#katherine urban fantasy

[bigmack2go]

Half-Fey Urban Fantasy Katherine (Livesies) Mood Board, pretty please?

Hi there sorry for the wait! I mixed up urban fantasy woth cyberpunk and cyberpunk with steampunk (so basically i did steam punk) lol

Anyway tysm for the ask! I tried to keep it in her colors but i couldnt find any faun/satyr stuff that wasnt green smh. Because fae katherine absolutley would be a faun/satyr dont even dare to correct me. Specifically deer/stag

[anim-ttrpgs]

"Skeptic," investigator Trait from Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy. Every investigator has 3 to 6 Traits!

[quirkycatsfatstacks]

Review: The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

Author: Katherine ArdenPublisher: Del ReyReleased: February 13, 2024Received: Own (Aardvark)Find it on Goodreads | Aardvark | More Fantasy | Historical Book Summary: Laura Iven worked hard as a field nurse during the war, saving as many soldiers as possible. That was until she was wounded and sent home. Not that coming home proved to be any safer.  Now Laura is facing the death of her parents…

[geethr75]

January Wrap up

I had such plans for January, but alas! I did read a bit, but not all the books in my list were finished. Some I gave up on, because I just couldn’t get into them. Without much ado, let me quickly recap my January reads SPSFC Reads Tasmanian Gothic A fast paced and entertaining read, this one made the semi finals of the SPSFC The Mimameid Solution Perfect for fans of slow paced books with…

[wearethekat]

Anticipated Upcoming New Releases

Anticipated by Me. Asterisk for titles where I haven't read anything by the author previously (ie sounds cool but unvetted)

*Single Player, Tara Tai. f/nb romance about a romance storywriter and her video game dev boss.

*Hammajang Luck, Makana Yamamoto (14 January). In a far-future world, a thief is approached by the partner who betrayed her for one last job just after getting out of a prison planet on early parole.

*Death of the Author, Nnedi Okorafor (14 January). Recently unemployed Zelu starts to write a new science fiction book, as the lines between fiction and reality begin to blur.

*Modern Divination, Isabel Agajanian (30 January). Young witch has carefully balanced her witchcraft with her demanding life at Cambridge University—only to find that her magic powers are fading.

Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales, Heather Fawcett (11 February). Book three of a series, in which Emily deals with the repercussions of being engaged to a faerie king.

*But Not Too Bold, Hache Pueyo (11 February). Novella. Sapphic retelling of Bluebeard featuring a giant humanoid spider.

Wooing the Witch Queen, Stephanie Burgis (18 February). Romantasy in which an evil sorceress queen gets catfished by a disguised imperial archduke pretending to be a librarian in a gaslamp setting.

*Greenteeth, Molly O'Neill (25 February). The legendary Molly Greenteeth teams up with a local witch to defeat an evil pastor.

*The Fourth Consort, Edward Ashton (25 February). A human representative to what's supposed to be a pan-species space confederation finds out he's actually on the wrong (and losing) side, and gets trapped on another planet.

The River Has Roots, Amal El-Mohtar (4 March). Novella. Two sisters living at the edge of Faerie tumblr into trouble when one of them takes a faerie suitor.

Once Was Willem, MR Carey (4 March). In medieval England, the eponymous Willem drags himself out of his grave to defend his village against an evil threat.

The Tomb of Dragons, Katherine Addison (11 March). Reportedly actually coming out this year! In book 3 of the series, Thara Celehar investigates a case involving an old cemetery and a miner's group.

A Gentleman's Gentleman, TJ Alexander (11 March). Alexander sticks their nose into the Regency genre with this t4t lord/valet romance.

Idolfire, Grace Curtis (11 March). One woman searching for a last chance and another woman looking for redemption travel to a sleeping magical city.

*Murder by Memory, Olivia Waite (18 March). A sci-fi mystery novella set on a generation ship, where a ship's detective investigates a mysterious murder.

*Aunt Tigress, Emily Yu-Xuan Qin (18 March). Reformed monster Tam investigates the murder of her aunt in Chinese folklore inspired urban fantasy Canada.

*The Keeper of Lonely Spirits, EM Anderson (25 March). Cursed to live forever, ghost hunter Peter starts to settle after two hundred years in a small town in Ohio.

A Drop of Corruption, Robert Jackson Bennett (1 April). Sequel. Our Sherlock Holmes coded detective investigates the disappearance of a treasury officer with the help of her trusty assistant in a complex secondary fantasy world.

*Where the Axe is Buried, Ray Nayler (1 April). In a crumbling near-future Earth, a brilliant scientist flees, because her new invention might be key to assassinating the immortal uploaded President.

*A Duke Never Tells, Suzanne Enoch (1 April). In this Regency romp, somehow both a young lady and the man she's affianced to are in disguise below stairs.

Don't Sleep With The Dead, Nghi Vo (8 April). Vo returns to the fantasy Great Gatsby setting with this novella from the POV of Nick Carraway post-novel events.

*The Raven Scholar, Antonia Hodgson (15 April). Seven candidates compete to become the next emperor—until one of them is murdered. The emperor's scholar attempts to find the killer.

*The Gentleman and His Vowsmith, Rebecca Ide (15 April). An accidentally falling in love with your wedding vendor by during your arranged marriage book, now with a locked mansion murder mystery.

*Notes from a Regicide, Isaac Fellman (15 April). Trans Griffon's adoptive parents die suddenly, leaving him to sort through their papers, which follows the failed revolution they fled.

Advocate, Daniel M Ford (22 April). Book three of a series. Insufferable lesbian necromancer Aelis is summoned back to the capital to investigate an accusation against her former teacher.

Saint Death's Herald, CSE Cooney (22 April). Sequel to my particular favorite Saint Death's Daughter. Lanie Stones must contain her murderously ambitious (and dead) great grandfather before he conquers the world.

*The Sun Blessed Prince, Lindsey Byrd (29 April). Queer romance between a prince with healing magic and the assassin sent to kill him.

Brighter than Scale, Swifter Than Flame, Neon Yang (6 May). Emissary and dragon hunter Yeva is sent to a nation that worships dragons to seduce their queen. Novella.

