#A.M. Strickland

[lgbtqreads]

Happy Pan Visibility Day 2024!

Today is Pan Visibility Day, and as usual, we’re celebrating with a bunch of books that have pansexual leads! Today is Pan Visibility Day, and as usual, we’re celebrating with a bunch of books that have pansexual leads! Please note that this post only includes books that weren’t featured in full in previous posts; you can find more pansexual books in posts from past years! Court of the Undying…

[transbookoftheday]

🧛 Trans Vampire Books 🧛

Can't get enough of What We Do In The Shadows? Read some trans vampire books!

A whirlwind romance between an eccentric archivist and a grieving widow explores what it means to be at home in your own body in this clever, humorous, and heartfelt novel. When archivist Sol meets Elsie, the larger than life widow of a moderately famous television writer who’s come to donate her wife’s papers, there’s an instant spark. But Sol has a secret: he suffers from an illness called vampirism, and hides from the sun by living in his basement office. On their way to falling in love, the two traverse grief, delve into the Internet fandom they once unknowingly shared, and navigate the realities of transphobia and the stigmas of carrying the “vampire disease.” Then, when strange things start happening at the collection, Sol must embrace even more of the unknown to save himself and his job. DEAD COLLECTIONS is a wry novel full of heart and empathy, that celebrates the journey, the difficulties and joys, in finding love and comfort within our own bodies.

In becoming a vampire, I’m less than a girl. And more. Or maybe I’m becoming what I always have been, deep inside. A blade. When nineteen-year-old Fin volunteers to take her secret love’s place in their village’s Finding, she is terrified. Those who are chosen at the Finding are whisked away to Castle Courtsheart, a vampire school where human students either succeed and become vampires, fail and spend the rest of their lives as human thralls…or they don’t survive long enough to become either. Fin is determined to forge a different path: learn how to kill the undead and get revenge for her mother, who was taken by the vampires years ago. But Courtsheart is as captivating as it is deadly, and Fin is quickly swept up in her new world and its inhabitants - particularly Gavron, her handsome and hostile vampire maker, whose blood is nothing short of intoxicating. As Fin begins to discover new aspects of her own identity and test her newfound powers, she stumbles across a string of murders that may be connected to a larger ritual - one with potentially lethal consequences for vampires and humans alike. Fin must uncover the truth and find the killer before she loses her life…or betrays her own heart.

ARC 1, IN WHICH: A cute punk-rock vampire and a disabled firefighter-turned-mall-cop with a dark past join forces to battle the forces of evil. Jude used to leap out of helicopters to rescue/protect people from terrifying infernos. Now, by day, he protects the local mall from rowdy teenagers who ride their skateboards inside. By night, he protects the the parking lot, and the rest of Portland, from undead, bloodsucking creatures of the darkness. Or would if he could find them. But he’s just about ready to give it up (living with PTSD and pain from the traumatic event that cost him a leg, a friend, and a lot more is hard enough), when something crashes into his life. And his window. It’s one of these creatures of the darkness - and he’s a lot less scary than expected. More cuddly, with dark fuzzy wings, and neon-bright hair. His name is Pixie, and he refuses to bite anyone. Assault/murder/draining fluids isn’t punk, even if being a vampire really kind of is. He’s very hungry by now, and the much bigger, meaner, deadlier vamps kick him around on the nightly. Jude would love to find and fight some actual undead bullies. And Pixie could use some help staying… ‘alive.’ Time to make a deal. Of course, life still sucks when you’re a vampire who refuses to suck blood. Fortunately, there’s a really interesting new barbecue restaurant in the mall, with an intriguing new recipe. (We hear that the secret ingredient is… love. No, really.)

