#c.s.e. cooney

[drastrochris]

Hi! Go read Saint Death's Daughter!

Do you like Gideon the Ninth, and Harrow, but want to think about if she were sunshine and rainbows?

Let me tell you about Lanie Stones!

She's got:

This whole religion thing around her.

Toxic relatives.

But if SexPal was royalty.

Best friend: Dead friend.

It's a baby. I'm not going to be a jerk to a frickin' baby.

Did you order the skeleton war? I've got a delivery here for "skeleton war," and it has your address.

[literary-illuminati]

50 pages into Saint Death's Daughter and I will admit that my extremely uncharitable first reaction is 'publishers have really noticed The Locked Tomb, huh"

[rhetoricandlogic]

Breathcatching: The Twice-Drowned Saint by C.S.E Cooney

Posted 3rd February 2023 by Sia in Fantasy Reviews

I was so determined to write this book a review that did it justice, I actually ended up reading it twice – once over a period of weeks; the second time, I gulped the whole thing down in a single day.

I REGRET NOTHING.

For real, though: this is a book that lost none of its lustre on a reread, which is a noteworthy accomplishment all by itself. I wasn’t bored for a moment, even when I knew exactly how everything was going to go down; I still felt all the Feels; I still got thrill-shivers at the breathcatching parts. I still loved getting to see an older (‘older’; 38 isn’t actually old, but you know what I mean) protagonist who is equal parts cynical and hopeful, snarky and smart; I was still gleeful over the system of holy benisons-as-currency; I still adored Betony, from her platinum crown to her dusty feet. I still wanted to watch movies at the Quick and wander beautiful, fruitful Bloom and take a peek at what books a public library in a city ruled by angels might hold.

But.

Cooney routinely leaves me speechless, and The Twice-Drowned Saint is no exception – despite having read it twice, I have no idea how to describe, never mind explain, this brilliantly, beautifully bizarre little novel, with its properly unbiblical angels, a possessed police-force, and a sacred cinema of silent, black-and-white movies! What am I supposed to say???

I loved it. Obviously.

I was not completely sure I would, at first! I dove in as excited as I could possibly be, but I was not expecting first-person narration, and was a bit disappointed, since first-person makes it hard to justify the gleefully ostentatious syntactical and lexical extravaganza that is Cooney’s prose in third-person. But I shouldn’t have doubted her; she’s established in multiple short stories that her first-person writing still glitters and gleams and glitzes, and so it does here in The Twice-Drowned Saint. In fact, I might actually recommend this as a good place to start if you’ve never read Cooney before and are wary of the purple prose (a term I use not derogatorily but with love) that I’ve raved about in her other books, because here, the dial’s turned down on the logophilia, but the story still sizzles and sears with Cooney’s signature quixotic whimsy and vivid, fantastical weirdness.

There were two things every Gelthic citizen knew. One: only saints could see the angels who ruled us. Two: Alizar the Eleven-Eyed, Seventh Angel of Gelethel, had no saint. He hadn’t had one for a long time. Now I will tell you what the angel Alizar looks like.

Neither of which would shine quite so brightly seen through the eyes of a lesser narrator, but Ishtu Q’Aleth is a main character whose personality and voice are every bit as uniquely distinct – and perfect for the story she’s telling – as were Maurice’s of The Bone Swans of Amandale or Mar’s of The Witch in the Almond Tree (short stories that can be found in Bone Swans and The Witch in the Almond Tree: and other stories respectively). But rather than being a shapeshifter (Maurice) or a witch (Mar), Ishtu is a little bit of both; a saint hiding in plain sight, having refused the call to serve the angel Alizar – at least, in the traditional way.

I was the Seventh Angel’s best kept secret. And he was mine.

Instead, she and Alizar are secret besties, while Ishtu runs the only cinema in a literal city of angels and Alizar does his best to mitigate the bloodthirstiness of his peers, the rest of the angels who rule over Gelethel, a rhombus-shaped city surrounded by a ginormous wall of ice in the middle of the desert.

Oh, and there’s holy popcorn.

Are you intrigued yet?

There’s so much to love here – silent movies so lovingly described I wish I could watch them for myself; a crime family that is also a charity family; attention to detail that goes right down to Gelethel’s very unique currency; and of course, the thing I was most excited about going into this book: Cooney’s take on angels. As someone ardently following #biblicallyaccurateangels on every platform that lets you track hashtags, I loved the angels of The Twice-Drowned Saint, because although Gelethel’s angels are not made of wheels and fire, Cooney has absolutely captured the vibe of Eerie Alien Otherness, the visceral feel of terror-glory-horror-awe that imbues old-school angels, and channelled it through her own aesthetic.

The angel Alizar sometimes looked like a human-shaped paper lantern, or a sudden release of soap bubbles, or a cloud. He glowed on the inside as if he’d swallowed a hive of horny fireflies, and on the outside, he looked as if a toddler with a glue gun had gone wild with the craft buckets containing outrageous feathers, and twining golden vines, and trumpet-like lowers, and thin, prismatic insect wings.

Superficially, The Twice-Drowned Saint is about how 38yo Ishtu (I’m still so delighted to see an MC who is neither a teen nor in her 20s!) wants out of Gelethel – which is completely forbidden – to get her ailing parents the medical care they need in some other city (angels, apparently, not being fans of public health care). Due to belonging to what I can only call a charitable crime family, Ishtu and her parents could sneak out – but Ishtu doesn’t feel she can abandon Alizar, who is the least of the angels who rule the city, bullied by the rest.

So it’s a good thing another saint of his appears to get the story rolling.

Because really, The Twice-Drowned Saint is a book about a revolution, a massive subversion of our typical assumptions about strength and power, about the rewards of violence versus the rewards of open hands and open hearts.

“That ain’t weakness, Q’Aleth. Weakness is killin’ someone for their bread. Strength is splittin’ your last loaf with them.

It’s about many different kinds of faith, and the treatment of refugees and immigrants, about the hoarding of resources when there’s plenty to go around. It’s about movie-making and storytelling and upending the status quo.

Of course, the poets and the outlaws won against him in the end. That’s what they did, in movies. Maybe the only place they ever did. And that’s why we need movies, Uncle Eril had once told me. That’s why it was such a great good thing–the day your father came to Gelethel.

Which is not to say that this is a preachy book bluntly bleating Moral Lessons at you; instead it’s scintillatingly electric, twisty and rich, fierce and gentle and sizzling. This is a book that bats its eyelashes at you and invites you in, then pours a cocktail of invisible wonders and sheer heart-full humanness down your throat; it’s sitting down in a theatre to a black-and-white silent movie and being blasted with sparkling jewel-tones and a full orchestral soundtrack instead. It always feels a little tongue-in-cheek, as though the story is giving you a wink and letting you in on the joke, even as it takes itself seriously with punctilious care.

Which, yes, sounds like a contradiction, DO YOU SEE WHY I’M HAVING TROUBLE EXPLAINING IT???

It’s so weird! It’s so wonderful! It is such a big glorious story somehow distilled into a powerfully short novel, and I am not doing it justice at all, but please believe me when I tell you it is marvellous.

As in, excellent.

As in, full of marvels and miracles.

Alizar the Eleven-Eyed was waiting there to welcome me. He was there, in the firmament, in the clusters of star-like eyes and the spaces between them. He was also all around me, sitting in my bones: jewel-flame flower bells, feathering ferns, the fluttering of membranous wings, a warm and golden thing, like a lamp filled with fireflies.

Do I have any critiques? Sure, but they’re extremely minor; I found it a little too easy/obvious that Alizar, the one good angel, is also the only angel who is aesthetically pretty – the others we see are all quite horrifying and monstrous. And although the grand finale was appropriately goosebump-giving, I didn’t understand why A Certain Thing was necessary – even on my second read, I didn’t catch any explanation or follow the reasoning.

You know, you gonna be a poet, you gotta get yourself some ink. In the real world, poets are head-to-toe tattoos. ‘War flowers,’ we used to call ’em, in Rok Moris.

But I really don’t care, because literally everything else is freaking EPIC. The surreal, wildly imaginative setting and worldbuilding; the pretty incredible complexity of each member of the cast and their relationships to each other (the uncles!!!)(no for real though THE UNCLES!!!); the frankly ridiculous number of times this book took me by surprise – both in terms of big plot twists and itsy-bitsy details–

And, of course, Ishtu herself.

He was like a cricket some kid had poured diatomite over. He was a murderer. A fanatic for the angels. Worse, a teenager.

Oh, Ishtu. *happy sigh*

In short? Yes, I loved it. Obviously. And I will be reading it again – not least because I caught two Easter Egg nods to Saint Death’s Daughter and Bone Swans, and am sure there are more that I missed!

