Faebound (Faebound, #1)
Faebound was a great time! Excellent and creative worldbuilding, beautiful and complicated sisterhood, and sapphic rivals to lovers. My only complaint was that it was a bit too fast-paced. Still, I liked it a lot!
The Morningside
While I still think The Tiger’s Wife was Obreht’s masterpiece, I really enjoyed this one too. I’m also just a sucker for any literary fiction that promises hints of magic.
Tadek and the Princess (Mahisti Dynasty, #1.5)
I’m so glad Rowland decided to self-publish this little novella so the fans of ATOGAI could have it. It was so lovely to be back with these characters, even for a little while.
Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy
This great book is part examination of current research and guidelines, but also part memoir. Garbes tells us about her experiences, and it’s clear that she’s framing things through that lens, so she never comes off preachy.
The Familiar
Our queen has blessed us once again. Boy, does Leigh Bardugo know how to sweep us away, how to write a love story, and how to knock an ENDING (!) out of the park.
Wandering Stars
Wandering Stars isn’t as propulsive as There, There was, but don’t worry; it twists the knife. I thought the way it highlights the generational trauma forced upon Native Americans was really effective, and it broke my heart. Highly recommend.
Beautyland
Beautyland is one of those books that will sneak up on you and hit you right smack in the feels. My favorite kind of book. (The audiobook was also excellently performed, and the story was easy to follow in that format!)
How to Build a Boat
My latest Booker Prize longlister, and while I see its merits, I’m not super surprised that we didn’t see this one on the shortlist. Sometimes I felt super engaged and sometimes I felt the opposite. All in all, I think I am slightly to the positive side of neutral on it.
The Eternal Ones (Deathless, #3)
This trilogy is a set of solid early-YA fantasy novels with an imaginative magic system and really good political world-building. All in all, I think the first book was my favorite, but this was still an adventurous, satisfying ending!
The Book of Love
When I heard that speculative-short-story-GOAT Kelly Link had written a doorstopper of a debut novel, I was ALL IN. This won’t be for everyone, but this was extremely my thing.
The Future
I think this book successfully did what it set out to do, but tech apocalypse stories just aren't my thing. But if you’re looking for a slightly more sophisticated version of a dystopian thriller, this might be your jam.
House of Flame and Shadow (Crescent City, #3)
SJM didn’t give me everything I’d hoped for out of this book, but that’s okay — it was a good finale to this specific trilogy. I’m just glad she’s not done writing books in this universe!
Prophet Song
Somehow, this book is completely engrossing and also felt sooooo slow to me. But at the end of the day, this is a devastating, scary, very moving book that absolutely achieves what it sets out to.
Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution
I will be talking the ear off of anyone willing to listen about this book, and it’s going to make my favorites of the year for sure. Read it!!
Old God's Time
If you like unreliable narrators, beautiful writing, and a touch of mystery, this one may just be for you.
Come and Get It
I was pretty lukewarm on Such a Fun Age, but I decided to give this one a go anyway. But ultimately, I feel pretty similarly about this one: not bad but not for me. If you really loved SaFA, I think you’ll probably like this one too, but I just don’t like train-wreck plots.