Just like Iron Flame, this book is fun, but fine — Fourth Wing is the strongest in the series so far. I had a good time with Onyx Storm, and if the fourth book was out now, I’d pick it up right away. But the execution is just not there.

This book was a bit of a miss for me. It has emotional impact and fantastic characters, but the execution felt old-fashioned and strangely out of touch. It’s short, though, so you still might enjoy this heartwarming little story.

I savored this book over the course of a month, sinking in every time I opened it. Prose, pacing, plot, character — Schwab truly does it all and does it better than most.

This book is clearly setting up a LOT of room for the rest of the series to run, which I find extremely exciting!

This book is surreal and disorienting (in a good way), deeply affecting, and the kind of book that’s so good and readable you have to stop yourself from inhaling it

Mirrored Heavens is an epic conclusion to an epic trilogy, and one that I’m very glad I read.

I read The Bone Season and loved it, so when a friend recommended that I read The Pale Dreamer before diving into The Mime Order, I sent the salute emoji and borrowed it from the library.

This was the perfect way to kick off my 2025 reading in a year that will surely bring a great need for laughter, levity, and love. You will find all three in these pages.

Our Evenings has a lot of things going for it, in terms of being a winner for me: It follows a character across their entire life, it depicts that life with tenderness and care, it has a strong first-person voice. And while it didn’t land with me 100%, I netted out on liking it.

Y’all. I am so mad at myself for waiting this long to read The Bone Season. It was exactly the kind of fantasy I was craving — a series that starts with a banger with a rich world and great plot and promises a good, long journey with a set of beloved characters over many books.

Held was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and if I’m being honest, I’m a little surprised that it didn’t win. I read it twice in three months. And WOW am I glad I did.

I’m happy to report that Pat Barker continues to be excellent. Many authors have written Greek retellings about the women in recent years, but in my opinion, hers stand apart.

The Bright Sword is an Arthurian retelling that feels like a love letter to our generation. It’s filled with the misfits — gay, trans, abused, depressed, objectified, imposter syndrome, you name it. And yet it doesn’t feel forced. It’s episodic and magical and adventurous as any good Arthurian story should be, but it’s also FUNNY and fun and never takes itself too seriously.

I’ve been meaning to read Robin Hobb for years — at this point, as a fantasy reader who champions women authors, it’s become a bit embarrassing, lol. I was craving a big, long adventure, and so I decided it was finally time! So glad I finally dove in.

I’m glad that Stone Yard Devotional made its way onto the Booker Prize longlist (and shortlist!), or else I may not have ended up reading it. I don’t know if it will stick with me long-term, but I definitely enjoyed my time with it.

I’d owned a copy of The Safekeep since before it was published (thanks, Avid Reader Press!), but for whatever reason it just never bubbled up to the top of my TBR — until it was nominated (and then shortlisted) for the Booker Prize. And WOW, am I glad for it. I loved this one.

Louise Erdrich’s novels have an approachability that can feel elusive among novels with such a high caliber of writing. It’s just good storytelling, and the characters step off the page and into your heart. The Mighty Red was no different.

If you want something quick and fun and sapphic, this might be a good next book for you! But I think that’s where it ended for me.

This hadn’t been on my radar before the National Book Award longlist, but I’m so glad to have been introduced. It took me by surprise and became one of my favorites on the list.

Everyone was talking about this book even before it was nominated for the National Book Award, and it’s easy to see why. I liked it even more than I expected to.