• B,  Blake, Olivie,  Book Reviews,  Featured

    Girl Dinner Book Review

    coffeestarsbooks January 6, 2026 3:52 pm Girl Dinner Release date: 21st October 2025 Publisher: Tor Books Genres: Horror ⊹ ⋆ Contemporary Horror ⊹ ⋆ LGBTQ+ ⊹ ⋆ Add to Storygraph Add to Goodreads Join the conversation: Bluesky Instagram Twitch Discord “Was it strictly sinful to eat well among other women? It wasn’t just the food, but the freedom. To eat among women unencombered by shame was the actual delicious part.” ― Olivie Blake, Girl Dinner ☕✨ CONTENT WARNINGS: (click to reveal) Cannibalism, sexual assault (off page), sexism, infidelity, murder, blood, gaslighting Synopsis: Every member of The House, the most exclusive sorority on campus, and all its alumni, are beautiful, high-achieving,…

  • Book Reviews,  Featured,  K,  Kuang, R.F.

    Katabasis Book Review

    coffeestarsbooks November 24, 2025 8:17 pm Katabasis Release date: 26th Aug 2025 Publisher: Harper Voyager Genres: Fantasy ⊹ ⋆ Dark Academia ⊹ ⋆ Add to Storygraph Add to Goodreads Join the conversation: Bluesky Instagram Twitch Discord “Academia respected discipline, rewarded effort, but even more, it adored genius that didn’t have to try.” ― R.F. Kuang, Katabasis ☕✨ CONTENT WARNINGS: (click to reveal) Suicidal thoughts, suicide, animal death, death, sexual harassment, sexual assault, chronic illness, child death, eating disorder Synopsis: Katabasis, noun, Ancient Greek: The story of a hero’s descent to the underworld Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick.…

  • Book Reviews,  Featured,  G,  Gill, Nikita

    Hekate Book Review

    coffeestarsbooks November 21, 2025 1:12 pm Hekate Release date: 16th Sep 2025 Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers Genres: YA Fantasy ⊹ ⋆ YA Poetry ⊹ ⋆ YA Mythology ⊹ ⋆ Add to Storygraph Add to Goodreads Join the conversation: Bluesky Instagram Twitch Discord “A woman they cannot control, whether Goddess or mortal, is a dangerous woman.” ― Nikita Gill, Hekate ☕✨ CONTENT WARNINGS: (click to reveal) War, violence, death, rape, death of a parent, blood, grief, torture, genocide, forced marriage Synopsis: Born into a world on fire, Godling Hekate has never known safety. After her parents are on the losing side of the war between the ruling Titans and…

  • Book Reviews,  S,  Starling, Caitlin

    The Starving Saints Book Review

    coffeestarsbooks November 21, 2025 12:20 pm The Starving Saints Release date: 20th May 2025 Publisher: Harper Voyager Genres: Fantasy ⊹ ⋆ Horror ⊹ ⋆ Gothic Horror ⊹ ⋆  LGBTQ+ ⊹ ⋆ Add to Storygraph Add to Goodreads Join the conversation: Bluesky Instagram Twitch Discord “But time is inexorable, as is the human stomache” ― Caitlin Starling, The Starving Saints ☕✨ CONTENT WARNINGS: (click to reveal) Cannibalism, gore, body horror, war, death of a parent, animal death, child death, confinement, injury, death, murder Synopsis: Aymar Castle has been under siege for six months. Food is running low and there has been no sign of rescue. But just as the survivors consider deliberately…

  • B,  Baldree, Travis,  Book Reviews,  Featured

    Brigands and Breadknives Book Review

    coffeestarsbooks November 21, 2025 12:00 pm Brigands and Breadknives Release date: 11th Nov 2025 Publisher: Tor Genres: Fantasy ⊹ ⋆ Cosy Fantasy ⊹ ⋆ High Fantasy ⊹ ⋆ LGBTQ+ ⊹ ⋆ Add to Storygraph Add to Goodreads Join the conversation: Bluesky Instagram Twitch Discord “A life truly lived is a glorious tangle. One is never lost. And if one is lucky, one is never found either.” ― Travis Baldree, Brigands and Breadknives ☕✨ CONTENT WARNINGS: (click to reveal) Violence, alcohol, injury, death, blood, mild religious bigotry (towards fictional religion) Synopsis: Fern has weathered the stillness and storms of a bookseller’s life for decades, but now, in the face of crippling…

