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Iris

About Iris

Born on the lush, green island of Texel, Iris left home to study English in Leiden, which led her to discover ABC. She joined the company as an intern in 2015 and simply refused to leave, becoming a fully-fledged bookseller in 2016. Iris is currently the buyer for the Horror, Poetry, New Age, and Language, Reading & Writing sections in The Hague, and the Poetry and Horror sections in Leidschendam. She also creates the majority of Blind Book Dates in The Hague, writes the ABC newsletter, and runs the Instagram account for ABC The Hague.

Book review: Starling House

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow Opal Gravely has spent her life obsessed with the mysterious Starling House – but when its reclusive heir offers her a job, she discovers there may be monsters lurking within. This is a sweeping, Gothic fairytale from Hugo, Nebula and Locus Award-shortlisted Alix E. [...]

2026-08-17T19:38:31+02:00Tags: , , , , |

Book review: Legends & Lattes

High fantasy, low stakes - with a double-shot of coffee. After decades of adventuring, Viv the orc barbarian is finally hanging up her sword for good. Now she sets her sights on a new dream - for she plans to open the first coffee shop in the city of Thune. Even though no one there knows what coffee actually is. If Viv wants to put the past behind her, she can't go it alone. And help might arrive from unexpected quarters.

2026-08-16T15:53:26+02:00Tags: , , , , , |

Book review: The Mimicking of Known Successes

On a remote, gas-wreathed outpost of a human colony on Jupiter, a man goes missing. The enigmatic Investigator Mossa follows his trail to Valdegeld, home to the colony's erudite university -- and Mossa's former girlfriend, a scholar of Earth's pre-collapse ecosystems. Pleiti has dedicated her research and her career to aiding the larger effort towards a possible return to Earth. When Mossa unexpectedly arrives and requests Pleiti's assistance in her latest investigation, the two of them embark on a twisting path in which the future of life on Earth is at stake -- and, perhaps, their futures, together.

Book review: To Be Taught, If Fortunate

At the turn of the twenty-second century, scientists make a breakthrough in human spaceflight. Through a revolutionary method known as somaforming, astronauts can survive in hostile environments off Earth using synthetic biological supplementations. They can produce antifreeze in sub-zero temperatures, absorb radiation and convert it for food, and conveniently adjust to the pull of different gravitational forces. With the fragility of the body no longer a limiting factor, human beings are at last able to explore neighbouring exoplanets long suspected to harbour life.

Book review: A Deadly Education

Enter a school of magic unlike any you have ever encountered. There are no teachers, no holidays, friendships are purely strategic, and the odds of survival are never equal. Once you're inside, there are only two ways out: you graduate, or you die. El Higgins is uniquely prepared for the schools many dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out untold millions -- never mind easily destroy the countless monsters that prowl the school. Except, she might accidentally kill all the other students too. So El is trying her hardest not to use it . . . that is, unless she has no other choice.

2026-08-15T20:46:42+02:00Tags: , , , , , |

Book review: Some Desperate Glory

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet meets Ender's Game in this gripping science fiction debut from an award-winning voice in SFF. While we live, the enemy shall fear us. Since she was born, Kyr has trained for the day she can avenge the murder of planet Earth. Raised in the bowels of Gaea Station alongside the last scraps of humanity, she readies herself to face the Wisdom, the powerful, reality-shaping weapon that gave the majoda their victory over humanity.

Book review: Nothing But the Rain

A sleepy little town discovers its memories have become part of the water cycle in Naomi Salman's debut novella, Nothing but the Rain. The rain in Aloisville is never-ending, and no one can remember when it started. There’s not much they can remember. With every drop that hits their skin, a bit of memory is washed away. Stay too long in the wet, and you’ll lose everything you used to be.

Book review: Loveless

Georgia has never been in love, never kissed anyone, never even had a crush -- but as a fanfic-obsessed romantic she's sure she'll find her person one day. As she starts university with her best friends, Pip and Jason, Georgia is ready to find romance, and with her outgoing roommate on her side and a place in the Shakespeare Society, her "teenage dream" is in sight. But when her romance plan wreaks havoc amongst her friends, Georgia ends up in her own comedy of errors, and she starts to question why love seems so easy for other people but not for her. With new terms thrown at her - asexual, aromantic - Georgia is more uncertain about her feelings than ever. Is she destined to remain loveless? Or has she been looking for the wrong thing all along?

Book review: The Last Firefox

A heartwarming story about family, friendship and finding your inner fire. Between bullies at school and changes at home, Charlie Challinor finds life a bit scary. And when he's made guardian of a furry fox cub called Cadno, things get a whole lot scarier. Because Cadno isn't just any fox: he's a firefox -- the only one of his kind -- and a sinister hunter from another world is on his trail. Swept up into an unexpected adventure to protect his flammable friend, Charlie's going to need to find the bravery he never thought he had, if he's going to save the last firefox .

2026-08-14T22:14:24+02:00Tags: , , , , , |

Book review: Babel

Orphaned in Canton and brought to England by a mysterious guardian, Babel seemed like paradise to Robin Swift. Until it became a prison... But can a student stand against an empire? An incendiary novel from award-winning author R.F. Kuang about the power of language, the violence of colonialism, and the sacrifices of resistance.

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