Welcome to the Geek Vibes Nation Book Round-Up for April 2025. This month sees new releases from Nghi Vo and Gerard Way—as well as some titles from earlier in the year we missed from Emily Jane, Alice Franklin, and Grady Hendrix. So, without further ado, let’s jump into some new books!
Don’t Sleep With the Dead by Nghi Vo
Years after his summer with Jay Gatsby, Nick Carroway finds himself haunted by the ghosts of his past—literally. In Nghi Vo’s Don’t Sleep With the Dead, set in the same world as her previous Great Gatsby reimagining, The Chosen and the Beautiful, Nick grapples with the long shadow cast across his life by Gatsby; glimpses of a life he’s desperately tried to leave in the past. But can you really move on from such a tragedy? Or are the twisted knots of fate and love destined to bring you back to that moment of total heartbreak?
Don’t Sleep With the Dead tells a story packed with magic, demons, and unreliable narrators. If you liked Vo’s previous fantasy-tinged take on the world of The Great Gatsby, then you’re gonna love this quasi-sequel (despite the publishers’ claims to the contrary, one should not read this novella without having previously read The Chosen and the Beautiful). Here, she builds out this magical version of early 20th Century New York City even further, digging deep into its demonic underground on the eve of the Second World War. But really, this is a deep dive into the fragile psyche of Nick Carroway, and to say anything more risks ruining the fun. Safe to say, if you like nuanced, character-driven reimaginings of classic literature, you’re bound to like this—even if there are some unexpected twists to the story.
Don’t Sleep With the Dead offers a tragic and creepy return to the magical world of The Great Gatsby—and it’s a return well worth making. (7/10)
Available April 8 from Tordotcom in Hardcover, eBook, and Audiobook formats.
Paranoid Gardens by Gerard Way, Shaun Simon, and Chris Weston
Welcome to the strangest care center in the universe. In Gerard Way and Shaun Simon’s Paranoid Gardens, all the universe’s strangest and most mysterious patients travel to a hospital hidden in plain sight. But when an outside force threatens to destroy the hospital, all hell breaks loose—literally. At this point, it really seems like a Watchmen-style comic would be beneficial to Gerard Way’s style. Paranoid Gardens is packed full of bombastic, mind-bending ideas but the comic moves at such a breakneck speed that Way and Simon can’t properly delve into them with the depth they deserve.
If you’ve ever read a Gerard Way comic, then you’ve got a pretty good idea of what to expect here—though narratively, it’s a bit more cohesive than a lot of Way’s work normally is. And it’s genuinely, properly good—especially when the duo flirts with some biting social commentary with the antagonists. It’s just hard not to wish they could’ve slowed down and dived deeper into their ideas more. (7/10)
Available April 22 from Dark Horse Comics in Paperback and eBook formats.
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
In Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, horror maestro Grady Hendrix dives into the real-world history of maternity homes—with a bit of a supernatural twist, of course. That being said, this isn’t a campy read about young, unwed mothers becoming witches and taking revenge on those who’ve wronged them. It isn’t even really a book about witchcraft at all. Instead, Henxrix focuses on the horrific and tragic realities those who were sent to maternity homes in the mid-twentieth century faced. It’s a world rife with misogyny, abuse, sexual assault, and all manner of truly repulsive imagery.
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls isn’t a read for the faint of heart—even if you’re familiar with Hendrix’s other work. It hardly even reads like a horror book in the traditional sense. Though the plot revolves around the notion of the prices one pays when using magic, the book takes very little of its horror from that plot. Instead, this is an emotionally devastating read; viscerally horrific in its injustice. It’s uncomfortable yet deeply relevant.
And yet, Hendrix doesn’t quite stick the landing here. At times, he just feels like the wrong person telling this story. Many of the women at the heart of the story receive very little in the way of character development. The plot frequently moves slower than a snail. And for large chunks of the story, it just feels like you’re forced to endure one horrific atrocity after another. It’s not necessarily trauma porn, but it can feel borderline exploitative regardless of its historical accuracy.
