It’s time for the first Mini Review Monday of 2026! In case you haven’t seen any of my previous posts, I do ‘mini’ reviews of books that I’ve previously read and am now ready to share my full thoughts about.
First up, I’d like to talk about I, in the Shadows by Tori Bovalino. Thank you to Titan Books for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
There’s a ghost haunting Drew Tarpin’s new room. Liam Orville has been dead for ten months and has no idea how to move on. But the longer he stays, the more likely it is he’ll degrade into an energy consuming husk—which Drew is more concerned about than her grades or her inability to make meaningful connections with other students.
Drew is everything Liam never was when he was alive, but they do share some common ground: Drew finds herself hopelessly attracted to—and completely tongue-tied around—Hannah Sullivan, who happens to be Liam’s former best friend.
After a run-in with a ghost-eating monster leaves Drew and Liam desperate for answers, they strike up a deal: In return for Drew investigating why Liam is still around, he’ll help her talk to Hannah. But Liam’s time is running out, and if Drew doesn’t help him move on, he risks becoming a monster himself.
Publication Date: 13th January
CW: death, car accident, grief, murder
My Thoughts:
I, in the Shadows is a wonderfully poignant depiction of friendship, grief and living with bereavement.
I liked how messy and complicated these characters are, creating problematic scenarios that do not put them in the best light. However Bovalino ensures that you can understand what is driving their decisions, even as you may not agree with them. There are consequences for their actions, so you feel as though it is all weighed out eventually. They are misguided teenagers, caught up in emotions so strong that they threaten to consume them. I also liked how it explored grief in such an authentic and beautiful manner. You see how it can affect every last part of yourself and changes your worldview entirely. Hannah is carrying a lot and Drew and Liam are working to help her, even if their motivations may not be entirely pure. Bovalino includes such thoughtful commentary on grief and its lingering effects. The speculative elements heighten this and I enjoyed the metaphors at play here.
Bovalino also explores that all-consuming sensation of love in many different forms. I enjoyed the variety of relationships you see in this book and how their dynamics shift and change. The dialogue and chemistry is fantastic and feels like it grows naturally, even as you’re aware of it being manipulated. All of this builds to a wonderful conclusion that was very fitting. This crystallised my love for the book as it underscored Bovalino’s willingness to let characters truly face up to what they have done. It is a bittersweet ending but one still full of hope and love.
I, in the Shadows is a wonderful blend of horror, contemporary stories, romance and coming-of-age. It shines in its characterisation and the careful way it discusses grief.
Next up, I’d like to talk about How the Other Half Kill by P. C. Roscoe. Thank you to Team BKMRK for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Chalet girl Reilly is spending the winter looking after ultra-rich guests in the luxury alpine resort of Val D’Amer Doux. But she’s not there for the stunning slopes or the excellent apres-ski – she’s there to get justice for her best friend, Asma. Reilly will stop at nothing to expose beautiful socialite Minette as the ruthless bully who drove Asma to take her own life.
The last thing Reilly needs is a distraction, but she can’t deny her attraction to Jacob. Reilly feels like she could tell him anything. But revealing her true motivations would be even more dangerous than a black diamond run in a blizzard . . .
When her plan snowballs out of control, will Reilly become the next victim?
Publication Date: 15th January
CW: death, suicide, murder, grief, classism, sexism, bullying, addiction
My Thoughts:
How the Other Half Kill is an ice-cold thriller with flashes of warmth in its characterisation and a dash of romance.
How the Other Half Die was a pulse-pounding YA thriller with plenty of excellent twists and turns, so I had high expectations for Roscoe’s next release. This continued to explore the darker side of privilege in a shared world with the first and I would be intrigued to see if this continued into a wider series. There’s these closed-off communities where they have been sheltered from the world until disaster hits and they can no longer hide from their secrets. Something about the isolation of the mountain setting heightened the paranoia wonderfully and meant you kept second guessing everything and everyone. Nothing is quite as it seems here and the wild beauty underlines that key message of violence hiding just below the surface.
I liked how we got to move between different viewpoints once more, with characters that had plenty of secrets to hide and how it enabled you to have a new viewpoint on a relationship you thought you understood. This is a claustrophobic world where power is reliant on precarious positions and some would do anything to retain their role, even murder. This goes into some dark territory that may be impactful for readers. Roscoe delivers this with sensitivity. Everyone here is fighting their own battles but this does not excuse any bad behaviour, just helps you to understand it within a wider picture. As with the previous book, there are some rays of light with lovely touches of romance and a shared sense of trust. The dialogue is great and these characters felt like authentically messy teenagers.
How the Other Half Kill continues this twisted world of power, privilege and pretty horrendous acts. Roscoe skewers this section of society but still ensures that there is complexity in their characterisation and enough to draw you in.
Finally, I’d like to delve into The 10:12 by Anna Maloney. Thank you to Raven Books for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Claire Fitzroy was just trying to get home when her train from Manchester to London was hijacked by a group of armed men. In one terrifying moment she faced the starkest of choices: to stand back. To fight back. And maybe to die either way.
Claire chose to fight back, and in doing so saved hundreds of lives. But what looks like heroism in the heat of the moment can play out very differently in the courts and the eyes of the public. Especially when you have the blood of two men on your hands.
Selfless and quick-thinking. Attention-seeking vigilante. Unrepentant murderer. Whichever she is, this is Claire’s story of what happened that day. But is it the whole story?
Publication Date: 29th January
CW: death, murder, violence, injury, shooting, grief, terrorist attack
My Thoughts:
The 10:12 is a high-concept thriller that is impossible to put down. It has such a wonderfully unrelenting intensity that heightens the breakneck twists and turns Maloney has in store.
Maloney takes a nightmare scenario and brings it to life in vivid, horrifying detail. Claire is caught up in a train hijack and makes a decision that will change the trajectory of her life forever. You move between her recollection of that day and insights from other characters and the consequences afterwards. This is a great way of creating a tapestry that slowly starts to come together. Not everything is quite as it seems and this narrative styles allows Maloney to bring in some incredible twists along the way. You have an idea of where the hijack will end up, but not exactly how it will get there. Claire is a complicated narrator and the media perception of her has shifted vastly. Some see her as a hero, others as a dangerous murderer. What this book ultimately asks is where you may sit and it is difficult to know for sure until the final page.
I also really enjoyed the meta way Maloney includes commentary and reactions from Claire’s publisher as she submits her book to them piecemeal. It makes you question aspects of her story and adds to this sense of uncertainty that hangs over every page. You move through these bloody events, learning more with each chapter but also starting to have more and more questions. It is an interesting way to explore the way we form our own narratives and how these can be twisted by others. Claire is caught up in this paranoid atmosphere ever since she was identified as a key component of those events. She is second-guessing herself at times, making for a dynamic where even your narrator is not entirely sure of what is happening on the page.
The 10:12 builds on its arresting premise to deliver a brilliant, pacy and incredibly tense thriller. This is an impressive debut and if this is what Maloney has in store to start, you do not want to miss what she has next up.
A Short Book Lover 
I’ll definitely keep an eye out for I, in the shadows! It sounds amazing!
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