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All That Holds Between
Life runs efficiently when nothing hurts.
In Meiyu, people clip away their heaviest emotions and store them in memory drives so life can continue neatly and undisturbed. Lena is a courier who delivers these sealed fragments across the island, her days defined by routine, distance, and careful neutrality.
When one delivery goes wrong, a defective drive activates in her hands. The feelings inside are not hers and were never meant to surface. Ignoring protocol, Lena follows its pull through the city, through night markets scented with scallion and fried dough, into noodle shops, and the quiet generosity of neighbors' kitchens, where lives brush against one another. With each step, the walls she's built around herself begin to thin.
All That Holds Between is a gentle speculative novella about rediscovering what's lost, savoring what remains, and allowing life to hold more than function.
In Meiyu, people clip away their heaviest emotions and store them in memory drives so life can continue neatly and undisturbed. Lena is a courier who delivers these sealed fragments across the island, her days defined by routine, distance, and careful neutrality.
When one delivery goes wrong, a defective drive activates in her hands. The feelings inside are not hers and were never meant to surface. Ignoring protocol, Lena follows its pull through the city, through night markets scented with scallion and fried dough, into noodle shops, and the quiet generosity of neighbors' kitchens, where lives brush against one another. With each step, the walls she's built around herself begin to thin.
All That Holds Between is a gentle speculative novella about rediscovering what's lost, savoring what remains, and allowing life to hold more than function.
- GenresFiction
149 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 7, 2026
About the author
S.J. Lee
4 books42 followersS.J. Lee writes speculative fiction about how people fall apart and what they do next. A full-time security specialist with a master's degree in intelligence and two bachelor's degrees in business, Lee draws on years living and working in Iraq, Mexico, Chile, India, Brazil, Guyana, and all over the United States to ground her work. When she isn't writing, she's playing video games or spending time with her spouse and dog.
Follow her at @sjleewriter on Instagram for updates.
Follow her at @sjleewriter on Instagram for updates.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
April 5, 2026
4⭐️
All That Holds is a spec-fic novella that explores themes of loss, grief, memory, love, and recovery in a world where any emotion that interrupts life is considered inefficient. Corporations offer technical solutions to problems caused by feelings, and promote regulation through removal of memory.
Our protagonist, Lena, works for one such company on an island where she finds herself constantly surrounded by messages of “balance” through this system. After exposure to another person’s emotions, she realizes that something she has removed from her mind has never quite left her body. The rest of the work is spent exploring the impact of this discovery and how Lena can go on understanding the true nature of her loss.
I found this work to be well-written and paced, with thoughtfully executed scenes and believable characters who added depth and clarity to the story. This will certainly find a welcome audience among fans of speculative literature, as well as those who enjoy exploring the impact of technology on humanity. Trigger warnings for death and loss - that said, I personally would find this quite healing and hopeful after a loss.
Thank you to the author, Pew Books and 42 Fold Studio for the opportunity to review in advance of publication.
All That Holds is a spec-fic novella that explores themes of loss, grief, memory, love, and recovery in a world where any emotion that interrupts life is considered inefficient. Corporations offer technical solutions to problems caused by feelings, and promote regulation through removal of memory.
Our protagonist, Lena, works for one such company on an island where she finds herself constantly surrounded by messages of “balance” through this system. After exposure to another person’s emotions, she realizes that something she has removed from her mind has never quite left her body. The rest of the work is spent exploring the impact of this discovery and how Lena can go on understanding the true nature of her loss.
I found this work to be well-written and paced, with thoughtfully executed scenes and believable characters who added depth and clarity to the story. This will certainly find a welcome audience among fans of speculative literature, as well as those who enjoy exploring the impact of technology on humanity. Trigger warnings for death and loss - that said, I personally would find this quite healing and hopeful after a loss.
Thank you to the author, Pew Books and 42 Fold Studio for the opportunity to review in advance of publication.
March 23, 2026
You have to rate a book 5 stars when it makes you cry and lingers in your soul after closing the final chapter.
This story is so wonderfully handled and emotionally hard hitting. A slower paced slice of life that follows Lena as an event throws her into a mystery she needs to solve. But this mystery is truly the catalyst for something else she needs to process and the way the Lee handles grief, alongside coupled emotions of joy and the importance of their interconnectedness is stunning.
Additionally, the way food is used to showcase how it can anchor us, connect us, and share moments of togetherness is also beautifully executed in the tale. I loved the sensory descriptiveness of the book and the way it seeps into your soul.
This story is so wonderfully handled and emotionally hard hitting. A slower paced slice of life that follows Lena as an event throws her into a mystery she needs to solve. But this mystery is truly the catalyst for something else she needs to process and the way the Lee handles grief, alongside coupled emotions of joy and the importance of their interconnectedness is stunning.
Additionally, the way food is used to showcase how it can anchor us, connect us, and share moments of togetherness is also beautifully executed in the tale. I loved the sensory descriptiveness of the book and the way it seeps into your soul.
March 23, 2026
Thank you to 42Fold and the author for this ARC.
Have you ever considered what it would be like to store away your biggest emotions to live life more comfortably? In this novella, that is a reality. And it all seems to be going smoothly for Lena, until one delivery goes wrong - and soon she is on an adventure to follow a memory and recon with the emotions she’s never faced.
Not only is this novella beautifully written, but it brings us as readers to reckon with our own emotions and memories and wonder, if we could, would we give them up to live more peacefully?
Have you ever considered what it would be like to store away your biggest emotions to live life more comfortably? In this novella, that is a reality. And it all seems to be going smoothly for Lena, until one delivery goes wrong - and soon she is on an adventure to follow a memory and recon with the emotions she’s never faced.
Not only is this novella beautifully written, but it brings us as readers to reckon with our own emotions and memories and wonder, if we could, would we give them up to live more peacefully?
March 21, 2026
From world building, to the nuances of grief, to the mouth-watering description of the food (I swear I could smell the pídàn shòu ròu zhōu while reading about it), this novella packs so much into its pages.
I loved the way I could picture Meiyu and Lena on her bicycle. The descriptions of the city, the storm, and the restaurants and food carts Meiyu visited were so vivid. The way she moved through her grief was so realistic, and the conversation with Mrs. Kuan brought me to tears.
This novella covers so much, but my main takeaway will be that with negative feelings of loss, sadness, grief, we get the balance of overwhelming joy, closeness, love. We never truly go through anything alone. That’s a powerful message in any world, Meiyu and beyond.
Thank you so much to S.J. Lee and 42Fold for the digital ARC of All That Holds Between!
I loved the way I could picture Meiyu and Lena on her bicycle. The descriptions of the city, the storm, and the restaurants and food carts Meiyu visited were so vivid. The way she moved through her grief was so realistic, and the conversation with Mrs. Kuan brought me to tears.
This novella covers so much, but my main takeaway will be that with negative feelings of loss, sadness, grief, we get the balance of overwhelming joy, closeness, love. We never truly go through anything alone. That’s a powerful message in any world, Meiyu and beyond.
Thank you so much to S.J. Lee and 42Fold for the digital ARC of All That Holds Between!
April 8, 2026
4.5 ⭐️
All That Holds Between is the first standalone Novella by S.J.Lee since the release of her captivating Dystopian/Military Speculative Fiction debut Triology (Altered Earth Series) so I was really excited to see what she got in stall for us this time.
ATHB is quite a different sort of speculative fiction then the Triology but don’t be fooled, the chances of a book written by S.J.Lee triggering and causing some sort of emotional damage will always be high. This one definitely took me on a different kind of emotional rollercoaster, which I honestly wasn‘t quite prepared for.