Still, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is an expertly crafted book that shines a light on an immensely dark part of America’s past. Whether it’s an enjoyable read, however, is up in the air. (6.5/10)
Available January 14 from Berkley in Hardcover, eBook, and Audiobook formats.
Here Beside the Rising Tide by Emily Jane
In Here Beside the Rising Tide, Emily Jane delivers yet another mind-bending, heartwarming tale that’s equal parts sweet, romantic, and deeply strange. When Jenn Lanaro, a romance novelist amid a messy divorce and crippling writer’s block, returns to her childhood home, she finds a mystery far stranger than she ever expected. There’s the reappearance of her childhood best friend, decades after his disappearance, alongside a series of seemingly natural disasters. But an otherworldly threat lies just off the shore, and it’s up to Jenn to put an end to it.
Much like her debut, On Earth as It is On Television, Here Beside the Rising Tide offers a thrilling, deeply weird read about reconnecting with the youth you’ve lost in order to become the adult you’re meant to be. It’s not the kind of read for everyone; you’ve got to be okay with some deeply absurd ideas. But if you can roll with what Jane’s dishing out, then you’re bound to have a rollicking good time as things turn ever weirder for Jenn and her family. With shades of Sandra Bullock’s The Lost City mixed with some John Scalzi-esque goofy sci-fi, Here Beside the Rising Tide is a true delight from start to finish. (9/10)
Available January 28 from Hyperion Avenue in Paperback, eBook, and Audiobook formats.
Life Hacks for a Little Alien by Alice Franklin
The synopsis of Alice Franklin’s Life Hacks for a Little Alien doesn’t really do it true justice as it promises a sort of adventure that’s not delivered here. This isn’t a story about someone finding a mysterious book and unraveling its mysteries. Instead, it’s a sweet, heartwarming tale of life lived on the spectrum. Full of warmth and wit, Franklin’s narration evokes the depths of feeling like an “other”—like a little alien. A coming-of-age story at its most relatable, narrated by an all-knowing, immensely cheeky narrator with a flair for Douglas Adams-style wordplay. Life Hacks for a Little Alien may be a bit ho-hum at times and, by nature, it never delves particularly deeply into the main character or any of the tertiary characters but it’s sweet and funny and well worth a read. (7/10)
Available February 11 from Little, Brown and Company in Hardcover, eBook, and Audiobook formats.
Star Wars: Reign of the Empire: The Mask of Fear by Alexander Freed
In the early days of the Galactic Empire, two senators and a war-time mercenary take a stand to defend democracy in Alexander Freed’s Star Wars: The Mask of Fear. As the first installment in a trilogy of novels exploring the period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, The Mask of Fear lays the groundwork for what will eventually become the rebellion. Here, Freed lays out a sprawling tale of intrigue, deception, and betrayal; a story about the lengths one would go to defend their ideals and the dangers of standing against those who would destroy everything you hold dear. It’s a slow-paced methodical unraveling of the Galactic Empire, led by a trilogy of fan-favorite characters.
Narratively, there’s not a ton of meat to these bones—there are a lot of political machinations and grande speeches and not a lot of action. But that’s by design. Freed takes a page out of the Andor playbook; it’s not the story about those who eventually toppled the Empire but the story of those who laid the groundwork. Fans of Andor and more politically-driven Star Wars fare, like Claudia Gray’s excellent Star Wars: Bloodlines, will devour The Mask of Fear. It’s a tense, mysterious, and ever-so-timely return to a Galaxy Far Far Away—and one that’s well worth a gander for both hardcore and casual Star Wars fans alike. (8/10)
Available February 25 from Random House Worlds in Hardcover, eBook, and Audiobook formats.
Part-time writer, part-time theatre nerd, full-time dork.
