#novelette rec

[sophia-sol]

3 original novelette recs

A Brief Oral History of the El Zopilote Dock by Alaya Dawn Johnson ➤ a near-future novelette telling the story of the dystopian breakdown of the USA

➤ told by the granddaughter of a black woman who escaped prison slavery to head south of the border and found a new community for fellow escapees

➤ I love the voice of the narrator, her efforts to tell Symphonie's story in an objective and appropriate historical style, but with occasional notes to herself interjecting, wondering about if she's approaching her writing in the right way

➤ I also love the relationship between Symphonie and Karla!

➤ and the themes about how the past can't be left behind, it is an important part of what makes you what you are today

➤ 8k words

We Shall Drink Wine By Andrew K Hoe

➤ a fantasy novelette set in a historical china, and holy shit it is SO SO SO GOOD

➤ about two sword-brothers, meeting again after decades apart

➤ the way the story circles around itself over and over again, uncovering new layers each time, new complexities, new details about what happened and what is happening -- it's so beautifully constructed and leads the reader on so compellingly

➤ and the story it's telling.....one about love, and trust, and classism, and imperialism, and the threat of monstrous creatures inflitrating......about, at its heart, the relationship between these two men, their importance to each other, and the fractures at the heart of their relationship, and the wide-reaching consequences

➤ I love it so much, it's brilliantly and beautifully done and with such fascinating explorations of its themes!

➤ 10k words

The Thirteenth Dancer By Leah Cypess

➤ A novelette inspired by the fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses

➤ about one of the princesses who managed to escape, but who comes back

➤ a fascinating reimagining, leaning into the dangerous appeal of the fae, and the desire for belonging, and what you will and won't do for love -- or for freedom

➤ I've read a lot of retellings of this fairy tale and there are a lot of good ones but this one definitely ranks pretty high on the list!

➤ 10k words

[cinderella-ish]

Fic Recs: Novelette Length (7500-17,000 words)

at least i got you in my head, by yunsohno E | Kakeru/Yuki | angst & smut Yuki and Kakeru go to a party. Yuki wants things to be a bit more.

Broken Parts Made Whole, by inheritanceofgeek E | Machi/Yuki | smut In which Yuki is an unrepentant bastard, and Machi gets the orgasm she deserves.

Colour of Kyou, by tokyofish G | M/F - multiple | angst, tragedy An AU character piece that takes place after a confrontation with Akito that turned out very badly for the cast. Written from Kyou's POV.

Cursing the cursed, by modzy78 T | Tohru/Kyo | drama Arisa, Saki, and Megumi discover the answer to a question they didn't know existed. Can you curse someone who's already cursed?

Does it Come as a Surprise? (Language of Averted Eyes) by yukiawison G | Kakeru/Yuki | romance Part of Yuki was convinced that Kakeru was making fun of him. He never knew when jokes went too far. He never knew when to stop pushing Yuki’s buttons. And he knew he was good at teasing him. Part of him hated Kakeru for that, for being so easy with his touches, for hitting him where it hurt.

Fearing the future, by modzy78 T | Tohru/Kyo | angst & slice of life Kyo faces his biggest challenge, and it terrifies him. How will he face his future?

fit back in, by luftballons99 T | Kakeru/Yuki | romance Crushes, curses, and contemporary literary theory: Halloween provides the opportunity to confront fear in all its shapes.

i like my body when it is with your, by littlerosette (series) E | Tohru/Kyo | pining & smut A girl, a boy, and the evolution of desire.

I'll Be Ready, by OnigiriCat4Ever E | Hajime/Mutsuki | smut Four months have passed since Mutsuki kissed Hajime and told him he loved him; four months have passed since Hajime said it back. For Hajime's sake, the two of them have been taking things slowly, but Hajime is finally feeling comfortable enough to try a little bit more.

i wanna be dyed with your colours, by halfhope T | Kakeru/Yuki, background Tohru/Kyo | romance Sohma Yuki gay panics his way to self-actualization.

The Other Side of Paradise, by reconquer T | Kakeru/Yuki | angst & romance Uotani points out that Kakeru and Yuki are always touching each other. Yuki panics and realizes some things about himself.

President Perfect, by draebelle T | Kakeru/Yuki | angst & romance Kakeru goes on a wild goose chase to find the forgotten love of his life.

remedies for when you're feeling weak, by chicanerywrites E | Tohru/Kyo | smut It struck Kyo, in that very moment, that Tohru wasn’t blissfully unaware at all. The look in her eyes was permission and trust and maybe a little bit of want and so, with that fleeting thought, his lips covered her fingers too.

Setting Sail, Coming Home, by redelric M | Momiji/Kimi | drama & romance After graduation, Momiji decides to reunite with his sister and claim his inheritance in his father's business. Having the beautiful Toudou Kimi as his secretary makes things a little harder (pun intended).

Taking on Your Curse, by modzy78 T | Tohru/Kyo | angst & drama Tohru didn't realize she actually made a New Year wish when she was talking to Kyo. And that some wishes do come true.

tongue tied, by b_o_i E | Kakeru/Yuki | dark & romance A brief history of boys that Sohma Yuki has kissed.

What Do You Want? by SharkFairy77 M | Kyo/Yuki | angst, hurt/comfort, & smut Akito tells Yuki about the bet a month into his relationship with Kyo.

Year of the Cat, by Praemonitor M | Tohru/Kyo | pining Contrary to popular belief, Tohru Honda was not naïve.

[atlasscrumpit]

Yes, I have a published novel.

No you don't own it?

I guess I'm gonna have to stare at you for 30 minutes straight and force you to keep direct eye contact

[mermaidsirennikita]

Do you have any Christmas/winter romance recs?

Sure!

My favorite Christmas romances are Sierra Simone and Julie Murphy's Christmas Notch books. They're all set around a group of people who alternately are connected to a popular former boy band or a porn company, making these Christmas Hallmark type movies in a town that literally exists for these movies to be shot within, so everything about it is Christmas, including a Christmas strip club.

