#ask a bookseller

[the-dust-jacket]

This is a PSA that goes out to the several lovely people I have talked to who really want to pick up a copy of Wicked to read with their six-or-seven-year old musical fans. Look y’all, Gregory Maguire's dark fantasy novel, with its violence, sex, politics, and Broadway-belting-free ending, is not aimed at elementary schoolers, but good news there are plenty of books that might hit the spot!

Here are a few MG books with flying broomsticks, evil overlords, magical school drama, and big questions about just what makes someone a good witch or a bad one.

The Dark Lord's Daughter, by Patricia C. Wrede (Dealing With Dragons also makes an excellent read aloud)

Abby In Oz, by Sarah Mlynowski (from the Whatever After series)

Which Witch, by Eva Ibbotson (so many witches trying their wickedest)

The Dark Lord Clementine, by Sarah Jean Horwitz (it's not easy living up to a legacy of villainy)

The Marvellers, by Dhonielle Clayton (magic school misfits)

The School for Good and Evil, by Soman Chainani (are you a hero or a villain?)

Kiki's Delivery Service, by Eiko Kadono (a gentler story, with plenty of flying on brooms!)

Egg & Spoon, by Gregory Maguire (Russian folklore and whimsical adventure)

Witchlings, by Claribel Ortega (covens and curses and quests)

Amari and the Night Brothers, by B.B. Alston (magic school isn't always a friendly place)

The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy, by Ann Ursu (who does the story serve?)

Witch Boy, by Molly Knox Ostertag (who gets to be a witch?)

For another subversive take on Oz, there's also the YA novel Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige.

And of course, there's always the OG Wonderful Wizard of Oz, or maybe Glinda of Oz for some more witchiness, or The Emerald City of Oz for intrigue and villainy.

[the-dust-jacket]

Since you've got Demon's Lexicon I'm guessing the Lynburn Legacy is already on your radar but if not please check it out posthaste!

Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older

The Curseworkers trilogy and The Folk of the Air series by Holly Black

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

So many books by Anna-Marie McLemore

The Brooklyn Brujas series by by Zoraida Cordova

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

Blood Debts and Blood Justice by Terry Benton-Walker

A Skinful of Shadows by Frances Hardinge

The Cecelia and Kate books by Patrica C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

A little farther from the brief:

The Court of Fives by Kate Elliot

The Darkness Outside Us and The Brightness Between Us by Eliot Schrefer

The Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones

So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole

Throwing in a few mainstream SFF titles:

The Goblin Emperor, by Katherine Addison (messy family drama on a dynastic level)

Lois McMaster Bujold's sprawling Vorkosigan Saga is deeply interested in familial drama and intergenerational history and historicizing, and definitely popular with younger readers; The Warrior's Apprentice is one of several good starting points and reads the most YA, but feel free to tag or DM for specific content warnings

The Lord of Stariel by A.J. Lancaster (super cute and doing fun things with big family drama)

Hey there's like 600 more of you than there were than the last time I asked so...anybody recommend me some fantasy or scifi YA books that feature a lot of family drama?

Specifically, I mean like multi-generational, established families. Usually when I get asked this I get a lot of recs about establishing a found family consisting of several peers. and those are great and I love them, but not what I'm looking for with this ask.

So far I have Liberty's Daughter and Demon's Lexicon.

Any thoughts?

[the-dust-jacket]

Is there any recommendations you could give for books similar to the tainted cup?

Hey, I hope some of these fit the bill! Mostly fantasy mystery, a few historical or sci-fi, and some that just feel right on worldbuilding and character vibes. Also, if City of Stairs isn't already on your radar, check that one out!

Witness For the Dead, by Katherine Addison (fantasy mystery with complex and immersive worldbuilding)

The Angel of the Crows, by Katherine Addison (and this one is Holmes homage)

The Tea Master and the Detective, by Aliette de Bodard (spaceship setting and mild-altering teas)

A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine (sci-fi political intrigue)

The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal, by KJ Charles (Victorian horror pastiche featuring an interesting twist on a Holmes-and-Watson dynamic and lots of creatively gruesome magical murders, not a traditional romance novel but pretty sexually explicit)

The Charm of Magpies trilogy, by KJ Charles (Gothic horror/romance, with more gruesome magical murders)

The Penric and Desdemona series, by Lois McMaster Bujold (a young scholar and the demon sharing his body solve mysteries and have adventures)

Three Parts Dead, by Max Gladstone (dead gods and magical bureaucracy)

Seraphina, by Rachel Hartman (YA fantasy featuring murder, intrigue, shapechanging dragons)

The Silence of Bones, by June Hur (YA historical mystery full of rich historical detail and interesting detective dynamics)

Perfume, by Patrick Suskind (dark historical fiction featuring a scent-obsessed murderer)

Jasmine Throne, by Tasha Suri (epic fantasy with plenty of intrigue and romance)

Wilder Girls, by Rory Power (YA with plenty of plant-based body horror)

Cetaganda, by Lois McMaster Bujold (sci-fi mystery with lots of bio-engineering and intrigue, although probably not the best starting place for newcomers to the Vorkoso-verse)

Mexican Gothic, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (creepy historical mystery)

[oliversrarebooks]

So roughly speaking... how many acts deep are we in bookseller? For Oliver and Fitz' atories...I am deeply invested and need to have the right number of acts when I re account the storu to my sister who listens to me lament happily

Hmm good question, I'd say the acts / storylines are roughly like:

Oliver's time in the auction house

Oliver getting his bearings at Lex's house (with parallel story of Fitz's auction)

Fitz visiting Lex (with parallel story of Fitz and Lex falling in love and Lex's failed attack on the Maestro)

Vivian kidnaps Oliver (with parallel story of Lex and Fitz's punishments after the failed attack) << you are here

and then there's going to be

5. another medium-length arc in which Oliver suffers (with parallel story of how Fitz was turned)

6. the main climax of the story (a pretty long arc)

7. the aftermath

and probably an epilogue of sorts

and there will be a few more Lex flashback chapters, including hopefully a couple that cover how he met Lily

So the story is long but going places, I promise!

[the-dust-jacket]

Some ideas!

The Jasmine Throne, by Tasha Suri

Lady Hotspur, by Tessa Gratton: this can be read standalone, but I would also consider starting with The Queens of Innis Lear. Less LGBTQ focus, but it's grand and tragic and good comp for Priory generally.

The Unspoken Name, by A.K. Larkwood

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

Starless, by Jacqueline Carey: long final battles included!

Spear, by Nicola Griffith

So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole: YA, great if you like queens, gods, complicated Chosen One narratives, and DRAGONS

Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron: YA, great if you like the twisting of a fairy tale into an origin story and political weapon

Farther from the brief:

The Terre d'Ange books by Jacqueline Carey: both Phedre's trilogy and Moirin's trilogy feature bi/pansexual protagonists who have significant relationships with women, but the primary romances are with men.

The Mirror Empire, by Kameron Hurley: very queer, very epic, more on the grimdark side.

Hild, by Nicola Griffith: immersive historical fiction with speculative elements and lyrical prose, really interesting look at the intersection of politics, religion, and gender.

A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland: m/m fantasy romance in a matrilineal empire, with lots of intrigue, angst, and bodyguard/prince pining.

finished reading Priory of the Orange Tree today after having it on my tbr for 2 years and i loved it so much. i was reading like 100 pages a day, the alternating povs and plot lines made it feel less daunting. I do wish the final battle and ending were longer. Now all I want to read are fantasy books lol. Any recs of fantasy lesbian/sapphic like Priory are very appreciated!!

[little-red-notebook]

Lilac luster for both boys :>

"Is there something they wish they could forget? Something they wish they could remember?"

Let's start with the Cheerful Bookseller!

Something Clarence wishes he could forget? The way of doing of a thing he wishes he hadn't done. Not the memory of the event itself though…that seems neither right nor wise.

Something Clarence wishes he could remember? A great many things his mother once said. But, for the sake of being economical given only one thing to remember: How to get to the place she used to work.

And for the Ferocious Journalist --

Something Peter wishes he could forget? What sunlight feels like.

Something Peter wishes he could remember? Joke answer: What sunlight feels like. More serious answer: Peter takes steps to remember things that would conventionally be considered important… and he would say he's been mostly successful. But…when it's the holidays, Peter sometimes gets a sense memory of a smell from when he was young. Sharp and round and nutty… He assumes it's some kind of fresh spice. He was months underground before he realized his chance to ever actually go and try to find out which one it might be had effectively passed. After all, even aside from the expense, and the preserved state of any surface spice in the Neath…nothing ever does smell or taste quite the same in the Neath as it does on the surface, does it..?

[do-you-ship-this-book-couple]

Do you ship...

[kvothes]

hello! been thinking about picking up Intermezzo because the eu cover fucking slaps and it calls out to me every time i pass it in the bookstore, but i have not read a lot of literary fiction like it (itd be my first rooney to say the least) and i tend to like books with on the speculative fiction/magical realism (most ture to literary fiction books ive read recently has been young mungo(looved) and the goldfinch(it was fine). think i remember seeing you read it? what did you think, is it work dipping a toe outside my norm? (obviously you dont know me so i bet its hard to say, so pretend im a costumer in at your bookstore *pling pling* i walked through the front door)

you’re adorable omg my bookstore does not have a bell it has a heavy fucking wooden door that people bang all the time bc they can’t tell if they’re supposed to push or pull

i have actually not read intermezzo yet, but i have read rooney otherwise! i definitely think it is Always worth dipping a toe outside your usual, and—from what i know of young mungo—i feel like if you liked that you’ll enjoy it just fine.

if you really are apprehensive, you could try normal people first. it’s a slimmer, quicker read and a great introduction to her style. mostly what i think about sally rooney is that her writing is deceptively simple and plain. the language alone is not what you chew on; she’s interested in people and their connections to each other, and that’s where i found it fruitful to think. personally, i like stuff with richer language! but she perplexed me in a way that i ultimately found compelling.

[the-dust-jacket]

I love this description and also this eclectic, informative collection of vibes, I hope something here is helpful:

Silver In the Wood by Emily Tesh (soft and spooky fantasy romance novella)

Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland (raunchy yet heartfelt pirate comedy)

The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, by Theodora Goss (found family Victorian pastiche)

Sixteen Souls by Rosie Talbot (YA ghost story)

All Our Pretty Songs by Sarah McCarry (lyrical and gritty YA Orpheus retelling)

When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb (an angel and a demon and immigration and love and loss and new beginnings)

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (time travel, war, forbidden love)

Blackbird In the Reeds by Sam Burns (mysterious goings on in a secretive small town)

The Lost Coast by A.R. Capetta (foggy witchy YA)

The Passion by Jeanette Winterson (poetic and philosophical historical fantasy)

Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore (lyrical YA fantasy)

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (cross-cultural love and friendship on a spaceship)

The True Queen, by Zen Cho (fae and mortal politics and a missing sister)

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu (werewolf plus witch plus bakery, YA graphic novel)

The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag (grief and friendship in an ambitious graphic novel)

The Last Binding Trilogy by Freya Marske (sparkling, romance-heavy Edwardian fantasy)

The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting, Wanted a Gentleman, or Band Sinister by KJ Charles (witty and charming Regency romance)

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix (ancient myths and 80s punk YA)

If Found Return to Hell by Em X Liu (demonology and bureaucracy)

Widdershins by Jordan L. Hawke (murder and mystery in a Lovecraftian little town, but make it funny and sexy)

The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson (ambitious futuristic YA about myth and art and love and sacrifice)

Single white female desperately seeking book recommendations that are cozy and queer and deep and soft.

Some recent reads/views that hit the vibes I’m looking for:

- Good Omens (the book and the show, especially S2 of the show)

- Our Flag Means Death

- Under the Whispering Door by T. J. Klune

- Killing Eve

- The Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire

[book--brackets]

Ohhh me too me too me too

I love you, op.

That being said, could you add the works below to the list, please ? :

The Supernaturalist (Eoin Colfer)

Skylark (Meagan Spooner)

The Once and Future King (T.H. White)

Once & Future (Kieron Gillen)

The Checquy Files (Daniel O'Malley)

Circe (Madeline Miller)

Monk & Robot (Becky Chambers)

Legacy of Orisha (Tomi Adeyemi)

Villains (V.E. Schwab)

Falling Kingdoms (Morgan Rhodes)

Chivalry (Neil Gaiman)

The Sleeper and the Spindle (Neil Gaiman)

The Many Deaths of Laila Starr (Ram V)

The Unwritten (Mike Carey)

The Left-Handed Book Sellers of London (Garth Nyx)

Die (Kieron Gillen)

The Wicked + the Divine (Kieron Gillen)

I added most of these, but like some other Neil Gaiman titles, Chivalry and The Sleeper and the Spindle are short stories, not technically novels (even in graphic format)

[sentience-if]

This talk of disposing of bones and fat (how did we get here 😵) reminds me of that Ray Bradbury story where a guy becomes convinced his skeleton is his enemy and then he pays a weird little guy to jump into his body and eat all his bones and leaves him a talking jellyfish on the floor

Feels like it could happen in Sentience........ I mean that as a compliment

ive never heard of this story but im super into the premise here

[saltwaterconfessions]

your asunder stanning is so sweet.....it's definitely going to get me to read the book for one thing, but for another, i'm an author with a sff book coming out in the next year, and my marketing will probably be decent, but even so, a writer really does just dream of having an advocate like you. you are such a precious part of the publishing ecosystem!

HAHAHA thank you so much!!! i love being a bookseller and i love bringing something new to fans of another thing. congrats on your book omg!! 💖

[the-dust-jacket]

I hope some of these are the vibe you're looking for!

Wildwood, by Colin Meloy (whimsical, layered middle grade fantasy)

The Lost Coast, by A.R. Capetta (YA, witchy Northern California with lots of trees and fog, hella queer)

Unspoken, by Sarah Rees Brennan (YA, small town shenanigans meets fantasy with multi-generational Spooky Gothic flair meets plucky girl reporter, also yearning)

Silver In the Woods, by Emily Tesh (slightly creepy fairy tale vibes, romance but not spicy, cottages and trees and creatures in the woods)

The Lumbering Giants of Windy Pines, by Mo Netz (gently spooky middle grade with a weird town, a tiny dragon, a missing mom, a wheelchair user having ADVENTURES)

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs (small Scottish town, quirky characters with odd powers, timey-wimey shenanigans, heavy on atmosphere)

Doll Bones, by Holly Black (spooky, evocative character-driven middle grade adventure that feels a little magical but also very real)

The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater (mythic, atmospheric YA fantasy featuring small-town psychics and boarding school boys on a quest)

War For the Oaks, by Emma Bull (faerie court at war, a human musician caught between them)

Mooncakes, by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker (adorable witchy graphic novel set in a little New England town) (maybe also check out Wendy Xu's Tidesong!)

The Devouring Wolf, by Natalie Parker (spooky middle grade adventure with pre-teen werewolves and summer camp vibes)

All Our Pretty Songs, by Sarah McCarry (mythic, magic, gritty and very musical Seattle)

The Girl Who Drank the Moon, by Kelly Barnhill (middle grade fantasy with woods and witches and tiny dragons, but the scariest things are in the town)

The Rowan Harbor Cycle, starting with Blackbird In the Reeds, by Sam Burns (atmospheric, character-and-place heavy novella series in a foggy town full of odd people and old secrets; queer-romance-centric and sexier than anything else on this list, but not super spicy and also probably closest to the brief!)

People of tumblr help me! Oddly specific book rec request!!!!

I’ve wanted to get back into reading (it’s been working I read dps book version since I already love the movie, started rereading the hobbit, finished this poison heart which I started like 3 years ago and was 70% through, and finally started the secret history)

But I’ve been craving a specific (Niche?) genre of literature because fiction has me in a certain mood??

Does anyone have any book recs that are have these vibes:

- life is strange or gravity falls type story (Pacific Northwest, forests and fog maybe some cryptids or supernatural stuff)

-not straight up horror- like if it has creechurs they are a little spooky and there’s “something strange about this town” that’s cool but it’s not like constant horror and death more like nature being mildly creepy and supernatural, maybe there’s a mystery to solve or it focuses on the characters similar to life is strange

- not a must in case there is an older book that fits the vibes but it would be cool if it had queer characters or just representation some diff groups of people in general

-if I think of other existing media that has the vibes, I’ll put it here (Kids at summer camp create secret club and befriend cryptdids vibes? Or maybe they get powers from an old journal?)

-I’d also be down if it was like vampires(love them) or ghosts(pretty cool)

(Also due to booktok actively trying to murder me in like 2021- little to no spice please and thank you)

Hope someone actually sees this and it’s not too hard of a request

Im sure this genre has a name but I don’t know what it is

I guess oddly specific questions is what Reddit is for but I have used Reddit like 1 time in my life so-

[the-dust-jacket]

Hello. I've already read the Kingston Cycle, Half a Soul and I'm about to finish the Stariel books. Do you have more recommendations? Thank you in advance.

Oh absolutely!

A Matter of Magic, by Patricia C. Wrede (for cross-country Regency romps, rogues, magicians, spies, and Ladies of Quality)

A Marvellous Light, by Freya Marske (for murder and mystery and secret Edwardian wizardry, romance, grand old houses and creepy curses)

Spellbound, by Allie Therin (for forbidden love, found family, and frightening magic in 1920s New York)

Shades of Milk and Honey, by Mary Robinette Kowal (for frothy and impeccably evocative Regency magic)

Sorcerer to the Crown, by Zen Cho (for schemes both magical and mundane and the world of fairy crossing into the world of the tonne)

To Say Nothing of the Dog, by Connie Willis (for laugh-out-loud time travel shenanigans and questionable Victorian aesthetic choices)

Soulless, by Gail Carriger (for vampire assassins, werewolf aristocrats, interrupted tea time, and other terrible inconveniences which may beset a young lady)

A little darker:

The Magpie Lord, by KJ Charles (for semi-secret magical society, creepy family estate, steamy romance all in an Extremely Victorian Gothic setting)

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke (clever and deeply atmospheric tour of a magical 19th century England, but definitely not romance)

Salt Magic, Skin Magic, by Lee Welch (for curses and magical bonds and frightening fairies)

Widdershins, by Jordan L Hawk (for Gilded Age mystery and romance featuring Lovecraftian horror and humor)

More fantasy:

Uprooted, by Naomi Novik (for fairytale magic and whimsy, adventure and romance and creepy trees)

Seducing the Sorcerer, by Lee Welch (for wizard fashion, romance and humor and whimsical magic)

Stardust, by Neil Gaiman (for wild romps in the fairyland next door, alternately humorous and haunting)

More historical:

The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by KJ Charles (for saucy Regency romance and determined social scheming)

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (for dry humor, wacky hijinx, and extended family shenanigans)

Hither Page or The Missing Page by Cat Sebastian (village and manor house mysteries respectively, featuring lots of queer romance and found family with a dash of jaded post-war espionage)

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (for yearning and laughs and first love and an eccentric family living in an increasingly run down castle)

A little farther from the brief, but might be worth checking out On Vibes:

The Left Handed Booksellers of London, by Garth Nix

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, by Diana Wynne Jones

His Majesty's Dragon, by Naomi Novik (more Regency fantasy, but full on Age of Sail adventure rather than comedy of manners, romance, or secret magic)

Among Others, by Jo Walton

Arabella of Mars, by David D. Levine

A Natural History of Dragons, by Marie Brennan

It also sounds like a Georgette Heyer or Jeeves and Wooster binge would be really fun right now!

[displayheartcode]

What are some authors that did the magic school trope better than JKR? (Not that I hate HP, just thinking about that last ask)

it depends on what you look for in a magic school!

do you want a whimsy boarding school setting where adventures happen?

the worst witch by jill murphy (children's series and adapted later by netflix)

the marvellers by dhonielle clayton (middle grade series)

hex hall by rachel hawkins (ya trilogy)

exploring privilege and power?

ninth house by leigh bardugo (adult - please read the content warnings)

the scholomance by naomi novik (adult)

lobizona by romina garber (ya series)

books that get rid of the school entirely?

dark rise by cs pacat (ya series)

young wizards by diane duane (mg/ya series)

rivers of london by ben aaronovitch (adult series)

witchlings by claribel a. ortega (mg series)

the left-handed booksellers of london by garth nix (ya series)

the dark is rising by susan coope (children's series)

i have a larger list here!

[the-dust-jacket]

Maybe some of these!

Sorcerer to the Crown, by Zen Cho

Babel, by R.F. Kuang (darker and somewhat divisive, very much magic, history, and academia)

A Matter of Magic by Patricia C. Wrede (the first one is more picaresque, the second one is more studying magic with romance and haut ton shenanigans; also check out Sorcerery and Cecelia if you particularly like the journal/epistolary elements of Emily Wilde!)

The Familiar, by Leigh Bardugo (court intrigue, academic and folk magic)

To Say Nothing of the Dog, by Connie Willis (Time-traveling academics in Victorian Oxfordshire)

Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

Widdershins, by Jordan Hawk (a little more horror flavored, but in a comedy-and-romance heavy sort of way, featuring arcane monsters and museum shenanigans)

The Amulet of Samarkand, by Jonathan Stroud (if you don't mind going middle grade, this is a romp that combines snark, academia, whimsey and darkness in a way that might really hit the spot)

The Lie Tree, by Frances Hardinge (MG/YA, foggy and Gothic mystery, full of oddball 19th century academics)

A little farther from the brief but definitely worth checking out:

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan (Regency-flavored second world fantasy rather than historical fantasy, but VERY correct for the vibe!)

Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeanette Ng (a missionary's sister in a strange and disconcerting fairy world)

A Sorceress Comes to Call, by T Kingfisher (Regency-flavored fantasy, not super academic but features some high quality library research montages)

To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose (magic school, imperialism, dragons!)

Sorcery of Thorns, by Margaret Rogerson (YA fantasy featuring a sword-wielding librarian, an enigmatic sorcerer, and evil books)

Among Others by Jo Walton (atmospheric, magical, boarding school and fantasy books)

Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal (Regency fantasy)

The Left Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix (alternate 1980s London)

Spellbound, by Allie Therin (magical 1920s New York)

Uprooted, by Naomi Novik

looking for book recs if anybody has any!! in the same vein as emily wilde, the marvellous light trilogy, and jonathan strange & mr norrell. basically magic w/academia in a historical setting!!