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All in Fiction
Summer is a fantastic finale to this hopeful, poignant quartet about the kindness of strangers during troubling times. It tied all four books together in a fun, impactful way.
Spear is a gender-bent, queer, Arthurian/Percival retelling that’s rich, stunning, and timely. It’s especially good on audio. I’m so glad I read it!
Wolfish, inspired by Romulus and Remus, is a lovely, gorgeously written book that I only wish had been a bit shorter.
Legends & Lattes is a warm and fuzzy book about the healing power of friendship and found family that pulls on the heart strings and offers a respite from the real world. I loved it.
Red, White & Royal Blue is a feel-good story with left-wing political fanfiction, lots of spice, and a rare and deep emotional punch. I loved it.
Fourth Wing doesn’t do much that’s new — it’s a tropey hero’s journey — but it was super bingeable and a hell of a fun time. Can’t wait for book two.
Booth is part historical fiction, part family saga focusing on the family of John Wilkes Booth. I felt pretty neutral about it, but definitely recommend audio over print if you read it.
The Vaster Wilds is another work of genius from Groff, intimate and visceral. You have to be in the mood for a book like this (it has almost no dialogue), but if you are, I think you’ll love it.
A Crown of Ivy and Glass, an adult fantasy romance Giselle retelling, was definitely not perfect, but I had a ton of fun reading it and can’t wait for book two.
The Fragile Threads of Power is everything I hoped it would be. V.E. Schwab is a master plotter, a master of the details, a master of sentences — just a master of everything
Case Study is a quick, (I found) engrossing read. The way it explores the idea of the self and performance was also very smart. I don’t think it’ll be for everyone, but I liked it!
Fire Rush is an impressive debut, with an undeniably electric voice and propulsive energy that really makes it stand out. I thought the pacing was a bit uneven, but I still liked it and I’m glad I read it.
Black Butterflies is a well-researched, captivating, deeply moving novel about war and art set during the siege of Sarajevo. I couldn’t put it down and ultimately loved it.
Demon Copperhead is a smart, hard-hitting modern retelling of David Copperfield that hits all the right notes. I’m not surprised it’s winning so many awards.
Trespasses is a well-written, intentionally tense novel about choice, conflict, and community. I wasn’t quite in the right headspace for it, but there’s no denying its merits.
Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a fast-paced, well-written, bookish standalone fantasy that I absolutely adored. It’s been a long time since a book made me want to text live updates to someone who’d already read it!
Chain-Gang All-Stars is a searing, extremely smart, and compulsively readable novel about incarceration, the use of Black lives as entertainment, and so much more. You gotta read it.
Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea is a lush, poignant dramatization of the life of legendary pirate queen Zheng Yi Sao. It’s very interior, more about her than her adventures. I liked it a lot.
After Sappho is a unique, experimental reimagining of the lives of (mostly) lesbians from history. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I’d known more about the women, but there’s no denying that it’s a feat of a book.
To Shape a Dragon’s Breath s a beautifully rendered, fiercely imagined Indigenous Own Voices fantasy novel set in an academic setting about anticolonialism and dragons. I did think the shape of the plot was a little flat, but overall I liked it a lot.