Darren is your average half-human, half-fae trans teenager, busy figuring out his powers and puberty while trying to survive finals. When Vlad, a newly turned vampire, moves in with the witch down the street, he and Darren get off on the wrong foot. Darren is always one to give somebody a second chance, though, and as they become friends, he realizes Vlad is just lonely and struggling with his new powers. That’s something Darren can definitely relate to, and he’s happy to lend his support. But while he coaxes Vlad out of his shell, Darren ends up learning about Vlad’s past… and the danger Vlad is in. Darren only wants to help—help Vlad feel comfortable in his own skin and help him feel safe. He hadn’t planned on falling in love.

Book titles:

Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman

Court of the Undying Seasons by A.M. Strickland

Stake Sauce, Arc 1: The Secret Ingredient Is Love. No, Really by RoAnna Sylver

Showers, Flowers, and Fangs by Aidan Wayne

[swan-orpheus]

Library adventures, Spooky Edition. Halloween is over, you say? Ah, but Spooky Season has just begun...🦇🦉🐦‍⬛🌙❄️

[good-books-to-read]

A Book to Sink Your Teeth Into

Court of the Undying Seasons by A.M. Strickland

19 year old Fin takes a dangerous and terrifying path when she volunteers to take her secret love’s place in the Finding, where those chosen are taken to Castle Courtsheart, a vampire school where human students either succeed and become vampires, fail and spend the rest of their lives as human thralls...or they don't survive long enough to become either.

Fin is determined to forge a different path: learn how to kill the undead and get revenge for her mother, who was taken by the vampires years ago.

The Gathering by C.J. Tudor

A small Alaskan town, a missing boy and a brutal murder.

A detective is brought in from out of state to assist the former sherriff who investigated a similar murder twenty-five years ago.

But are they hunting a twisted psychopath - or something even more terrifying?

Morgana and Oz: vol 1 by Miyuli

Morgana belongs to a long line of witches, except she struggles to manage her powers which leads to more than one mishap, Oz a vampire of the local vampire clan, is a victim of such magic, and to make the situation worse the vampires and witches aren’t really on friendly terms.

Can the two set aside their differences before an all out war is started.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to advise Count Dracula on a London home, he makes a horrifying discovery. Soon afterwards, a number of disturbing incidents unfold in England: an unmanned ship is wrecked at Whitby; strange puncture marks appear on a young woman's neck; and the inmate of a lunatic asylum raves about the arrival of his 'Master', while a determined group of adversaries prepares to face the terrifying Count.

Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu

In a lonely castle deep in the Styrian forest, Laura leads a solitary life with only her elderly father for company – until a moonlit night brings an unexpected guest, at first Laura is glad to finally have a female companion of her own age, but her new friend’s strange habits and eerie nocturnal wanderings quickly become unsettling, and soon a ghastly truth is revealed.

[melanielocke]

Book recommendations - a-spec characters

I don't have a lot of books that fit this category unfortunately, but I've read a couple of good ones recently so I figured I might as well make list for a-spec books. I'll list the specific representation for each book as well. These books are all YA fantasy but still very different types of books, so I hope there's something here for everyone looking for more a-spec characters.

I'll start with Fire Becomes Her by Rosiee Thor

This is a stand alone fantasy set in a 1920s jazz age inspired world. This world has magic in the form of flare, a hot magic substance that can be mined and is used in various ways, including heating and electricity, but also mixed in drinks for rich people, or to give you temporary fire/heat magic. The premise is largely based around huge flare inequality, with poor people not having enough to heat their homes whereas rich people are sitting on vast amounts of flare they're either not using or using for useless things like putting it in drinks. Ingrid was born very poor, but has been given the chance to move up in society by attending a school for rich kids on a scholarship and dating Linden Holt, the son of a senator and one of the richest men in the land. When Linden's father, goes to run for president, Ingrid is hired as a campaign assistant for her internship before she graduates school, but the senator is running against a leftist woman who wants flare to be accessible to all and Ingrid has to decide if she wants to stay with Linden and his family to make sure she has enough, or fight for everyone else' flare as well.

This is a very political book, with the main focus being the presidential race, and there are very clear parallels to real life (American) politics. For example, Linden's father proposes a plan called "trickle down flare".

