#Marie Rutoski

[booksandboba]

My Favorite Books that I Read as a Kid 1/

Runemarks (Joanne Harris) / The Cabinet of Wonders (Marie Rutkoski) / Eragon (Christopher Paolini) / Sabriel (Garth Nix) / Skullduggery Pleasant (Derek Landy) / Malice (Chris Wooding) / East (Edith Pattou) / Inkheart (Cornelia Funke) / Eon: Dragoneye Reborn (Alison Goodman) / The Golden Compass (Philip Pullman)

[victoreli]

the winternight trilogy by marie rutoski//these hands if not gods by natalie diaz//she who became the sun by shelley parker-chan//on earth we're briefly gorgeous by ocean vuong

[strangesmallbard]

5 9 books to read in 2022

tagged by @swallowedabug!

1. in the dream house - carmen maria machado

2. the traitor baru cormorant - seth dickinson

3. the hollow heart - marie rutoski

4. ancillary justice - ann leckie

5. the jasmine throne - tasha suri

6. the long away to a small, angry planet - becky chambers

7. and shall machines surrender - benjanun sriduangkaew

8. sapiens - a brief history of humankind

9. nona the ninth - tamsyn muir

10. the grief keeper - alexandra villasante

tagging: @elsas @degenerate-perturbation @vidiabell @pastramis @wahooty @transcendrealms and anyone else who thinks books are neat!

[selkielore]

MY FAVORITE BOOKS READ IN 2020

i read a lot this year since i had a lot of free time, but i don’t actually have a list of every book i read in 2020 since i’ve been having a serious struggle with depression and wasn’t able to keep track of things like i usually do. however, i have some favorites that stuck out to me and i’d love to share with you all!

adult recs: 

my year of rest and relaxation by otessa moshfegh 

to me, this book really summed up how i’ve felt this entire year. i wouldn’t say this book uplifted me in any way but it encouraged introspection. it was nice to read something about someone who was clearly feeling worse and more messed up than i’ve been feeling, and to see a depressive fantasy played out. it’s cathartic to read people making horrible choices so you don’t have to. 

bunny by mona awad 

everyone on this website is obsessed with dark academia obviously- either in that they distain it or enjoy it. i don’t take it that seriously, but upon hearing about an all girls campus novel with magic and murder i was pretty excited. this book was batshit crazy in the best way possible. i loved it, and it felt like a thrilling unique read compared to other books that get classified as dark academia. 

salt slow by julia armfield 

this book is a collection of women-centric horror stories. most of them are queer, and they’re all unsettling and fantastical. it reminded me a lot of her body and other parties by carmen maria machado, so obviously I loved it. the stories range from terrifying to tender, and sometimes both at the same time.  my personal favorite was cassandra after.

white is for witching by helen oyeyemi

this is a book that i feel like lit tumblr should be all over - at least In the circles i’m running in. it’s the second book i’ve read this year by oyeyemi- i also read her collection of short stories what’s yours is not yours, which is amazing. it’s a horror novel about generational trauma and hauntings in women & the haunted house as a character. it also features a small f/f romantic plot line which i loved. this is one of my favorite books i read OUT of these favorites. it’s so clever and beautifully written and i couldn’t recommend it enough 

catherine house by elisabeth thomas

another campus novel- can you tell i like them? this book made me realize how much i miss other people. in some ways the setting mirrors the craziness of quarantine this year. all the students are locked into the school with no way out for their three years, much like many of us have been locked in our homes with only our families this year. reading about the protagonist making friends and going about her life in this little bubble universe made me miss people my own age SO much and for about a week after reading i wanted to be a cool girl unaffected by emotions like the protagonist of this book. 

YA recs: 

the midnight lie by marie rutoski

this is probably my favorite book i read this year hands down. i love YA and i love YA fantasy. i love the upsurge of ruthless girl protagonists in YA and this book not only had a ruthless girl protagonist, but it had a charming swoony lesbian love interest, interesting world building, sexy sacrilegious themes, and it was beautifully written. i can’t explain how much i loved it it just had everything i want out of a book and more. can’t wait for the sequel and literally everyone looking for f/f fantasy needs to read this STAT. 

queen of coin and whispers by helen corcoran 

another YA f/f fantasy. i made it my mission to read as much f/f lit this year as possible and other than the midnight lie, this one is probably my favorite. high fantasy is like comfort food for me and i found this book exceptionally striking. it’s about a new queen coming into power and falling in love with her spymaster, a young woman out for revenge on the government officials who killed her father. again- ruthless girls, fantasy, ruthless girls falling in love. it was wonderful and talking about it makes me want to read it again. 

in other lands by sarah rees brennan

every other book on this list is a book i read for the first time in 2020. i read in other lands for the first time in 2017, but i re-read it twice this year and it’s just become my comfort book. it’s funny, poignant, and character driven. it follows our three characters from age 12 to 17 and you watch them go through the struggle of growing up and into themselves while fighting a war in a fantasy land. and it’s queer! its one of my favorite books of all time i think and definitely what i needed this year. 

howl’s moving castle by diana wynne jones

i think this is technically middle grade but. i’ve always loved the movie version of howl’s moving castle so i finally read the source material this year. i loved it- i love sophie so much as a character and it was fun to see how the world of this book differs to the movie i’ve become so familiar with. i love howl’s and sophie’s dynamic, i love calcifer... it just felt like spending time with characters i already knew and loved so it felt incredibly comforting and warm. it’s also just a wonderful piece of fantasy so i would recommend it to anyone thinking of reading it! 

that’s all folks! thanks for sticking around and here’s to another year of reading any campus novel or any f/f fantasy i can get my hands on <3 

[nymphastral]

49, 50

Salut!

49. Worst book you’ve ever read??

“The Winner’s Curse” by Marie Rutoski. Idk it’s been sooo long since I haven’t read any young adult thing (like, three years) but I can clearly remember while reading I just couldn’t turn a page at all! It seemed so dull and predictable. Maybe it’s because I read so many young adult novels in the past that everything seems the same now. People seem to like it, I’ve always hated anything mainstream anyway.

50. Do you read classics?? If so, what’s your favourite??

Yay, I do! I’ve got a bunch of favourites but I’m only going to give some. Flaubert’s “Madame Bovary” (the character I can relate the most, ever), Zola’s “Nana”, Dostoyevsky’s “Crime and Punishment”, and Gaskell’s “North & South”. I also want to count in some modern classics: “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” by Kundera and “The French Lieutenant’s Woman” by Fowles.

let’s talk about books

[bookofmirth]

Writing style wise, who are your favorite living authors?

I love this question so much, thank you!!! Also sorry it took me a few days, I knew it was going to take me a bit. I have a bookshelf on Goodreads here for books where the prose really struck me. But here are the living authors whose writing style in particular I enjoy. I also explained what kind of stuff they write.

Jeannette Winterson - memoirs, thinly-veiled autobiographical fiction about being a lesbian. Also a retelling of A Winter’s Tale.

Sarah Perry - historical fiction, but also based on obscure myths (Melmoth had a really creepy ending!)

Jeff VanderMeer - Sci-fi/speculative fiction, can be very dense because you get dropped into these post-apocalyptic worlds and you don’t really know how it got like that. Also a bit creepy. The word “uncanny” comes to mind, in the psychoanalytic sense.

Marilynne Robinson - domestic, contemporary fiction that sounds like if prose wanted to be poetry or poetry decided to be prose.

Hilary Mantel - historical fiction, I’ve been waiting for four years for her to finish her trilogy about Thomas Cromwell.

Sarah Waters - mostly historical fiction, mostly about lesbians

Catherynne Valente - fantasy/sci-fi/??? Her writing can also be dense, but Deathless is gorgeous.

Frances Hardinge - Middle grade fantasy and historical fiction.

Daisy Johnson - I enjoyed her short stories better than her novel, but she can write a sentence that forces you to stop and stare at it for sheer beauty.

Madeline Miller - retellings of Greek myths, deceptively simple.

Fatima Farheen Mirza - she only has one book out right now (about a Muslim American family) but A Place For Us is one of my favorite books of 2018 so far.

Marie Rutoski - YA fantasy. I can’t wait for her new book to come next summer!

Maggie Stiefvater - YA fantasy.

Michael Ondaatje - historical fiction, largely about WWII from what I can tell.

[exbeaut]

I AM DISTRAUGHT

[selkielore]

since my f/f lit post is getting kind of long I just decided to paste everything i’ve read into one post under a readmore that i’ll edit and update every so often. disclaimer, they’re entirely rated by personal preference and how much i enjoyed them. nothing else. anyway... short reviews for 30+ F/F books read in 2020 under the cut:

into the drowning deep by mira grant (YA) 5/5 stars: I love horror I love women I love women who love other women… a great sci fi thriller with scary mermaids. HUGE fan and my first read of 2020.

the rise of kyoshi by f.c yee (YA) 5/5 stars: i really enjoyed it bc i’ve always loved the atla + lok universe and i was really pleased to read about kyoshi’s origins <3 also she has a hot firebending gf and that made me very happy… thanks bryke.

the lost coast by amy rose capetta (YA) 2/5: you’d think i’d be all over this bc it’s f/f teen witches but honestly it felt a little too much like a witchy polycule for my tastes bc personally i’m a repressed prude. it was cute tho! just not for me.

killing eve: die for me by luke jennings (adult) (4/5): yes I read the killing eve books yes I think I’m giving it this rating simply because it gives us the real villaneve romace that the show is still baiting us with…

what is yours is not yours by helen oyeyemi (adult) 5/5: this book was recommended to me by a girl who ghosted me. it’s a collection of short stories and it’s AMAZING. not every story is f/f but there are multiple stories with sapphic characters

the midnight lie by marie rutoski (YA) 10000/5: this is one of my favorite books this year… finally the roguish charming lesbian love interest we deserve. plus amazing worldbuilding and a fast paced plot that keeps you on your toes <3 and a ruthless girl protag we LOVE to see it.

the tiger flu by larrisa lai (adult) 3/5: very unsettling to read a book about a pandemic when one is in a global pandemic… I was disappointed that there was no f/f romance, just lesbian characters, however the feral teenage girl representation and the absolutely bananas sci fi dystopia wins it 3/5 stars.

the teahouse fire by ellis avery (adult) 2/5: simply not what I wanted out of a book. it’s a great piece of historical fiction but when i’m on an f/f binge solely for the sake of seeking out sapphic romances that satisfied me, this wasn’t it.

criers war by nina valera (YA) 5/5: she lives up to the hype! criers war pulled me in completely and i’m pretty sure i binge read it in a single day. love enemies to lovers, love the fantasy/dystopia combo

the queen of ieflaria by effie calvin (NA) 4/5: cute arranged marriage romance and lesbians in a fantasy setting. i read this authors entire breadth of work in like 2 weeks bc i’m just frothing at the mouth for fantasy sapphics

daugher of the sun by effie calvin (NA) 5/5: broody paladin and a literal chaos goddess fall in love. what more do you want?

the queen of rhodia by effie calvin (NA) 4/5: not as good as daughter of the sun but a fun sequel to catch up with the characters from book one, as well as bringing in the chars from book 2 <3 we love to see lesbian couples everywhere

the empress of xytae by effie calvin (NA) 4/5: yes I read every single one of these books. yes they’re all cute and they’re all a series of sapphic romances in a fantasy land… that’s my ideal niche

this is how you lose the time war by amal el mohtar and max gladstone (adult) 5/5: I don’t even know how to explain this one except that it feels more like poetry than prose. sci fi future with a f/f enemies to lovers story line. so beautifully written that you have to give it a 5/5

the traitor baru cormorant by seth dickenson (adult) 4/5: I liked it because I love a ruthless lady protaganist and I LOVE a ruthless lesbian protaganist but I did get a little bogged down in the heavy worldbuilding. VERY high fantasy with themes on colonization. did not get that 5/5 because the lesbians did not get a happy ending.

ice massacre by tiana warner (YA) 3/5: it wasn’t BAD it just wasn’t remarkable. mermaid vs human war with a forbidden romance between a mermaid and a human

girls made of snow and glass by melissa bashardoust (YA) 4/5: wonderful dynamics between women and lots of reflection on the relationships between mothers and daughters. I love a fairytale retelling, and one of the pov chars has a f/f romance that is very sweet <3

girl, serpent, thorn by melissa bashardoust (YA) 4/5: I just finished this today and already started another book so i’m not sure I fully absorbed it but. I really enjoyed having a protagonist struggling with morality and I did appreciate the little bisexual love triangle. also love, love the influences of persian mythology in it

blood countess by lana popovic (YA) 5/5: FINALLY some scary food! the romance in this is certainly not healthy and the narrative makes it clear but it’s a very fun sexy historical fiction read with horror elements. wish there was more creepy sapphic lit <3

witches of ash and ruin by e. latimer (YA) 4.5/5: a little bit slow and cheesy at the beginning. oftentimes rural fantasy can be that way, but it ramps up towards the end. it has a very cute enemies to lovers romance with a bisexual main, and the plotline follows serial killers and witches so i’d say it’s a great read! i haven’t checked the author’s social media etc to confirm but from the way it ended it looks like it’s going to be a series

the lady’s guide to celestial mechanics by olivia waite (adult) 5/5: sooo good why aren’t there more regency era f/f romances… this is a very traditional romance novel but it was so sweet and i loved the characters so much… it ended up making me throw down my phone (which i was reading the book on) just to yell ROMANCE at the top of my lungs. big fan of any literature encouraging women to step into their own power and confidence.

queen of coin and whispers by helen corcoran (YA) 4.5/5: this almost gets five stars because it was soooo good. i love fantasy YA so much it’s like comfort food for me and on top of that it was sapphic. the two main chars are both ambitious queer girls which does it for me! it’s about the new queen of a fantasy kingdom falling in love with her newly appointed spymaster. the only downside is the ending felt rushed… it almost feels like the author was preparing to set it up for a sequel and then instead packed a whole watered down second book in the like… last ten chapters out of a 52 chapter book.

the shadow of kyoshi by f.c yee (YA) 5/5: this is the sequel to the rise of kyoshi so i’ll hold off on details but it was so good and continued the first book beautifully. it payed such good attention to kyoshi as a character and also showed how important rangi is to her….. um. i’m soft.

the circus rose by betsy cornwell (YA) 4/5: it’s a good book but it wasn’t exactly what i wanted it to be.. going into reading this categorized as a “lesbian” book i was disappointed. it follows a pair of twins raised in a circus named ivory and rosie - ivory’s story is told in prose, and rosie’s is told in poetry. rosie is a lesbian but we get wayy less of her romance with her love interest and way more of ivory’s story. ivory is kind of ambiguous because she talks about only being attracted to men and then her love interest is a nonbinary fae person so i don’t really know whether to call it sapphic or not? ivory and tam get way more page time than rosie and rosie’s whole story is in poetry which makes it less straightforward. not a bad book! in fact, it’s wonderful and i really enjoyed it but it wasn’t what i wanted it to be when i read about it in an article calling it a lesbian book. it felt like a very queer book with a sapphic character to me.

the dark tide by alicia jasinska (YA) 4/5

 a f/f retelling of tam lin! it’s an enemies to lovers romance and it’s YA fantasy so obviously it was a fun read, there’s a bisexual main and two love interests. it also revolved a lot more around individual character development than any romance overall, which was cool, and there were a multiple nuanced portrayals of complicated sibling relationships which I adored reading. 

the lamb will slaughter the lion by margaret killjoy (adult) 4/5

a very quick, urban fantasy horror read about queer anarchists and an evil deer spirit terrorizing/protecting an abandoned town. honestly almost every character in this was LBGT which i loved, and i’m a sucker for horror so it got me. it’s also ownvoices - the author is a trans woman. the romance was very minor but very sweet and i enjoyed the book overall! i think it would make a great movie adaptation because it’s so short and written in such a sparse, to the point way. 

the luminous dead by caitlin sterling (adult) 4/5

sci fi horror in caves. it’s like the descent (2005) but in space, and there’s only one caver. this book was crazy. It was a little slow at first, but it was definitely a slow build of terror and once I was into it I couldn’t stop reading for fear for our protagonists life. the romance here isn’t a healthy one folks, but it was really fun reading a horror novel with a queer protag and a bit of romance as a side note. 

salt slow by julia armfield (adult) 5/5

a collection of short horror stories - not all of them were f/f but a few of them were. if you like carmen maria machado, you’ll like this book - it reminded me a lot of her body and other parties which is a huge compliment. the stories managed to range from terrifying to tender and both at the same time. my particular favorite was cassandra after 

iron heart by nina valera (YA) 4.5/5 stars

the sequel to criers war - I won’t say too much except that it was a little slow to get back into the world of this book, but once i was in i really enjoyed it. i can’t say much else about it without spoilers but i loved crier and ayla’s development both individually and as a couple... it was incredibly well done and it warmed my heart. more typical YA love stories between two girls please. 

the ascent to godhood by jy yang (adult) 2/5 stars

east asian inspired fantasy. it’s also the fourth book in a series but i read it on it’s own, so there’s probably plenty i missed. it’s told by the ex-lover of the protector and there’s a little bit about their romance but it’s mostly fantasy politics so i came away feeling kind of disappointed. it was also a really quick read. 

white is for witching by helen oyeyemi (adult) 5/5 stars

miss oyeyemi never misses... SUCH a clever horror and haunted house story. i was so drawn into all the characters and their life in dover and their haunted house that i can only rate it a 5/5... if you’re interested in generational hauntings, generational trauma in women, or the haunted house as a character this is a book for you. it was amazing and i’m obsessed. while the romance didn’t take up a lot of time (really only present in the last third of the book) i loved miranda and ore together and the way their relationship ended felt like a very natural conclusion as this is a horror story and it didn’t leave me sad. 

updated 9/29/20

[selkielore]

hi! my birthday is coming up and i am looking for book recs to give people as present ideas. i really like your taste in books so was hoping you could give me some :) i really enjoyed trc, aftg, ari and dante, and books similar to that. thank you! 🧡

in other lands by sarah rees brennan is the first book that pops into my mind from those books! i also think you might like we are the ants by shaun david hutchinson, witches of ash and ruin by e. latimer reminded me a lot of trc but sapphic. tell the wolves i’m home by carol rifka brunt is a very poignant book about a girl who looses her uncle to aids and strikes up an unlikely friendship with his boyfriend. and of course i can’t give recommendations without saying you should read the midnight lie by marie rutoski! it’s the best sapphic book i’ve read in the last two years and i loved it so much. hope these are helpful & that u enjoy !! happy birthday!!

[selkielore]

did @lyhoradka’s top 10 thing 💖

books:

the gloaming by kirsty logan

a little life by hanya yanagihara

call down the hawk + the raven cycle by maggie stiefvater

the priory of the orange tree by samantha shannon

glass, irony, and god by anne carson

sharp objects by gillian flynn

the secret history by donna tartt

her body and other parties by carmen maria machado

tell the wolves i’m home by carol rifka brunt

the midnight lie by marie rutoski

movies:

song of the sea

thelma

jennifer’s body

princess mononoke

midsommar

howl’s moving castle

booksmart

the princess bride

portrait of a lady on fire

the little hours

music:

marika hackman

phoebe bridgers

charli xcx

kim petras

allie x

arcade fire

the national

mitski

the mountain goats

perfume genius

songs (of the moment):

tell me (ft. saoirse ronan) by johnny jewel

crying in public by chairlift

how i get myself killed by indigo de souza

appalachian moon by kevin reilly

painkiller by beach bunny

i know by fiona apple

honeymoon (forever) by hellogoodbye

garden song by phoebe bridgers

fall by lisa hannigan

it’s okay by land of talk

tv shows:

atla + lok

killing eve

fleabag

she ra (2018-2020)

the dragon prince

derry girls

dare me :-(

sharp objects

literally can’t think of a 10th one <3 i only watch children’s cartoons or murder mysteries abt women

if anyone else sees this and wants to do the top 10 tag pls feel free!!! ❣️

[selkielore]

do u have any garbage book recs? not necessarily terrible books but like something you could read in a day because it has virtually no plot and is all fun :)

oh boy i forgot this ask until just now ummm. the last book I read in a day was an enchantment of ravens by margaret rodgerson and it was SO fun. i loved it even though it was about a m/f pairing it made me care... i also read social creature by tara isabella burton recently and just blew through it because it was so bananas... books about batshit women get me going. 

i don’t want to say the midnight lie by marie rutoski is a garbage book rec bc it’s not... i loved it.. one of my fave books i’ve read this year BUT it’s such a fun pace and it’s very flirty and fun and YA fantasy for me is the ultimate like... no thoughts head empty read for me. so it was both a quick fun read AND actually i still sit here and think about it <3 months later 

[bookofmirth]

Top three underrated books/series

Underrated! Ok I have some good ones

1) The Queen of the Tearling, by Erika Johansen. I was actually thinking about rereading this before the year is up. Her writing is a bit dense and there is a lot of violence, but the world is amazing! It’s fantasy but speculative but fantasy. It’s how @my-name-is-fireheart and I met!!!

2) The Winner’s trilogy by Marie Rutoski. I’ve posted about this in the past but it’s just. So well written. I favor writing and stories that focus on feelings more than plot, but this has BOTH! I feel so many things but I’m also on the edge of my seat!

3) Also instead of two books or series, how about two authors: Mindy McGinnis, who writes YA but in very diverse genres within that, and Sara Taylor, who writes literary fiction that is so poignant and timely.

I’m cheating a bit haha top three anything

[bookofmirth]

top three quotes?

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers” - LM Montgomery

“Sometimes, I think, you can look at a person and know they are full of words. Maybe the words are withheld due to pain or privacy, or maybe subterfuge. Maybe there are knife-edged words waiting to draw blood.” - Madeleine Thien

“As he spoke, it occurred to her that maybe he, too, felt like two people, that maybe everybody does, and that it’s not a question of whether one’s damaged, but of how easily or not that damage is seen.”- Marie Rutoski

[bookofmirth]

anticipated releases of 2018

Here it is! The books I am looking forward to that are coming out next year. Some of them are parts of series, some are standalones, there is a mix of genres including fantasy and literary fiction, and all of them are things you will hear me squeeing about in the coming months. I put them in order to release date, not how much I am anticipating them (though if you listen hard enough, you might hear me screaming about Iron Gold and ToG7 from wherever you live in the world).

(PS, these release dates are all based on the US, and a couple of them are already out elsewhere)

Cruel Prince, by Holly Black (January 2nd)

Beneath the Sugar Sky, by Seanan McGuire (January 8th) Please read this series, for the love of all that is holy.

Iron Gold, by Pierce Brown (January 16th) Please ignore me screaming as I reread the Red Rising trilogy in preparation for this.

The Silent Companions, by Laura Purcell (March 6th) this is cheating, as it is out in the UK and I bought it while there. It’s a creepy historical fiction and I picked it up because of the cover, and then the comparison to The Little Stranger made me buy it.

Obsidio, by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (March 13th). Illuminae #3 whoot

First Person, by Richard Flanagan (April 3rd) ok so this one is also cheating, it’s already out in the UK and I bought it while I was there *grins*. Flanagan won the Man Booker prize in 2014 for The Narrow Road to the Deep North and I really loved it.

Given to the Earth, by Mindy McGinnis (April 10th) This is a sequel and I haven’t read the first book (Given to the Sea) but I will read anything she writes.

A Reaper at the Gates, by Sabaa Tahir (April 24th)

A Court of Frost and Starlight, by Sarah J Maas (May 1st)

Neverworld Wake, by Marisha Pessl (June)

Florida, by Lauren Groff (June 5th) Fates and Furies was so good, I want to see what else she has to offer.

Throne of Glass 7, SJM (September 9th)

Nevernight #3 (untitled as of now), by Jay Kristoff. There is no release date, only my hopes and dreams.

Vengeful, by V.E. Schwab - also no release date, but as this is the follow-up to Vicious, I need this like, yesterday.

Matryoshka, by Catherynne M. Valente. No release date. This was on my list for 2017. Where is it??? It’s a companion to Deathless.

Untitled project by Marie Rutoski. No release date, but I will literally read anything this woman writes, and Goodreads has this as 2018, so I’m going with it.

I’ll probably update this list in a few months, as this focused on things coming out in the first half of the year. No doubt I will find out about others eventually!

[bookofmirth]

Could you recommend a series for someone who enjoys ToG/ACOTAR series? I like the fantasy aspect along with SJM’s writing style, but am dying for a new read. Thanks 😊.

Yes! Absolutely! I have a shelf dedicated to my favorite series, actually, and along with SJM’s books, I have a couple others:

The first one is the Winner’s trilogy by Marie Rutoski. Except there isn’t any magic/fantasy elements really, but the characters are so complex and the writing is beautiful and it balances that with a well-paced plot and there are so many OMG moments and you might think you’ll die. It’s one of those series I had to talk to someone about as I was reading it.

If you really want the fantasy, then the Queen of the Tearling series by Erica Johansen is amazing. I will warn you, there isn’t much romance, the writing style is quite a bit more dense and so harder to get through, and it’s pretty violent in a stomach-churning way. But it’s on my shelf of favorites, I was so invested in the characters and figuring out what the heck the backstory of this world was.

Also on that shelf is Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom, by Leigh Bardugo. I feel like you can’t avoid hearing about those books on tumblr, but let me just say I cried like a sad baby who is trying to explain why she is crying and then that just makes it worse.

The last book I have on that shelf isn’t a series, but a standalone: Uprooted, by Naomi Novik. It has all the things SJM does, the fast plot and the magic, a bit of sex, and solid female friendship.

Since I can’t stop myself, I’ll also mention the Shades of Magic series by V.E. Schwab, which would be on that shelf if it could fit. It’s basically a perfect mix of all the above qualities?

And last one I’ll mention is Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. It’s quite a time investment since each book averages 600-700 pages, but he has really nice world-building, and it’s not difficult to understand. I’ve started reading his other major series like three times now and am just like “ugh information” but Mistborn is much better in terms of that, and the end. Just. The end.

I hope some of those sound interesting!