The story is rather slowpaced and gives you a chance to get situated and slowly pulled into Lena’s World bit by bit, it also fits the cold and moody tone of the story perfectly. We quickly find ourself entwined in the streets of the island city of Meiyu and if there is one thing the Author is pretty good at, besides causing emotional damage to her readers, it‘s the world building. It won‘t take long til you get hit with the declicious smell and taste of scallion pancakes and other delicious taiwanese dishes.
I promise you, your senses will be well entertained in this book, especially your tastebuds. If you aren‘t considering ordering scallion Pancakes in the middle of the night while reading this, I would be surprised. This book should come with a warning label that says: „Don‘t read on an empty stomach“.
I always say the writing is good when the story gets into your head. This was the case here, at least for me. When certain quotes and phrases hit you with feelings and make you really think about what you just read. This book caused a bit of self reflecting and let me face my own grief in some kind of way. So yea it got quite emotional and not just for Lena.
The first part of the book, I was like hey this „clipping“ thing sounds really convenient and nice but the more this story was facing the topic of grief, the more the feeling changed throughout the book.
One of my favorite quotes that has been stuck with me since:
„Grief is proof we care. Even when the mind loses pieces the body remembers who mattered.“
I really enjoyed and loved the conversations between Mrs.Kuan and Lena. But also between Lena and her friend.
And the last part of this book felt cozy, sweet and a bit of healing.
One thing that sometimes make me struggle with Novella‘s, is that they usually feel a bit rushed due to the shorter length. But I didn’t feel like this was the case here. It hit the just right spot and if you get the special copy, you even get a bit of an extra story.
The one takeaway from this book?
It‘s okay to grief but also there are different ways to do it.
There is not right or wrong tho.
Thank you S.J.Lee for trusting me with an early copy of this book.
All That Holds Between is the first standalone Novella by S.J.Lee since the release of her captivating Dystopian/Military Speculative Fiction debut Triology (Altered Earth Series) so I was really excited to see what she got in stall for us this time.
ATHB is quite a different sort of speculative fiction then the Triology but don’t be fooled, the chances of a book written by S.J.Lee triggering and causing some sort of emotional damage will always be high. This one definitely took me on a different kind of emotional rollercoaster, which I honestly wasn‘t quite prepared for.
The story is rather slowpaced and gives you a chance to get situated and slowly pulled into Lena’s World bit by bit, it also fits the cold and moody tone of the story perfectly. We quickly find ourself entwined in the streets of the island city of Meiyu and if there is one thing the Author is pretty good at, besides causing emotional damage to her readers, it‘s the world building. It won‘t take long til you get hit with the declicious smell and taste of scallion pancakes and other delicious taiwanese dishes.
I promise you, your senses will be well entertained in this book, especially your tastebuds. If you aren‘t considering ordering scallion Pancakes in the middle of the night while reading this, I would be surprised. This book should come with a warning label that says: „Don‘t read on an empty stomach“.
I always say the writing is good when the story gets into your head. This was the case here, at least for me. When certain quotes and phrases hit you with feelings and make you really think about what you just read. This book caused a bit of self reflecting and let me face my own grief in some kind of way. So yea it got quite emotional and not just for Lena.
The first part of the book, I was like hey this „clipping“ thing sounds really convenient and nice but the more this story was facing the topic of grief, the more the feeling changed throughout the book.
One of my favorite quotes that has been stuck with me since:
„Grief is proof we care. Even when the mind loses pieces the body remembers who mattered.“
I really enjoyed and loved the conversations between Mrs.Kuan and Lena. But also between Lena and her friend.
And the last part of this book felt cozy, sweet and a bit of healing.
One thing that sometimes make me struggle with Novella‘s, is that they usually feel a bit rushed due to the shorter length. But I didn’t feel like this was the case here. It hit the just right spot and if you get the special copy, you even get a bit of an extra story.
The one takeaway from this book?
It‘s okay to grief but also there are different ways to do it.
There is not right or wrong tho.
Thank you S.J.Lee for trusting me with an early copy of this book.
March 25, 2026
An interesting short story about a woman navigating life through her delivery job and connecting to the people around her.
When one of her delivery attempts goes wrong, Lena’s life seems to spiral at first, but the result of this incident sets her off on a journey that includes delicious food and connecting more closely to the people who have been in her life, but she never really made much of an effort to connect with before.
My favorite part of the story was definitely Soichi, he brought so much fun into the story.
I also greatly enjoyed the descriptions of the food and the layout of the land through Lena’s perspective.
Thank you to the author and 42Fold Limited for this eARC. All thoughts and comments are my own.
When one of her delivery attempts goes wrong, Lena’s life seems to spiral at first, but the result of this incident sets her off on a journey that includes delicious food and connecting more closely to the people who have been in her life, but she never really made much of an effort to connect with before.
My favorite part of the story was definitely Soichi, he brought so much fun into the story.
I also greatly enjoyed the descriptions of the food and the layout of the land through Lena’s perspective.
Thank you to the author and 42Fold Limited for this eARC. All thoughts and comments are my own.
April 12, 2026
ALL THAT HOLDS BETWEEN by SJ Lee is a gentle, speculative novella about rediscovering what’s lost, savoring what remains, and allowing life to hold more than function.
I had the opportunity to read an early copy of the book and wanted to share my impressions. And here lies the beauty of being an ARC reader. At times you discover outstanding books that you would otherwise miss.
✨This was a fascinating read. It caught me by surprise in so many ways. In essence, this is a story about human emotions, the good, the bad and the ugly and how they shape our human experience.
✨Meiyu feels almost dystopian due to societal pressure to be balanced, de-stressed, unburdened from heavy emotions. Efficiency is the utmost goal.
✨SJ Lee writes in a way that is atmospheric and sensory, with nuances that most would miss, but she effortlessly makes them the star of the show. Reading this novella you will sense the neverending rain, feel the claustrophobic emptiness of FMC Lena, smell the food that invites memories of joy and nearness, experience the loss on a cellular level and become an emotional rebel.
✨Don’t be fooled by 143 pages novella- this is a read that packs a punch of 400 pages, condensed and with a deceptively slow pace.
✨Supportive characters are lovely. They exist in different places on emotional entropy scale and through them a lot of genuine life wisdom is communicated.
✨This book will make you feel, reflect, ponder and appreciate everything life has to offer, shadows included. I truly cannot recommend it enough.
BRIEF SUMMARY:
Life runs more efficiently when nothing hurts.
In Meiyu, people clip away their heaviest emotions and store them in memory drives so life can continue neatly and undisturbed. Lena is a courier who delivers these sealed fragments across the island, her days defined by routine, distance, and careful neutrality.
I had the opportunity to read an early copy of the book and wanted to share my impressions. And here lies the beauty of being an ARC reader. At times you discover outstanding books that you would otherwise miss.
✨This was a fascinating read. It caught me by surprise in so many ways. In essence, this is a story about human emotions, the good, the bad and the ugly and how they shape our human experience.
✨Meiyu feels almost dystopian due to societal pressure to be balanced, de-stressed, unburdened from heavy emotions. Efficiency is the utmost goal.
✨SJ Lee writes in a way that is atmospheric and sensory, with nuances that most would miss, but she effortlessly makes them the star of the show. Reading this novella you will sense the neverending rain, feel the claustrophobic emptiness of FMC Lena, smell the food that invites memories of joy and nearness, experience the loss on a cellular level and become an emotional rebel.
✨Don’t be fooled by 143 pages novella- this is a read that packs a punch of 400 pages, condensed and with a deceptively slow pace.
✨Supportive characters are lovely. They exist in different places on emotional entropy scale and through them a lot of genuine life wisdom is communicated.