Rep: most major characters are queer, the main character is bi and demiromantic

Beyond the Black Door by A.M. Strickland is next

This is a fantasy in a world where some people can soulwalk. They can enter their own and other people's souls as long as the other person is close enough. Kamai and her mother are both soulwalkers, and her mother is a courtesan and spy who walks through the souls of her clients to find out their secrets. For Kamai to put her abilities to use, becoming a courtesan would be the ideal option since it allows her to easily get close to people, but Kamai is asexual. She has no interest in having sex with people.

Kamai cannot enter her own soul, no one can. Some people believe she doesn't have one, others that it has been hidden away. But no matter whose soul she enters, she sees a black door. Her mother warned her to stay away from that door. But when tragedy strikes, Kamai, desperate, opens the door.

This is a dark fantasy story with some conspiracy, spying and a focus on this world's religion and mythology.

Rep: main character is biromantic asexual, and her being asexual is a big part of the story, some side characters are also queer including asexual

Also by this author: In the Ravenous Dark, which is another dark fantasy I'm about to start reading with a pan mc and poly relationship

Then I have Silver in the Mist by Emily Victoria

This story is set on an island divided into two kingdoms, Aris and Cerena. The continent is in danger from a mist with deadly phantoms within it, and right now the problem is a lot worse in Aris than in Cerena. Only casters can use magic to hold back the mist.

Dev is a spy. Eight years ago, her father died and her mother became very distant as the whisperer, the head spy, of Aris. Now her mother is more of a commander than family and Dev will try anything for her approval.

On her next mission, she's sent to Cerena to go undercover in their court and kidnap Alyse, Cerena's most powerful caster, in the hopes that bringing her to Aris could turn the tides on the mist. But on the way she learns that not everything she thought of Cerena is true and that Alyse might have a better way to stop the mist.

This is a spy story, but also a story of family. Dev has a difficult relationship with her mother, who is very distant, and keeps seeking her approval, but there is development and nuance in their relationship. I also loved the strong bond Dev forms with Alyse.

Rep: it was not explicit in the book, but Dev is asexual and possibly also aromantic. She shows no romantic or sexual interest in anyone, and the author is also ace-aro, so I'm sure she's supposed to be aspec but not sure what. Dev's best friend Lochlan is non binary.

Last up is Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson

Artemisia is a nun training to cleanse the bodies of the deceased so they don't turn into evil spirits and eat people and/or possess people. She was possessed by a spirit as a child and as a result she's very sensitive to spirits.

When the convent is attacked by possessed people, Artemisia saves herself and the other nuns by binding herself to a revenant, the most dangerous type of spirit that was locked up in a saint's relic. The dead are rising, and if only a vespertine, a priestess wielding the power of a revenant can stop it, but all knowledge on how this works is lost to time so Artemisia has no choice but to learn from the revenant itself, someone she can't trust.

This story is dark and has a very gritty medieval feel, and I think while the world is made up it captures medieval europe better than most medieval europe fantasy stories. Artemisia is someone who prefers to be around dead people than living, generally she dislikes people and doesn't care to form close bonds with them. While she isn't explicitly ace/aro in the book, I'd read her as such based on her lack of interest in romantic and/or sexual relationships, and she can also be read as autistic.

Also by this author: sorcery of thorns, which has a bi love interest and asexual major side character

Previously covered books with a-spec characters

Dread Nation duology by Justina Ireland - ace/aro side character who is also a POV character in book 2

Black Wings Beating trilogy by Alex London - one of the two mc's is ace/aro

@alastaircarstairsdefenselawyer @life-through-the-eyes-of @astriefer @justanormaldemon @ipromiseiwillwrite @a-dream-dirty-and-bruised @amchara @all-for-the-fanfiction @imsoftforthomastair @ddepressedbookworm @queenlilith43 @wagner-fell @cant-think-of-anything @laylax13s @tessherongraystairs @boredfangirl16 @artist-in-soul @bottomdelioncourt @ikissedsmithparker

[drastrochris]

Kashire is such an ass. I mean, he's still one of my favorite characters in the book, but he needs to learn to say things like, "I'm sorry I tried to murder you on what was probably already a very stressful day."

