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All in Fiction
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.
Spring is my favorite of Ali Smith’s Seasonal Quartet so far. It’s a deeply felt novel with smart, resonant social commentary.
The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is a lush, delicious, completely enchanting (and short!) gothic fairytale with an ending I can’t believe I didn’t see coming. What more could you ask for?
Victory City is a delightful historical literary fantasy by the master storyteller himself. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a delight to read, and Rushdie always leaves us with much to ponder.
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.
