Purpose has little to do with what, and everything to do with why: The Else Where Express. ARC review

Title: The Elsewhere Express

Author: Samantha Soto Yambao

Number of Pages: 432

Publishing Date: 20 January 2026

Genre: Magical Realism, Cozy Fantasy

SYNOPSIS:

You can’t buy a ticket for the Elsewhere Express. Appearing only to those whose lives are adrift, it’s a magical train seeming to carry very rare and special cargo: a sense of purpose, peace, and belonging.

Raya is one of those lost souls. She had dreamed of being a songwriter, but when her brother died, she gave up on her dream and started living his instead.

One day on the subway, as her thoughts wander, she’s swept off to the Elsewhere Express. There she meets Q, an intriguing artist who, like her, has lost his place in the world.

Together they find a train full of wonders, from a boarding car that’s also a meadow to a dining car where passengers can picnic on lily pads to a bar where jellyfish and whales swim through pink clouds.

Over the course of their long, strange night on the train, they also discover that it harbors secrets—and danger: A mysterious stranger has stowed away and brought with him a dark, malignant magic that threatens to destroy the train.

But in investigating the stowaway's identity, Raya also finds herself drawing closer to the ultimate question: What is her life's true purpose—and is it a destination the Elsewhere Express can take her to?

REVIEW:

⚠️Content warning: grief, death of a sibling, emotional trauma.

Samantha Soto did it again... this book feels like being wrapped in a blanket while quietly having an existential crisis. In a good way.
Raya was such an emotionally compelling protagonist because her grief feels real. She isn’t just mourning her brother; she’s mourning the version of herself she abandoned after losing him. Watching her slowly unpack that pain throughout the journey hit HARD. There’s this quiet ache running through the entire book that never really leaves, even during the softer magical moments.
Speaking of magic… this train is genuinely one of the most imaginative settings I’ve read in a while. Picnics on lily pads? Jellyfish and whale floating through a pink-cloud sky?? that's actually inside a lotus?? which is not a flower but a rice wine bar?? Samantha really said “what if wonder itself became architecture” and honestly, respect.
Q was also SUCH a good love interest. Soft, artistic, quietly broken men in fantasy stories continue to be my downfall apparently. The romance is gentle and understated, but it fits the story perfectly. It never overshadows Raya’s personal journey, which I appreciated a lot.
What really makes this book shine though is its message. It’s ultimately about how easy it is to lose yourself while trying to survive grief, expectations, or other people’s dreams for you. And while the story gets whimsical and surreal, the emotional core stays deeply human.
The pacing is very steady but there is so much to take in, in every single sentence that it took me months to finally complete this book... but it was worth it!!

It's whimsical, dreamy, and painfully tender all at once, a story about grief, purpose, and finding your way back to yourself when life knocks you completely off track. The premise alone had me immediately seated: a magical train that only appears to people who’ve lost their direction in life? Yeah, inject that directly into my veins.

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Power, Sacrifice, and Sisterhood; Bones Of Jade, Flesh Like Ice. ARC review

Title: Bones Of Jade, Flesh Like Ice

Author: Gracie Marsden

Number of Pages: 304

Publishing Date: 10 November 2026

Genre: Historical Fantasy, Taiwanese mythology

SYNOPSIS:

A young woman makes a bargain with a shapeshifting demon who promises her power, if she will give up love—a painful price that sets her on a dark journey in this historical fantasy inspired by Taiwanese myth.

Eleventh century Kangzhu. In a small village, far from the political conflicts of the royal dynasty, a too-young Yu’er is sold off to be married at the word of a jing, a shapeshifting-demon who prophesizes that her parents will thus gain wealth beyond their imagination. Her new husband Xiaozhu is, like her, barely more than a child himself—but he’s kind, and, over the years, Yu’er heals as they build a home together. They become allies, then friends, then lovers.

Until misfortune befalls them, once again at the hands of a demon. They’re left destitute and estranged. Reeling from loss, and determined to never leave her fate in another’s hands, Yu’er decides to strike her own bargain with a Jing: she will have all the agency and riches she desires. She just has to leave Xiaozhu and their home together, forever—a price that will cost her more than she then understands.

Yu’er’s choice sets off a saga that will lead her to the heart of the royal court and bring her more power than she ever dreamed of, but may kill her humanity along the way, in this sweeping tale of love, revenge, and redemption.

REVIEW:

"Until she met the woman's eyes. 冰肌玉骨, she thought to herself. Bones of jade, flesh like ice. That was the phrase in those old stories, used to describe someone so beautiful they seemed inhumane."

🕯️ Vibes: mythological fantasy, tragic love story, demon bargains, court intrigue, morally gray heroine

⚠️ Content warnings: child marriage, emotional abuse, miscarriage grief, manipulation, violence

This book feels like a legend whispered around a fire—beautiful, tragic, and slightly cursed.

Bones Of Jade, Flesh Like Ice is a sweeping historical fantasy inspired by Taiwanese mythology, this story does NOT play around when it comes to emotional devastation. It starts quietly, almost tenderly, before slowly unraveling into something darker, sharper, and hauntingly unforgettable, and it doesn't stop being that way until the very end.

Yu’er is such a compelling protagonist because she’s allowed to be messy, ambitious, angry, loving, selfish, and deeply human all at once. Watching her go from a powerless child bride to a woman willing to bargain away love itself for agency and survival? That arc genuinely hurt to read in the best way possible.

And Xiaozhu… 😞💔

Their relationship was honestly my favorite part of the book because it develops so gently over time. They don’t fall into insta-love, they build trust and companionship first, which makes everything that happens later feel ten times more painful. The story really understands that sometimes the greatest tragedies come from people loving each other deeply but still making choices that destroy them.

The mythology and atmosphere are STUNNING too. The Jing feel eerie and unpredictable in a way that makes every interaction feel dangerous. There’s this constant sense that power always comes with rot underneath it. Every bargain costs something. Every gain leaves a scar. 

I also loved how the book explores agency, not in a simplistic “girlboss empowerment” way, but in a painful, complicated way. In the who-have-i-become type of way. Yu’er wants freedom over her own life so badly that she’s willing to sacrifice pieces of herself to get it. And the book never fully absolves her for that, which made the story feel richer and more honest.

The writing itself is lush and atmospheric without becoming overly dense, and the emotional tension carries the entire story forward. I had to set aside my reading device during some graphic torture/violence scenes, but they had their own charm and gravity that still pulled me back in.

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