by-numbers exercise. We want the MESS. We want the emotional devastation!
In Phantasma, I felt like Blackwell was there because the plot demanded a Love Interest™, not because he and Ophelia actually had a foundation of shared vulnerability. It felt performative rather than earned. (and the smut scenes gave me a headache and actually made me want to skip.)
The "Saving Grace": The Game Levels 🎮✨
Now, it wasn't all gloom and doom! The actual Phantasma game? That was the highlight. The different levels of the game were inventive, creepy, and honestly the only thing that kept me turning the pages past midnight.
• Why it Worked: This is a masterclass in "High Concept" execution. The game provided a clear structure, escalating stakes, and a sense of momentum. Each level felt like a new challenge for Ophelia’s character development (even if the development itself felt a bit shaky at times).
• The Takeaway: If your plot is dragging, look at your "trials." Are the obstacles your characters face actually INTERESTING? Are they visually distinct? The levels in Phantasma were vibrant and weird, and that’s exactly what saved the book from being a DNF (Did Not Finish) for me.
The Plot Twist (Or, The Case of the Missing Surprise) 🔍
okay, we need to talk about the "predictable twist."
I knew the "big reveal" from the very beginning. Like, page fifty. And there is nothing—and I mean NOTHING—more frustrating than waiting 300 pages for a character to realize something the reader already knows.
• The Tension Killer: When the reader is miles ahead of the protagonist, the protagonist starts to look… well, a bit dim. It kills the tension. You want your reader to be guessing, or at the very least, you want the reveal to recontextualize EVERYTHING they’ve read so far.
• VERY VERY RIN-ESQUE Advice: If you’re going to have a "predictable" twist, you have to make the journey to that twist so emotionally taxing that the reader doesn't care they guessed it. Or, better yet, use a "Double-Blind" twist. Give them the obvious one early, so they let their guard down, and then hit them with the REAL one at the 90% mark.
Phantasma played it a bit too safe here. It followed the YA fantasy blueprint a little too closely, and because of that, the "shock" moments landed with a bit of a thud.
Final Thoughts for the Writing Soul
So, why a 3 star? Because it was "fine." It was a fun, quick read with some cool imagery, but it lacked the SOUL and the UNIQUE VOICE that makes a book stay with you for years.
As writers, we should aim to be the book that makes someone stay up until 4 AM because they CANNOT look away. (Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno Garcia, DID that for me. AND made me a bit creeped out) We want to write the romance that makes people ache, and the twists that make people throw the book across the room (in a good way!).
Don't be afraid to be "too much."
• Be TOO atmospheric.
• Be TOO emotional.
• Be TOO weird.
Don't settle for the "artificial" feel. Dig deep into your characters' shadows and find the stuff that actually hurts to write. That’s where the magic is.
I’m going to go drink my fourth coffee and try to fix my own "predictable" subplot. Wish me luck! ☕✨
(let me know if you guys wanna see my wips i'm working on, i missed you all!!!)
-rin ✨
A gothic prompt pack for writers who love cursed universities, secret societies, and scholarly rot.✎ Write the Darkness ✎A 75-prompt horror
✦ A free (and actually helpful) guide to leveling up your first 10 pages ✦If you're unsure whether your opening is ✨doing enough✨ to hook re
Indie spotlight: Falling for Red - Elenor Pountain
Alongside being a wife, mum of human and furbabies, Elenor is also a contemporary romance author who loves devouring books in her spare time.
Falling for Red is third (and final?) book in a three part series available on KU:
He’s a serial ladies’ man who can charm his way into any woman’s underwear.
She’s a career focused woman who has no time for relationships.
What happens when you meet someone, who you feel could be everything right, but you’re scared to invest? Could they have their happily ever after?
Click the link to learn more and find out where to read!
#indiebooks #indieauthors
“A powerful story of humanity, nature, and the fight for truth.”
Thank you to Independent Book Review for the great review of Imber! Please check out the full review here, then add my sci-fi thriller to your fall reading list!
WHAT IMBER IS ABOUT
In a future where Earth has become inhospitable, the government is concealing important facts about humanity’s prospective new home. Can four strangers with an unusual link uncover the truth before it’s too late?
WHERE TO FIND IT
Imber is available on Amazon in print or e-book format and via Kindle Unlimited. If you have a Goodreads account and aren’t ready to dive in yet, add Imber to your to-read list!
I hope I've convinced you to give my award-winning novel a try!
Book Review: Inheritance: The Lost Bride Trilogy by Nora Roberts
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Book One in this Roberts trilogy is available on Amazon in paperback, hardcover, Kindle, and audiobook formats, as well as at your local library through the Libby App. The audiobook, published on November 21, 2023, is narrated by Brittany Presley, with an author’s note delivered by Roberts, providing readers with insights into how she seamlessly blends centuries-old…
TL;DR: An absolute delight. Source: NetGalley, thank you so much to the publisher!
Plot: Green is drawn into a world of hidden monsters and risk. Characters: I really liked all of them. They were unique and each felt very different. Setting: A great part of the story, I love anything in the Appalachian Mountains. Fantasy: Urban fantasy meets cryptozoology
Summary:
After a series of…
Adina Green walked into Niveus Academy like she owned it. Edges laid, braids fresh, and a perfectly curated outfit that said yes, I’m that girl, even if you pretend not to see me. But behind the polished look and top of the class energy was a Black girl navigating secrets, pressure, and a system that was never built for her. And when the truth started to crack through the surface? She didn’t just unravel; she came for blood. 🩸😏
This book gave me everything. The tension, the mystery, the layered characters, the vibe. It definitely made me want to rewatch Gossip Girl and finally finish bingeing Pretty Little Liars. As a girl who was always drawn to those kinds of messy, drama filled teen shows; but also always clocking the lack of Black and Brown faces; Ace of Spades felt like someone finally wrote the story I wanted to see on screen. It definitely scratched that itch and then some.
Devon’s storyline, in particular, really got to me. I loved him too! Watching him navigate queerness, poverty, and survival in a space that constantly tried to erase or exploit him? I wanted to hug him 🥺😭. He carried so much and still found a way to stay true to himself. His vulnerability, talent, and fear all felt hella raw. I was rooting for him deadass, and I felt it every time he took a hit.
Reading this right after Blood At The Root was chef’s kiss. Both books gave me that perfect combo of dark academia, queerness, and social commentary without sacrificing character depth. They go hand in hand, like sibling books from different genres but speaking the same truth. I’m here for it. 👏🏾👏🏾 If Blood At The Root fed my fantasy-loving soul, Ace of Spades satisfied my inner messy teen girl who wanted drama and make it memorable. Dark skin, dark secrets, no apologies. ✊🏾
Lastly? The Author’s Note at the end?? Everything. Faridah really spoke to the realities of being Black in elite spaces, and it just made me love the book even more. I cannot wait to read more from her. Big fan energy right here 🖤
