Dog-Eared and Premiered: May 2025
Seven books and one streaming show I loved this month.
I’ve been a reading machine these past 31 days, largely due to my long drive to and from Maine, which afforded me the chance to blaze through my audiobook queue. That also means I wasn’t able to watch much, and only one show I screened made the cut. So prepare to add to your TBR pile, because May’s post is 99% book-centric…
BOOKS
Endling by Maria Reva
This book absolutely rips. So much so that, instead of posting this piece on the final day of the month as per usual, I waited until it released so I could get my hands on a hard copy to be featured in the header photo. I’m calling it now: it’s going to longlist for, if not win, every major literary award—Booker, National Book, Pulitzer. My first experience with it was via an advance listening audiobook copy, and I will immediately re-read it in print, because there’s so much to focus and chew on. Set in Ukraine just before the 2022 Russian invasion, it interweaves a fictional narrative with interjections from the author to create a stunning, timely work of autofiction. The story centers on three women embroiled in the country’s antiquated marriage tour industry, which caters to foreigners seeking brides untouched by feminism: a scientist using the work to fundraise her mobile lab focused on snail research, and two sisters who joined the service to seek out their long-disappeared activist mother. The unlikely trio bands together to kidnap 13 of the traveling bachelors at the exact moment Russia invades, and Reva navigates this world from each woman’s viewpoint, as well as that of a captive bachelor and even a Russian soldier. What results is an exploration of culture, duty, dedication to homeland, eschewing (and embracing) familial expectations, and raging against extinction. Clearly I could talk about Ukrainian-born and Canadian-raised Reva’s incredible novel forever—it’s stunningly singular, experimenting with form and perspective to create a propulsive, essential read. Released June 3.
Open, Heaven by Seán Hewitt
I love reading prose by poets—the line-level writing is always exquisite, and British-Irish writer Seán Hewitt’s debut novel very much falls into this category. Consider this a better, subtler, more nostalgic and lyrical Call Me By Your Name; it’s framed as the reminiscence of the older narrator as he looks back on his teenage life in a rural Irish town in the months shortly after he comes out as gay and meets his first great love. It’s a tender and relatable meditation on understanding self and finding one’s place in the world. Released April 15.
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
Tananarive Due leans into the fact that black history is horror, and her gripping narrative is the definition of unflinching. Loosely based on her own great-uncle, who was sent to—and died within—the infamous Dozier School for Boys, it follows a captive twelve-year-old boy and his desperate sister as they use their mediumship skills to bring him—and the restless spirits of a reform school—to justice. There’s gory violence, and there’s historically accurate violence, and I don’t think I need to tell you which one is more upsetting. Prepare yourself before opening this, but know that it’s a deeply important and eye-opening read. Paperback released January 7.
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
This is a backlist title that was recommended to me by a bookshop customer, and I’m so glad I picked it up—it’s the absolute perfect short and sweet beach/lake/hammock/porch/park (you get it) read. Some of you likely know Finnish author and artist Tove Jansson for her Moomin books and comics, but she also wrote some incredible works of adult fiction, and this is her first (and, according to many—Jansson included—her best). It follows a six-year-old girl and her grandmother as they spend the warm season on a small island in the Gulf of Finland following the death of the girl’s mother. It’s primarily interested in the way humans interact with nature, and the rhythms of the world around us—the descriptions are intoxicating and transportive, and the central relationship is deeply endearing. Originally published January 1, 1972.
Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood
I’m a big Ali Hazelwood fan—in the deluge of subpar contemporary romance being published, her quirky, confident voice remains blessedly dependable. She’s also a writing machine, cranking out several new books a year—this last-minute add-on included. The tie-in to 2024’s Not In Love (my favorite of her books) charts the slow-burn romance of the sister and colleague of Not In Love protagonist Eli. It leans into the age gap trope in a few ways that feel a little less than natural (for the sake of building tension, of course), but it’s witty and sexy and set in beautiful Taormina, Italy—overall it’s a fun, breezy new entry to Hazelwood’s solid oeuvre. Released May 27.
Eat the Ones You Love by Sarah Maria Griffin
I’m not a Little Shop of Horrors fan, but I recognize the comparisons—this funny, of-the-moment psychological horror centers on a freshly laid-off and dumped graphic designer forced to move back in with her family. She takes a job at a quaint flower shop in a crumbling shopping mall, and falls under the spell of its mysterious owner—who happens to be controlled by a cannibalistic plant. Better yet, the narrative switches from third person (head-hopping between several of the central female characters) to the first person perspective of the plant, an orchid named Baby. This is a weird and wonderfully written read that slowly creeps up and grasps you in the final pages. Released April 22.
Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker
This is a gloriously gory, Chinese folklore-filled horror that centers on an important and oft-overlooked effect of the pandemic: the ensuing rise of Asian hate crimes. Specifically, Kylie Lee Baker’s story focuses on a serial killer targeting East Asian women throughout New York City, from the perspective of a protagonist who witnesses her sister’s murder (an incredible opening chapter), develops OCD, and becomes a crime scene cleaner. As the hungry ghosts of the dead descend, she finds herself—and the rest of her motley clean-up crew—embroiled in a widening mystery that could reveal multiple killers, both alive and…not. Released January 7.
Sidebar shout-outs: Sharing several promising novels that didn’t quite hook me, but may fare better with you. They are: Hellions by Julia Elliott (released April 15), The Manor of Dreams by Christina Li (released May 6), and Aftertaste by Daria Lavelle (released May 20).
STREAMING
This is a “bag of chips eaten in one sitting” show—entertainment that’s not particularly nutritious, but totally delicious. The five-part miniseries follows two sisters with a troubled past who (literally) fall under the spell of a billionaire’s wife while ensconced at her idyllic island compound. A Temu White Lotus, if you will—it’s a breezy, propulsive mystery chock full of juicy drama in a transportive setting. Beyond its trappings’ easy dunks, the true standout is the cast—Meghann Fahy (of White Lotus season two), Milly Alcock (of House of the Dragon), Julianne Moore, and Kevin Bacon, among them—who commit 110%. I’ve maintained since her Bold Type days that Fahy deserves to be a massive star; she always brings a singular edge and depth to her characters, and she’s mesmerizing in this. Released May 22.
That’s all for May—is there something you’re looking forward to that releases in June? Let me know, I’m always adding to my read and watch lists!