They include:

A Merry Little Meet Cute—heroine is a porn star who subs in for an actress who had to drop out, hero is a boy bander who unbeknownst to her has been subscribed to her onlyfans for quite a while

Snow Place Like L.A.—m/m second chance novella

A Holly Jolly Ever After—heroine is a former child star who's never had an orgasm with a partner (or maybe ever), hero is her co-star, part of the same boy band as above and famous because of a sex tape that leaked in which he was QUITE impressive... he teaches her how to have pleasurable sex, complications ensue

Seas and Greetings—f/f novella set on a cruise ship, bodyguard/client

A Jingle Bell Mingle—the widower of the boy band offers to let a former porn star stay at his Christmas mansion while they both attempt to figure out their next Christmas-themed projects; brooding/sunshine, with the twist being that she was the first person he slept with after his wife died... in a one night stand threesome... so maybe she was technically the second?

Then I'd recommend:

All By My Elf by Olivia Dade—Cute novelette/novella in which the hero and heroine are coworkers who get stranded in a blizzard on the road, confessions ensue

Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood—Another novelette that's best friend's younger brother in which the heroine and the guy who's always wanted her get involved in a game of truth or drink over the holidays; angsty goodness

Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria—Novelette, the heroine and hero are neighbors who've lusted for each other and meet at a "dressed like Santa" holiday party; banging ensues

How the Dukes Stole Christmas is a cute collection with novellas by Sarah MacLean, Tessa Dare, Joanna Shupe, and Sophie Jordan. MacLean's is my favorite, as it's Sexy Ebeneezer Scrooge.

I Will by Lisa Kleypas is a fun novella in which the heroine wants the hero "trussed up like a Christmas goose" because she's so mad at him. But then it turns into like... as close to bondage as Kleypas has come lmao. Besides Then Came You, probably.

Of course, if you've read The Wallflowers and haven't read A Wallflower Christmas, you're missing out.

I have a few more I want to read this season!

[liminalnucleus]

Is Fire & Blood your source for canon when you compare it to the show? Or are y'all also reading the original novellas/novelettes? I haven't read the originals so I'm basing my opinions on F&B. Lmk.

I'm reading Fire & Blood. I think it's really interesting how it's told through other people's accounts.

Like the story is being narrated by Archmaester Gyldayn but he's also mainly retelling it based on things he's pieced together from the account of others like Eustace and Mushroom and I think Barth as well. I've also been skimming/reading World of Ice and Fire so I might be mixing him into it. But anyway, my point is just like with the GoT books the whole trope of "unreliable narrator" is fully there in front of you. There's going to be biased accounts by other people in the king/queen's courts too.

I think that's why (aside from non-book readers not knowing anything other than what's presented to them) the writers on the show are able to get away with shit.

I just got to the point in the book where there's disputes about Rhaenyra's maidenhead being intact and who likely took it Cole or Daemon and it's so interesting. I watched the show first, but I'd also known about certain aspects of Greens/Blacks because I ate up as much ASOIAF content as I could during GoT era via YouTubers.

I think it's appropriate that there is so much discourse and division between fans as opposed to GoT. Because in GoT the unreliable narrators are character we love or hate and we see their perspectives (ASOIAF is told from third person, but the narrator is omniscient to some extent). But with F&B we are told from the first person perspective of the Archmaester but his knowledge is pieced together by third person accounts AND there is also some bias. Which rocks imo because that makes the work feel so much more alive. Idk a better word to describe it.

If anyone has any book recs related to the series OR completely unrelated but has the same vibe lmk cause I'm hungry for escapism.

[fixomnia-scribble]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💗

Oh gosh! This is going back a long way. And all but a few are unfinished novels, because Me.

Shekhinah (CSI, Grissom/Sara, E).

We meet awkward little Gibbie and his doting parents, and bright little Satya and her loving but terribly ill parents. They age up to about twenty one (Gil) and twelve (Satya / Sara). Then I jumped straight for the smut challenge prompts and into Season Six, and never really went back to fill in the rest. Anyway, if you want a backgrounder on how they grew up and why it was so damn hard for them to get together...

Rhapsody For Two (CSI: NY, Flack/Angell, E)

A New York un-Fairytale. Three short years in the lives of two detectives trying to make a difference in the world. A literary love song to two of New York's fictional finest: Don Flack and Jess Angell. This novelette has a Choose Your Own Timeline split, so you get to decide whether Jess Angell lives or dies in your headcanon! (BRING HANKIES.) TW for death.

Noise and Signal (X-Files / Wrinkle in Time / Contact, Mulder/Scully, Ellie/Palmer, T)

A cross-crossover that I still dream about, that I would need a year to research properly and write. It's 2004. The alien race from Vega (Contact) makes contact again, and this time they want to visit, and to help the Earth fight the colonization of the virus-born aliens (X-Files) . But what is their true intention? What is the Divine or Demonic nature of the Spaceship that everybody wants, and to whom does it rightfully belong? Is the Earth just a chessboard, or does Humanity have a greater role to play (Wrinkle in Time series)?

Detour Ahead (Blue Bloods, Jamie/Eddie, E)

Another novel that, as its name implies, ran away from me. I would still love to finish it, but the writing in later seasons unfortunately just made me fall out of love with the show. But this was SO MUCH FUN. Eddie and Jamie get together over Season 8, and try to keep up an actual grown-up functional relationship among a backdrop of shady underworld NYPD politics, impossibly nosy Reagans and Eddie's painful family past.

The Long Game (Lie to Me, Cal/Gillian, T, gonna be E soonish)

A challenge fic! Cal, Gillian, Alec and Zoe have been playing out a decade-long dance of partnerships, family, marriage, divorce and desire. When Alec passes away, the music stops and everyone is forced to see how far they've come, and what the dynamic of the future might look like. TW for drug abuse and death.

