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All in Fiction
Another gorgeous, moving book that probably wouldn’t have made it to the top of my TBR without the help of the National Book Award! (Nor onto my shelves — and that would have been such a shame, because I can’t even begin to tell you how stunning the hardcover is.)
I asked the National Book Award judges to give us weird and original short stories on the longlist, and let me tell you — they really said YOU GOT IT, GIRL with this collection.
The Most wasn’t on my radar until it was nominated for the National Book Award, but it’s on everyone’s radar now. It’s definitely a quick and fun reading experience, even if it doesn’t really say anything new.
Happy fall, babes — Sally has come to crack our chests wide open once again. I could have kept reading this book forever, and it reminded me how badly I need to go back and finish Sally’s backlist.
I had a good time with Andrea Stewart’s The Drowned Empire trilogy, so I jumped at the chance to read this new one. And I had a good time with this too. Not a die-hard favorite here, but definitely something I enjoyed enough to anticipate book 2.
Elif Shafak is one of my favorite authors writing today — she combines lush, gorgeous storytelling with incredible research and a drop of the fantastic to give us a reading experience like no one else. And There Are Rivers in the Sky is no exception. In fact, it’s my favorite of her novels to date.
I read/listened to Small Rain in just a handful of sessions, engrossed as I was fully transported into the time, place, and mind of its narrator.
The Raybearer duology is one of my favorite YA fantasy stories to come out in recent years, and so when I heard Jordan Ifueko was publishing a standalone novel set in the same universe, I was all in. And it did not disappoint!!
I had a surprisingly awesome and fun time reading this fake history book about the Targaryen dynasty. If you haven't read it, pick it up before HotD season 3!
I’ve been looking forward to A Song of Ash and Moonlight ever since I read the first book, A Crown of Ivy and Glass. Based on the interactions between Farrin and Ryder in that book alone, I just KNEW this was going to be a fun time. And it was!
As the Ember in the Ashes quartet is my favorite fantasy series of all, it’s no surprise that Heir was my most anticipated new release of the year. Ember fans, rejoice — this book is so, so, so good.
The Saint of Bright Doors was the last book I needed to read from the 2024 Hugo Award nominees for Best Novel, and I’m a bit bummed to say it was one I respected and appreciated more than I enjoyed.
The Palace of Eros was one of my most anticipated books this year. When I heard that De Robertis had written a queer, gender-fluid Eros and Psyche retelling, I was ON BOARD. And I enjoyed it very much!
Although I could definitely tell that I was missing context because I haven’t read the original Imperial Radch trilogy, to Leckie’s credit I never felt lost. And this was a very fun story with cool, deeply lovable cannibal aliens. What’s not to like??
Pearl is a short but impactful look at grief, motherhood (and mothering in the absence of a mother), mental illness, and the lasting effects of all three.
The God of the Woods is the latest literary mystery from Liz Moore, and it delivers! People have been calling this the book of the summer for a reason, and I liked it a lot.
I absolutely LOVED Night Boat to Tangier, so imagine my excitement to hear that Irish powerhouse Kevin Barry had written not only an American western, but a LOVE STORY. Did it live up to the hype? You bet your bookloving butt it did.
There’s no denying that Chigozie Obioma is one of the best to ever do it. With The Road to the Country, he proves it once again — enough this time to finally win him the Booker Prize, IMO. He deserves it.
The Most Fun We Ever Had was more of my KIND of story, but there’s no denying that Lombardo is an absolute master of character and relationship work on the page.
I loved Julia Phillips’ Disappearing Earth, so I was psyched to read her latest book, Bear. It’s hard to compare them, given their very different subject matter, but rest assured that Phillips’ mastery is once again on full display.
