e-ALC, 07:22:08
Narrated by: Khaya Fraites
Release Date: March 3, 2026
Published by: Books on Tape (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers)
Read from: February 25-26, 2026
Stand-alone
Source: PRH Audio App (I received this ALC free from the publisher and their app. I also received a hardcover of this book after I had already read it. This did nothing to influence my review!)
Content Warning: Death, Child Death, Suicide Attempt, Mental Illness, Car Accident, Fire/Fire injury, Panic Attacks/Disorders, Physical Abuse, Rape
For Readers Interested In: 2sLGBTQ+ (FF), Audio, Contemporary, Family Diversity (Sister passed away), Fantasy, Favorites, Holy Crap, Sparkly Covers, Most Anticipated, Own, Racial/Ethnic Diversity (Biracial- Black mom, White Dad), So Good I Read the Acknowledgements, Stand Alone, ToB 2026, YAA group of teen girls does Death incarnate’s bidding in this haunting speculative young adult novel.
Roslyn Volk isn’t herself anymore. It’s been a year since her sister, Adeline, died in the woods under mysterious circumstances, and Roslyn is still tormented by her absence. So when the elusive caravan of girls that Adeline spent her last summer with rolls back into town, Roslyn joins them to finally figure out what happened to her sister.
Strange, beautiful, and intriguing, the girls are closed off from the world. And as it turns out, they’re brought together by a force more sinister than Roslyn’s nightmares could have conjured Death himself.
Death has spared the girls from untimely endings, and to pay for their lives, the girls travel the country reaping souls on his behalf. Now Roslyn must decide if finding closure is worth the price of striking the same deal.
*MY THOUGHTS*
Y’all, I loved this. That’s it. That’s the review lol No for real, I really did like it a lot. It made me think, it made me mad, and I even said awww in some places as well. Anything that makes me feel like that automatically gets 5 stars lol
Ok so have you ever heard the saying, “your life flashed before your eyes”? That’s what I kept thinking about when they went out on their charges. Like is that what’s happening? And what memories do I think I will see when it’s my time to go? It really was thought provoking. I couldn’t make up my mind on what was meaningful enough. I also found myself thinking about whether or not I could do this job, and if not, do I think the answer could change based on the amount of grief that I was experiencing from the loss of a sibling. Just between me and you, I probably would have done it too.
There is a romance in this book, whew chile. That was a hot mess. That was a lot of drama. I honestly didn’t pick up on it until it came up in the story, so I went and had to rewind it like “Wait, what?” But once it came up, I could definitely see it. I do wish they would have leaned more into it since they introduced it. The book was strong enough not to have it at all because it actually wasn’t super prominent. (to me anyways.) So I would have argued that there was really no need to have it, but since it was a queer relationship, and a bit of the plot relied on that, I didn’t get mad about it.
Roslyn tho was doing the most. She was falling apart, and she even knew she was. And she still made all these dumb decisions. (Also her mom was dumb, but I digress)How in the world does your sister pass and then you just decide to leave your parents for a few weeks? And then the whole forcing herself to be with them even while she wasn’t supposed to be there kind of made me mad too. (I know that part was the grief, but Lordt. These costumes are amazing.
I don’t want to say more because of spoilers, but just know this was so good. A little spooky at parts too. It made me think and it made me feel things. I usually don’t like fantasy, but this really had me hooked. I couldn’t stop reading this. I hated that I had to go to sleep. Y’all go read this so I can have someone to talk to about it!
Overall, I give this