Drop Dead, Lily Chu (6 May). Rival journalists Nadine and Wesley spar for the scoop on a reclusive author-- until she dies suddenly, and the executor grants them both three weeks to study her papers together.

Ascension, ST Gibson (13 May). Sequel to Evocation about the contentious urban fantasy wizard polycule.

The Incandescent, Emily Tesh (13 May). A professor at a magical academy deals with some troublesome demons. (I'm VERY excited for this one)

*Anji Kills A King, Evan Leikam (13 May). In an impulsive moment, a laundry maid assassinates the king. She flees, pursued by a band of mercenaries with magic masks.

The Starving Saints, Caitlin Starling (20 May). After a six month siege, a castle is freed by a group of cultlike saints. As the castle descends into cannibalism orgies, can three women find a way to save themselves?

Strange New World, Vivian Shaw (20 May). The fourth book in the Greta Helsing series, in which Greta escorts an angel and a demon across America .

*Behooved, M Stevenson (20 May). Princess Bianca agrees to marry a prince in order to end the war—only to have a botched assassination attempt turn him into a horse. They flee together in order to unravel the evil plot.

The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association, Caitlin Rozakis (27 May). Ordinary parent Vivian has to rapidly adapt to the world of magic schools when her kindergartener is bitten by a werewolf.

June and later releases under the cut

The Listeners, Maggie Stiefvater (3 June). Hotel manager June is put to an unexpected test when the hotel's rich owners make a deal to host captured Nazi officials.

The Witch Roads, Kate Elliot (10 June). An arrogant prince enters the haunted Spires against the advice of their guide, leaving ex-slave Elen with the unenviable task of guiding a man who isn't quite the same as the one who entered.

The Mercy Makers, Tessa Gratton (17 June). Criminal heiress Iriset uses her ability to create magical disguises to infiltrate the palace and free her father, insinuating herself into the lives of the emperor and his sister in the process.

*This Princess Kills Monsters, Ry Herman (17 June). A sapphic retelling of the Grimm fairy tale The Twelve Huntsmen.

A Far Better Thing, HG Parry (17 June). Changeling child Sydney escapes and crosses over to the human world during the French Revolution to get his revenge on the fairie that took his place.

A Legionnaire's Guide to Love and Peace, Emily Skrutskie (24 June). Two redshirts unexpectedly don't die in a fantasy apocalypse after a band of plucky heroes intervene, forcing them to contemplate their one last night stand.

The Bewitching, Silvia Moreno-Garcia (15 July). A multigenerational story about three women and the curse that stalks their family.

The Memory Hunters, Mia Tsai (29 July). Secondary world academia about using memory magic powers for archaeology.

Hemlock & Silver, T Kingfisher (19 August). A retelling of Snow White from the point of view of a healer trying to cure the poisoned princess.

*Terms of Service, Ciel Pierlot (23 September). Luzia sells herself to the mysterious fae-like Astrosi who live above the metropolis in order to rescue her nephew.

[nellasbookplanet]

Book recs: angels

Want some cool fictional angels? Good news! Whether you prefer traditional winged angels, scary eldritch angels, possibly-human-angels, incredibly creative in-name-only-angels, angels separated from or exploring concepts of faith and religion, romance, horror, fantasy, or sci-fi; this list is sure to offer something to chew on!

For more details on the books, continue under the readmore. Titles marked with * are my personal favorites. And as always, feel free to share your own recs in the notes!

If you want more book recs, check out my masterpost of rec lists!

Historical fantasy angels

When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb*

The angel Uriel and the demon Little Ash have been friends for centuries, living and studying together in a small jewish community in Europe. But times are changing, and many of the community have left for a new life across the sea. When one of these emigrants go missing, Uriel and Little Ash decide to leave their peaceful life and go find and, if needed, save her.

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèli Clark

Set in an alternate 1910’s steampunk Cairo, where djinn and other creatures (among other things, creepy steampunk angels) live alongside humans. We get to follow an investigator as she races to catch a criminal using a powerful object to control djinn and stir unrest. Fantastically creative and fresh, and also features a buddy cop dynamic between two female leads as well as a sapphic romance.

The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison*

Sherlock Holmes retelling. After having been injured fighting a war against fallen angels, Doyle returns to London to survive on only a veteran's pension. To afford a place to live in the city, Doyle finds a housemate in Crow, and eccentric angel with a great curiosity for humans and a knack for solving crime. And London needs its protector - supernatural beings walk the streets, and a someone going by the name Jack the Ripper terrifies the citizens at night.

Modern day fantasy angels

Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi

Novella, young adult. Bitter is an art student in Lucille, a city on the brink. Injustice plagues the citizens and protests shake the streets, and Bitter doesn't know where her place his - whether to fight or stay safe. When her art calls upon a creature of bloody justice, she must ask herself just how far she’s prepared to go and what price she’s ready to pay for justice.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Young adult portal fantasy. Young Karou is a student in Prague, but she’s also a mystery. She fills sketchbooks with drawings of monsters, trades in wishes, speaks languages that aren't all human, and has hair that grows out blue. When strange signs start appearing around the world - handprints scorched into doorways by winged strangers - will Karou finally find out who she really is?

Angelfall by Susan Ee*

Young adult post apocalypse. Six months ago, the angels descended on the Earth - and brought the apocalypse with them. Between ruling street gangs and vicious angels, Penryn is just trying to keep her family alive. When angels fly away with her little sister, Penryn does the unthinkable: strikes a deal with an injured and outcast angel to rescue her.

A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin*

Urban fantasy. Two years ago, sorcerer Matthew Swift was killed. Today, he woke back up. And he isn't alone in his body, but rather in the company of the blue electric angels, who lived in the telephone lines and are now experiencing the world for the first time through him. Now, he seeks vengeance not only against the one who killed him, but also against the one who brought him back.

The Fall that Saved Us by Tamara Jerée*

Cassiel is of angelic heritage, raised to fight and kill demons alongside her family. But Cassiel has left the hunt and her family behind, wanting a normal life. For three years she's built a life for herself, cut off from her family, but now a demon has found her, sent to collect her soul. Except, the demon isn't any more interested in following the orders of her family than Cassiel is. Can they work together to free themselves from the expectations placed on them? Sapphic romance.

