reviews are my own.
buy at your local bookstore.
A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske
Marske’s debut novel is a delight. This magical, romantic and captivating novel is set during the early beginnings of autumn, which makes it a perfect read for fall.
One of our main characters—Robin—has been assigned a new job in civil service: liaison to the magical society that he isn’t aware of until the moment his new colleague—Edwin—walks through the door.
Robin is thrown into this new world and threatened by powerful strangers because of his new job. He ends up with a curse embedded into his arm and is plagued by visions he can’t explain.
Edwin, the intellectual, is reluctant to guide Robin into this world, but Robin’s predecessor has gone missing and Edwin needs his help to uncover what’s really going on. There’s a rich and mysterious history to unfold and this pair seems like the absolute worst match to investigate. And yet.
~vibes~ Edwardian London, slow-burn romance, English countryside games, clever banter, broken families and an enchanting estate with a bewitched hedge-maze.
Fans of historical and magical fantasy will adore this.
Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
I sadly don't read mystery/noir on a regular basis, but this novel intrigued me to look into others.
The setting is tense and sultry with political turmoil, espionage, and moody, rainy days.
Maite was the perfect protagonist to follow on this adventure: uncertain, yet bold. She grows in her confidence as a dangerous world (so like the one in her favorite comic books) infiltrates her personal life.
Elvis was both funny and frightening at times—the dichotomy of his character comes out in his fascination with Maite, and it pushed me into following his trail. His character reminded me so much of Fermín in The Shadow of the Wind by Zafón.
The whole experience was heightened with Moreno-Garcia's music/pop culture anecdotes. Complete with Spotify playlist. Without a doubt, one of my favorite reads of the summer.
Ophie’s Ghosts
by Justina Ireland
Justina Ireland's new book is a haunting and powerful story about the effects of grief. Ophie and her mother uproot their life in Georgia and venture north. But Ophie's newfound powers cause trouble for her and her mother as they go to work at a haunted mansion.
Ophie's compassion and strength connect her to the lost spirits of Daffodil Manor. Readers will empathize with Ophie; they're sure to feel fear just as she does when she climbs to the attic.
The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid
This book is magic and fealty and blood. The country is haunted by an oppressive and pious religious group, and Evike must band with her village's sworn enemy to preserve the country.
Evike is strong and ferocious, and her journey into the relentless ice will force her to face her foggy and heartbreaking past.
Reid's prose is powerful and haunting and interspersed with creepy, yet beautiful tales of folklore throughout the book. This enemies-allies-lovers novel will capture your heart and claim your loyalty this summer.
She Who Became the Sun
by Shelley Parker-Chan
This debut aches with opposing actions: devotion and betrayal. Parker-Chan's world is lush, but harsh. The fate of the world can be unforgiving, but the players here are not asking for forgiveness—they're claiming their destinies.
Zhu's journey from nothing to a great 'something' is inspiring and intimidating because of her relentless ambition. She is at once a role model and someone you should fear if you run into her on the street. This historical fantasy is the rich epic you need to read this summer.
Plus there's kneeling.
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
Morgenstern's long awaited novel is a masterpiece. She is an absolute wordsmith and her skill has strengthened over the years.
The Night Circus felt like an ode to magic itself; The Starless Sea is an ode to all things literature. It was beautiful and cozy and the perfect world to sink into. The standalone fairy tales and stories interposed with the overall narrative were lovely and strong on their own, but when Morgenstern brought everything into one thread, I was left completely in awe. This is a book to be read over and over again—It's like coming home.
Spear
by Nicola Griffith
beautiful/gorgeous/spectacular/transcendental/magical/powerful
Nicola Griffith's journey into Arthurian lore is so carefully woven together, but her prose sets it on fire.
We meet Peredur in the wilds where she lives alone with her mother. They're living in secret, but Peredur has the freedom to roam their hills. She has an indescribable connection with the earth and its animals. This uncanny ability takes her far into the country, where she encounters bandits, farmsteads and companions of the king. Peredur knows she is destined for something and her drive to catch it is impressive. We meet Artos King and his knights: Lanza, Cei, Bedwyr. Tales of Myrddin float through the country along with tales of four magical objects: sword, stone, cup and spear. Peredur fights, befriends and falls in love while trying to find the place she belongs.
Griffith ties together so many Arthurian tales with Early Medieval history. Spear was meant to be part of an anthology of gender-bent, queer tales of King Arthur, but Griffith ended up writing more than she anticipated. Thank goodness for that.
Her writing is like nothing I've read before—she somehow ties ideas, feelings, and things to smells, sounds and tastes that is absolutely perfect. Like how knighthood can be compared to a clean and bright lake. The setting is written beautifully under her pen.
Everyone should read the Author's Note after finishing the story because the detail Griffith went into makes my love of fantasy scream.
Preorder it here.
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
Jemisin is a wonder. She’s crafty and intelligent. This book is so well thought out. I adored the world building of this world and its stonelore. Only problem is I stopped reading the actual plot to read the appendices. And was sucked in trying to picture her world.
The characters are complex and the stakes are high and Jemisin has left SO MUCH story wide open. I love it.
The last page alone had me *whaaaaatttttt*.
Gimme the next.
Migrations
by Charlotte McConaghy
This and Crawdads—Kindred spirits. Where Crawdads was small and singular, this is vast with endless horizons. a gripping story of human nature and how it destroys nature around us. Usually not what I frequent, but I made an exception for one good reason: it was spectacular.
Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls by Kaela Rivera
Cece Rios is a beautiful story about finding your inner strength and standing up for what you believe in.
Cece witnesses the kidnapping of her older sister, Juana, and vows to rescue her from the realm where dark criaturas live. But it's discouraging when her entire village thinks she's cursed with a spirit like Water, in a place where Fire is preferred.
Rivera's world-building is marvelous and her writing hits straight to your heart.
As someone who was told "You're too sensitive," growing up, this story is so important. Cece loves and feels deeply, she cries when she's upset, and she is strong because of all of these things. Being fearful doesn't make you weak, nor does being angry make you strong.
We Shall Sing a Song into the Deep
by Andrew Kelly Stewart
Suspenseful, reflective, and moving, Stewart's coming-of-age novel is jam packed with ideological doubts and hidden schemes.
Remy does not question her world until her only tether to it dies. Is the world truly filled with poison? Or is it still inhabitable? Will peace come? I had doubts just like her.
The action moved the story along at a heart-racing beat. Remy's mission had me biting my nails the whole way through. The hope which exists in this story is fragile, but it remains. I was anxious and enthralled all at once.
Check out my full blurb at the end of episode 8 of The Kleio Files: “Schemes.”
The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley
Pulley creates a character so lost yet eager to take chances and find the truth.
A whirlwind of mystery, seafaring adventures, and romance, The Kingdoms is a wonderful, time-jumping, historical love story.
The Once and Future Witches
by Alix E. Harrow
Womanhood. Sisterhood. Witchcraft.
The struggle and victory in them will break your heart and remake it.
It did mine.
Harrow’s second novel was wonderful.
Where The Ten Thousand Doors of January is sweeping adventure and courage and Words, The Once and Future Witches is blood sisters/found sisters and strength and Will. It started off in a rush and I found myself racing to keep up.
The sisters’ relationships reminded so much of my own with my sisters. The power and will they discover through magic is inspiring in this day’s climate.
Premeditated Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce
Myrtle can give Sherlock Holmes a run for his money! This audacious and bright young detective will stop at nothing to discover what happened to her neighbor. She's wicked sharp, but that will only take her so far. Luckily she's assisted by the invincible Miss Judson, governess and mentor.
I flew through this exciting mystery. It was filled with adventure and intrigue with a dash of romance.