[leprosycock]

do u have any fav book recs!???? love ur literary mind and would love to know if u have any good must reads sorry this is random

thank you!! i don't read nearly as often as i should but i have a lot of books that i love:

the furry trap by josh simmons is a wildly weird, disgusting, and obscene piece of work that i've loved for years. it's satirical and deranged and very darkly funny and his style is so unique. it's a collection of eleven short comics and some standalone illustrations. my favorites are cock bone, christmas eve, and demonwood, but none of them are bad. at least in my opinion. a lot of people think it's just edgy for edgy's sake, but even if it is, it's still really fucking good. i always find that criticism to be so funny because it's only ever flung at media with any kind of sex and violence and taboos in it.

tender is the flesh by agustina bazterrica is one that a lot of people are familiar with, but it's far from overrated. it's about a world in which cannibalism is legal and humans are bred, bought, and sold for meat. a very lonely, broken, divorced blue-collar man begins to form a bond with a specimen despite any physical contact with her being expressly forbidden. it's twisted and stomach-churning and intimate and i love it.

poison for breakfast by lemony snicket is insanely funny and tender and witty and entertaining. it's essentially an unreliable autobiography that follows strings of consciousness and memories and musings as he panics after getting a note under his door that tells him he had poison for breakfast. it's short and sweet and there are so many wonderful poignant lines throughout it that made me close the book for a second and think for a while.

the wasp factory by iain banks is awesome and it's about a sixteen year old boy named frank with a very fragile older brother who's been sent to a psych ward. frank is ruthlessly violent and unstable and he takes all his anger and frustration and bloodlust out on helpless animals, either human or non. it has a really interesting ambiance to it that traps you in both this violent teenager's headspace and this murky, unsettling little scottish village and things just get worse and worse until you realize you can't get out. highly recommend!

someone who will love you in all your damaged glory by raphael bob-waksberg is a fantastic collection of surreal/sci-fi-based stories that have one foot firmly grounded in realism and very human relationships. it's very vulnerable and tender and tragic and romantic. this is the same author who created bojack horseman, so if you're into that show's brand of drama, you'll really love this

i hope you find me: the love poems of craigslist's missed connections by alan feuer is one of my most favorite little coffee table books ever. it's what it says on the tin: dozens of posts from the missed connections section of craigslist are compiled and wrangled into individual poems and it's really fascinating and it makes my heart ache to see all these very real little individual cases of lost love. i think it's really important to study real people just as much as stories that people can craft.

i luv halloween by benjamin roman and keith giffen is a HIGHLY underrated, EXTREMELY early 00s trilogy about zombies, aliens, and a group of really shitty, violent, obnoxious children who get stuck in the midst of global panic around halloween. it's super edgy and indulgent and gory and gross and childish and it's a whole lotta fun. i go crazy for the art style and the general mindless self indulgence of it all

memories of my melancholy whores (memoria de mis putas tristes) by gabriel garcia marquez is a really lovely and flowery novelette about a ninety year old man who's on his deathbed and he believes that true love will help him feel alive again. he manages to find it in a very young prostitute and reflects on what sets her apart from the others. a lot of people call it the spanish lolita, but it's wildly different. really the only similarities are falling in love with a young girl and realizing she's different than you envisioned her to be at first. it's not for everyone, but i think marquez's prose is beautiful. pretty much everything in his bibliography is worth checking out, he's a genius

holy robots by vasilina orlova is a stunning collection of poetry and it uses the ideas of humans falling in love with and forming lives with machines that try very hard to be human but can't quite do it to illustrate real-world relationship struggles. it also delves into other themes of nature and pure romance as it goes along. it's a quick read and it's so worth checking out, i love it to death

arkham asylum: a serious house on serious earth by grant morrison and dave mckean is a standalone batman comic that's VERY worth reading even if you only have a passive knowledge of batman. it's a beautiful piece of work all on its own. the art style is absolutely fucking gorgeous and it's unlike anything i've ever seen. essentially, the inmates at arkham have overtaken the asylum and batman has to sacrifice himself in order to save the hostages. thus, he subjects himself to brutal psychological torture at the hands of the criminals he's put in the asylum himself and he wastes away little by little. it's good!! it's so good!!!!!

stray toasters by bill sienkiewicz is one of the most intense, gorgeous, twisted, and surreal experiences i've ever had while reading a graphic novel. it might take you a couple of reads for it to really sink in because it's not at all straightforward, but it's a fucking masterpiece of art and writing and it really influenced a lot of my own work and the way i tend to approach art. essentially, it's about a lonely, burnt-out detective who gets released from a psych ward to hunt down a serial killer who's mutilating housewives and young children. it's insanely difficult to find physical copies of, so i would personally just read it online.

[bookish-monster]

BOOK REC

Exodus 20:3

by Freydís Moon - find them on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok

the storygraph link for this book contains information such as page count, publication date, and community-created content warnings.

Exodus 20:3 is a standalone love story centered around Diego, a Mexican-American trans man, and the relationship he forges with a Brazilian angel named Ariel as they refurbish an abandoned church in New Mexico together. It’s a beautiful blend of queerness and religious eroticism that comes in at around 100 pages on my Kindle edition, and has been recently updated with a new cover (see above) that is absolutely gorgeous. There is prayer, body worship, divinity kink where the divinity is no fantasy, hemipenes, and more eyes and teeth and wings than humans are used to experiencing in their love affairs. I absolutely loved it.

A note about body terminology for trans readers: Diego’s genitalia (he has had top surgery but not bottom surgery) is referred to using feminine terms such as “cunt” and “clit.” Some trans readers might find this dysphoria-inducing or otherwise upsetting.

Diego is what many people would call “troubled.” He does camming out of desperation for money, has recently quit using opiates illegally, and is struggling to deal with his mother’s disappointment once she found out about the latter through Diego crashing a car and getting sent to jail once the cops found said opiates inside the car. Basically, he’s not having a fun time as the family disappointment, so he reluctantly agrees to his mother’s plan for him to earn enough to pay her back for his bail money via refurbishing the church in New Mexico.

Ariel is the church’s caretaker. Diego is attracted to him from the jump, but that attraction is tempered with the wariness of a prey animal who has been hunted down and abused one too many times. Diego isn’t used to tenderness or genuine love from his sexual partners, and he isn’t interested in getting mixed up with someone and used in ways that don’t make him happy in the long term. I really loved how complicated Diego is—he’s tough as nails because the world hasn’t treated him gently, but also desperate for real affection because of how love-starved he’s become over the years. 

