Katabasis by R. F. Kuang

I picked this up on sale for $2.99 and thought I’d found a bargain. The novel has received strong reviews, and the buzz around it has been substantial. Several of my library colleagues attended Kuang’s book tour and came away enthusiastic.

Unfortunately, this one wasn’t for me.

Perhaps it’s my age showing, but I struggled to buy into the premise. The protagonist, Alice, is willing to sacrifice nearly everything—including half her life—to bring her asshole thesis advisor back from Hell. As I read, I kept thinking about my daughter’s college roommate, who once had a meltdown over not getting an A+ in a class during her final semester. I remember trying to reassure her that, in the grand scheme of things, one grade would have little impact on her future, but she was completely locked into the immediate crisis.

Alice struck me the same way. Her entire identity seemed tied to academic achievement, and she viewed tenure as the only possible measure of success. Because of that, I found it difficult to connect with her motivations or invest in her quest. While I suspect the novel intends to explore that mindset critically, I found the academic obsession so narrow and self-important that I lost interest before reaching the halfway point.

I may have missed a satisfying character arc, but the premise and protagonist never convinced me enough to keep reading.

Lift Me Up by Milly Johnson

This was one of Amazon’s monthly First Reads selections, and at least it didn’t demand much of my time—I finished it in a single afternoon.

While there were a few characters I genuinely loved to hate, unfortunately, most of the characters felt more like stereotypes types than fully realized people, and the story never developed much depth beyond those familiar roles.

My biggest frustration was the heroine, Tam. For most of the novel, she simply drifts through her life, accepting whatever happens to her rather than making choices of her own. She finally takes action during the climax, but by then it felt too little, too late. I wanted a protagonist with more agency and a stronger sense of purpose.

I finished the book, but it’s not one I’ll revisit or recommend. It was an easy read, but ultimately a forgettable one.

The Price of Honey by Liane Moriarty

Although I’ve long been aware of Liane Moriarty’s popularity, this was my first time reading her work. This short story was offered through Amazon First Reads and made for a quick but entertaining read.

The story presents a near-future world where self-driving rideshares actually work and AI can handle tasks like applying your makeup. Despite all the technological advances, some things haven’t changed: men are still becoming billionaires, still marrying increasingly younger women, and still expecting very little from them beyond beauty and compliance.

What worked best for me was the ending. Moriarty delivers a twist that feels both surprising and inevitable—the kind that makes you immediately look back and realize all the clues were there from the beginning. I didn’t see it coming, but I felt like I should have, which is exactly what I want from a well-executed twist.

A clever, satisfying short story that has me curious to read more of Moriarty’s work.