  • A,  Awad, Mona,  Book Reviews,  Featured

    We Love You, Bunny Book Review

    coffeestarsbooks October 29, 2025 6:10 pm We Love You, Bunny Release date: 23rd Sep 2025 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Genres: Contemporary ⊹ ⋆ Literary Fiction ⊹ ⋆ Horror ⊹ ⋆ Magical Realism ⊹ ⋆ Add to Storygraph Add to Goodreads Join the conversation: Bluesky Instagram Twitch Discord “We do hope you’re still with us, Bunny, even though it’s late now. And the world so terribly quiet at this hour […] which is really the perfect time for a story. This story in particular, of course.” ― Mona Awad, We Love You, Bunny ☕✨ CONTENT WARNINGS: (click to reveal) Violence, murder, blood, self harm, sexualised content, eating disorder, suicidal thoughts, body shaming.…

  • Book Reviews,  Featured,  H

    The Raven Scholar Book Review

    coffeestarsbooks September 29, 2025 8:49 am The Raven Scholar Release date: 24th April 2025 Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Genres: Fantasy ⊹ ⋆ High Fantasy ⊹ ⋆ Mystery ⊹ ⋆ Add to Storygraph Add to Goodreads Join the conversation: Bluesky Instagram Twitch Discord “We are here, exactly where we should be, at exactly the right moment, because we are the Raven, and we are magnificent.” ― Antonia Hodgson, The Raven Scholar ☕✨ CONTENT WARNINGS: (click to reveal) Violence, death, murder, body horror, confinement, suicide, vomit, fire/fire injury Synopsis: She might win the throne. She might destroy an empire. Either way, it begins with murder. After twenty-four years on the throne, it…

  • A photo of the UK cover of M.L Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven, featuring a red flame in a circle above a typewriter. The background in this image is a row of white bookshelves full of books
    Book Reviews,  Featured,  W,  Wang, M.L.

    Blood Over Bright Haven Book Review

    dark academia⊹ ⋆fantasy⊹ ⋆high fantasy coffeestarsbooks May 27, 2025 4:11 pm Blood Over Bright Haven Release date: 25th July 2023 Publisher: Del Rey Genres: Dark Academia ⊹ ⋆  Fantasy ⊹ ⋆ High Fantasy ⊹ ⋆ Pair with: A cup of English breakfast tea and blueberry scones Add to Storygraph Add to Goodreads Join the conversation: Bluesky Instagram Twitch Discord “Having spent a few months in the High Magistry, she had let herself forget that, outside the ranks of Tiran’s top innovators, a man could get to a very high level of magic without ever having an original thought.” – M.L. Wang, Blood Over Bright Haven ☕✨ CONTENT WARNINGS: (click to reveal) Racism, colonialism,…

  • Book Reviews,  Y,  Yarros, Rebecca

    Fourth Wing Book Review

    YA fantasy⊹ ⋆YA romance⊹ ⋆YA romantasy coffeestarsbooks May 15, 2025 10:09 pm Fourth Wing Release date: 2nd May 2023 Publisher: Piatkus (UK), Red Tower Books (US) Genres: YA Fantasy ⊹ ⋆ YA Romantasy ⊹ ⋆ YA High Fantasy ⊹ ⋆ Pair it with: A honeycomb latte and a slice of decadent chocolate cake Add to Storygraph Add to Goodreads Join the conversation: Bluesky Instagram Twitch Discord “I am the sky and the power of every storm that has ever been. I am infinite.” ― Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing ☕✨ CONTENT WARNINGS: (click to reveal) Violence, death, loss of a parent, sexual content, war, injury/injury detail Synopsis: Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to…

  • Book Reviews,  Featured,  G,  Gibson, S.T.

    An Education in Malice Book Review

    dark academia⊹ ⋆fantasy⊹ ⋆gothic fantasy⊹ ⋆lgbtq+⊹ ⋆retelling coffeestarsbooks February 27, 2025 12:02 pm An Education in Malice Release date: 13th Feb 2024 Publisher: Orbit Genres: Dark Academia ⊹ ⋆ Gothic ⊹ ⋆ Fantasy ⊹ ⋆ LGBTQ+ ⊹ ⋆ Pair it with: A bitter black coffee and raspberry jam on toast Add to Storygraph Add to Goodreads Join the conversation: Bluesky Instagram Twitch Discord “I learned how to survive the cutthroat world of girlhood, where all strangeness was unrooted as ruthlessly as weeds from a garden.” ― S.T. Gibson, An Education in Malice ☕✨ CONTENT WARNINGS: (click to reveal) Homophobia, Blood, Alcohol, Toxic Relationship, Death of a parent, Teacher/Student relationship, Death, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual…