Contemporary Fiction: The Grand Paloma Resort by Cleyvis Natera

As a follow-up to her 2022 novel Neruda on the Park, author Cleyvis Natera has given readers The Grand Paloma Resort. Mostly set in and around a luxury hotel in the Dominican Republic, the staff must navigate the demands and whims of the wealthy guests, while maintaining a facade of exclusivity and the highest quality, even as a storm approaches, and the country continues to experience unrest.

The Situation: Nothing would make Laura happier than if her younger sister could get it together. When Elena shows up with the unconscious body of the little girl she was supposed to be watching, it is the last thing Laura needs as a mid-level manager at the resort they both work at. Laura has done everything to make sure that Elena has the best path forward in life, especially since they only have each other. With their mother long dead and a father that abandoned them for life in the U.S, Laura has put her desires, and sometimes her humanity, aside so that she could climb the corporate ladder and provide for her sister. But now everything is about to come crashing down, and all because Elena cannot seem to pay attention long enough to not be a problem.

The Problem: Laura can only think to call on a friend for help with the young injured girl, though that friend wants nothing to do with the entire situation. Meanwhile, Elena continues to rely on pills supplied to her by another hotel employee, and eventually ends up at the bar of a friend. But after another round of poor decisions and planning, two local girls go missing, and it might be Elena's fault. Over the course of seven days, Laura and her sister, along with several other staff members and many guests, will have varied experiences at The Grand Paloma Resort, proving that at this hotel, 'paradise' means something different to everyone.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a work of fiction set in the Dominican Republic at The Grand Paloma Resort, where sisters Laura and Elena work. While Laura is determined and driven, even to a fault, Elena is only concerned with her next escape, whether it is via drugs, or an actual physical escape from the hotel, the island, or even life altogether. At the forefront is life at the hotel, but the hotel successfully hides the truth of life on the island, including the crime, poverty, and social, civil, and political unrest. Laura must continually make the choice between what is clearly the right thing to do, and what must be done to secure the future of both her and and her sister. No decision is easy, and with each trial, Laura is less and less sure of who she is.

My Verdict: When the characters in this book were not getting on my nerves, then the messy plot and awkward pacing certainly were. Nearly everyone is unlikeable in this book, and also seemingly determined to make the worst possible decisions. At a certain point, I was fine when something terrible happened to most of them as they mostly brought it on themselves. And the social commentary was not only heavy-handed, but also awkwardly placed throughout the narrative. There is a reveal about three-fourths of the way in that did not seem worth the effort, but I will say that at least the ending is not ambiguous, and does provide real answers. 

Favorite Moment: There was something about the Zoom meeting calls Laura has with her boss that made me chuckle, if only because of how closely they mirror the truth of working post-COVID. 

Favorite Character: In a sea of characters with few redeeming qualities, Vida is like a bright spot in the darkness. 

Recommended Reading: For something that feels like a beach read, but still deals with some heavy topics, I recommend Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez. 

Goodreads Choice Awards 2025

Well, this moment certainly got here in a hurry. Or perhaps I am the only one caught off guard by the fact that the 2025 Goodreads Choice Awards are already here. It is time to review the nominees, make our voices heard through voting, and then eagerly await the results of this opening round. 

In the Favorite Fiction category, only two DSNs are to be found, and they are Charlotte McConaghy's Wild Dark Shore, and Swedish author Frederik Backman's My Friends. One takes place on a tiny isolated island off of the coast of Antarctica, while the other involves a highly sought-after piece of art, and the strange history behind it, the artist, and his close group of friends. They are both compelling novels, but I will choose Backman's work, mostly because he once again married humor with heartfelt storytelling.

I will admit to not being very surprised by the Favorite Historical Fiction category, with its inclusion of Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Buckeye by Patrick Ryan (review is forthcoming at the end of this month), and Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson. It is a tough call, but I will go with Good Dirt for my selection. I may have placed it under the heading of 'contemporary fiction,' but it is one of those books that spans both categories due to the story being split between modern day, and the history of both the main character, and her ancestors. 

Samantha Sotto Yambao's Water Moon is one of the most unique novels I have ever read, though I could also say the same for R.F. Kuang's Katabasis. So I am pleased to see them both nominated for Favorite Fantasy. It is actually a tough choice to make, but Katabasis is the kind of story I was hoping for in 2025, involving adventure, an unlikely pairing, and impossible odds at incredibly high stakes.

Any longtime reader of this blog knows I struggle with picking out science fiction, but both Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor, and These Memories Do Not Belong to Us by Yiming Ma have been nominated for Favorite Science Fiction. Okorafor's book absolutely blew me away and I cannot recommend it enough, so it certainly has my vote.

I did manage to read one book for the Favorite Horror category, and it was Silvia Moreno-Garcia's The Bewitching, which is my favorite of the author's books that I have read yet. Competition is fierce in this category, and there is a Stephen King novel in the mix, so we will have to see how readers choose to vote.

Joanna Miller's The Eights is the only DSN to make the cut for Favorite Debut Novel, but it is there for good reason. Following the academic career of four women who are part of the first cohort of females to be admitted to Oxford, the novel details their struggles, their desires, and what it took to be pioneers in a time when many believed that admitting women to the prestigious university was a step in the wrong direction.

The Favorite Young Adult Fantasy & Sci-Fi category includes two DSNs, and between Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins, and Otherworld Post by Emily J. Taylor, I have to go with the former as far as voting. Collins managed to give readers of her beloved Hunger Games series a story they have been wanting since the beginning, and I was happy to finally get more background of one of my favorite characters. 

It is no secret that I adore young adult fiction, and having Needy Little Things by Channelle Desamours, Sisters in the Wind (review forthcoming in a few weeks) by Angeline Boulley, and Audre & Bash Are Just Friends by Tia Williams all be nominated for Favorite Young Adult Fiction makes my heart happy. I am fairly torn between the last two books, but since I must pick one, I will go with Sisters in the Wind. 

Both John Green's Everything Is Tuberculosis and Imani Perry's Black in Blues have certainly earned their place as nominees in the Favorite Nonfiction category. Both are incredibly well-written and well-researched books, and if I must choose, I will opt for Green's exploration of the history of one our deadliest infections. 

And for the final category in which a DSN was nominated, having just finished Tim Curry's Vagabond (review will be published in December), I love seeing it be included for Favorite Memoir, and I will be voting for it over Sarah Wynn-William's Careless People, which chronicles her tumultuous time working at Facebook. 

This opening round of voting ends Sunday, November 23, with the final round of voting beginning the following Tuesday, November 25. I am always curious to see what happens, and with the inclusion of 20 DSNs across ten categories, the competition remains as tough as ever. 

Nonfiction: Positive Obsession by Susana M. Morris

Science fiction author Octavia E. Butler was only 58 years-old when she died on February 24, 2006. Writers and readers alike mourned the loss of a creative talent that gave us some of the most intriguing, unique, troubling, and bold science fiction and speculative fiction stories that I have ever read. In Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler, Susana M. Morris chronicles the author's life, diving into Butler's personal journals, her essays, novels, speeches, interviews, and travels. 

Genre, Themes, History: This is a work of nonfiction that focuses on the life and work of Octavia E. Butler, a science fiction writer probably most well-known for her novel Kindred, a story of a black woman living in the 1970s in the U.S. who is transported back in time to a slavery plantation where her ancestors lived. Like many people, this novel was my introduction to Butler's work when it was assigned reading in graduate school. Morris dives deep into the publication history of each of Butler's works, while also detailing what Butler went through to become a published science fiction writer, a genre that was long dominated by white men. Butler's goal was to support herself through only her writing. The title of the book comes from a quote in Butler's Parable of the Sower, and is also the title of one of her essays in Bloodchild and Other Stories.

My Verdict: This book is short and sweet, but also a fairly thorough recounting of Butler's life, and her work. Even those who are familiar with the author and her stories will most likely find new information here, particularly regarding Butler's private life and thoughts, but also about the inspiration for some of her most famous work. While many readers are in awe at how some of her work, in particular the Earthseed Duology, seemed to predict recent and current events, Butler disliked being labeled a 'prophet,' and Morris carefully and intelligently explains how Butler was able to reach the conclusions she did. Butler was nothing if not observant, and a researcher, and these traits are among the many factors that lead to her creation of such enduring, and often haunting, literature. 