Out of the Blue by Sophie Cameron*

Young adult, sapphic main character. When angels started falling from the sky, the world went mad. So far not a single angel has survived the fall, but that doesn't stop teenage Jaya's father from growing an obsession with catching one, going as far as uprooting the entire family to Edinburgh in hopes of finding one. Jaya, busy mourning the recent loss of her mother, finds his obsession pointless - until an angel crashes right at her feet. What’s more, it's alive...

Full on fantasy angels

Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse

Novella. During Heaven's War, the rebel Abaddon died and fell. Now, long after, what remains of his body is a valuable element called divinity, which is mined by Fallen, descendants of those who fell and the only ones capable of perceiving divinity. Celeste, a Fallen raised among the privileged Elect, is deeply protective of her little sister Mariel. When Mariel is accused of having murdered an Elect, it’s up to Celeste to find out what really happened and save her sister.

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Middle grade. In Lyra's world, every person has a daemon: an animal companion who follows them throughout life. When children begins being stolen off the street, among them Lyra's friend, she must embark on a great journey to save him, taking her to the furthest north - and beyond. A note: the angels do not appear until the second book, however this trilogy is very much worth a read from the start.

Gunmetal Gods by Zamil Akhtar

Dark fantasy inspired by the crusades. Seeking revenge, Micah the Metal leads an army of men baptized i angel's blood against the kingdom that stole his daughter. It’s up to Kevah, legendary fighter, to stop him and save his people. But ever since losing his wife a decade ago, Kevah has lost his fighting spirit. To defeat Micah, he must find it within himself a will to live again. While featuring (scary eldritch) angels, they serve more as a driving background/world-building force than as actual characters.

Horror angels

The Unnoticeables by Robert Brockway

Angels watch over humans, but not to protect us but to solve us, seeking to make the universe more efficient and clean away the undesirable. Carey, a 70s punk, doesn't like the idea of being solved. Watching fellow punks disappear off the streets, he becomes embroiled in a dangerous conspiracy. Decades later, stunt woman Kaitlyn has her own encounter with the angels and their creations - as well an older punk who might have the answers she needs.

Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White

Young adult post apocalypse. The world has ended, and sixteen-year-old trans boy Benji is on the run from the cult that caused armageddon. Infected with the bioweapon they released to bring about the end, Benji is slowly transforming into something not quite human and desperate to find someplace safe. When coming across a group of surviving teens, Benji finds something new to fight for. No traditional angels, but it does play with the concept.

Angel Radio by A.M. Blaushild

Young adult post apocalypse. A week after strange and terrifying angels appeared, humanity is dead. Sole survivor of her town, teenage Erika is left wandering on her own. That is, until she catches an odd broadcast on the radio which lures her into the newly emptied world. There she encounters dangerous creatures, but also fellow survivor Midori, who has a cryptic connection to the angels.

Sci-fi angels

Archangel Protocol (LINK Angel series) by Lyda Morehouse

Cyberpunk. In a future where religion has become the law of the land and people spend as much time in cyberspace as in reality, ex-cop Deirdre has lost everything after having been accused of a crime she didn't commit. When approached by a man calling himself Michael and asked to solve the mystery behind the so called link angels - supposed angels who show themselves in cyberspace - Deirdre is given a chance at redemption and answers.

Archangel by Sharon Shinn

For twenty years, archangel Raphael has ruled over the lands, leading to corruption among both angels and mortals. Now the time has come for the angel Gabriel to become archangel, but first he must find his Angelica, a mortal woman chosen by Jehovah to be by his side. But his chosen partner, Rachel, has lived under oppression and fear, and she has her own ideas of what she wants - ideas that don't include Gabriel.

Terminal World by Alastair Reynolds

On a dying earth, society is separated by zones in which the laws of reality shift, allowing for different levels of technology and life. At the top of Spearpoint, the only surviving city, lies the Celestial zone, in which only angels can survive. Quillon, former angel who's had his wings removed and body changed so he can survive and infiltrate the lower zones, has been in hiding for years when he receives a warning that his former people are hunting him. Forced on the run, Quillon must leave Spearpoint for the dangerous wastes beyond, where he will discover ancient secrets of his world.

Space angels

Dust by Elizabeth Bear

In a dying spaceship, orbiting an equally dying sun, noblewoman Perceval waits for her own gruesome death. Having been captured by an opposing house, her wings severed and life forfeit, Perceval’s execution is imminent - until a young servant charged with her care proves to be Perceval’s long lost sister. To stop a war between houses likely to doom them all, the two flee together across a crumbling, dangerous spaceship. At its core waits Jacob Dust, god and angel, all that remains of what the ship once was. And he wants Perceval. Sapphic and asexual characters, however be prepared for kinda fucked up relationships.

The Outside by Ada Hoffman*

AKA the book the put me in an existential crisis. Souls are real, and they are used to feed AI gods in this lovecraftian inspired sci-fi where reality is warped and artificial gods stand against real, unfathomable ones. Autistic scientist Yasira is accused of heresy and, to save her eternal soul, is recruited by cybernetic ‘angels’ to help hunt down her own former mentor, who is threatening to tear reality itself apart. Sapphic main character.

The Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang

Space opera inspired by Joan of Arc. Misery Nomaki possesses rare stone-working abilities usually found among only saints and the voidmad. Not believing herself the be former and desperately not wanting to become the latter, Misery is trying to keep a low profile. Her attempt fails when the voice of an angel - or a very convincing delusion - leads her to become the centerpiece of a dangerous battle between two warring factions hoping to use her. Very unique and cool conceptually, but a little all over the place in how it handles its plot.

Bonus AKA I haven’t read these yet but they seem really cool

Dusk in Kalevia by Emily Compton

Toivo Valonen is a secret agent in more ways than one. An angel masquerading as human, he's acted as a source of hope for humanity in wartime throughout history. In 1960, he embarks on an undercover mission to Kalevia, allied with a rebellion against the government. In his way is fellow angel and rival agent Demyan Chernyshev, who’s working for the KGB.

The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard

Having just barely survived the Great Houses War, much of Paris lies in ruins. Morningstar, founder of the House Silverspires, has gone missing, and something is stalking the people within the House's walls. Three people, a Fallen, an alchemist, and a man wielding spells from the far east, may be prove to be Silverspire's salvation.

The Worst Perfect Moment by Shivaun Plozza

Young adult. Sixteen-year-old Tegan is dead and i heaven. There, she's supposed to be reliving her happiest memory. Except the moment Tegan has been placed in isn't very happy at all. Guided by an angel, Tegan is brought through her past to understand what most matters to her. If she fails to see the happiness in her assigned memory, the consequences would be dire for both her and the angel.

Honorary mentions AKA these didn't really work for me but maybe you guys will like them: The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith, City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey

[ninja-muse]

2025 Release TBR

🏳️‍🌈 - queer MC     🇨🇦 - Canadian author    ⭐️ - BIPOC MC 📘 - have an ARC bold - new added

The Songbird - Stacy Lynn Miller (historical fiction) - January 7

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear - Seanan McGuire (fantasy) - January 7

Rebellious Grace - Jeri Westerson (historical mystery) 🏳️‍🌈 - January 7

The Betrayal of Thomas True - A.J. West (historical mystery) 🏳️‍🌈 - January 14

An African History of Africa - Zeinab Badawi (history) ⭐️ - January 14

Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales - Heather Fawcett (fantasy) 🇨🇦 - February 11

Upon a Starlit Tide - Kell Woods (fantasy) - February 18

Greenteeth - Molly O’Neill (fantasy) 🏳️‍🌈 - February 25

Once Was Willem - M.R. Carey (historical fantasy) - March 4

May Contain Murder - Orlando Murrin (cozy mystery) 🏳️‍🌈 - March 11

The Tomb of Dragons - Katherine Addison (fantasy/mystery) 🏳️‍🌈 - March 11

Installment Immortality - Seanan McGuire (urban fantasy) - March 11

The Duke at Hazard - KJ Charles (historical romance) 🏳️‍🌈 - March 11

Malinalli - Veronica Chapa (historical fiction) ⭐️ 📘- March 11

Alterations - Kate Maruyama (historical fiction) ⭐️ - March 11

Love and Other Paradoxes - Catriona Silvey (time travel/romance) 📘- March 11

The Hymn to Dionysus - Natasha Pulley (fantasy/retelling) 🏳️‍🌈 - March 18

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter - Stephan Graham Jones (horror)⭐️ - March 18

Aunt Tigress - Emily Yu-Xuan Qin (contemporary fantasy) 🇨🇦🏳️‍🌈 - March 25

Murder by Memory - Olivia Waite (cozy science fiction/mystery) 🏳️‍🌈 - March 18

The Chow Maniac - Vivien Chien (cozy mystery) ⭐️ - April 1

Direct Descendant - Tanya Huff (cozy fantasy/horror) 🇨🇦 🏳️‍🌈 - April 1

Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) - Jesse Q. Sutanto (cozy mystery) ⭐️ - April 1

The Ashfire King - Chelsea Abdullah (fantasy) ⭐️ - April 15

Saga, Vol. 12 - Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (graphic science fiction) 🇨🇦 - April 15

Great Big Beautiful Life - Emily Henry (contemporary romance) - April 22

Overgrowth - Mira Grant (science fiction/horror) - May 6

Austen at Sea - Natalie Jenner (historical fiction) 🇨🇦 - May 6

The Country Under Heaven - Frederic S. Durbin (weird western) - May 13

Strange New World - Vivian Shaw (urban fantasy) - May 20

Baking Across America - B. Dylan Hollis (cookbook) 🏳️‍🌈 - May 20

Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Except Me) - Django Wexler (fantasy) 🏳️‍🌈 - May 27

The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association - Caitlin Rozakis (comic fantasy) - May 27

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil - V.E. Schwab (horror/fantasy) 🏳️‍🌈 - June 10

The Mercy Makers - Tessa Gratton (fantasy) - June 17

A Far Better Thing - H.G. Parry (historical fantasy) - June 17

The Rushworth Family Plot - Claudia Gray (historical mystery) - June 17

Stone and Sky - Ben Aaronovitch (urban fantasy) ⭐️ - July 8

The Frozen People - Elly Griffiths (science fiction/mystery) - July 8

Algospeak - Adam Aleksic (linguistics) - July 15

Mayhem at a Halloween Wedding - Emmeline Duncan (cozy mystery) - July 29

Automatic Noodle - Annalee Newitz (cozy science fiction) - August 5

Hemlock and Silver - T. Kingfisher (fantasy) - August 19

Katabasis - R.F. Kuang (dark academia/fantasy) - August 26

Boudicca’s Daughter - Elodie Harper (historical fiction) - August 28

Hot Wax - M.L. Rio (fiction) - September 9

The Haunting of William Thorn - Ben Alderton (gothic horror) 🏳️‍🌈 - September 9

A Tangle in Time - Josiah Bancroft (steampunk/mystery) - September 9

Lady Like - Mackenzi Lee (historical romance) 🏳️‍🌈- September 9

The Summer War - Naomi Novik (fantasy) - September 16

Ladies in Hating - Alexandra Vasti (historical romance) 🏳️‍🌈 - September 25

The Gnomes of Lychford - Paul Cornell (contemporary fantasy) - September 25

What Stalks the Deep - T. Kingfisher (horror) 🏳️‍🌈 - September 30

Silver and Lead - Seanan McGuire (urban fantasy) - September 30

Cinder House - Freya Marske (horror/retelling) 🏳️‍🌈 - October 7

The Bakery Dragon and the Fairy Cake - Devin Elle Kurtz (cozy fantasy/picture book) - October 7

He’s So Possessed With Me - Corey Liu (YA horror) 🏳️‍🌈 🇨🇦 - October 14

The Everlasting - Alix E. Harrow (fantasy) - October 25

The Keeper of Magical Things - Julie Leong (cozy fantasy) ⭐️ - November 4

Brigands and Breadknives - Travis Baldree (cozy fantasy) - November 11

Audrey Lane Stirs the Pot - Alexis Hall (contemporary romance) 🏳️‍🌈 - December 9

[greenconverses]

Recently read: Closing in on the last batch of books of the year! If I try reaaaaaally hard, I might make it to 80, but 70-75 seems more likely.

Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma was another disappointing dark academia/urban fantasy, courtesy of Owlcrate. I liked chunks in the middle, but the first and last 100 pages dragged something fiercely. Like most YA/New Adult romantasy books these days, the world building and magic system were half-baked, and the romance was uninspired. Gonna take a break from my remaining Owlcrate pile because it's been rough. (★★.5)

Lost & Lassoed is Lyla Sage's best book so far, but I was still hoping for more from Teddy and Gus. Antagonistic characters falling in love is my fav, and while this scratched the itch, it didn't fully satisfy me. Gotta throw in more angst and drama with these types of romances, I think. (★★★.5)

Uzma Jalaluddin has done such great work with her contemporary Muslim Jane Austen adaptions, and Much Ado About Nada was no exception. I gasped when the twist was revealed -- always a good sign, haha. Excellent second chance romance. (★★★★.5)

While at the library the other day, I checked out every book in the Meant to Be series, which are contemporary adult adaptations of Disney stories. I read the Cinderella book a while back, but held off on By the Book because I don't vibe with Jasmine Guillory's writing style. Unfortunately, that's still true, which sucks because Beauty and the Beast is my FAVORITE and I'm so disappointed. Katherine Center did the "aspiring writer helps spoiled Hollywood man" concept so much better in The RomCommers, so just read that instead. I'm a little nervous about the other two books now, especially since the Tangled-inspired one is written by Christina Lauren and their quality is mixed, at best. I guess we'll see! (★★)

[augustinajosefina]

A request

Please suggest books to me! Preferably in the glove kink/lesbian space atrocities, urban fantasy or dark academia genres but I'll happily try any SF/fantasy at least once.

So far I've read and loved:

Before 2023

The Imperial Radch (Ancillary Justice/Sword/Mercy) - Ann Leckie

Jean le Flambeur (The Quantum Thief/The Fractal Prince/The Causal Angel) - Hannu Rajaniemi

The Windup Girl/The Water Knife - Paolo Bagicalupi

Memory of Water/The City of Woven Streets - Emmi Itäranta

2023

The Locked Tomb (Gideon/Harrow/Nona the Ninth) - Tamsyn Muir

The Masquerade (Traitor/Monster/Tyrant Baru Cormorant) - Seth Dickinson

Teixcalaan series (A Memory Called Empire/A Desolation Called Peace) - Arkady Martine

Machineries of Empire (Ninefox Gambit/Raven Stratagem/Revenant Gun/Hexarchate Stories) - Yoon Ha Lee

The Murderbot Diaries (All Systems Red to System Collapse) - Martha Wells

The Broken Earth (The Fifth Season/The Obelisk Gate/The Stone Sky) - N. K. Jemisin

Klara And The Sun - Kazuo Ishiguro

Xuya universe (The Citadel of Weeping Pearls/The Tea Master and the Detective/Seven of Infinities plus short stories) - Aliette de Bodard

This is How You Lose the Time War - Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

The Goblin Emperor/The Witness for the Dead/Grief of Stones - Katherine Addison

Some Desperate Glory - Emily Tesh

2024

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - V. E. Schwab

The Craft Sequence (Three Parts Dead/Two Serpents Rise/Full Fathom Five/Last First Snow/Four Roads Cross/Ruin of Angels) - Max Gladstone

Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution - R. F. Kuang

Dead Country - Max Gladstone

Hands of the Emperor - Victoria Goddard

Read and liked:

The Moonday Letters - Emmi Itäranta

Piranesi - Susanna Clarke

Great Cities (The City We Became/The World We Make) - N. K. Jemisin

Autonomous - Annalee Newitz

Dead Djinn universe (A Master of Djinn/The Haunting of Tram Car 015/A Dead Djinn in Cairo/The Angel of Khan el-Khalili) - P. Djèlí Clark

Even Though I Knew the End - C. L. Polk

Station Eternity - Mur Lafferty

The Mythic Dream - Dominik Parisien & Navah Wolfe

Shades of Magic (A Darker Shade of Magic/A Gathering of Shadows/A Conjuring of Light/Fragile Threads of Power) - V. E. Schwab

The Luminous Dead - Caitlin Starling

Last Exit - Max Gladstone

The Stars Are Legion - Kameron Hurley

Ninth House/Hell Bent - Leigh Bardugo

Machine - Elizabeth Bear

Our Wives Under the Sea - Julia Armfield

She Is A Haunting - Trang Thanh Tran

Sisters of the Revolution - Jeff & Ann Vandermeer

Station Eleven - Emily St John Mandel

Nettle & Bone - T. Kingfisher

Monstrilio - Gerardo Samano Córdova

Was uncertain about:

Light From Uncommon Stars - Ryka Aoki

The Kaiju Preservation Society - John Scalzi

Paladin's Grace - T. Kingfisher

The House in the Cerulean Sea - TJ Klune

In the Vanishers Palace - Aliette de Bodard

Uprooted - Naomi Novik

What Moves The Dead - T. Kingfisher

All The Birds In The Sky - Charlie Jane Anders

And read and disliked:

To Be Taught, if Fortunate - Becky Chambers

A Psalm for the Wild-Built - Becky Chambers

The Priory of the Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon

The Calculating Stars - Mary Robinette Kowal

The Space Between Worlds - Micaiah Johnson

How High We Go in the Dark - Sequoia Nagamatsu

Shadow and Bone - Leigh Bardugo

The Passage - Justin Cronin

In Ascension - Martin MacInnes

(My pride insists I add that I have, in fact, read other books as well. Just to be clear.)

[magicalhideoutengineer]

 “I was excited about the prospect of exploring fashion in Paris in the late '20s," Colleen says. "I pushed it into the early '30s because Paris is always ahead of the fashion curve; it’s [a] city known for its elegance and style and that was a great period for design.” 

Can you take us through your creative process for designing the costumes?

"The first part of the process was meeting with the director and reading the script where you get the idea of what the story is. The next step is meeting with the production designer so you see the world that he's creating. This particular movie is set in Paris and a little bit of New York. I start and go do my own research, and look for inspiration from that time period in Paris, which was a very rich and amazing time for design where so much was going on.

“Newt still has his beasts, but his shell is a little slicker. We put Eddie in clothes that are close to the same silhouette, just a bit better fit.”

"I took all the layers from the art world, to the carnivals, to Moulin Rouge, all the things in Paris that make it such a spectacular city, back into with the different levels of humanity that I'm creating for the film, for the real world, and for the wizarding world. [The wizards] are living not seperately from the muggle world, they have a double life. So they live amongst the regular folks but they have a little flare so I had fun with them with different shaped hats, and different things that were subtle so you could kind of tell it was them when they were mixed with the muggle world. But then when you separate them, I pushed reality a little bit more. They're more strange looking, with different kinds of color and things like that. In this case, because I know the main four from the previous film, I take each character and think about how they evolve and how they've grown from moving through a couple of years into their lives and breaking that down with each of them."

"[For Grindelwald] The name begged for an Alpine twist, and I’ve always loved Bavarian clothing. We made the lederhosen a little bit longer, coupled it with a tall boot, and ended up with a kind of Bavarian meets the New Romantic."

How would you describe the evolution of the costumes from the first movie to the second one?

"Since they went from America to Paris, they have a more European flavor in general. The principal characters are more sophisticated, they've evolved. Katherine Waterston's character Tina has moved back to her old vision as a higher up. Queenie has evolved and become a more grown up, less flippant character. She's in darker colors and a more grown up look. Slightly pushed into the '30s. For Eddie Redmayne's character, it was sort of similar in silhouette and shape as his previous costume, but with a more urban flavor, a more sophisticated fabric, and [with colors that are] a little less bright."

"[For Queenie,] it’s a bit more grown up and has a slightly darker edge than her dress in the last film, but at the same time, it’s feminine and has the whimsy of that big bow in the front. "

How would you describe your designs for the movie?

"In general, I think my designs defnitely have a flavor of movement and color, and a sort of trajectory into the '30s that was different from the first film. I think they're quite sexy in a quiet way, not in an obvious way. I have some amazing beautiful characters like Claudia Kim who is Nagini. She has a very amazing dress that  transforms into other things so I had a really magical times with  the costumes."

[For Nagini] “Throughout the film, she is wearing her performance costume from the magical circus, so I wanted to amplify the fantasy aspect.  For the material, I took lace and screened over it with metallic foil to give the look of snakeskin, and then added ruffles around the bottom and the sleeves to suggest the coils of the snake.”

Did you face any difficulties in designing the costumes?

"I think for a movie like that, the most difficult part is just the time you have to create a lot of ornate cotumes. Getting them ready and getting them aged and looking interesting takes just about enough time to get it done. For instance, Queenie's dress is a beautiful piece of fabric I found in Germany from the '30s, but in order to make it work for her costume, I needed enough to make 12 costumes. In order to do that sometimes I take the inspiration of that fabric and print it myself so I create the fabric for the characters before I make the costume in order to have the feeling of the period and the kind of fabric I want for that particular character. In doing that, everybody's costumes shouldn't look like it just came from a store, it should have a lived in quality. So the same people that do the printing and stuff make things look dirty, if there's a fight they tear it, they do dyeing of fabrics for making different colors and all kinds of things. It's a huge creative department painting, taking the leather coats—when I first get them they look very stiff— and breaking down things so they look like they're comfortably lived in."

“David Yates and I wanted Dumbledore to be the professor the kids all love, their go-to guy.  He needed to look professorial but at the same time approachable, so I used softer fabrics and textures in tones like heathery grays, which add to the approachability of the character. I also love corduroy, so I made a wide-wale corduroy coat for him and Jude just loved it.”

Would you say each character's costume says something about their personality?

"I think that each character's costume is part of their character, so for instance, the idea of Tina's leather coat gives immediate authority with its silhouette. I would consider how each character looks not only close up, but how they look far away, standing in a doorway or something like that. They don't have a lot of changes, but they have a look, and I think that's part of the design of the character that's the most important thing to find."

“Tina has more self-assurance since her reinstatement as an Auror.  She looks like a true detective in a great blue leather coat.  We were fond of everything about it…except how much it weighs.”

Did you have a favorite character to design for?

"That's a hard question! Not really, it was fun working with Zoe Kravitz on the film because she's so sylish and it's great to design things that are chic like that and more sophisticated. 

“Leta is from the manor born, so her clothes are all very elegant and rich in color.  Zoë looks fantastic in anything, so it was fun to dress her for the period.”

[displayheartcode]

Hi Rachel!! 💖 For book recs: I'm looking for books similar to Among Others, especially the world building aspect of it. Looking for atmospheric and thoughtful "urban" fantasies.

ooohhhh i got you!

the wild hunt by emma seckel (adult)

tam lin by pamela dean (adult)

ink blood sister scribe emma törzs (adult)

fire and hemlock by diana wynne jones (adult)

when among crows by veronica roth (adult)

the inheritance of orquídea divina by zoraida córdova (adult)

the rules of magic by alice hoffman (adult)

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

the hazel wood by melissa albert (ya)

a study in drowning by ava reid (ya)

a far wilder magic by allison saft (ya)

ghost wood song by erica waters (ya)

the ghosts of rose hill by rm romero (ya)

the coming storm by regina m hansen (mg)

the grey king by susan cooper (mg)

small spaces by katherine arden (mg)

[bunnidid-reviews]

I just finished Chasing Dawn (The Alters) by Terra Katherine McKeown  and aaaaaa!!!!

aaaaaaa!!!!! It so good!!!!

I don't have the time right now to write up the review, but if you want a thrilling urban fantasy with a really cool take on DID and magic, please check this out, it's so so cool!!! I am Hooked! I Am Compelled! In less pages than other certain books I've read, I'm so much more connected to each of the alters and their personal journies, as well as the magical lore.