Ariel isn’t smothering when offering that affection, nor parental in caring for his new laborer. Initially, he comes across as enigmatic and perfunctory, reclusive and emotionally distant. But as he insists on digging into Diego’s past, so too does Diego start putting the pieces together and realizing that Ariel isn’t quite the man he seems. During their first sexual encounter with each other, consent is kind of iffy, but it gets talked about later between the characters. The sex scenes are lavish and drawn out, abstracted by Freydís’ beautiful prose into things elegantly rendered yet primal in their intensity.

The writing in this novelette is exquisite, by the way. Freydís has a command of language that I’m nakedly envious of, and there were multiple points where I stopped to re-read certain passages just to savor the taste of them, as well as the beautiful wordplay and turns of phrase. I keep a list on my phone of 1-2 sentence snippets I read in various places that are too good not to write down, and that list gained several entries from this book.

Finally, I really liked Exodus 20:3’s frank discussions of trauma and oppressive systems. As a Mexican-American, Diego is no stranger to the violence constantly forced upon brown bodies by the United States government, and as a trans man he’s equally familiar with transphobic violence from cis people. Although Freydís makes absolutely zero attempts to gloss over or divert attention from real-world issues inherent to their characters’ identities, nothing ever felt hopeless. Diego is initially very cynical, but as his relationship with Ariel evolves so too does he undergo a change of heart toward the nature of faith. You can get a side of religious philosophy with your steamy monster fucking in this book, if you choose to accept it. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and cannot recommend it enough to anyone who’s in the mood for queer Latino romance stories. I can say with confidence that nobody who chooses to pray at Freydís’ altar will be left unsatisfied.

find this book on Amazon Kindle (US)

[lifblogs]

Summer Reading/Writing/Arting Tag

Tagged by: @evilwriter37

Tagging: @ashleybenlove, @knowerofuselessfacts, @eddieelliotmunson, @poisonedyouth, @stand-up-and-screamo, @jayalaw, @strawbearri-frog, @thetrapperstrap, @envydean, @uh-ohspaghettio, @cascigarette, @fictionalnormalcy, @flurbejurbvondurp, @iidigestive-readerii, and @thepagemasternerd

1) Describe one creative WIP project you’re planning to work on over the summer.

I just finished my first ever novelette “The Dragon Mark,” and I actually really loved being in that world. I am planning on writing a companion piece, “Zhang Jue’s Demon,” and I just want to know more too! Maybe I’ll start writing something from the character Yuxuan’s POV before he’s assassinated. He seems fun to work with. Am I planning a book? I don’t know, but I would love to stay with these characters for the summer.

2) Rec a book!

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan! It’s great political and war fantasy and with only 411 pages it still somehow seems so jam packed! It’s also queer in its own way. Basically the main character was told her fate was nothing, to truly be nothing. So what does she do? Try to steal her brother’s fate after he dies, and she takes on his name, Zhu Chongba. So publicly, one of the main characters is a man and has roles that a man would have. Another central character is a eunuch general named Ouyang, and I love him. This takes place near the end of the Great Yuan Dynasty (the rule of the Mongols) and the rise of the Ming Dynasty.

But okay if you need a summery book read Son of a Sailor by Marshall J. Moore. Pirate Captain Quint Thatch goes back to his island home of Ember Bay after the death of his father, and is trying to hide his pirate identity from everyone. This doesn’t go very well because his crew eventually shows up, and two parts of his life collide. It’s summery, it’s fun! I didn’t even think it’d be my kind of book and I adored it. The author suggests reading it near a body of water and with a cold drink nearby, and I heartily agree!

3) Rec a fic!

Holy crap, A Thousand Lives is so good. It actually understands the Force and the Jedi! It’s a Star Wars: Rebels AU where Kanan is an Inquisitor hunting down Ezra while he slowly falls in love with Hera. The implication of a thousand versions of them existing that’s put in the epigraphs is truly fantastic. I don’t usually like Star Wars fics because of how many people misunderstand the Jedi but this one was truly amazing. I can’t wait to read it again.

4) Rec music!

Fam, I’m forever listening to the album If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power by Halsey. I do want to update my music at some point though, see what my favorite artists have been putting out.

5) Share one piece of advice!

Find something you like and own it, without any shame. If others want to join then good! If people want to be negative about what you enjoy then they’re not worth your time. Your own enjoyment is precious, and when you work towards it you will find moments you like—or even, love—existing in.

[ilikereadingactually]

"Daughters of the Lattice"

"Daughters of the Lattice" by Stephen Case in Asimov's Science Fiction, July/August 2023

i want to add more short fiction to my reading life this year, so when i heard "Daughters of the Lattice" recommended on a podcast (i think it was the 1/15/24 ep of Hugo, Girl!) and described as nuns on a cathedral ship in space, i felt a burning need to track it down. happily @digger1649 had a copy of this issue of Asimov's i could borrow, and i have since ordered a copy for myself.

(i've also given into temptation and started digital subscriptions to a few of the big speculative short fiction magazines...the completionist in me decided January would be the ideal time to start. so expect some more short story recs from me!)

anyway, "Daughters of the Lattice" is VERY GOOD. i'm always in awe of short fiction that builds a whole world so tightly and pragmatically. this one is listed as a novelette, so Case has a little more wiggle room to work, but even so. this story has some of the most attractive catnips to me: evocative space religion, a narrator addressing a specific recipient of the story, expectation-shifting revelations, a seemingly all-female society, and a really tantalizing view of the perils of space frontier colonialism. it's like the place where my Locked Tomb obsession and my Imperial Radch obsession collide, plus a little bit of Scavengers Reign.

saying much more would give things away, but the tl;dr is that i fucking loved this story and i can't wait to reread it!

the deets

how i read it: as i said above, a borrowed physical copy. i honestly love holding a book in my hands, and that extends to magazines like this one, but my eyes aren't getting any younger and it was a little tough to read T^T

try this if you: dig a piece-by-piece reveal, are a sucker for a hero story, or think a cathedral spaceship with cloaking technology based on vines sounds wicked cool

some bits i really liked: i want to just copy the whole story in here ok

And so it was I saw the Decalogue again from space. I had not thought to see it again, not after the Long Retreat failed, our long crawl to this world ended, and I brought it to park in orbit around this planet of ice like a body laid to rest in a grave. Now here it was again, resolving itself to view, acres and acres of stained glass and stone and, between the spires and buttresses that rose in each direction, the silver-green rust of the biomechanical hull-gardens. The cloaking vines had not yet begun spreading across its surface and so, for perhaps the last time, I saw it as a faceted jewel against the darkness.