[bookcoversonly]

Title: Court of the Undying Seasons | Author: A.M. Strickland | Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (2023)

[beakys-book-hoard]

In the Ravenous Dark by A.M. Strickland My rating: 3 of 5 stars I enjoyed what I read for the most part but a lot of the time I felt like the romance didn't mesh with the actual story line. It felt almost random and thrown in there to me. And it was so completely rushed. Not at one point did I think the MFC actually liked either in a romantic way. Any and all declarations of love fell flat and were unbelievable. Every time there was a romance scene, the plot of the story basically disappeared. When we get back to the plot, the romance parts seemed like they never happened. There was no mention of it until it was convenient. So I feel like the balance there was really off. The fluctuation in the MFC's thought process and actions were interesting. Again, some of those didn't feel like they fit. The closer to the end of the book, the more erratic the character seemed to get. At one moment it was like it was a different person. Which could have been the goal, she was doing things people had supposedly never done before. So you kind of have to accept that that's what would happen in those situations. Especially when nothing had been previously written about. I also found it strange that for someone who was adamant on revenge for 400 years, that they couldn't see it right in front of them. Guess that was to be saved for a "twist." The end was alright. Sort of your typical happily ever after. View all my reviews

[songedunenuitdete]

La cour des Saisons Immortelles de A.M. Strickland

[mistwraiths]

3 stars

Sadly, I didn't love this as much as I loved A.M. Strickland's In The Ravenous Dark.

I think this is mostly a fine book however I felt it really average at best and didn't really give me any depth that I would have liked on the multiple different things it had. It had a interesting concept like training novices in vampire abilities and slowly, slowly turning them to be more vampire and gaining approval to become a vampire by the vampire courts. It was like a vampire school which was a cool backdrop.

We don't really get any good worldbuilding here. There's a few mentions of how this is set in our world here with a sentence here or there talking about these are Nordic lands, we were fighters once, which okay but it felt odd to throw in there a couple hundred pages later and not have it mean much of anything??? Where did the vampires come from?? How did they take over? There's other areas where the Courts have influence in different ways other than Fin's experience living in the Red Court's land. Like science and governing. How's that work? Once we're very near the end, we suddenly get more new information on Founders and suddenly, this Nameless Queen in the last 30 pages or so. Why would you introduce a huge plot thing in the last handful of pages? We're also thrown a new term that hasn't ever showed up in the entire book in the last 10 pages? There's also some mentions of actual children being groomed to become vampires that's never explored.

Fin was a frustrating character for me because she thinks she's so clever and instead she gets one thought and clamps down on it and refuses to actually think or listen or use reason. She just bounces around suspects and during one moment when she confronts said suspect it becomes so embarrassing. I don't really understand her either. I understand she hates vampires but like... why?? Is the practice of enthrallment awful? Yes. Taking a handful 17-19 year old every year terrible? Sure. But it DOES give people who don't have opportunities in life to HAVE new opportunities. She was treated HORRIBLY by humans especially and she's like I don't hate them. But vampires actually treat her sometimes better and she's like I'M GONNA KILL THEM.

The romance was there but personally I didn't quite feel like it was done well. Gavron was kind of bland mostly, and naturally even though he's being enthralled to do things, it's still his hand. There should be some weight there, not of blame but just hurt. Especially since it seems it's fully Gavron's idea to place Fin as a thrall, which is the biggest fear of hers AND keep her with his blood so no one touches her. Which was hard to follow, another concept completely brought up once. And then they were equals or something. There's no talk really of the power dynamic between Gavron and Fin either.