[bookcoversonly]

Title: The Twice-Drowned Saint | Author: C.S.E. Cooney | Publisher: Mythic Delirium Books (2023)

[freshlybrewedbookreviews]

Desdemona and the Deep by C.S.E. Cooney

A friend gave this to me: she'd picked it up as a "blind book date," as it was marketed for fans of the film Labyrinth, Guillermo del Toro, shapeshifting, and one other thing that I'm blanking on, but the first three are all things that I enjoy! This book definitely has some of these elements and echoes of some of those things, as well as beautiful prose at times, but I didn't care for any of the characters. I'm not one to be unhappy with unlikeable characters or characters who are complex who make me feel a variety of ways about them, but this spoiled rich girl going off on a quest to satisfy some small moral uncertainty within herself didn't quite convince me. I wish I had more to say either way, but I felt pretty "meh" upon completion, but I think I'm in the minority opinion on this one.

[readsbymoonlight]

Book: Saint Death’s Daughter

Author: C.S.E. Cooney

Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕

Recommended for: Anyone wanting a unique read

Published: 12th April, 2022

I have to admit that what I expected from this book based on its blurb and summary was completely different from what I got. However, I don't think that's a bad thing at all! Saint Death's Daughter is wholly unique in its plot and worldbuilding, making it a rare 5-star read for me.

Honestly, if I were to start singing praises, I don't think I'd stop anytime soon. As such, it might be prudent to list a few things that made it challenging to like at the start (but only for a while!) First off, the barrage of new information—all the gods, the days and months—made it so tempting to close the book and move along. Coupled with the fact that you need time to get used to and appreciate the writing, it might lose some readers right at the beginning. I also think that there might be some confusion as to what the story is about when it comes right down to it. There's a lot going on and something for everybody. However, it feels rushed or incomplete. Perhaps it would have been better to turn this book into a series and flesh things out more. Just from reading it, I could guess that the author has much more up their sleeve and might be holding back for the sake of brevity.

Now, onto the amazing things I loved about this book!

The prose really gave a sense of the setting of the book period-wise, even if the world is completely new. It was whimsical yet classic, the perfect fit, though it takes some time to digest (and look up words in the dictionary!) There's a biographic quality to the book, which makes it seem like you're reading a journal or something just vaguely academic. I liked it, but I'm not sure if it would have helped if the format changed into that completely. Either way, it worked for me!

The story and worldbuilding are engaging even if the events are seemingly mundane. All the characters have a strong voice and each is complex and three-dimensional. I loved that Lanie was such a fun and kind character and that this did not make her weak. The romance was reserved but no less strong and I personally wish I had myself a Canon Lir in my life. The twists of the story were most unexpected and made me look forward to each.

To echo Oliver Twist, I'd love more, please!

Disclaimer: e-ARC obtained from NetGalley, photo found on Google

[good-books-to-read]

Ooh Fae

Sounds interesting

2023 reads // twitter thread

Desdemona And The Deep

historical fantasy novella

the spoiled daughter of a rich mining family discovers that her father tithed the lives of miners to the fey underworld, and goes on a whimsical adventure to bargain them back

weird fey & goblins

explores the relationship between fey & human artists

trans girl major character, sapphic MC, no main romance

[swordbisexual]

I’m not saying that reading an actual printed book with lovely prose and lyrical, gently-immersive worldbuilding has fixed me, but god, it’s inspired me and helped crack some of the creative block.

[victusinveritas]

In case you are wondering what I've been reading this year... here's a list from Goodreads (which I largely use so I don't have to update my handwritten book journal as much). Favorite off this list is probably C.S.E Cooney's Desdemona and the Deep, but it's a close run between that and a few others (Middlesex, Manhunt, The Mushroom at the End of the World).

[annleckie]

Just finished reading St Death's Daughter by C.S.E. Cooney and HIGHLY recommend it.

[booksandchainmail]

What books other than Nona did you nominate for the Hugos?

Babel, by R.F. Kuang

Last Exit, by Max Gladstone

Wrath Goddess Sing, by Maya Deane

Saint Death's Daughter, by C.S.E Cooney

Things I didn't nominate but almost did:

Siren Queen, by Nghi Vo

The Thousand Eyes, by A.K. Larkwood

The Oleander Sword, by Tasha Suri

[sleepnoises]

book ask book ask book ask! 3, 4, 5, 16?

3. What were your top five books of the year? Okay, in chronological order, The High Sierra: A Love Story, Terry Pratchett: A Life with Footnotes, Unraveller by Francis Hardinge, A Visit from the Goon Squad and Never Let Me Go (last two being rereads). Maybe also The Factory by Hiroko Oyamada trans. David Boyd. See also my answer to 24. Also maybe Chelsea Manning's memoir!!

4. Did you discover any new authors that you love this year? Hmm I'm gonna try to keep an eye out for more C.S.E. Cooney, I love her prose!

5. What genre did you read the most of? Probably fantasy/speculative fiction. Due to who I am as a person.

16. What is the most over-hyped book you read this year? -> Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow babyyyyy

[literary-illuminati]

I admit I am finding Saint Death's Daughter a slog. I'm not opposed to a 650-pg book in principle but I'd at least like the sense you're doing something with the length.

I guess it just feels kind of...fanficcy? In the sense that there is an overarching plot, but frankly the story doesn't seem particularly interested in it compared to delving at length to the specific outfits worn by secondary characters at a midsummer festival and just generally happily meandering in between the points where things would happen.

Which can absolutely work where I already know the plot and am invested and charmed by these secondary characters, but at the moment-

[rhetoricandlogic]

700 Pages of Pure Narrative Magic: Saint Death’s Daughter by C. S. E. Cooney

700 Pages of Pure Narrative Magic: Saint Death’s Daughter by C. S. E. Cooney

Martin Cahill

Tue Apr 26, 2022 3:00pm

Miscellaneous “Lanie,” Stones is a necromancer, the first one born to the infamous Stones family in ages. But there’s a condition: Lanie has a severe allergy to violence. So terrible is her condition that even the touch or presence of one who’s performed recent harm will cause an allergic reaction. And so, Lanie must be kept from her assassin mother and executioner father. Raised by the revenant Goody Graves, Lanie finds comfort in books and ghosts. As the novel begins, Lanie’s mother, father, and their aunt are dead—possibly murdered—she can’t raise them to ask what happened, and the family’s enormous debt has been called in right away.

And so begins Saint Death’s Daughter, debut novel by the World Fantasy Award-Winning writer, C. S. E. Cooney, truly one of the best books I’ll read this year; a novel about death that has entered my personal Top 10 for, well, life.

There’s only so much I can say about this feast of a book. The rest must be experienced, but I will do my best to convince you to pick up one of the best debut novels I’ve read in the last five years. C. S. E. Cooney is a writer with a one-of-a-kind voice, unafraid to go to extremes to illustrate a point, or lay bare the truth of a moment. The world of Liriat Proper comes alive with each frenetic swipe of her pen, painting in detail after detail with rich, evocative, beautiful language. Cooney is a writer who hears, “show, don’t tell,” and laughs in the face of such a tenet. “Show? Why I’ll show with the very best of them!” And she will, pointing out each and every facet of a character’s clothing, their facial tics, what their magic looks like to others but tastes like to them, the intricacies behind divine ritual and personal ritual, giving just as much importance to how someone takes their tea as how a god takes their worship. “And tell? Oh, how I’ll tell!” as she uses footnotes and in-world writing, storytelling and didactic lessons, every narrative device under the sun to enrich every corner of her world. By the end of the first hundred pages, Stones Manor and Liriat Proper will be just as real to you, dear reader, as the heartbeat under your skin and the marrow in your bones.

And while some novels can live off of this robust and layered and well-thought worldbuilding, Saint Death’s Daughter is even more replete with complex, contradictory characters of all makes and models with needs and wants that spark and fizz off of one another, creating clashes of magic, manner, and might. Cooney does not loose a single arrow from her quiver of characters that is fletched with drab, ordinary feathers, but rather, everyone she fires onto the page arrives in a burst: fully-realized, always finding their mark, dripping with detail and a fire in their heart. You will see, in a matter of sentences, how wonderfully human Cooney’s characters are: Mak, Lanie’s brother in law and ensnared falcon-warrior; Lanie’s dreadful, self-important sister, Aminita Stones, vicious and terrible, the mosaic of her heart off-kilter and missing a piece; Canon Lir, a fire-priest of the many-gendered god Sappacor, whose heart and grace and friendship they’ve given to Lanie ever since they were young. Cooney’s deft hand at those little details that brings a person or a golem or a ghost to inextricable life is on full display, page after page.

