Play Nice
Hardcover | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By Rachel Harrison
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: September 9, 2025

A social media influencer plans to turn the fixer-upper she inherited from her late mother into a moneymaking opportunity, but thanks to her repressed childhood memories, she doesn’t realize that the demon haunting the home is still there and is awaiting her return.

In Play Nice, Rachel Harrison‘s latest supernatural tale, 25-year-old Clio is a stylist living in New York City, enjoying the nightlife and the perks of her side gig as a social media influencer. She’s the youngest of three daughters, who were raised by their father and stepmother after their mother, Alexandra, had a breakdown and lost custody of them, leading to a lengthy estrangement.

Dungeons & Dragons: Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd
Hardcover | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By Delilah S. Dawson
Publisher: Random House Worlds
Release Date: May 13, 2025

All things come full circle. This was a saying when I was younger and I can attest that it holds true even to this day. I was ever a fan of the Dungeons & Dragons Ravenloft setting, loving that it was able to bridge worlds thanks to the ever-changing Mists. The original source material for the Ravenloft campaign was one that I consumed again and again, as well as the novels that followed. That said, I was happy to see a 5e release for the game that I have always loved. I was not prepared for a follow-up book that whisked me back to Barovia and Castle Ravenloft, but Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd did just that. Here are my thoughts on the book itself, keeping in mind I am a diehard fan of the setting, and this is just my take on the book release itself.

Dragonlance Chronicles
Books 1-3: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night, and Dragons of Spring Dawning
Hardcover
By Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
Foreword by Joe Manganiello
Publisher: Random House Worlds
Release Date: February 4, 2025

Who would have thought 40 years ago that I would be reviewing a book with which 14-year-old me was so enamored? Getting the chance to finally own the Dragonlance Chronicles in a single hardback is a dream come true. Truth be told, I still have my original mass market paperback releases from 1984. I even bought the Annotated Chronicles way back in the day just for more backstory. This is the core of all those old TSR books that really flooded the market in the 1980s and 1990s (and many more years after that). Or, as my kids say, the late 20th century. But, for those who missed those days due to being born too late, here is the chance to grab an amazing trilogy in a single edition!

Just Beyond The Light
Making Peace with the Wars Inside Our Head
Hardcover | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By D. Randall Blythe
Publisher: Da Capo
Release Date: February 18, 2025

A decade after D. Randall Blythe bared his soul in Dark Days, his gut-wrenching memoir detailing his time served in a Czech prison, the frontman of heavy metal group Lamb of God returns now with Just Beyond The Light, proving to be a modern-day philosopher for the common man. In this introspective work, he tackles subjects like maintaining sobriety, honing one’s craft, embracing positivity, and combatting Internet “armchair experts.”

Dungeons & Dragons: 2024 Monster Manual
Hardcover
D&D Accessory
Wizards Of The Coast
Release Date: February 18, 2025

Welcome, friends, to the third and final installment of the “Big 3” books for the 2024 refresh on your D&D books. The Dungeons & Dragons: 2024 Monster Manual is full of new and revitalized creatures. And, yes, I do think that it being referred to as a 2024 release is weird, but it will help to remind you that the original timeline had this and the other two books, the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide and the 2024 Player’s Handbook, slated for release last year, but unfortunately only two made it out in time. Side note: I linked my reviews for those two in that last sentence. All that said, I have a few things to mention about this release itself.