The Young Adventurer’s Collection Box Set 2
Dungeons & Dragons 4-Book Boxed Set: Beasts & Behemoths, Dragons & Treasures, Places & Portals, Artificers & Alchemy
Paperback Box Set
By Jim Zub, Stacy King, Andrew Wheeler
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Release Date: September 24, 2024

Welcome back, reader! It is time to take a look at the newest box set in the Dungeons & Dragons: Young Adventurer’s Guide series. The Young Adventurer’s Collection Box Set 2 is here to deliver some great references for the intermediate-aged role-playing gamer in your life. I know I am a little late delivering this review, but maybe this is a better late than never situation, right? I will give you a brief synopsis of each of the four books in this fun little box set. I am impatiently awaiting the day that my grandchildren are old enough to read these and begin their adventure into the world of Dungeons and Dragons, I mean the first books I read to each of them included D&D books, such as these right here.

A Haunting in the Arctic
Hardcover | Paperback | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By C. J. Cooke
Publisher: Berkley
Paperback Release Date: February 27, 2024

The mysteries of a shipwreck off the coast of Iceland are at the center of A Haunting in the Arctic, the arctic exploration horror novel from author C. J. Cooke.

This atmospheric tale intertwines two major timelines, each dealing with the enigmatic Ormen, an arctic whaling ship that was refitted as a research vessel that eventually became shipwrecked off the coast of Iceland and now scheduled to be destroyed.

Wednesday: A Novelization of Season One
Hardcover | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By Tehlor Kay Mejia
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Release Date: September 3, 2024

Wednesday: A Novelization of Season One by Tehlor Kay Mejia offers a delightful retelling of the debut season of Wednesday, the 2022 Netflix streaming series directed by Tim Burton (Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands) that’s based on characters created by Charles Addams (Addams Family).

Told from the title character’s point of view, the novelization follows the show’s plotlines while adding an extra layer of introspection into the goth-presenting, death-obsessed teen as she reluctantly begins her first semester at Nevermore Academy, her eighth school in five years. Not only does she have difficulty fitting in wherever she goes, she actually has no desire to fit in. This and her compulsion to right injustices and punish bullies are what often prompt her expulsions from said schools. This time around, her parents, Morticia and Gomez Addams, are hoping that their problem child will find comfort and camaraderie at their alma mater, a private boarding school for children with supernatural abilities or proclivities. Though Wednesday prefers a solitary life, the unique school will introduce her to other “Outsiders” (or “Outcasts” as they are referred to by the “Normies” in town), whether she likes it or not.

The Hitchcock Hotel
Hardcover | Kindle | Audiobook
By Stephanie Wrobel
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: September 24, 2024

An imitate reunion of former college friends at a secluded Hitchcock-themed hotel leads to a deadly weekend in The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel.

Alfred Smettle has been obsessed with Alfred Hitchcock films since childhood, when he used to watch them with his mom, who named him after the famed Master of Suspense. His encyclopedic knowledge of all things Hitch could be somewhat annoying and off-putting, but in college he managed to make friends with some likeminded classmates who regularly met for Film Club. That is, until something happened that alienated him from the group.

Puncheons & Flagons: The Official Dungeons & Dragons Cocktail Book
Hardcover | Kindle
By Andrew Wheeler (author) and Ashley Stoyanov (recipes)
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Release Date: August 27, 2024

I am sure you’ve discovered something you never knew you needed, but now you probably would prefer not to live without it. Welcome to Puncheons & Flagons: The Official Dungeons & Dragons Cocktail Book, the adult cocktail and mocktail book you will not want to forget to take on your next adventure. I have thoroughly enjoyed replicating food from the two Heroes’ Feast books from Ten Speed Press, so I was not at all surprised when this one came along. Let me tell you, friends, this is better than you might have hoped for in your wildest dreams. So many new experiences await!