But this is the story of Saint Death’s daughter first and foremost, and it would not succeed if said daughter couldn’t carry the weight of her own story on her shoulders. I’m here to tell you that Miscellaneous Stones most certainly can. It is thrilling to watch her grow from an young allergy-riddled necromancer by navigating the demands of a ghostly ancestor withholding information, a royal who only wants to use her for her own gain, and a sister that sees her only as a punching bag. And as she grows older and life becomes more complicated, Lanie Stones does not balk at the challenges before her but, as she was raised, puts her nose to the grindstone—or into a book. Across almost 700 pages of pure narrative magic, and learning of the challenges facing the Stones family, the Brackenwild Royals, the threat of the Blackbird Bride, and more, the most joy I had was in watching Lanie Stones grow up, as a necromancer, an aunt, a sister-in-law, and a friend to those alive and dead. Cooney takes a classic bildungsroman, injects it with glitter, adrenaline, and un-death, and shows us every shade and joy that comes from that struggle toward adulthood and knowing yourself.

I could go on and on about Saint Death’s Daughter, the inimitable and breathtaking debut novel from C. S. E. Cooney, I really could. But you will be better served by reading it and exulting in the rich language, the beautiful narrative friction between people, magics, and nations, and letting Cooney reach out an ethereal hand to pull you into the world of Lanie Stones. Take her hand, reader, and journey into a world of stone, flame, birds, and yes, death. But death need not be scary. In the right hands—in Lanie’s hands and in the shadow of Saint Death herself—it can be as comforting as an embrace.

[anntickwittee]

Books I read in 2023:

January:

Petty Treasons by Victoria Goddard ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spellbound by Allie Therin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Shadow of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Suki, Alone by Faith Erin Hicks, Peter Wartman, Adele Matera

Legend of the Fire Princess by Gigi D.G., Paulina Ganucheau

Babel by by R.F. Kuang ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Eidolon by K.D. Edwards ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

February:

The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Starcrossed by Allie Therin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wonderstruck by Allie Therin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Davenports by Krystal Marquis ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Proper Scoundrels by Allie Therin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Stealing Thunder by Alina Boyden ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

March:

The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Whispering Skull by Jonathan Stroud ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Hollow Boy by Jonathan Stroud ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K.J. Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Creeping Shadow by Jonathan Stroud ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

April

The Empty Grave by Jonathan Stroud ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Greenwode by J. Tullos Hennig ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spell Bound by F.T. Lukens ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Saint Death's Daughter by C.S.E. Cooney ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine

May

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

They Hate Each Other by Amanda Woody ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nimona by ND Stevenson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Check, Please! Book 1 by Ngozi Ukazu ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Check, Please! Book 2 by Ngozi Ukazu ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

June

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dark Force Rising by Timothy Zahn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Heartsong by T.J. Klune ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Buried and the Bound by Rochelle Hassan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Last Command by Timothy Zahn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hither, Page by Cat Sebastian ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Missing Page by Cat Sebastian ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

July

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thrawn by Timothy Zahn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thrawn: Alliances by Timothy Zahn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thrawn: Treason by Timothy Zahn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Brothersong by T.J. Klune ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Lost Future of Pepperharrow by Natasha Pulley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Ann Older ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

August

The Daughters of Izdihar by Hadeer Elsbai ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sourdough by Robin Sloan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Transmogrify!: 14 Fantastical Tales of Trans Magic edited by g. haron davis ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

One Night in Hartswood by Emma Denny ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb Cat Sebastian ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Once a Rogue by Allie Therin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher by E.M. Anderson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Baker Thief by Claudie Arseneault ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Dawn of Yangchen by F.C. Yee ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lion's Legacy by Lev A.C. Rosen ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Legacy of Yangchen by F.C. Yee ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Infomocracy by Malka Ann Older ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dragonfall by L.R. Lam ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The House Witch by Delemhach ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by K.J. Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fence Disarmed by Sarah Rees Brennan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fence: Striking Distance by Sarah Rees Brennan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal by K.J. Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

September

Swordheart by T. Kingfisher ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Aurelius (to be called) Magnus by Victoria Goddard ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Paladin's Strength by T. Kingfisher ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Paladin's Hope by T. Kingfisher ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Dark Lord's Daughter by Patricia C. Wrede ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo Taylor Jenkins Reid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Circe by Madeline Miller ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

October

Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cassiel's Servant by Jacqueline Carey ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Restless Truth by Freya Marske ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

November

Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dark Moon, Shallow Sea by David R. Slayton ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Top Story by Kelly Yang ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If Found Return to Hell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Death I Gave Him by Em X Liu ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Power Unbound by Freya Marske ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

All the Hidden Paths by Foz Meadows ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Portrait of a Wide Seas Islander by Victoria Goddard ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

December

Paladin's Faith by T. Kingfisher ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Art of Destiny by Wesley Chu ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sourcery by Terry Pratchett ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Some Desperate Glory Emily Tesh ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Husband Material by Alexis Hall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️