✨This book will make you feel, reflect, ponder and appreciate everything life has to offer, shadows included. I truly cannot recommend it enough.
BRIEF SUMMARY:
Life runs more efficiently when nothing hurts.
In Meiyu, people clip away their heaviest emotions and store them in memory drives so life can continue neatly and undisturbed. Lena is a courier who delivers these sealed fragments across the island, her days defined by routine, distance, and careful neutrality.
April 15, 2026
All That Holds Between by S. J. Lee
I first “met” S. J. Lee when I reviewed her book “Of Friction” for the 2024/25 Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC). Being a pacifist and a vegetarian I am not a fan of the military science fiction genre of which this book was a part. However, her writing was so excellent that despite all of the fighting and killing and gore, I even purchased the next book in the series.
All That Holds Between is an entirely different type of Sci Fi story than her Altered Earth series. This novella is all about human emotions, loss, surviving, and growing. It held me captive from the moment I met the protagonist Lena.
Lena works for a company that removes bad memories from people so, per the company motto, they can “Lighten the load. Lift the day.” Lena works as a bicycle courier who transports these memory chips around the city.
Her life is just one work day after another, living alone with no plans or dreams until she listens into one of the memory disks and experiences overwhelming joy. Suddenly one chapter of her life ends as she confronts her memories and sorrows.
This is a very powerful book. Lee’s story speaks to all of us about experiencing loss, sorrow, and depression and the struggle to come out the other side. Along the way Lee provides a sidelight of mouthwatering Taiwanese dishes so you end up hungry for both food and more of Lee’s excellent writing. There is a lot packed into these 149 pages and, despite shedding a few tears along the way, I loved every one of them.
I first “met” S. J. Lee when I reviewed her book “Of Friction” for the 2024/25 Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC). Being a pacifist and a vegetarian I am not a fan of the military science fiction genre of which this book was a part. However, her writing was so excellent that despite all of the fighting and killing and gore, I even purchased the next book in the series.
All That Holds Between is an entirely different type of Sci Fi story than her Altered Earth series. This novella is all about human emotions, loss, surviving, and growing. It held me captive from the moment I met the protagonist Lena.
Lena works for a company that removes bad memories from people so, per the company motto, they can “Lighten the load. Lift the day.” Lena works as a bicycle courier who transports these memory chips around the city.
Her life is just one work day after another, living alone with no plans or dreams until she listens into one of the memory disks and experiences overwhelming joy. Suddenly one chapter of her life ends as she confronts her memories and sorrows.
This is a very powerful book. Lee’s story speaks to all of us about experiencing loss, sorrow, and depression and the struggle to come out the other side. Along the way Lee provides a sidelight of mouthwatering Taiwanese dishes so you end up hungry for both food and more of Lee’s excellent writing. There is a lot packed into these 149 pages and, despite shedding a few tears along the way, I loved every one of them.
May 1, 2026
"grief is earned. it’s not something you can just take away. not without losing everything else."
“grief is proof we care. even when the mind loses pieces, the body remembers who mattered.”
“recovery doesn't always mean returning to an old self. sometimes it's learning to inhabit the version left behind.”
what a beautifully written speculative novella that felt like a gentle hug caressing my senses w mouthwatering descriptions of taiwanese food, all the while asking the question: if you could clip away negative/painful memories, would you & which one would you get rid of? lee writes so poignantly about grief and i love how she corporealizes something intangible like emotions/memories with a tactile aspect of storing emotions away in a physical drive. and as a taiwanese american, seeing taiwanese written out for the first time & all my fav taiwanese street food made my heart so full and happy (& my stomach growl lol).
so happy i got to meet lee irl at bookcon and very glad i picked this up!🥰
“grief is proof we care. even when the mind loses pieces, the body remembers who mattered.”
“recovery doesn't always mean returning to an old self. sometimes it's learning to inhabit the version left behind.”
what a beautifully written speculative novella that felt like a gentle hug caressing my senses w mouthwatering descriptions of taiwanese food, all the while asking the question: if you could clip away negative/painful memories, would you & which one would you get rid of? lee writes so poignantly about grief and i love how she corporealizes something intangible like emotions/memories with a tactile aspect of storing emotions away in a physical drive. and as a taiwanese american, seeing taiwanese written out for the first time & all my fav taiwanese street food made my heart so full and happy (& my stomach growl lol).
so happy i got to meet lee irl at bookcon and very glad i picked this up!🥰
Review of advance copy received from Author
I have seen various different covers for this book ranging from quite abstract ones to simplistic ones alluding to Lena’s job as a courier.
All That Holds Between is set in Meiyu a futuristic world where you can put any unwanted emotions on a chip at the Halcyon Integrated Wellness company, the chip can then be destroyed or stored for a monthly cost with the possibility of being restored at a later date.
Lena was once an 'Affect Technician' but was then demoted and is now a courier transporting the chips between clients & the Halcyon depot. Lena has her route already planned out for her down to the minute and if she isn’t on time there are consequences! Even her breaks are meticulously planned and she is more or less forced to take them when told to do so. Lena is on her best behaviour at work she has already had a warning, if she were to get more she could be demoted again to an even lesser job.
Lena prefers to use her bike much to her supervisor Mr Peng’s irritation as he regularly offers her the company vehicle to use especially on bad weather days. It’s on a particularly rainy day that Lena comes across a faulty chip and when circumstances mean she is unable to deliver it she takes it home with her which is expressly forbidden.
Lena has an old machine that she trained to be an Affect Technician on and it’s not long before curiosity gets the better of her and she ends up putting the defective chip in it and experiencing the chips owner’s memory.
Lena becomes obsessed with finding a food stall featured in the memory which leads her to talking to Runi who owns the restaurant she regularly eats ate, resulting in the women becoming closer friends rather than just acquaintances.
By the end of the novella Lena realises that her true obsession is not the defective chip she has viewed but a memory that she chose to have removed, put on a chip and destroyed.
I found the idea of putting undesired memories on a chip a fascinating idea and would have loved some other memories & chips to be explored, though as this is a novella and Lena was given a different job near the end of it which would put her in a position where she would be in contact with peoples memories on a regular and legitimate basis, so I guess there’s the potential for more after this novella. I’d be interested in reading more in this world setting.
Lena seems a rather sad and lonely character only going to and from work with no friends her own age or family around her, though her neighbour does look out for her and cooks “too much” food meaning there is always plenty leftover for Lena. Then slowly through conversations Lena has with her neighbour about the neighbour’s loss of a loved one and her evolving relationship with Runi that Lena reveals her own background and the memory she had removed and destroyed.
Immediate thoughts were that I enjoyed reading the novella, but I wished that it had explored more chips and their content. It could have been so much more.
Summing up, though this novella centred mainly round just one character, Lena, it also revealed quite a lot about those around her too. I loved the concept of having memories, feelings & emotions removed and placed on a chip. Could I do it? I don’t think I would as even our bad, painful memories have value and are an integral part of us. Overall, I did enjoy the novella and I would be interested in reading more set in this world.
All That Holds Between is set in Meiyu a futuristic world where you can put any unwanted emotions on a chip at the Halcyon Integrated Wellness company, the chip can then be destroyed or stored for a monthly cost with the possibility of being restored at a later date.
Lena was once an 'Affect Technician' but was then demoted and is now a courier transporting the chips between clients & the Halcyon depot. Lena has her route already planned out for her down to the minute and if she isn’t on time there are consequences! Even her breaks are meticulously planned and she is more or less forced to take them when told to do so. Lena is on her best behaviour at work she has already had a warning, if she were to get more she could be demoted again to an even lesser job.
