The host reviews several recent books, starting with Megan Bondeson's "The Sea Has Its Dead," which he found stylistically mismatched with its plot. He praises Rachel Harrison's "Kiss, Slay, Play" as a compelling time-loop horror novel and highlights Danielle Giles' "Gentle Things" as a standout historical fiction piece. The episode also covers Chuck Wendig's "The Calamities," which left the host feeling emotionally detached, and Annie Jacobson's "Biological War Scenario," which he critiqued for its speculative realism and inclusion of AI-generated images.