Oh, how I loved this wickedly smart, gothic reimagining of Cinderella! In which Ella *IS* the house (or, rather, the house’s ghost), her stepmother is her murderer, and her stepsister is her torturer, and the prince is — well, I won’t spoil it.

I almost — almost — let this one slip through the cracks of my TBR. Reader, that would have been a grave mistake. What an incredible firecracker of a standalone fantasy novel!!

As a fan girl at heart, I love feeling 10x more informed about Tolkien’s lore and hope to pick up more of his supplemental works someday, perhaps starting with the story of Beren and Lúthien.

This is one of those books you can’t examine tooooo closely, but if you just go along for the ride, you’re going to have a really fun time.

Well, I did not expect this novel — about a (female) blob monster who falls in love with a (human) woman and decides she wants to lay her eggs in her body, after which her offspring would devour her from the inside out — to be one of my favorite reads of the year. And yet! What fun this was!

It took me way too long to read The Tainted Cup — its Hugo nomination tipped the scales — because y’all, this was SO much fun and just so well done.

A wholly original and unputdownable sweeping, epic, magical story for the ages, this is my favorite book I’ve read so far this year and could easily maintain that #1 spot all the way through.

This book is a long adventure that takes its time, but I sank in and never felt frustrated by its pace. I also think this was my favorite Farseer book; the scope of the world and the story expanded so much!

When the Tides Held the Moon was a fun, queer, found-family historical fantasy. I had a few quibbles with it, but ultimately I had a good time and would recommend it to anyone who felt drawn by the premise.

All my friends who read both literary fiction and fantasy — this is the one. It is SO for you. And if you are one who goes out of your way to read queer and trans stories? Please veer immediately.