Lena prefers to use her bike much to her supervisor Mr Peng’s irritation as he regularly offers her the company vehicle to use especially on bad weather days. It’s on a particularly rainy day that Lena comes across a faulty chip and when circumstances mean she is unable to deliver it she takes it home with her which is expressly forbidden.
Lena has an old machine that she trained to be an Affect Technician on and it’s not long before curiosity gets the better of her and she ends up putting the defective chip in it and experiencing the chips owner’s memory.
Lena becomes obsessed with finding a food stall featured in the memory which leads her to talking to Runi who owns the restaurant she regularly eats ate, resulting in the women becoming closer friends rather than just acquaintances.
By the end of the novella Lena realises that her true obsession is not the defective chip she has viewed but a memory that she chose to have removed, put on a chip and destroyed.
I found the idea of putting undesired memories on a chip a fascinating idea and would have loved some other memories & chips to be explored, though as this is a novella and Lena was given a different job near the end of it which would put her in a position where she would be in contact with peoples memories on a regular and legitimate basis, so I guess there’s the potential for more after this novella. I’d be interested in reading more in this world setting.
Lena seems a rather sad and lonely character only going to and from work with no friends her own age or family around her, though her neighbour does look out for her and cooks “too much” food meaning there is always plenty leftover for Lena. Then slowly through conversations Lena has with her neighbour about the neighbour’s loss of a loved one and her evolving relationship with Runi that Lena reveals her own background and the memory she had removed and destroyed.
Immediate thoughts were that I enjoyed reading the novella, but I wished that it had explored more chips and their content. It could have been so much more.
Summing up, though this novella centred mainly round just one character, Lena, it also revealed quite a lot about those around her too. I loved the concept of having memories, feelings & emotions removed and placed on a chip. Could I do it? I don’t think I would as even our bad, painful memories have value and are an integral part of us. Overall, I did enjoy the novella and I would be interested in reading more set in this world.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
If it was possible to give 6 stars you best believe I would! All That Holds Between is only 150 pages, yet those 150 pages successfully told an emotional, impactful, thoughtful, and hopeful story about grief, love, friendship, and the inner struggles we all face. This novella perfectly executed all of these topics and did so succinctly. I can think of a few 350+ page books that struggle to deliver what this novella did.
The main character of this story is Lena. She is a courier for a company that has the technology to clip the heavy emotions from people's memories. These memories are then stored on small drives. Whether these drives are being stored or destroyed, Lena does her job with nothing but efficiency and neutrality on her mind.
One day, a device activates while Lena is working, and she is overcome by the emotions stored within it. Though they do not belong to her, Lena can't can't get them off her mind. She becomes slightly obsessed with tracking down the source of the emotions. While doing so, her strict adherence to routine and protocol starts to slip, and she unknowingly begins her own journey of growth and self-reflection.
This speculative story is beautifully written. The pacing is perfect as well. It's a perfect balance of moody introspection and the cozy hug of friendship and love. Lena's journey heavily involves food, and I loved that her self-discovery often involved sharing a meal with others. The descriptions of everything food related made for the perfect world building and added an extra layer of emotional depth. This novella genuinely made me happy; I have been thinking about it for days!
Kudos to the author for writing such a wonderful story. And thank you to 42Fold Publishing for providing an advanced reader copy. While I received this for free my opinions are entirely my own.
The main character of this story is Lena. She is a courier for a company that has the technology to clip the heavy emotions from people's memories. These memories are then stored on small drives. Whether these drives are being stored or destroyed, Lena does her job with nothing but efficiency and neutrality on her mind.
One day, a device activates while Lena is working, and she is overcome by the emotions stored within it. Though they do not belong to her, Lena can't can't get them off her mind. She becomes slightly obsessed with tracking down the source of the emotions. While doing so, her strict adherence to routine and protocol starts to slip, and she unknowingly begins her own journey of growth and self-reflection.
This speculative story is beautifully written. The pacing is perfect as well. It's a perfect balance of moody introspection and the cozy hug of friendship and love. Lena's journey heavily involves food, and I loved that her self-discovery often involved sharing a meal with others. The descriptions of everything food related made for the perfect world building and added an extra layer of emotional depth. This novella genuinely made me happy; I have been thinking about it for days!
Kudos to the author for writing such a wonderful story. And thank you to 42Fold Publishing for providing an advanced reader copy. While I received this for free my opinions are entirely my own.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Set in a world where emotional pain has been removed for the sake of efficiency, this novella follows a quiet discussion of what it means to live when nothing really hurts anymore and the subsequent complications.
I went into this already loving this author’s previous work, but this...! This feels more intimate, more reflective, and like she put even more of her heart on the page. I think this might be my favorite thing she's written so far.
This gave me a similar feeling to A Psalm for the Wild-Built. It has that same balance of cozy and contemplative, where the story feels gentle on the surface but is quietly asking some pretty heavy questions underneath. The big one here being: if you could remove grief, pain, and all the sharp edges of life…would you? And what do you lose in the process? It's not a new concept, but an important one. We only recognize joy because we know grief. We only treasure life when we know it can be easily lost.
I also love how this ties food into everything. Memory, culture, and emotion are all wrapped up in the act of eating and sharing meals. I’m someone who connects deeply with food, and the way certain dishes can hold nostalgia and memories, so that aspect hit hard. There’s a warmth to those scenes that contrasts beautifully with the emptiness of a world trying to strip emotion down to something manageable.
It’s a novella, so it doesn’t over-explain or linger too long. It leaves you wanting more and so, it trusts you to sit with what it’s saying. And I definitely did. This is one of those stories that feels quiet while you’re reading it, and then hours later you’re still thinking about it.
Soft, thoughtful, a little bittersweet, and surprisingly impactful for something so short.
Thank you to the amazing author for the complimentary pre-released copy. This review is voluntary and all opinions are my own.
I went into this already loving this author’s previous work, but this...! This feels more intimate, more reflective, and like she put even more of her heart on the page. I think this might be my favorite thing she's written so far.
This gave me a similar feeling to A Psalm for the Wild-Built. It has that same balance of cozy and contemplative, where the story feels gentle on the surface but is quietly asking some pretty heavy questions underneath. The big one here being: if you could remove grief, pain, and all the sharp edges of life…would you? And what do you lose in the process? It's not a new concept, but an important one. We only recognize joy because we know grief. We only treasure life when we know it can be easily lost.
I also love how this ties food into everything. Memory, culture, and emotion are all wrapped up in the act of eating and sharing meals. I’m someone who connects deeply with food, and the way certain dishes can hold nostalgia and memories, so that aspect hit hard. There’s a warmth to those scenes that contrasts beautifully with the emptiness of a world trying to strip emotion down to something manageable.
It’s a novella, so it doesn’t over-explain or linger too long. It leaves you wanting more and so, it trusts you to sit with what it’s saying. And I definitely did. This is one of those stories that feels quiet while you’re reading it, and then hours later you’re still thinking about it.
Soft, thoughtful, a little bittersweet, and surprisingly impactful for something so short.
Thank you to the amazing author for the complimentary pre-released copy. This review is voluntary and all opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I submitted an ARC application for All That Holds Us Between by SJ Lee because it was described as being “cozy Black Mirror,” which I can now confidently say is exactly right but also somehow still undersells what this book does.
From the first few pages, the imagery completely pulled me in. Lee really nails the coziness vibe with meticulous and precise, yet somehow effortless descriptions of the city of Meiyu. The food descriptions are also elite - each one brought up vivid memories of my favorite foods that I grew up eating, which made me feel even more immersed in this story.
Even within a novella, the cast feels surprisingly full. At the beginning, I wasn’t quite sure where the story was going or how the side characters fit in, but as Lena slowly begins to open up to the world around her, we learn more about her backstory and the people she interacts with and by the end, I found myself wanting more from all of them.