---

I will not write of our leave-taking. You will remember it and in time perhaps forgive me. I will only say that when the mother confessors give you the oath of sisterhood (should you choose to take it) and tell you that the Calm you are now privileged to take will preserve you from both old age and the ravages of emotion, I learned as I watched you as my shuttle rose away that regarding the latter they lie.

[sophia-sol]

2 novelette recs

The Speech That God Understands, by Jonathan Edelstein

➤ historical fantasy novelette set in a muslim kingdom on the iberian peninsula in the 12th century, with a jewish scholar as the viewpoint character

➤ I love the setting, richly full of a wide variety of types of people and languages and religions, with universities and scientific progress and people doing magic, all interacting with each other

➤ the mystery at the heart of the story is that someone is stealing people's languages of study, on purpose, leaving behind only whatever their first language was. why, and how? and is it reversible?

➤ it's about people's relationships with language and with knowledge and with the world. it's great!

➤ 14k words in length

Signs of Life, by Sarah Pinsker

➤ fantasy novelette about family, and two sisters trying to reconnect after many years of estrangement

➤ a quiet and contemplative sort of vibe

➤ the slow reveals were effective

➤ I'm not quite sure about the pacing/vibe of the ending, but overall still a thoroughly interesting and enjoyable story

➤ 12k words in length

[cinderella-ish]

Fic Recs: My Favorite Kyoru Fics

Pre-Relationship

Burn Me, by me T | Flash Fiction | Angst If Tohru had to pick one word to describe how Kyo makes her feel, it would be heat.

Completely Hopeless, by me T | Short Story | hurt/comfort Tohru swoons on the way home from school after failing one of her midterms. How does Kyo get her home safe?

Dreams of Paradise, by Sky_Cloudtide T | WIP | AU & angst The Sohma family's lives are forever changed after summer vacation. Unable to live with the guilt, Kyo and Yuki look to the past, to find a way to fix the treasure they have lost.

fantasize. E | Short Story | smut Kyo’s mind runs rampant after seeing Tohru in a bikini for the first time.

forbidden fruit, by ArtificialFlavorz E | Short Story | pining & smut He watches, jaw set, as Tohru scribbles some numbers across the paper, twirling a piece of her hair around her finger absentmindedly, and tries not to picture how it would look wrapped around his hand, her neck arched backwards in pleasure. He decides he cannot blame Adam for the bite that expelled him from Eden.

Grasp, by sparklyfaerie M | Short Story | pining & smut As it turns out, living with a girl is dangerous.

i'll come closer to you (if you come over), by littlerosette T | Short Story | pining Tohru goes for a swim. Kyo's unlucky enough to catch her.

is it me that you see when you fall asleep? by sunflowerstarfruit G | Short Story | hurt/comfort & pining “I-“ Kyo started, a little shakily, before he cut himself off, pressed a fist to his chest and curled the other in the thin blanket on his bed. He swallowed, clenched his jaw, then tried again. “It was a nightmare,” he admitted, the words coming forced and raspy, raking a hand back through his hair. “About you,” he added in a hoarse whisper.

Lifeline, by me T | Short Story | angst Tohru sat on the floor of her room, clutching her knees to her chest. It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay... She clung to the words like a lifeline, desperately seeking to reassure herself that she wouldn’t lose her mother again.

Lonely Future, by me G | Flash Fiction | angst Kyo Sohma didn't believe in soulmates.

Love Me Not, by me T | Flash Fiction | angst Tohru finds Kyo on the roof. Kyo convinces himself it doesn't mean anything.

must be love on the brain, by littlerosette T | Tohru/Kyo | pining Tohru has a secret admirer. Everyone reacts to it accordingly. Except Kyo.

My Hands on You is Just a Fantasy, by unscheduledmakeouts E | Short Story | pining & smut He likes exercising, it helps clear his mind. When it’s just him and the trail, high-tempo music pumping in his earbuds, he feels free. The steady rhythm of his feet hitting the dirt grounds him, reminds him that he’s strong and focused and capable. When he gets back home, Tohru is on her knees.

Pink Ribbons, by alytsum G | Flash Fiction | angst Kyo reflects as he is plagued by the color pink.

Roots In My Dreamland, by lucybeee T | Short Story | hurt/comfort But when reality confronted her in her sleep, it was hard to run away. There was no way to hide. She was at her subconscious’s mercy until she was released and allowed to wake up as a panting, sweaty mess.

Taking on Your Curse, by modzy78 T | Novelette | angst & drama Tohru didn't realize she actually made a New Year wish when she was talking to Kyo. And that some wishes do come true.

Year of the Cat, by Praemonitor M | Novelette | pining Contrary to popular belief, Tohru Honda was not naïve.

Getting Together

Adult Intervention, by Modzy78 T | Short Story | drama & romance It's obvious Kyo likes Tohru, but he hasn't visited her in the hospital. Can anyone help him get his act together?

Against All Gods, by Athena_theunicorn M | WIP | angst, dark, & drama Tohru Honda woke up in a hospital bed. Kyo Sohma woke up in a desolate cottage. Akito Sohma woke up on a crumbling throne. What would have happened if Akito locked Kyo up, despite Tohru's best efforts? He did lose the bet, after all...

A Mandatory Attraction, by cithara0211 E | WIP | AU & smut Government Quarantine is in effect! For 14 days, Tohru only has two things on her mind: her art and her hot new neighbor, Kyo. And Kyo has only one goal: finally making Tohru his

Cursing the cursed, by modzy78 T | Novelette | drama Arisa, Saki, and Megumi discover the answer to a question they didn't know existed. Can you curse someone who's already cursed?

Escaping the future, by Modzy78 T | Novel | angst, drama & fluff It's time to graduate, and Kyo's still cursed. Tohru doesn't want Kyo to be confined. How far is she willing to go to save him from his future?

ichigo ichie, by me T | WIP | crossover & drama Last Update: July 2024 | Ch. 1/15 | under 5000 words Fruits Basket x Ouran High School / Your Name AU

If You Ever Forget That You Love Me, by villianizuku G | WIP | drama & romance After three months of thinking she was dead Yuki stumbles upon Tohru in an old neighborhood only to find out that she has lost every memory she had. Tohru is wiling to risk everything to find the people she used to love and get her past self back.

inertia, by miss_coverly E | Novel | angst & smut a Kyoru friends with benefits AU

I think about you all the time, by lucybee M | WIP | drama & romance Kyo hasn't heard from her again since. And that's right. It's the way things are supposed to be. A post-canon AU in which Kyo never redeemed himself after the confession scene.

The Last One Cursed, by cithara0211 M | WIP | drama, romance & smut The life of a college musician is a rough one. Add in a partially broken curse and an unexpected attraction to his new roommate, and this new semester back in Japan might be more than Kyo could have ever expected to find for himself.

Learn How to Knock, by BringBackMaes14 E | Short Story | smut Tohru lives in a house with three guys, and she's hardcore crushing on Kyo. She uses what little privacy she can get to "take care" of herself, but it's not unusual for one of the boys to burst in when she needs them least. Or perhaps, most.

Left Wanting, by Shewrites13 T | WIP | drama, hurt/comfort & romance Tohru Honda is newly graduated but not sure what she wants to do in life. She gets a job working for the infamous Sohma family as a maid, but when Tohru unexpectedly gets reassigned to a member of the Inner Family, she accidentally uncovers the very dark secret the Inner Family has been hiding from the world.

The Night We Met, by pettyimperfections T | Novella | angst & romance Kyo never got the chance to chase after Tohru and tell her how desperately he wanted to be with her. Instead, they became strangers. They went their separate ways. Tohru with no memory of her time with the Sohmas. Years later, Kyo and Tohru's paths once again become unexpectedly intertwined.

Of Lost Cats and Half-Shadows, by me T | also Megumi/Yuji (JJK) | WIP | crossover, drama & romance Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara enroll at Kaibara High School to investigate the Zodiac curse and free the souls it binds. Kyo is immediately suspicious of the three new students and rejects their attempts at friendship. Will they be able to break this ancient curse before Kyo is locked up forever?

The One Who Stays, by me T | WIP | drama & romance What if Yuki hadn’t run after Kyo? Tohru confesses her love. Kyo confesses his sins. Yuki sees it all. And then Akito arrives.

Ripples, by proseprincess NR | WIP | drama & romance *Note: this is a two-part series. The first work is complete! What happens when one decision leads to unintended consequences?

The Way Back, by 8_characters_or_less T | Novel | angst, drama, hurt/comfort, & romance After three years locked away in the Cat's Room the curse has finally broken. But three years is a long time and the damage that's been done won't easily be repaired. If there's anything worth fighting for, it's love. Only time will tell if that will be enough.

What's a White Lie Between Friends (& My Family)? by AnxietyAvocado G | Novella | romance Tohru's cousin is getting married, and she's been invited to be part of the wedding. She can't show up alone, so Kyo decides he's going with her. But when her family assumes they're dating, things are going to get very awkward very quickly.

Developing Relationship

Always Only You, by cithara0211 E | WIP | AU & smut Finally back after being gone from nearly three years, Kyo enters his senior year ready to fix the mistakes he made that one summer. And upon seeing Kyo again, Tohru promised herself she would stop running from her feelings. Are they prepared for the crazy new desire eating at them?

Eating Out With Your Wife, and Other Spousal Pleasures, by inheritanceofgeek E | Short Story | humor & smut Kyo and Tohru have been married for six months and their relationship has never been stronger or more fulfilling. Yet their previous ignorance to sex means that some things just never occur to them... Luckily for Kyo, his new Dojo just happens to have a happily married lesbian woman visiting who is more than happy to pass on some advice on the subject.

End of the Banquet, by AveSolace M | WIP | drama All the geopolitical tension in East Asia has come to a head. China has invaded Taiwan, and Japan is immediately drawn into the conflict. The Sohmas' lives are thrown into chaos, even as the Zodiac curse remains unbroken.

Everspring, by f3tid E | WIP | smut Truthfully, the season and the weather are inconsequential. When they are together, it is always Spring.

Fanning the Flame; Waking the Animal, by TripleTyrant E | Short Story | smut Kyo is incredibly gentle, and Tohru wonders what she'll have to do to spark the fire she knows is in his heart.

Heaven, by vylias E | Short Story | smut Tohru swallowed before slowly sliding herself off of Kyo’s lap and down onto the floor in front of the couch. Nestling herself in between his legs, she held his eyes as he watched her start to reach for his belt. Then she saw his breath catch and realization dawn on his face.

Hold On, by Danyu T | Novella | angst, drama, & romance Kyou has accepted his fate as the cat. Relationships change and the bond between he and Tohru is cemented forever. But he leaves something behind, something precious enough to give everyone the strength to hold on.

ignite it, by littlerosette E | Short Story | smut Things get heavy between Kyo and Tohru in a storage closet.

i like my body when it is with your, by littlerosette E | Novelette | pining & smut A girl, a boy, and the evolution of desire.

i really (really really) like you, by alpacas T | Short Story | fluff “Do you think they’ve done it yet?” Haru asks.

Living with Mom's Boyfriend, by Geoduck T | Flash Fiction | Humor When he opened the door, he hadn't expected to catch the stupid cat with his pants down. 

Melting, by vylias E | Short Story | smut But as Kyo pressed his lips against hers, Tohru could tell that this time felt different. This one was somehow filled with more urgency and fire than all the previous kisses that they had shared.

Memories of the Cat, by Modzy78 T | WIP | drama & hurt/comfort Kyo wants to distance himself from being the Cat. But he has one thing to deal with first.

On Top of the World, by me G | Flash Fiction | fluff Tohru has a surprise planned for her date with Kyo.

Orgasm Struggles, by fishcalledwanda E | Short Story | smut Tohru has never had an orgasm before. Kyo explores several ways to increase her pleasure, but eventually, it is Hanajima who comes to the rescue.

remedies for when you're feeling weak, by chicanerywrites E | Novelette | smut It struck Kyo, in that very moment, that Tohru wasn’t blissfully unaware at all. The look in her eyes was permission and trust and maybe a little bit of want and so, with that fleeting thought, his lips covered her fingers too.

Sweet Disposition, by truthwallflower E | WIP | pining & smut Tohru wants Kyo and Kyo wants Tohru. Too bad neither of them know how to go about it. A story of how Kyo overestimates Tohru's naivety and of Tohru remembering Kyo being disappointed in her. Even relationships that have faced millennia-long curses aren't impervious to misunderstandings.

This Air is Blessed, by KyoDoodles E | WIP | humor & smut A series of short, sweet and steamy post-canon fics about Kyo and Tohru’s life together.

We Have the Rest of Our Lives, by me T | Short Story | fluff & hurt/comfort Kyo helps Tohru change her bandages after she's released from the hospital.

Established Relationship

Baby's First Birthday, by me G | Flash Fiction | mild hurt/comfort | Background Machi/Yuki Tohru can't seem to get her camcorder to work.

Fearing the future, by modzy78 T | Novelette | angst & slice of life Kyo faces his biggest challenge, and it terrifies him. How will he face his future?

Hold Me, by me T | Flash Fiction | hurt/comfort A year after the curse breaks, Kyo still gets nightmares.

Like a Bolt Out Of the Blue, by me G | WIP | fluff, hurt/comfort & pining (Hajime/Mutsuki) At their annual family beach trip, Hajime wrestles with some big feelings.

Like Father, Like Son, by me T | Short story | fluff When Tohru and Kyo can't find their two young sons one morning, they turn up in an unexpected-- and very cute!-- place.

Nightmares, by Modzy78 T | Short Story | angst & hurt/comfort Tohru Honda can't remember a time she didn't have nightmares. But this one is unlike any she's had before.

Part of the Fruits Basket, by Athena_theunicorn G | Short Story | angst & hurt/comfort A collection of five Fruits Basket one-shots

Second Visit, by Geoduck T | Short Story | hurt/comfort Kyo and Tohru visit the office of a medical professional. After they leave, they talk about it.

So Lucky, by me T | Flash Fiction | hurt/comfort Kyo always wanted to protect her. She was so incredibly precious to him. He never wanted to let anything bad happen to her. But, as he quickly learned, protecting Tohru was a lot easier said than done.

undertow, by hungryhungryhanachan E | WIP | dark, drama, & tragedy Tohru has always smiled through her pain. Why would this be any different?

Welcome Home, by me G | Flash Fiction | fluff Tohru anxiously awaits Kyo's return from a training trip.

Wish, by me G | Short Story | fluff Tohru and Kyo take their three children to their small town's Tanabata festival.

Here's a link to my bookmarks tagged with Tohru/Kyo!

[papercraneswriting]

Cover Reveal: Freeze Thaw!

Cover Reveal: Freeze Thaw!

Guess what? It’s time again! The next Seasons of Magic is coming!

You may have seen this one floating around on the home page of this site for YEARS, and I kept promising to release it. It’s a story I wrote as part of Rooglewood Press’s Five Magic Spindles contest (Sleeping Beauty retellings), and it hit the top ten finalist list! Of those ten, five were chosen for the anthology…mine wasn’t…

[freckles-and-books]

Hey - I always enjoy seeing your currently-reading posts, as they always look like good books I’ve never heard of. I’ve got a long flight to Europe in my near future…any book recs for long-flight reads? :)

I feel like I’ve been avoiding my longer books lately, but here are a couple that are longer but fast paced enough to hopefully keep your attention on a long flight. I skew toward fantasy, which tend to be my longer reads, so let me know if that’s not what you’re looking for!

The Rook by Daniel O’Malley

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennet

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

A Master of Djinn (and the novella and novelette in the same universe) by P. Djèlí Clark

Haven’t read yet, but it’s chunky and looks good: Middlegame by Seanan McGuire.

[fictionadventurer]

Now that I’ve provided Imaginary Book Recommendations, I think it’s only fair for me to recommend real books that are similar to your favorite books.

@why-bless-your-heart requested: The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton

Imaginary Book: Two Passengers on the Last Train by A.G. Benedict

Real Book: Embarrassing to start this way, but I can’t think of anything. The only similar books I can think of are Lewis, Tolkien or other Chesterton things that you’ve no doubt already read.  If anyone has recs, please chime in.

@magpie-trove requested: The Princess and the Goblin by George Macdonald

Imaginary Book: Song of the Seafolk by Marjorie A. Penrose

Real Book: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente has a very different worldview from Macdonald, but it’s extremely imaginative, ornately-written portal fantasy that mixes adventure with moral lessons. (I’m told the imaginary book is somewhat similar to The Sea Fairies by L. Frank Baum).

@isfjmel-phleg requested: Leave It to Psmith by P.G. Wodehouse

Imaginary Book: The Alfred Quicke series by Glorya M. Hayers

Real Book: I feel like I had a rec for this at one point, but I can’t think of it. You’ve probably read everything I’ve read in this genre. Best I can do is recommend Martin Edwards’ Christmas mystery collections as fun, obscure English mysteries. (To anyone interested in the imaginary book, I can point you to the ongoing project that is The Christmas Card Caper by Glorya M. Hayers (via @fictionadventurer and @isfjmel-phleg)

@if-it-isnt-cello requested: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Imaginary Book: On Eternity’s Doorstep by Willa Aldecott

Real Book: The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom is the first thing I think of in terms of “emotionally devastating, death-filled, but hopeful stories about WWII”, and this one’s all the more affecting because it’s non-fiction. (If you’re interested in the imaginary book, I’m told that there’s a similar nursing memoir about Louisa May Aldecott’s Civil War experiences).