Favorite Moment: I will always love the story of a young Butler watching a bad movie and casually thinking, "Geez, I can write a better story than that." So she did.

Recommended Reading: As I mentioned, Kindred is probably Butler's most famous work. But for the vampire lovers out there, her last novel, Fledgling, is a different take on the genre.

Historical Fiction: The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The latest book by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a tale of witches and magic and spells, spanning 90 years and two countries. The Bewitching offers readers a story about three different women and their fight against an evil that is willing to do terrible things to maintain its power.

The Situation: It is 1998, and Minerva, a graduate student at Stoneridge College near Boston, is struggling with her thesis. Sure, summer is here and that means the campus will be fairly empty, making it easier for her to focus and come up with something she can show her advisor in the Fall. But finding more information on obscure horror author Beatrice Tremblay has proven difficult, even though she also attended Stoneridge during The Great Depression. And once Minerva discovers that one of Tremblay's books was based on a true story, the 1934 disappearance of one of the author's friends, she is determined to find out more. Minerva is no stranger to tales of odd happenings and disappearances, as her great-grandmother, Alba, told her plenty of them, the most harrowing of which happened in 1908 in Mexico, when Alba encountered her own monster.

The Problem: When Minerva gains access to some documents and pictures that shed a little more light on both Tremblay, and the disappearance that inspired her book, she begins to have a strange sense that the same force that plagued the author and her friend, as well as her great-grandmother, may once again be at work as she attempts to learn the truth. In 1934, Tremblay's friend spoke of feelings of being followed and pursued. And in 1908, Alba tells the story of her family farm and the series of terrible tragedies that had most everyone convinced that the land was cursed. Minerva knows that academic stress is real and cannot be dismissed, but she also remembers what her great-grandmother told her, and there are too many similarities between then and now.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a historical fiction novel that had also been placed into the horror category due to the discussion of witchcraft, curses, spells, and even seances. The book contains three different stories, during three different times in history. The main story involves graduate student Minerva in 1998 at Stoneridge College. Then there is horror author Beatrice Tremblay, also at Stoneridge College, but in 1934, when the girls' dorms still had house mothers. And in 1908, Minerva's great-grandmother, Alba, tells of the time shortly after her father's death when it seemed the family farm was cursed, and she knew witchcraft was at work. While Stoneridge College is fictional, Moreno-Garcia was inspired by her own time at a New England college, as well as by the myriad of horror authors who lived in and around the New England area.

My Verdict: This is the sixth novel that I have read by Moreno-Garcia, and it is easily my favorite. I will admit to being less interested in Alba's story than I was in the other two, but that was more because of my annoyance with Alba as a character than anything else. I would have liked more of Tremblay's story and more information about her time at Stoneridge, especially since the disappearance of her friend is Minerva's primary focus, but I suppose we did get more information about that through Minerva's research and interviews. The three stories were expertly brought together, allowing the mystery to unfold in a way that is not awkward or forced. 

Favorite Moment: I do enjoy most aspects of academic research, so watching Minerva go through old letters and photos, as well as visit library archives gave me a fair amount of joy.

Favorite Character: For the most part, Minerva prefers to keep to herself and is quickly exhausted by most social interactions. But she works hard, remains focused, and is determined to find the truth.

Recommended Reading: I recommend The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez. 

Contemporary Fiction: Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

Something I am always on the lookout for when it comes to this blog are books that are worthy of the category of 'door stop.' Five hundred pages or more is all it takes for a book to fall under that label, and the fact that Katabasis comes from author R.F. Kuang, and is also around 540 pages, made me incredibly happy and excited. I thoroughly enjoyed Babel, and was excited for another Kuang book that involved characters obsessed with both academics and Magick.

The Situation: Alice Law is on an incredible mission with a high chance for failure. But she feels she has no choice but to do the seemingly impossible, and certainly unadvisable. If she has done the right amount of research, and learned the right spells, and taken enough notes, Alice should be able to journey into Hell and retrieve her advisor, Dr. Jacob Grimes. All she has ever wanted was to become one of the best in the field of Magick. So far this has meant studying under Grimes, who is currently the best at what he does. With his support, she can graduate from Cambridge knowing that she is pretty much guaranteed a great job and a bright future. So his death must be reversed if she is to stay on track. Also, there is the small detail that she is pretty sure his death was her fault.