The world of Meiyu and its concept of clipping memories to be archived, disposed of, or even sold is fascinating. It reminded me a bit of The Giver (one of my favorite stories of all time) in its exploration of control and emotion but what I found especially compelling here is that emotional suppression seems like a choice people are nudged toward, rather than something strictly imposed. The concept of emotion clipping paired with an almost “big brother”/Lumon-like presence alone feels like something that could be explored so much further, and I would absolutely read more in this universe.
Can’t wait for my hard copy to arrive!
From the first few pages, the imagery completely pulled me in. Lee really nails the coziness vibe with meticulous and precise, yet somehow effortless descriptions of the city of Meiyu. The food descriptions are also elite - each one brought up vivid memories of my favorite foods that I grew up eating, which made me feel even more immersed in this story.
Even within a novella, the cast feels surprisingly full. At the beginning, I wasn’t quite sure where the story was going or how the side characters fit in, but as Lena slowly begins to open up to the world around her, we learn more about her backstory and the people she interacts with and by the end, I found myself wanting more from all of them.
The world of Meiyu and its concept of clipping memories to be archived, disposed of, or even sold is fascinating. It reminded me a bit of The Giver (one of my favorite stories of all time) in its exploration of control and emotion but what I found especially compelling here is that emotional suppression seems like a choice people are nudged toward, rather than something strictly imposed. The concept of emotion clipping paired with an almost “big brother”/Lumon-like presence alone feels like something that could be explored so much further, and I would absolutely read more in this universe.
Can’t wait for my hard copy to arrive!
Review of advance copy received from Author
*Thank you to S.J. Lee for the gifted ARC*
All That Holds Between is a tender, speculative fiction novella that explores grief and the importance of holding onto memories, even the ones that hurt the most. This book follows Lena, a courier for Halcyon, a wellness company that provides memory clipping services to sell, dispose, or store unwanted memories.
Throughout the story, Lena is chasing after a distinct memory associated with cong bing, a type of scallion pancake. In her pursuit of finding the reason why someone would clip a seemingly happy memory, she unravels her own traumas and learns that memories shouldn't be erased and that grief is something earned.
I enjoyed this novella from the get-go. This book really is a master class on imagery. S. J. Lee does an incredible job in focusing on the five senses. You can really picture, smell, and taste the foods that are being written about. One of my favorite scenes was when Lena visits a place that sells fried chicken cutlets. I could taste the grease and the salt, and I could feel the crunch of the tender chicken. This scene had my stomach GROWLING.
The reason why I gave this book 4.5 stars is because there was a moment where I was becoming a bit impatient. I felt like I wanted to understand Lena's motivations on why she was chasing a memory that wasn't hers much sooner, however, I would say that the reveal was satisfying and while the lead-up felt a bit slow, it played an important role.
If you are a fan of Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind or Black Mirror, then I would highly recommend reading this.
All That Holds Between is a tender, speculative fiction novella that explores grief and the importance of holding onto memories, even the ones that hurt the most. This book follows Lena, a courier for Halcyon, a wellness company that provides memory clipping services to sell, dispose, or store unwanted memories.
Throughout the story, Lena is chasing after a distinct memory associated with cong bing, a type of scallion pancake. In her pursuit of finding the reason why someone would clip a seemingly happy memory, she unravels her own traumas and learns that memories shouldn't be erased and that grief is something earned.
I enjoyed this novella from the get-go. This book really is a master class on imagery. S. J. Lee does an incredible job in focusing on the five senses. You can really picture, smell, and taste the foods that are being written about. One of my favorite scenes was when Lena visits a place that sells fried chicken cutlets. I could taste the grease and the salt, and I could feel the crunch of the tender chicken. This scene had my stomach GROWLING.
The reason why I gave this book 4.5 stars is because there was a moment where I was becoming a bit impatient. I felt like I wanted to understand Lena's motivations on why she was chasing a memory that wasn't hers much sooner, however, I would say that the reveal was satisfying and while the lead-up felt a bit slow, it played an important role.
If you are a fan of Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind or Black Mirror, then I would highly recommend reading this.
Review of advance copy
Thank you to the author and 42 Fold Studio for trusting me with a review copy of this novel. All comments below are my own.
I want to start by saying everyone would benefit from reading this novella. The descriptions of grief, community, friendship, joy, emptiness, overwhelm, etc. are all handled so well and support a narrative that anyone can connect with. The prose is lyrical and poetic and create incredibly detailed imagery of the environment our characters are moving within. And that is to say nothing of the descriptions of food. I have never found myself getting so hungry while reading before. Again, because the author knows how to evoke sensations that bring forth my own memories. And that is probably the point - a story about memory that encourages the reader to draw from their own memories, and in that way bring the story to life.
This book brought up every feeling within me. But rather than it feeling like the emotions were hitting me like a bus, it was more like I was on that bus watching the city pass through the window while the perfect playlist beat through my headphones. All of it, even the sad and painful moments resonated in me quietly, peacefully.
It all came together to create a wonderful painting of the human experience.
I rated this 5-stars and I will certainly be looking for the author’s other work. I want to spend more time in the worlds she creates.
I want to start by saying everyone would benefit from reading this novella. The descriptions of grief, community, friendship, joy, emptiness, overwhelm, etc. are all handled so well and support a narrative that anyone can connect with. The prose is lyrical and poetic and create incredibly detailed imagery of the environment our characters are moving within. And that is to say nothing of the descriptions of food. I have never found myself getting so hungry while reading before. Again, because the author knows how to evoke sensations that bring forth my own memories. And that is probably the point - a story about memory that encourages the reader to draw from their own memories, and in that way bring the story to life.
This book brought up every feeling within me. But rather than it feeling like the emotions were hitting me like a bus, it was more like I was on that bus watching the city pass through the window while the perfect playlist beat through my headphones. All of it, even the sad and painful moments resonated in me quietly, peacefully.
It all came together to create a wonderful painting of the human experience.
I rated this 5-stars and I will certainly be looking for the author’s other work. I want to spend more time in the worlds she creates.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
All That Holds Between is a beautifully crafted short novel that bridges the gap between a “little bit futuristic” and the raw reality of our current lives. S.J. Lee manages to create a world that feels just a few steps ahead of ours, making the themes of isolation and technology feel incredibly urgent and relatable.
The writing is wonderfully engaging. The story flows smoothly, making it a quick but deeply impactful read that stayed with me long after the final page.
At its heart, this book is a poignant reminder that humans are wired for connection. It explores how simple acts—like talking and sharing our “trouble feelings”—are the most powerful tools we have against sadness.
I loved how the author balanced the speculative elements with the “present” feel of the characters’ emotions. It didn’t feel like a distant sci-fi, but rather a mirror to our own need for community.
This “near-future” story feels grounded in today’s emotions. S.J. Lee seems to have hit that sweet spot where the sci-fi elements don’t overshadow the human heart of the story.
This is a must-read for anyone who enjoys character-driven stories that tackle the complexities of mental health and human relationships in an evolving world.
Thank you to the author, S.J. Lee, and 42 Fold Studio for providing a free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.
The writing is wonderfully engaging. The story flows smoothly, making it a quick but deeply impactful read that stayed with me long after the final page.
At its heart, this book is a poignant reminder that humans are wired for connection. It explores how simple acts—like talking and sharing our “trouble feelings”—are the most powerful tools we have against sadness.
I loved how the author balanced the speculative elements with the “present” feel of the characters’ emotions. It didn’t feel like a distant sci-fi, but rather a mirror to our own need for community.
This “near-future” story feels grounded in today’s emotions. S.J. Lee seems to have hit that sweet spot where the sci-fi elements don’t overshadow the human heart of the story.