I will say I loved the acceptance of queerness and non-binary. I think some of the powers are cool, and the side characters were interesting although we don't get much. The complicated relationship between Fin and her mother could have been interesting but it wasnt really focused on. To be honest, there's really not much character growth to the characters at all? The end is a giant clusterfuck of new characters, new enemy, and like... what's going to happen later. I really didn't follow much of the ending about the Council, blood they drank, alliances of Courts, and what's to be done for the Black Court. We do get this half-hearted "we'll look out for humans and police the vampires" vibe at the end, but there's nothing concrete or set in stone. It's just "Oh things will be better" with no evidence.

If you want a YA vampire fantasy, I personally wouldn't recommend but I realize it wasn't bad just not my jam.

[justreadingfic]

is there somewhere i can read Beyond the black door by a.m strickland for free? 😢

[lgbtqreads]

Shopper's Delight: B&N Preorder Sale

[transbookoftheday]

Court of the Undying Seasons by A.M. Strickland

In becoming a vampire, I’m less than a girl. And more.

Or maybe I’m becoming what I always have been, deep inside.

A blade.

When nineteen-year-old Fin volunteers to take her secret love's place in their village's Finding, she is terrified. Those who are chosen at the Finding are whisked away to Castle Courtsheart, a vampire school where human students either succeed and become vampires, fail and spend the rest of their lives as human thralls...or they don't survive long enough to become either.

Fin is determined to forge a different path: learn how to kill the undead and get revenge for her mother, who was taken by the vampires years ago. But Courtsheart is as captivating as it is deadly, and Fin is quickly swept up in her new world and its inhabitants - particularly Gavron, her handsome and hostile vampire maker, whose blood is nothing short of intoxicating. As Fin begins to discover new aspects of her own identity and test her newfound powers, she stumbles across a string of murders that may be connected to a larger ritual - one with potentially lethal consequences for vampires and humans alike. Fin must uncover the truth and find the killer before she loses her life...or betrays her own heart.

[signourneybooks]

Court of the Undying Seasons by A.M. Strickland | ARC Review

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion in anyway. Book: Court of the Undying Seasons by A.M. Strickland Release Date: May 16th 2023Tags: Fantasy | Young Adult | Paranormal Romance | Vampire Trigger/Content Warnings: Blood | Gore | MurderOther books in this series I reviewed In the Ravenous Dark When nineteen-year-old…

[astralbooks]

Court of the Undying Seasons by A.M. Strickland

Read: 11/05/2023 - 17/05/2023

Rating: 4/5

Rep: pan demigirl main character, pan love interest, Black lesbian side character, bigender side character, agender side character, queer side characters including pan & aroace characters

CW (provided by author): blood drinking (voluntary & forced), violence, gore, death & murder, child abuse, child neglect, mind/body control, consent issues, uneven relationship dynamics, death of a queer character (but most characters are queer), death of a parent (off page), death of a mentor, substance use (alcohol, mushrooms, vampire blood), mild gender dysphoria, mild body horror

Review:

When vampires come to Fin’s village to choose someone to turn into one of them, Fin makes sure she’s the one who gets chosen. This way she can make sure the girl she’s secretly in love with will be safe, and she can use this as an opportunity to learn how to kill vampires so she can avenge her mother. She’s taken to a vampire finishing school where, as she’s slowly turned into one of the undead, she must learn different vampiric skills to a high enough standard to be accepted. Failure means death or becoming a human thrall, neither of which are an option. Things get complicated, however, when people start getting murdered, and the deaths all seem to have some connection to Fin.

I liked Fin as a main character! She was reckless enough to be willing to do things that drove the plot forwards, but still reasonable enough not to verge into ridiculousness. Except for this one incident when she was so determined to yell at someone that she refused to let a likely fatal injury be healed for a lot longer than was reasonable. She was just clutching at her still-bleeding wound as she shouted and honestly I was so entertained by this that I don’t even care how unrealistic it was. Sometimes the need to chew someone out is simply bigger than whatever crisis is unfolding no matter what it is and I think that’s a feeling we can all relate to on some level.