The Way Back by Gavriel Savit
This fantasy was a beautiful and hard journey to read for our heroes. After Yehuda Leib and Bluma each encounter death, they enter the Far Country to find the Angel of Death and get answers. This is a story set deep in Jewish folklore. It's about death and grieving and the ends one will go to to find peace.
Savit has once again written—both vividly and thoughtfully—about the harsh truths of the world through the eyes of a child.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
This book has not left my thoughts since I finished it more than a week ago. Schwab's highly anticipated love story was beautiful, heartbreaking, thoughtful and quiet. I expected the novel to be heavy with historical events influenced by Addie (and there were some), but as Schwab stated in the book, an ordinary life is still a life and can be important too. The quietest moments were my favorite. The plot leaned more towards Henry the last third of the book as Schwab uncovered his secrets and deepest desires. But he is a worthy character to share the page with Addie. I've been wondering what kind of deal I would make with a devil for my greatest wish. Perhaps more time, like Addie.
The Saturday Night Ghost Club
by Craig Davidson
This is the kind of book I wish I could write. Quiet, pensive, but dark. A beautiful coming-of-age story that doesn't have the over-hyped stereotypical nature that comes with this genre nowadays. At first I didn't understand Davidson's choice in flashing back and forth between past and present. Each chapter begins with a story about his protagonist's career in brain surgery. They seemed frivolous to me, but near the very end, he wove every piece together in a heartbreaking, nostalgic kind of way.
A perfect summer read.
Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings
I added this to my TBR shelf for the cover alone initially. but—GUYS—the heart of this book is so dark and lovely. Jennings and Jaya Miceli designed a cover that IS the very essence of this novella. Jennings prose is just as vivid as her illustrations.
The first chapter drops you smack dab into this Australian gothic. The world is massive, although the story only takes place within three towns. Bettina is our protagonist and she knows as much as we do when the story begins—which is pretty much nothing. Her memories are foggy, but as she teams up with former childhood friends, she is forced to confront the truths of her family and the town she lives in. Read this book—it is haunting and viciously beautiful.
Cover Art: Jaya Miceli, silhouette by Jennings
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
"Adventure works in any strand—it calls to those who care more for living than for their lives."
El-Mohtar and Gladstone are prose geniuses.
They push you in without much information and it's extremely intimidating. You must immerse yourself fully to understand the world building. Be prepared to think. Deeply. But that's entirely the point. Fast paced and enticing—you travel in time as they do. Quickly, sporadically, and just long enough to get comfortable before you’re ripped into another thread. This is a book that requires some effort on your part but the writing is just effortless.
Bravo El-Mohtar and Gladstone. This was everything I was hoping for and more.
Crossings by Alex Landragin
Crossings was a tale like no other that I’ve ever read. It spans generations and multiple lives and its characters travel all over the world. The book is a collection of three stories: ghost story, crime noir, and mystical memoir of an immortal being. You can read it in sequential order, as you would any other book, OR you can read it in the Baroness sequence. I highly suggest the latter. The order darts back and forth between stories which seem unconnected, but you’ll soon discover as I did that this is one story about two lovers. A tale about the perseverance of love and the ends one will go to be reunited with one’s lover. I'm now cautious about staring into someone's eyes for a long period of time. Landragin is a master.
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
How do I explain what this book did to me?
I read this entire book with a smile plastered on my face. well, not the bad parts. I’m not a monster.
It takes every mysterious door in your favorite childhood stories and opens them wide for you. I don't really know what else to say other than read this damn book. You'll do yourself so many favors. It filled some aching hole in my heart.
Rough Magic by Lara Prior-Palmer
Prior-Palmer is just an English girl in a horse race, but the race that she has set out on seems to be more about the human spirit. Does she find her answer? There are many questions in this memoir that we all ask. I cried within ten pages. Everyone should read this book— goodness gracious.