This is a must-read for anyone who enjoys character-driven stories that tackle the complexities of mental health and human relationships in an evolving world.
Thank you to the author, S.J. Lee, and 42 Fold Studio for providing a free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy
4.5 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ✨
Life runs more efficiently when nothing hurts.
All that holds between is about a simple life and a simple girl trying to hide from her grief. At first, I had no idea what this book was about but it's about the “what if” we could wipe our emotions, what if we could just go somewhere and just with one wipe, they are taken away. We still have the memories but none of that icky stuff that makes us human.
This book made me look at simple things differently. How a warming bowl of noodles can change when prepared in a different way. How the people who you cross paths with can alter your reality.
Lena is just a courier who delivers these sealed fragments. When one delivery goes wrong, it opens her eyes, causes her to ignore the protocol and follows the memory through night markets, into noodle shops and the quiet generosity of the neighbor's kitchen.
This book is about connections and the need to feel those emotions. Just because the emotions are gone, it doesn’t mean the grief goes away.
RELEASE DATE: April 7, 2026
🍜 Queer + cozy speculative fiction
🍜 Processing grief
🍜 The power of memory
🍜 So much delicious food!
I so very much-loved reading this arc and I can't thank 42fold Studio and S.J. Lee for giving me this opportunity.
Life runs more efficiently when nothing hurts.
All that holds between is about a simple life and a simple girl trying to hide from her grief. At first, I had no idea what this book was about but it's about the “what if” we could wipe our emotions, what if we could just go somewhere and just with one wipe, they are taken away. We still have the memories but none of that icky stuff that makes us human.
This book made me look at simple things differently. How a warming bowl of noodles can change when prepared in a different way. How the people who you cross paths with can alter your reality.
Lena is just a courier who delivers these sealed fragments. When one delivery goes wrong, it opens her eyes, causes her to ignore the protocol and follows the memory through night markets, into noodle shops and the quiet generosity of the neighbor's kitchen.
This book is about connections and the need to feel those emotions. Just because the emotions are gone, it doesn’t mean the grief goes away.
RELEASE DATE: April 7, 2026
🍜 Queer + cozy speculative fiction
🍜 Processing grief
🍜 The power of memory
🍜 So much delicious food!
I so very much-loved reading this arc and I can't thank 42fold Studio and S.J. Lee for giving me this opportunity.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Review of an advanced copy received from the author.
Vibes:
➤ Dystopian Future
➤ Memories/Emotions
➤ Moody and Cozy Sci-fi
➤ Delicious Depictions of Food
Thoughts:
This was such a fascinating idea wrapped up in a novella that feels both gloomy and cozy. A future where people are able to clip their heaviest and most inconvenient emotions to have them stored on a hard drive sounds grim in such a quiet way, which is exactly the tone of the first half of this novella. One thing I particularly appreciate is that Lee isn’t rushed in her writing. Although this is only 150 pages, the author takes her time laying the foundation of this setting. The world is build through character interactions and Meiyu’s real time thoughts and emotions. I think it would have been tempting to just hurry up and explain the world to readers, but Lee takes her time. And don’t even get me started on the food descriptions. The culinary imagery was so indulgent and savory. Recommend to anyone who is looking for a slow paced, character driven speculative fiction novella set in a quiet and grim future.
Vibes:
➤ Dystopian Future
➤ Memories/Emotions
➤ Moody and Cozy Sci-fi
➤ Delicious Depictions of Food
Thoughts:
This was such a fascinating idea wrapped up in a novella that feels both gloomy and cozy. A future where people are able to clip their heaviest and most inconvenient emotions to have them stored on a hard drive sounds grim in such a quiet way, which is exactly the tone of the first half of this novella. One thing I particularly appreciate is that Lee isn’t rushed in her writing. Although this is only 150 pages, the author takes her time laying the foundation of this setting. The world is build through character interactions and Meiyu’s real time thoughts and emotions. I think it would have been tempting to just hurry up and explain the world to readers, but Lee takes her time. And don’t even get me started on the food descriptions. The culinary imagery was so indulgent and savory. Recommend to anyone who is looking for a slow paced, character driven speculative fiction novella set in a quiet and grim future.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I rated this a 3.5
I was lucky enough to get an advanced reader copy of this which was nice. Its a novella meaning it's very short.
It started off slow in the beginning but it picks up bit after. It is on the magical realism side along with speculative fiction.
It'll make you question if you would do it if offered the choice to. I would recommend just to get you thinking about what would you do in this type of situation. They way they brought up grief and how they handled it was well done, I feel. I ended up enjoying what they said about grief which you will have to read to find out.
The author is really good on the world building and being descriptive. I know most of the foods that was mentioned in here, it lowkey just made me hungry. They did a really good job at describing it all and being able to imagine it.
Overall, I would recommend this novella just to get you thinking and reflecting. If this was a full book, I feel like this would be one of my favorites for the year. They did really well on how short this was and the points they wanted to get across.
#allthatholdsbetween #sjlee #arcreview #bookthoughts #magicalrealism
I was lucky enough to get an advanced reader copy of this which was nice. Its a novella meaning it's very short.
It started off slow in the beginning but it picks up bit after. It is on the magical realism side along with speculative fiction.
It'll make you question if you would do it if offered the choice to. I would recommend just to get you thinking about what would you do in this type of situation. They way they brought up grief and how they handled it was well done, I feel. I ended up enjoying what they said about grief which you will have to read to find out.
The author is really good on the world building and being descriptive. I know most of the foods that was mentioned in here, it lowkey just made me hungry. They did a really good job at describing it all and being able to imagine it.
Overall, I would recommend this novella just to get you thinking and reflecting. If this was a full book, I feel like this would be one of my favorites for the year. They did really well on how short this was and the points they wanted to get across.
#allthatholdsbetween #sjlee #arcreview #bookthoughts #magicalrealism
April 18, 2026
5 ⭐️ - an eARC review
Thank you 42Fold and SJ Lee for this eARC!
If you could exercise unwanted emotions from your body regularly, would you? SJ Lee poses this question in her speculative fiction novella set in a futuristic world full of heart, grief, and good food.
Lee’s strength is HER descriptions. From the first sentences, SHE vividly pulls you into the island of Meiyu and Lena’s life as a courier for Halcyon, the domineering company offering to clip, store, or destroy your emotions on hard drives. All the senses are evoked from the looming monsoon, the pull of emotions (that aren’t yours and weren’t suppose to experience), to the flavor of scallion pancakes. It’s an intimate story with themes of grief, community, efficiency, wrapped in the metaphor of Taiwanese dishes, that I savored. It’s a gentle, slower paced story, that I’m still thinking about days after.
If you love the work of Samantha Sotto Yambao, The Subtle Art of Folding Space by Jon Chu, or the contemplations of Fredrik Backman this book is for you.
I’m so excited to have found another local author to love, and I look forward to reading the Altered Earth series.
Thank you 42Fold and SJ Lee for this eARC!
If you could exercise unwanted emotions from your body regularly, would you? SJ Lee poses this question in her speculative fiction novella set in a futuristic world full of heart, grief, and good food.
Lee’s strength is HER descriptions. From the first sentences, SHE vividly pulls you into the island of Meiyu and Lena’s life as a courier for Halcyon, the domineering company offering to clip, store, or destroy your emotions on hard drives. All the senses are evoked from the looming monsoon, the pull of emotions (that aren’t yours and weren’t suppose to experience), to the flavor of scallion pancakes. It’s an intimate story with themes of grief, community, efficiency, wrapped in the metaphor of Taiwanese dishes, that I savored. It’s a gentle, slower paced story, that I’m still thinking about days after.
If you love the work of Samantha Sotto Yambao, The Subtle Art of Folding Space by Jon Chu, or the contemplations of Fredrik Backman this book is for you.
I’m so excited to have found another local author to love, and I look forward to reading the Altered Earth series.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Wonder, yearning, and a rainbow of senses! That’s what I experienced following Lena bike-couriering across the island of Meiyu chasing lost feelings and opening herself up again to the world around her through people and food.
From the luxury neighborhoods to waste disposal sites, and from corporate offices to neighborhood markets, in this novella S.J. Lee expertly weaves us through a sensory and visceral journey of literal typhoons and metaphorical ones as Lena unexpectedly finds herself processing now-unfamiliar feelings in a world where people clip away their heaviest emotions and store them on memory drives or just throw them away.
The first half of the story feels slow, as Lena herself is numb to her feelings, but then we start careening together as we follow Lena unable to resist the pull of those feelings and the tactile memory associated with them. Lena opens up to former coworker Soichi, neighbor Mrs. Kuan, and the noodle shop owner-chef Runi, and together relearns how much more life can hold.
Part mystery and love story straddling speculative and literary fiction, All That Holds Between shows us that finding balance doesn’t mean taking away what hurts, but instead needs both the good and the bad to make us whole.
If you take anything away, take the love for Taiwanese food! S.J. Lee’s description of the scallion pancakes alone fires up all the senses—sound, smell, sight, touch, and taste—and is worth an award. Do yourself a favor and go to your nearest Chinese restaurant ASAP and order extra scallion pancake, milk tea, congee, and sticky rice with pork and mushroom. Take with you the book’s appendix of all the mentioned food, written in Traditional Chinese, Pinyin, and English...try them all!
Thank you 42 Fold Studio and S.J. Lee for this Advance Reader Copy (ARC). All That Holds Between, releasing on April 7, 2026, is the first title published under their publishing division, 42Fold Limited. Support indie authors!
From the luxury neighborhoods to waste disposal sites, and from corporate offices to neighborhood markets, in this novella S.J. Lee expertly weaves us through a sensory and visceral journey of literal typhoons and metaphorical ones as Lena unexpectedly finds herself processing now-unfamiliar feelings in a world where people clip away their heaviest emotions and store them on memory drives or just throw them away.
The first half of the story feels slow, as Lena herself is numb to her feelings, but then we start careening together as we follow Lena unable to resist the pull of those feelings and the tactile memory associated with them. Lena opens up to former coworker Soichi, neighbor Mrs. Kuan, and the noodle shop owner-chef Runi, and together relearns how much more life can hold.
Part mystery and love story straddling speculative and literary fiction, All That Holds Between shows us that finding balance doesn’t mean taking away what hurts, but instead needs both the good and the bad to make us whole.
If you take anything away, take the love for Taiwanese food! S.J. Lee’s description of the scallion pancakes alone fires up all the senses—sound, smell, sight, touch, and taste—and is worth an award. Do yourself a favor and go to your nearest Chinese restaurant ASAP and order extra scallion pancake, milk tea, congee, and sticky rice with pork and mushroom. Take with you the book’s appendix of all the mentioned food, written in Traditional Chinese, Pinyin, and English...try them all!
Thank you 42 Fold Studio and S.J. Lee for this Advance Reader Copy (ARC). All That Holds Between, releasing on April 7, 2026, is the first title published under their publishing division, 42Fold Limited. Support indie authors!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
✨🍜✨ All That Holds Between by S.J. Lee ✨🍜✨
“Grief is proof we care. Even when the mind loses pieces, the body remembers who mattered.”
All That Holds Between by S.J. Lee feels like the perfect combination of Black Mirror and Dollhouse (Eliza Dushku) - but cozy, packed full of delicious food and all the feels. A beautiful exploration on how emotions and experiences shape us as humans. 100% had me in my emotions as well as craving the food mentioned throughout the story!
🍜 Delicious Foods
📖 Spec Fic Novella
📺 Black Mirror x Dollhouse
🫖 Cozy and Emotional
🖤 Exploration of Grief
💌 Light Romance
💾 Science Fiction
⚠️ Warning - This book will make you hungry! 🍜
🗓️ All That Holds Between hits shelves April 7, 2026!
PS. Head to 42fold Studios page to check out the ABSOLUTELY STUNNING special edition they are rolling out of this amazing novella!
I truly loved All That Holds Between so much and will definitely be checking out more of S.J. Lee’s work! 📚
Thank you so much 42Fold Studio for sending an advanced copy my way!
April 17, 2026
📚 ARC 📚
✨ 4.75
“‘Funny how the body remembers long before the reason catches up.’”
If you could clip away any bad emotions, like grief, pain and sadness, would you?
Before I read this book, I probably would have said no anyway, but it’s solidified just how important the dark parts are. Without them, how are we meant to appreciate and see just how bright the lighter parts can be?
This is a beautiful novella that focuses on those very powerful emotions that we sometimes wish we could live without, and it’s told in such a heartfelt way.
As Lena searches for the truth behind an affect drive destined for destruction, she finds a world she’d forgotten about and she ends up on a difficult, but crucial, journey.
Be warned though, this will make you very hungry!
Thank you so much to the team at 42Fold for the copy, this book came out April 7th and I recommend you all check it out! And a huge thank you to S.J. Lee for what has been such a wonderful read.
I’m annoyed it took me so long to get through, but migraines are a bitch!
✨ 4.75
“‘Funny how the body remembers long before the reason catches up.’”
If you could clip away any bad emotions, like grief, pain and sadness, would you?
Before I read this book, I probably would have said no anyway, but it’s solidified just how important the dark parts are. Without them, how are we meant to appreciate and see just how bright the lighter parts can be?
This is a beautiful novella that focuses on those very powerful emotions that we sometimes wish we could live without, and it’s told in such a heartfelt way.
As Lena searches for the truth behind an affect drive destined for destruction, she finds a world she’d forgotten about and she ends up on a difficult, but crucial, journey.
Be warned though, this will make you very hungry!
Thank you so much to the team at 42Fold for the copy, this book came out April 7th and I recommend you all check it out! And a huge thank you to S.J. Lee for what has been such a wonderful read.
I’m annoyed it took me so long to get through, but migraines are a bitch!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
All That Holds Between is a slice of life speculative fiction. We're brought into a world where big corps monetise mental health. Observing a world fixated on 'balance' through the eyes of a detached protagonist created a soft discordance that kept me turning pages.
Lena felt detached initially. I thought she was just drifting in life. Everyone seems balanced, functional, efficient. Lena appears to fit in, but her balance is the tightrope walking kind.
She appears efficient but not particularly motivated until she stumbles onto a glitching memory drive. Then, we're taken on a journey across Meiyu, chasing a sliver of sight, scent, and sound from a stolen memory. As per the author’s MO, the impending blow simmers under the surface and hits you when you let your guard down.
If you enjoy soft sci-fi that thoughtfully explores food as a lens for human connection, nostalgia, and grief, this one belongs on your TBR.
Lena felt detached initially. I thought she was just drifting in life. Everyone seems balanced, functional, efficient. Lena appears to fit in, but her balance is the tightrope walking kind.
She appears efficient but not particularly motivated until she stumbles onto a glitching memory drive. Then, we're taken on a journey across Meiyu, chasing a sliver of sight, scent, and sound from a stolen memory. As per the author’s MO, the impending blow simmers under the surface and hits you when you let your guard down.
If you enjoy soft sci-fi that thoughtfully explores food as a lens for human connection, nostalgia, and grief, this one belongs on your TBR.