I found the relationship between Fin and Gavron to be believable, and I enjoyed watching them gradually come to trust each other and see each other as an ally. Also, they’re Very Into mutual blood drinking, more so than is apparently typical for vampires in-universe. I thought this was a very fun aspect of their relationship to read about, but it might not be for everyone, even for a book about vampires. If detailed descriptions of blood drinking are going to bother you then this isn’t the book for you. If you’re down with that then full steam ahead.

I think the consent issues inherent in this premise were handled well! Gavron is Fin’s vampire maker, or sire, to borrow terminology I’ve seen used in other vampire media, and this inherently means he has some power over her due to him being in that position of authority. There’s also a significant plot thread regarding the vampiric ability to control the actions of humans. If left unaddressed, all of this would have serious and troubling implications. Thankfully, it wasn’t left unaddressed. The ability to consent (in both sexual and non-sexual contexts) is a point of discussion, and Gavron and Fin place heavy emphasis on being equal partners in their relationship. They could’ve easily been super codependent and toxic, but they very deliberately weren’t, and I appreciated that.

I loved some of the side characters in this book! Especially Jaen and Kashire. Jaen is a bigender scholar, who’s largely kind and compassionate, but who’ll show no mercy to those who cross him or hurt his friends. She gets the book’s sole f-bomb and it’s glorious. Jaen’s the character I’d most like to be friends with out of everyone and the person I think I’d get along with the most. Kashire is a lot of fun. He’s Gavron’s ex, and is introduced to Fin in such a way that she takes an instant and very understandable dislike to him, but as time goes on he grows on her despite how much she wishes he wouldn’t. They’re totally besties by the end. Besties who still pretend to hate each other half the time. 

If you’re looking for a morally grey world with morally grey characters, a vampire book that doesn’t shy away from the darker aspects of such a story, and a casually queer cast, then you’ll probably enjoy this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with an e-arc in return for an honest review

[melanielocke]

So, I really need some book recommendations.

I usually read fantasy but I also like dystopian, sci-fi and stuff. As long as it's fictional. I also like rewrites (if that makes sense).

Since the request wasn't super specific, for this one I just picked a couple of very different fantasy books that I read recently and have not yet discussed. I don't have a lot of recent dystopian (publishing currently believed dystopian is dead, I think). For sci-fi, check out this post

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen is a retelling of the Goose Girl. That's a relatively unknown Grimm fairytale where a wicked maid steals the identity of a princess. This book tells the story of the maid, Vanja Schmidt, who is the adopted daughter of Fortune and Death. She used to be Princess Gisele's maid, until she stole Gisele's enchanted pearl necklace that changes her appearance and takes her place. Now, Vanja leads a double life as princess and jewel thief, seeking to make enough money to escape before she has to marry her creepy fiance, and so she can escape her mothers. But when she crosses the wrong god, she is cursed to slowly turn into a statue of jewels as punishment for her greed, unless she finds a way to make up for what she stole. I'd recommend this book if you like unlikeable main characters.

Vanja is very selfish, but she if she doesn't put herself first, no one else will, so it is definitely understandable. She has a tendency to push everyone away, but deep down she's very lonely. She's a gremlin, and I love her.

There are also some very charming side characters, including the daughter of the god who cursed Vanja, a shape shifter who does not quite understand human behavior, and a prefect (a magic detective of sorts) chasing the jewel thief.

This book also makes some great social commentary on class and wealth. Vanja might have done a bad thing stealing Gisele's life, but Gisele wasn't entitled to all that wealth and prestige in the first place, and this book heavily criticizes nobility.

The Forever Sea and the Endless Song are part of a series and I have only read book 1 so far (book 2 just came in yesterday). This is an adult fantasy series and as such it is heavier on the world building and more complicated than most YA fantasy, so if you've only ever read YA fantasy I don't think this is the best book to transition into adult, but if you're used to reading adult this is a good series to try.

The Forever Sea is one of the most unique fantasies I've read, and this mainly lies in the world building. The premise of this world is an ocean made out of very high grassland. Ships can sail on this grass with the help of a magic hearthfire, and if this fire would go out you would very slowly sink beneath the grass. Sailors go out onto the sea mainly to harvest all sorts of plants used for food and medicine.