@lover-of-the-starkindler requested: Plenilune by Jennifer Freitag

Imaginary Book: The Queens of Wintermoon by Jessica Wagner

Real Book: This one’s tough, because Plenilune feels like a book from another dimension, and it’s hard to think of anything similar. The closest thing I could think of, not in tone or scope or worldview, but in terms of “cultural-exploration focused fantasy involving the moon” was “A Fire in the Heavens”, a novelette by Mary Robinette Kowal. (Which does happen to be available for free on her blog). (It might be helpful to know that when your request made me want something Plenilune-ish, I tried reading War and Peace for a similar old-fashioned epic scope. I only read a few chapters, but it did provide the Russian vibe for the Imaginary Rec.)

@if-it-isnt-cello requested: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Imaginary Book: Caroline by Maria Layton

Real Book: If you haven’t read Austen’s shorter/unfinished pieces, I can recommend Lady Susan as having the prototype for Fanny’s character, and The Watsons as having “Fanny goes back to Portsmouth” vibes. For a different kind of “the quiet, mistreated person gets appreciation” story, The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery is fun. (The imaginary book’s plot was inspired by Camilla by Frances Burney, but I never read beyond the first few chapters, since the library audiobook was faulty.)

@if-it-isnt-cello requested: The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Imaginary Book: The Lands of Dorothon series by Barbara Lamley

Real Book: The Light Princess by George Macdonald.  Macdonald’s a strong influence on Lewis, and this is a fun, emotionally affecting allegorical fairy tale. 

@intomeans requested: The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope

Imaginary Book: The Autumn Queen’s Promise by Rose Rennow

Real Book: Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal is also historical fantasy, though this one is Jane-Austen-with-magic, where manipulating glamour into artworks is a common accomplishment among young ladies.

@celeste-uqb requested: Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones

Imaginary Book: Island in the Stars by Carolyn Taylor Harris

Real Book: Looking at Hexwood’s plot summary, I can’t help noticing that “contemporary person stumbling into a plot that involves a sci fi/fantasy blend of the King Arthur mythos” also describes That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis.

@why-bless-your-heart requested: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Imaginary Book: The Camille series by Annette Nowell

Real Book: I feel like the best way to get “books that feel like Montgomery” is to read the lesser-known Montgomery books. So I’ll recommend Jane of Lantern Hill by L.M. Montgomery, if you haven’t read that one yet. (To get a bit more obscure, Noel Streatfeild’s Shoes books are another fun classic children’s series that explores the tension between imagination and practical concerns).

@keendaanmaa requested: Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

Imaginary Book: The Lakeshore Plan by Louise Zajac

Real Book: The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall is the gold standard for “contemporary summertime children’s book that reads like one of the classics”.

@teabooksandsweets requested: Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton

Imaginary Book: Ever Miss Eliza by Charlotte Koning

Real Book: Charlotte Fairlie by D.E. Stevenson is a similar sweet story about a headmistress at a girl’s school who gets a romance. (And the plot of the imaginary book parallels The Mary Tyler Moore Show).

@imissthembutitwasntadisaster requested: From the Depths and Other Strange Tales of the Sea edited by Mike Ashley (from the British Library Tales of the Weird series).

Imaginary Book: The Ocean’s Revenge by Edward G. Whitmore

Real Book: Ahab by E.B. Dawson is Moby Dick in space where the characters hunt rogue human-killing AI-driven spaceships. Very creative world with good characters.

@brambleberrycottage requested: Gideon the Cutpurse by Linda Buckley-Archer

Imaginary Book: The Book of All Days by Harriet Street

Real Book: Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce was a strong influence for my imaginary book. It’s about a young boy who goes to an aunt’s house and winds up having strange adventures with a young girl in the past. Timey-wimey fun. (I’m also told the imaginary book is similar to Magic Elizabeth by Norma Kassirer.)

@swinging-stars-from-satellites requested: The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge

Imaginary Book: The Guardian of the Nest by Aurelia T. Noah

Real Book: The Galleries of Stone trilogy (Meadowsweet, Harrow, and Rakefang) by C.J. Milbrandt. They’re about a sculptor who can create living statues, the young boy he hires as a servant to make sure he remembers to eat, and the family and community that builds up around them. This is domestic fantasy at its finest--no world-saving plots, just lots of wonder and heartfelt moments and well-drawn characters who care for each other. The first book is the best-written. The others are also well worth reading (Book 2 has one of my favorite married couples of all time), but they suffer from extreme overuse of epithets-instead-of-just-saying-their-names that trip up the reading experience. (But this is still one of my favorite fantasy series.)

@scarvenartist requested: The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy

Imaginary Book: The Thief’s Debut by M.J. Ponders

Real Book: When looking for books like The Scarlet Pimpernel, the obvious option is to read Scarlet Pimpernel retellings. Rook by Sharon Cameron and Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund are both post-apocalyptic retellings--though set in universes that have recovered a decent civilization from the apocalypse. Peterfreund’s book is the more direct retelling--I appreciate that every character is gender-flipped--while Cameron’s is more “inspired by” the original. However, I prefer Rook because I find the world more interesting. 

@gonturan0 requested: The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

Imaginary Book: The Interdimensional Book Carrier by Martin Kaspar

Real Book: The obvious answer for “fantasy involving fictional books” seems to be The Princess Bride by William Goldman, especially since that was one of the inspirations for the Imaginary Book Recs project in the first place.

If I’ve recommended a book you’ve already read, let me know and I can find an alternate recommendation. If anyone knows of any other real-world books that are similar to the real or imaginary books mentioned, feel free to chime in.

[profiterole-reads]

Fairest of All by Ada Hoffmann

The novelette Fairest of All (available for free) by Ada Hoffmann was intriguing. It's an invented fairy tale about finding the people you fit in with.

The three protagonists are autistic and there's major f/m/nb. The non-binary character is an anthropomorphic otter, so that's a little weird, but you just have to increase your suspension of disbelief.

Thanks for the rec to @ifihadmypickofwishes!