March 24, 2026
This was such a wonderful story that very much felt like a cozy Black Mirror episode. In this novella, emotions risk efficiency so why not just get rid of those pesky emotions. Lena is a courier of these emotions via drives that she delivers across the island. When one delivery goes wrong and a drive activates in her hands she is flooded with emotions that aren’t hers. She follows these feeling across the island in search of scents and familiarity. With each step, the walls she’s built around her begin to fall.
I loved the representation of grief. It was beautifully written. I loved the representation of how our senses hold memories as well. This book hit me in all the feels as I read it. I know there have been times where I definitely wish I could have evacuated some tough feelings, but being rid of sadness would make joy less meaningful.
Also, Don���t read on an empty stomach, the food descriptions had my mouth watering.
Thank you to the author and 42fold for this ARC!
I loved the representation of grief. It was beautifully written. I loved the representation of how our senses hold memories as well. This book hit me in all the feels as I read it. I know there have been times where I definitely wish I could have evacuated some tough feelings, but being rid of sadness would make joy less meaningful.
Also, Don���t read on an empty stomach, the food descriptions had my mouth watering.
Thank you to the author and 42fold for this ARC!
Review of advance copy
The pacing felt pretty slow overall, and I never really got that moment where it fully clicked or pulled me in. It just kind of stayed at the same level the whole time, which made it harder to stay invested.
The story was also a bit confusing for me. I had trouble fully understanding what was going on and how everything connected, so it made it harder to feel immersed in the plot.
Lena was probably my favorite part. I liked her as a protagonist and she was the main reason I kept reading, but I wish the story around her had been a bit clearer and more engaging.
There’s not really any romance in this, which wasn’t a bad thing, just something to know going into it.
Overall, it didn’t really make me feel much emotionally and nothing stood out in a big way, but it wasn’t bad either, just not super memorable for me.
I’d recommend it more to someone who enjoys short stories and doesn’t mind a slower, more ambiguous kind of narrative.
The story was also a bit confusing for me. I had trouble fully understanding what was going on and how everything connected, so it made it harder to feel immersed in the plot.
Lena was probably my favorite part. I liked her as a protagonist and she was the main reason I kept reading, but I wish the story around her had been a bit clearer and more engaging.
There’s not really any romance in this, which wasn’t a bad thing, just something to know going into it.
Overall, it didn’t really make me feel much emotionally and nothing stood out in a big way, but it wasn’t bad either, just not super memorable for me.
I’d recommend it more to someone who enjoys short stories and doesn’t mind a slower, more ambiguous kind of narrative.
March 28, 2026
Thank you to 42 Fold Studio and SJ Lee for the advanced copy.
WOW! What a beautiful novella that completely captivated me. I loved this story, and I was instantly drawn into Lena’s life. SJ Lee paints a portrait of what life is like in Meiyu, where people remove their heaviest emotions so that life can stay orderly.
What a beautiful exploration of grief and feelings. I will warn you that this novella contains vivid food descriptions that will make you put your book down to find a snack. The way I wanted to hit up a food stall at a market after reading Lee’s descriptive imagery.
I loved the underlying message about community and friendship and exploration of what it is to be human. Truly, this novella packed so much into a short amount of pages and gives us, the readers, a truly emotional experience as we read. What a beautiful experience. Everyone should pick this one up.
WOW! What a beautiful novella that completely captivated me. I loved this story, and I was instantly drawn into Lena’s life. SJ Lee paints a portrait of what life is like in Meiyu, where people remove their heaviest emotions so that life can stay orderly.
What a beautiful exploration of grief and feelings. I will warn you that this novella contains vivid food descriptions that will make you put your book down to find a snack. The way I wanted to hit up a food stall at a market after reading Lee’s descriptive imagery.
I loved the underlying message about community and friendship and exploration of what it is to be human. Truly, this novella packed so much into a short amount of pages and gives us, the readers, a truly emotional experience as we read. What a beautiful experience. Everyone should pick this one up.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This novella is short, but Lena's story stays with you even after finishing the last page. The story is set in Meiyu, a futuristic city in which members of society can choose to get specific emotions/affects removed that hinder their lives. Most people tend to remove painful or sad memories to move on with their lives. We follow Lena, who works as an affect drive deliverer and shuttles these emotions to their disposal sites. By chance, she takes an affect drive home and plays it, and she is so intrigued by what she finds that she scours the city to try to find where that emotion occurred.
I think the author did a fantastic job in world-building in such few pages, and especially loved the homage to Taiwanese food. The secondary characters also had so much depth to them and really added to the story overall. I just want to give Lena a big hug and a bowl of food. I know she will stick with me for a while.
Thank you to the author and 42Fold for the eARC.
I think the author did a fantastic job in world-building in such few pages, and especially loved the homage to Taiwanese food. The secondary characters also had so much depth to them and really added to the story overall. I just want to give Lena a big hug and a bowl of food. I know she will stick with me for a while.
Thank you to the author and 42Fold for the eARC.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Thank you to 42folds for the eARC in exchange for a honest review
This book was a beautiful story about loss and grief and learning to overcome it.
Lena works for a carrier company where she carries and delivers other people’s sealed fragments of their heaviest emotions which are stored in memory drives.
One such delivery goes wrong and she ends up experiencing the emotions within the drive. As a result, Lena re-experiences something she’d tried to seal away for years. While her job is to carry other people’s burdens of emotions, she hadn’t been able to carry her own . However she learns to face the grief and burden head on.
I’d expected this book to be more like magic realism , something with the vibes of Water Moon by Samantha Sotto, but it turned out to be quite different! I really enjoyed it still! It was beautiful and reflective and Lena’s journey was incredible to read about
This book was a beautiful story about loss and grief and learning to overcome it.
Lena works for a carrier company where she carries and delivers other people’s sealed fragments of their heaviest emotions which are stored in memory drives.
One such delivery goes wrong and she ends up experiencing the emotions within the drive. As a result, Lena re-experiences something she’d tried to seal away for years. While her job is to carry other people’s burdens of emotions, she hadn’t been able to carry her own . However she learns to face the grief and burden head on.
I’d expected this book to be more like magic realism , something with the vibes of Water Moon by Samantha Sotto, but it turned out to be quite different! I really enjoyed it still! It was beautiful and reflective and Lena’s journey was incredible to read about
April 12, 2026
This novella was short and sweet, yet packed a powerful emotional punch. It beautifully captures the reality of grief and the importance of holding onto memories, even when they hurt. The story is incredibly deep while still feeling light and airy at the same time.
The descriptions were vivid, and I felt as though all my senses were engaged throughout the book. If you enjoy the atmosphere of a dystopian world, the intriguing mystery of Black Mirror, and the mouthwatering beauty of detailed food preparation, this novella is a perfect blend of all three.
Though brief, this story will leave you reflecting and pondering the delicate balance of emotions, and perhaps even feeling a little hungry! S.L. Lee masterfully explores the depths of sadness, hollowness, and grief while balancing them with themes of love and closeness.
Be sure to check this one out!
Available Now!
🍜 Queer + cozy speculative fiction
🍜 Processing grief
🍜 The power of memory
🍜 So much delicious food!
The descriptions were vivid, and I felt as though all my senses were engaged throughout the book. If you enjoy the atmosphere of a dystopian world, the intriguing mystery of Black Mirror, and the mouthwatering beauty of detailed food preparation, this novella is a perfect blend of all three.
Though brief, this story will leave you reflecting and pondering the delicate balance of emotions, and perhaps even feeling a little hungry! S.L. Lee masterfully explores the depths of sadness, hollowness, and grief while balancing them with themes of love and closeness.
Be sure to check this one out!
Available Now!
🍜 Queer + cozy speculative fiction
🍜 Processing grief
🍜 The power of memory
🍜 So much delicious food!
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