If you check it out, please be mindful that there's some detailed fight scenes that get pretty bloody, implied sexual abuse and a chapter detailing ritual abuse(the chapter is titled Sigils and Scars Faded). I'll do a more detailed TW list when I can write my review

But yeah!!!! I loved this one

[tildeathiwillwrite]

WIP Intro: The Legend of Orian Goldeneye

I've been tagged by @illarian-rambling to do the Wip Intro tag game, so here I am, finally composing a legitimate intro!

Rules: Fill out the questions for your wip! Blank Questions: Title: Genre: Audience: Tags: Stage of the Writing Process: Synopsis:

~~~~~

Title: The Legend of Orian Goldeneye

Genre: Portal Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

Audience: New Adult by publishing metrics, TV-14 by show metrics

Tags: #the legend of orian goldeneye, #orian goldeneye, #jasper katherine, #killian cory, #azura lazuli, #diana ozborne, #henrik bronze

Stage of the Writing Process: Rewrites

Synopsis:

On the planet Somnia, there are two worlds, hopelessly intertwined: the physical world, and the dream. In the dream, anything is possible.

...Unless it involves black glass.

The city of Saint's Shoal is in a state of unrest. A dreamshaper by the name of Azura Lazuli seeks vengeance, and she will stop at nothing to see it through. The responsibility falls to Orian Goldeneye, mythical child of balance, to stop her before her actions harm innocents. But he's only one dreamshaper, and every battle between them ends in a draw. He's getting desperate.

So what happens when two strangers get tossed into a prison designed for dreamshapers? An opportunity is siezed, and it just might tip the scales in his favor.

But time's running short, and Orian's new allies, Jas and Killian, may be far more than meets the eye. Will they aid him and put an end to Azura's reign of terror? Or will they bring more problems than he started with?

~~~~~

Gently tagging @fourwingedwriter @thewritingautisticat @phoenixradiant @crwn-nrth @catwings-writes-things

@pluppsauthor @pluttskutt and anyone else who wants to give it a go! :D

[turning-pages-seeking-sages]

📖✨ Monthly Reading Wrap-Up

September 2024 Edition

📕 Diavola by Jennifer Marie Thorne Fantasy/Horror | ★★★★½ (4.5/5) A young woman discovers dark secrets lurking in the seemingly idyllic Italian town she moves to, as she becomes entangled with a sinister entity. Review: The toxic family dynamic was rage-inducing but her growth was so satisfying.

📗 Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See Historical Fiction | ★★★★¼ (4.25/5) A story of friendship, healing, and the remarkable life of Lady Tan, a woman physician in 15th-century China who challenged societal expectations. Review: A beautiful book with characters who are very much a product of their time but their worries and aspirations remain timeless.

📘 Vita Nostra by Sergey Dyachenko, Marina Dyachenko Fantasy | ★★★★½ (4.5/5) A mind-bending novel about a young woman's entrance into a mysterious institute where reality and language twist into something far beyond comprehension. Review: I can't explain what this book did to my brain—Stockholm syndrome comes close. Click 'keep reading' for the full list and StoryGraph links.

📙 Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan Epic Fantasy | ★★★★☆ (4/5) The overthrow of a corrupt monarchy sets off a revolution in a world of magic-wielding powder mages and political intrigue. Review: Loved the world-building, but the women in this story come off quite flat.

📕 The Assassins of Thasalon by Lois McMaster Bujold Fantasy | ★★★★☆ (4/5) A retired sorcerer-turned-saint is called back into action when an assassination plot threatens the stability of his world. Review: I enjoyed the political intrigue and love a good comeuppance.

📗 Knot of Shadows by Lois McMaster Bujold Fantasy/Mystery | ★★★★☆ (4/5) An unconventional investigation unfolds in a world where magic and mystery intertwine, revealing deeper truths about life, death, and the spiritual realm. Review: This poignant story of vengeance and justice moved me to tears.

📘 The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman Fantasy | ★★★★¾ (4.75/5) A thief with a debt to a ruthless guild must navigate a world full of danger, including goblins, witches, and an epic war, to survive. Review: I loved this book—the tone, the worldbuilding, and the characters, whom I am now completely in love with.

📙 Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree Fantasy | ★★★★☆ (4/5) A wounded mercenary finds herself stuck in a sleepy seaside town and unexpectedly drawn into the warmth of a local bookshop, where new adventures await. Review: Cozy, heartwarming, and sweet in all the right ways.

📕 The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden Historical Fiction | ★★★☆☆ (3/5) A chilling tale set during World War I, blending the supernatural with a soldier's haunting experiences in the trenches. Review: A solid read, but it was a book-reader mismatch because I wanted more fantasy.

📗 The Do-Over by Lynn Painter Romantic Comedy | ★★★☆☆ (3/5) A woman gets the chance to relive Valentine's Day over and over, as she tries to fix her love life and face her fears about commitment. Review: Light and entertaining but the romance didn't stand out for me.

📘 White Cat by Holly Black Urban Fantasy | ★★★½☆ (3.5/5) In a world where magic is forbidden, Cassel discovers his family's darkest secrets and grapples with the consequences of his own powers. Review: I've had my fill of Cassel and his twisted family dynamics.

[psychologeek]

This is to explain about my fic. I recommend reading it first:

Because I put several Easter eggs, references, and other things you may didn't notice on the first reading.

I try to be careful here, with how/what I write - especially as I'm speaking about religious and culture I'm not a part of. Also, please consider that I don't speak Spanish and that English is a second language for me.

However, I tried to learn and educate myself. I tried looking for mexican writers, and looking more for what PEOPLE said, instead of researchers.

If I wronged anything, please let me know! I'm open to fixing and learning.

Short bits:

1. "His mom's culture" - I HC Katherine Todd as For this fic (and several others) I went with Mexican, because it worked better with my ideas.

2. "Santa Muerte" - Nuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte (Our Lady of Holy Death). Some celebrate her day on August 15th.

3. "Catrina" - refer to "La Calavera Catrina" ("The Dapper [female] Skull"). Hispanic version of Katherine.

4. "there are more things on heaven and earth"

5. Abchanchu.

6. la Llorona

7. wak-wak

8. Camazotz + "getting his head turned to a basketball"

9. "Say hi to the big guy for me"

10. He met his mother

11. "He wakes up... 6 months and 5 days later"

More detailed:

2. "As Señora de la Noche ("Lady of the Night"), she is often invoked by those exposed to the dangers of working at night, such as taxi drivers, bar owners, police, soldiers, and prostitutes. As such, devotees believe she can protect against assaults, accidents, gun violence, and all types of violent death."...

"Santa Muerte also has a saint's day, which varies from shrine to shrine. The most prominent is November 1... Others celebrate her day on August 15."

Another reason I focused on Santa Muerta was her being very important to the "lower classes". It works well with the way I see this universe and Urban fantasy. It actually got so long, I had to make it into a whole post.

3. "Catrina" is a version of 'Katherine' - that also means pure, unsullied. I HC her as an immigrant, and therefore wasn't probably originally called "Katherine" - but started using it in USA, as she try to 'blend in', or just as a preferred "mistaken name".

4. Shakespeare quote!

4.5. "crime ally attracts all sorts of beings" - I have a separate post about the worldbuilding.

5. Abchanchu - "a legendary Bolivian vampire who shapeshifts into the form of a helpless, elderly traveler. When a passerby offers to help him, Abchanchu victimizes him and drinks his blood" (wiki)

6. la Llorona - ("The Weeping Woman" or "The Wailer") is a Mexican mythical vengeful ghost who is said to roam near bodies of water mourning her children whom she drowned because they had no food.

7. wak-wak - "a vampiric, bird-like creature in Philippine mythology. It is said to snatch humans at night as prey".

Honestly? The moment I read about it, I was like - "yea, it's perfect for the worldbuilding". Why wouldn't people believe Batman is a wakwak? We have here the vampire features (bat), but also birdy, "snatch humans at night", cryptid.

(Another bonus? Remind me of the word "Witwat". If you read my fic "Witwat and the Jin" you understand why I associate it with Batman)

8. Camazotz - In the Late Post-Classic Maya mythology of the Popol Vuh, Camazotz is a bat spirit at the service of the lords of the underworld. Camazotz means "death bat" in the Kʼicheʼ language. In Mesoamerica generally, the bat is often associated with night, death, and sacrifice.

Do I have to explain?

*8. "getting his head turned to a basketball" - there's a story where the Maya hero-twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque go to the underworld. They have to stay for the night in 'the house of bats' and hide themselves inside their weapons. Hunahpu stuck his head out to see if it's day, and one of the bats snatch his head and hang it as a ball for the gods to play with.

(I hope I'm not too wrong here).

So, 1- kids like disgusting things. 2 - think about Kid!Jason, who grew up with this story in his head, being taken away by The Bat to HIS HOUSE. (He was probably terrified af).

9. "Say hi to the big guy for me" - a quote from the Joker. I built a tiny parallel here - it's the last thing he here before he dies (Joker) and before he re-lives (His mom).

10. I sort of use it as an anthropomorphism - I don't go into religion here. I see it as - faith and beliefs and community can turn into something. I see it as one face of Death, but also different. idk. I hope it's understandable.

11. Jason died on April 26/7th. He comes back to life on October 31/November 1st - AKA Día de los Muertos. But, as I understand, Mexican tradition has 2 days - November 1st honors the souls of children (día de los angelitos), and November 2nd remembers the souls of adults.

So - Jason, on the edge of adulthood, comes back to life on the day of the angels, but crawls out of his grave on the day of the adults.

[better explanation:

and with photos: https://danestrom.com/dia-de-los-angelitos-remembering-children-day-dead/ ]

[sleepynines]

10 and 19!

10. How many books have you read in the last six months?

33 books so far! I've already surpassed my goal for the year thanks to the help of audiobooks

19. Top 5 favorite books?

Yay now I have an excuse to ramble about my favorite books!

1. Babel by R. F. Kuang

I was glued to this book while I was reading it! It's a story about the magic of translation (literally and figuratively) and resisting colonialism through the power of collective action and violence. I love the dark academia atmosphere of the book and I thought the characters were (mostly) likeable and easy to connect to.

2. The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison

This book is a retelling of Sherlock Holmes but in a victorian urban fantasy setting. The Sherlock equivalent in this book is a character named Crow, a cheerful, dense, hyperactive angel with a special interest in solving gory murders and I love him so so much. Crow is my boy. The best angel of all time. (And the narrator for the audiobook does such a good job with his voice.) The Dr. Watson equivalent of this book also has his own supernatural affliction to deal with.

This book plays with gender a bit which is something I always appreciate. Apparently it follows the original Sherlock mysteries pretty closely but I've never read the original books, so it was all new for me. Mystery aside, as an urban fantasy adventure this book is so much fun.

3. Circe by Madeline Miller

I looove Madeline Miller's prose. It's so pretty and lyrical but also simple enough to be easily understood. She puts a lot of effort into crafting the voice for her narrators and it really shows in her writing. This book (and Song of Achilles, her other mythology retelling) are rides with so much emotion.

4. Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman

I read this book back in high school but Neal Shusterman is a long-time favorite author of mine. There are two sides of a story being told in this book, one side is a pirate adventure and the other side about a teen struggling with schizophrenia. The two sides eventually combine in such a creative way. It is an amazing book that breaks down the perspective of mental illness understandably, and the subject is handled with a lot of care as the author's own son has schizophrenia. It really opened my eyes to what schizophrenia is and after reading this book I've honestly been upset at other ways I see schizophrenic characters depicted in media. I usually see schizophrenia villainized in pop culture when it should be treated with empathy.

5. The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

This is definitely not a fast-paced story but a story with well-written court politics with a main character you can root for. A sweet, shy, ostracized prince is suddenly thrust onto the throne when the favored members of his family pass on in an accident. The entire story is him navigating court politics and dealing with dissent from all sides when all he wants to do is do the right thing and also have friends. Let him have friends!! Addison is the best at writing Good Boys.

Incidentally the audiobook is also voiced by Kyle McCarley! (Though sadly, because Kyle is a wonderful actor the narration does not sound much like 9S 😔)

thank you for the ask! 😊