Kindred was raised by her grandmother, the Marchess, a legendary captain and hearthfire keeper. When her grandmother disappears beneath the sea, everyone assumes it was a suicide. But Kindred finds a note from her grandmother implying that it was not suicide, but that she was searching for what is down at the bottom of the sea, and might still be alive there. So Kindred sets out to find her, traveling across the Sea and through a legendary pirate city to see if her grandmother could still be out there, and what is at the bottom of the sea.

This book is very plot driven with a huge emphasis on the environment and descriptions on it, but also lots of world building on how this works exactly. There isn't a lot of emphasis on it, but there is also a sapphic relationship in here between the main character and another sailor. As I said, I haven't read book 2 yet but will start it soon. It's also not out in the US yet (coming 14th February, but the UK edition was released already) From the reviews I gathered there's going to be a third (last? idk) book.

In the Ravenous Dark is a dark fantasy that is marketed as YA, but I think it's very upper YA, maybe more NA but publishing doesn't think that is a thing, so YA it is.

This is set in a world inspired by ancient Greece, but only vaguely (clothes, buildings etc, much of the world building is completely made up), and Rovan, the main character, is a blood mage. Since her father's death, she's kept her blood magic hidden, but when her magic is revealed she is taken to the palace and bound to Ivrilos, a dead spirit who can control here, which is something that is done to all blood mages.

Rovan falls in love with two people she can't trust, the spirit Ivrilos, and princess Lydea, another blood mage, and together they uncover a plot of what is going on in the world of the dead and living, and why blood mages must be bound to spirits.

I think the magic system in this book was very well done, including the way spirits work and the realm of the dead. The book was at times a little messy, and I think it might have worked better as a duology since there was so much going on, but I don't bother me much while reading it.

There's a poly relationship between Rovan, Ivrilos and Lydea, which I really liked, and there's Japha, a really cool non binary side character who's essentially the fourth part of the found family.

Unseelie by Ivelisse Housman is a YA fae fantasy set in a second world focusing on an autistic main character

Seelie is a changeling. Though she looks exactly like her twin Isolde, she's actually a fae creature trying to control her unpredictable magic. She and her sister had to flee their home due to prejudice against changelings, and end up stealing to survive. When they get caught up in a heist gone wrong, they team up with unexpected allies to go on a quest and unravel a mystery to do with fae and human history.

The plot of this book is what you'd expect from a YA fantasy, fast paced, not super unpredictable or anything. The strenght of this book is the main character. Seelie is autistic and written by an autistic author, and while it is set in a world where the term autism does not exist, it is portrayed really well and I found Seelie very relatable as an autistic person. In this world, changelings are typically autistic (because real world changeling myths often derive from disabled children, including autistic children). The sister relationship is also intersting, because Seelie and Isolde are so different, and have very different ideas of what their life should be like once they're finished with this quest.

It is the first in a duology and I have no clue when book 2 is coming out

The last book on this list is the Dream Runners by Shveta Thakrar which is a contemporary fantasy inspired by Indian mythology, specifically, the naga. Naga in this world can't dream on their own, so they have children taken from the human world who become dream runners. They travel to the human world to collect dreams from humans for the naga.

Tanvi is such a dream runner, she's been in Nagalok for the past 7 years. Dream runners don't dream themselves and are devoid of emotion, but for Tanvi this is slowly returning and she's desperate to make it stop.

Venkat is a dreamsmith, the only human in Nagalok who is not a dream runner. Instead, he shapes dreams collected by the dream runners into dream stones used by the naga.

They team up to figure out what is going on with Tanvi, and uncover a plot that could destroy the naga world.

I loved the creative world building in this book, with how the dream runner system works. Tanvi was a little difficult to relate to at first, because she was very obsessed with earning a charm bracelet in exchange for her dreams and I found this confusing, but this will make sense later on, and this book had some twists I really liked.

I hope this helps!