The Problem: Descending into hell and casually bringing someone close to you back to the land of the living is not a simple task, and Alice knows this. Her rival, Peter Murdoch, is also well aware of how complicated this task is, but believes they have a better chance of success if they attempt it together. But the last thing Alice wanted was for Peter to tag along. To her, Peter is the annoyingly kind and affable golden boy of the department who can do no wrong, and always comes out on top. He wins all of the awards, gets all of the praise, and most annoying of all, he is incredibly nice and just as brilliant as everyone says. Together, the two of them journey through Hell in search of the advisor that neither of them hold any real affection for, but the search could cost them even more than they realized.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a fantasy novel set mostly in Hell, but begins at Cambridge where Alice and Peter first begin their descent. Throughout their journey, there is much talk about philosophy, religion, logic, literature, and even mathematics. To make it through the many courts of hell, Alice and Peter will have to draw on every bit of knowledge they have, across several fields, and it still may not be enough. Naturally, something that is referenced throughout are Dante's thoughts from The Divine Comedy, especially as Alice and Peter have their own beliefs as to how Hell is arranged, and what is the best way to move through it. As the two of them continue their adventure, they must also reconcile who they are to each other, and take an honest look at the person that was Jacob Grimes.

My Verdict: There was considerable excitement surrounding this book, and for me, it was merited. Kuang wastes no time getting the story started, as the reader immediately knows what Alice is up to and why. Once she and Peter make it into Hell, the adventure and excitement do not stop for the next 500+ pages. Sure, the setting does not really change since they are in Hell, but every chapter is a new challenge, or puzzle, or question. And the story is not a simple movement through the different courts or levels of Hell. The pair are thrown off track many times, and the characters they encounter are fascinating (many are horrifying), and add to a story that is fun, but will also make the reader think. There are logic puzzles that Alice and Peter must work through, but they must also think about what they are really fighting for, and what they are willing to sacrifice to get it.

Favorite Moment: For the first half of the book, Peter Murdoch is a bit of a mystery, until he finally gets the opportunity to tell his story.

Favorite Character: In the beginning, it is pretty easy to dislike Alice, and at least be a bit suspicious of Peter. Alice admits, at least to the reader, that she is the type who is fine with favoritism as long as she is the one benefitting. And she is unwilling to believe or admit to any truth in which she is not special, or chosen, or superior in some way. Ultimately, I did not choose a favorite character, and I am not sure I can. 

Recommended Reading: Kuang's Babel deals with a different kind of magic, but also takes place in an academic setting.

Science Fiction: These Memories Do Not Belong to Us by Yiming Ma

For what could (maybe) end up being my last science fiction selection for the year, I chose Yiming Ma's These Memories Do Not Belong to Us. As the title suggests, the book explores memories, their power, and their value, in a far-off future where they can be shared, but also edited, and even deleted.

The Situation: In a distant future, the Qin empire is in power after a long war and the outbreak of the deadly Chrysanthemum Virus, and every citizen has been outfitted with a Mindbank, a device that allows memories to be stored, shared, and deleted. When a nameless narrator inherits his mother's Mindbank following her death, he makes a surprising, and also terrifying discovery. In her Mindbank are many memories that have been banned by the Qin authorities. By having her son inherit them, she has put his freedom, possibly even his life, in danger. While he believes he will eventually be apprehended, he holds onto his mother's memories anyway, and shares them with the reader.

The Problem: The collection of memories - which are sorted into three categories, Before the War, The War, and After the War - take place in various lands, spanning decades, with both female and male narrators and protagonists. There even seems to be a common thread as certain people show up in more than one memory, or their story is referenced as part of an important event in Qin history. Regardless, despite what the narrator is able to learn about his mother, as well as government he serves, he knows he is in danger, and is not sure if he wishes to simply wait for the inevitable punishment; embrace it by coming forward; or perhaps, attempt to share what he has with the world.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a science fiction novel set in a distant future, and after a war that has allowed the Qin empire to take over and redefine the world as we know it. Thoughts and memories can now be monitored as every citizen has a Mindbank, allowing all memories to be shared. In the stories that take place before the war, Mindbanks are only available to the wealthy, with artists and storytellers already lamenting the all but certain disappearance of books and movies. While there is a story and timeline to follow, the format of the book more closely resembles a collection of short stories, especially as they do not appear in chronological order. 

My Verdict: Any premise that deals with the manipulation of thoughts and memory is always immediately interesting to me. And with every big tech and social media company out there after both our money and our information, the idea of a Mindbank is not that far off. Truly, my only real lament about this book is that the stories do not appear in sequential order of when they took place. Even the three provided headings of Before the War, The War, and After the War are not that helpful in placing events when they actually occurred, at least not for me. The ideas presented are interesting and thought-provoking, even if the ending is a bit on the nose.

Favorite Moment: There are several moments when a character must comes to terms with the fact that they are not much better at navigating this world than anyone else.

Favorite Story: "86 Shanghai" is the story of a Chinese immigrant living in New York City, who can only call his family back in China once a month. The details of his life, what he must do to survive and eventually have his family join him, and the progression into the future, are all incredibly well thought out and intriguing to read. 

Recommended Reading: 1984 by George Orwell came to mind many times while reading this book. 

Historical Fiction: The Antidote by Karen Russell

Karen Russell's The Antidote has garnered a good amount of attention for tackling what life was like during the Dust Bowl in the U.S, as well as the displacement of Native Americans, and the displacement of the settlers from their own homes in Europe. With a little added magical realism, Russell's story becomes about more than economic hardship and environmental consequences.

The Situation: After Black Sunday in 1935, the farmers in Uz, Nebraska are facing a crisis. The land that they settled on has turned to dust, and so has their livelihood. Everyday another family gives up and moves away from the small town. Harp Oletsky, a wheat farmer who grew up in Uz after his family relocated there from Poland, has experienced a strange bit of luck as his wheat is growing just fine, despite the drought. But he cannot allow himself to celebrate it as his neighbors continue to struggle around him. Living with him is his niece, Asphodel, who is still coming to terms with the death of her mother, Harp's sister. And then there is the Antidote, a woman in town who can take a memory, any memory, and store it away somewhere deep inside herself until the customer is ready to retrieve it.

The Problem: The Antidote, Prairie Witch, Vault...whatever people decided to call her, is facing her own crisis. Since Black Sunday, she has lost all of the memories that the townspeople of Uz have deposited with her. And because so many of them have decided to leave, there are now lines outside of her door of people wanting to retrieve what they gave her. If they find out she has lost the memories, they will think she is a fake, and the Antidote already has enough trouble with the town Sherriff, who is carrying a secret of his own. But when a photographer from D.C. arrives to take pictures of the people of Uz, her camera may reveal more than anyone bargained for, giving the town a new crisis to grapple with.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a historical fiction novel set between Black Sunday in 1935, one of the worst dust storms in the history of this country, and the flooding of the Republican River, which received 24 inches of rain in 24 hours. Front and center in the story is the Dust Bowl and its effects on farmers, such as Harp and his friends. But there is also the titular character of the Antidote and her strange ability to relieve people of their memories. Some may call her a witch, and she may be generally shunned by polite society, but yet so many rely on her to take (and keep) their secrets, as they believe her when she says she never hears a thing when they come to her. But the people of Uz will also be confronted with what happened when the land they now live on was settled, as it was given to them by a government who had to first take it form someone else.

My Verdict: The dust bowl as a subject in fiction has always interested me, and I was excited to see Russell's take on it. The book started out well enough, before eventually feeling like a chore to get through every time I picked it up. Having several different characters take over telling the story as opposed to having only one perspective was a great choice, but even that did little to allow me to get away from a particularly difficult, or even boring part of the story by escaping into a another character's narrative. To be fair, pretty much every aspect of the story is a difficult one, and I give Russell credit for going for it and not shying away from hard topics.

Favorite Moment: As the captain of a ragtag basketball team, Asphodel is committed to winning, but has to confront everything that goes into that, from team sacrifices, to facing down opponents who may have even more to lose.

Favorite Character: I want to pick the cat that makes its way around Uz, but if I am forced to pick a human, I pick government photographer Cleo Allfrey.

Recommended Reading: I always recommend The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, but for a more contemporary read, I recommend The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah.