The Stone Virgins is a technically challenging and emotionally difficult read, but there’s no denying that it’s also an incredible work of fiction. While I struggled with it, I was also so impressed.

The Bone Shard War is a good conclusion to a pretty strong epic fantasy trilogy, although it felt a bit too drawn out to blow me away. Still, I recommend the series overall!

The Colony is a quietly devastating, gorgeously written book about colonization and agency set on a small Irish island during the Troubles. It has lots of layers!

Emily Henry does it again! Happy Place is not only a fun read with a fun combination of tropes, it’s also deeply felt with a realistic, heartbreaking central conflict.

Take What You Need is a quick but heartbreaking read about an estranged stepmother and stepdaughter with geographic, class, and political divides. The character and conflict work is just incredible.

White Cat, Black Dog is a delightfully weird little collection of stories inspired by fairy tales and folklore. It’s funny and layered and excellent.

Chain of Thorns was a fine conclusion to a fine trilogy — entertaining, yes, but definitely not my favorite set of Shadowhunters books. The trilogy-long miscommunication trope was too much for me.

Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies is an unconventional, heartbreaking, extremely beautiful book about a woman dying of cancer. It’s part poetry, part narrative, and unlike anything else.

The Faithless, sequel to The Unbroken, is a pretty good book two. I found the pacing a little uneven, but the ending was great and I’m looking forward to book three.

I absolutely loved What We Fed to the Manticore. It’s a collection of beautifully rendered short stories, all from the perspective of animals, ruminating on grief, hope, war, and climate change. Please read it.

The River of Silver is nothing less than a gift to Daevabad lovers, from the bottom of S.A. Chakraborty’s heart. I loved being back in this world.

Arca is the second book in the Five Queendoms series, and I think it was even stronger than book one (Scorpica). I’m definitely enjoying these enough to want the next book!

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi is an adventurous, swashbuckling, gloriously fun time with an incredible cast of characters. It’s the start of a series (but feels like a standalone) and I can’t wait for more in this world!

Lucy By the Sea is another cozy, resonant novel by Elizabeth Strout. While I didn’t love it as much as I’d hoped, watching Lucy process the pandemic does feel almost therapeutic for we who lived it.

A Day of Fallen Night is a fantastically rendered standalone fantasy novel. It has everything you could want: dragons, queendoms, mystery, battles, politics, and multiple POVs spanning four continents.

Winter is another quiet but profound installment of Ali Smith’s Seasonal Quartet. I’m once again awed by how she does so much with so little. Can’t wait for Spring!

Stone Blind is another tragic, polyphonic work of art from Natalie Haynes — this time focused on one storyline (Medusa’s). Fans of A Thousand Ships will like this!

The Sun Walks Down is a super atmospheric, polyphonic novel set in 1800s Australia about a boy lost in the desert and how the members of his town respond. I liked it a lot.

A Monster Calls is a magical and deeply moving early-YA novel about grief in the wake of a parent’s death and the range of very human emotions that come with it. I sobbed, dear reader. Sobbed!

The third in Elizabeth Strout’s Amgash series, Oh William! is another quiet but beautiful little novel. I loved how reflective this one was, both similar to and different from the first two.