This was great! An urban fantasy based in non-Western folklore and mythology. No elves or dragons here. And it was SO NICE to see an urban fantasy that I was able to see myself in. This also had a very classic UF feel - I got War for the Oaks vibes at times. I really hope this is the start of a series.

A few days late but here are my July reads. Really enjoyed them all except Afterglow.

My June reads! Tagged one was my favorite, thought enjoyed all the books I read last month. No 👎s at all!

Also, I realized I never posted my April reads. Here they are! Tagged was my favorite though overall I loved most of the reads.

My May reads. A mixed bag. Tagged book is probably the one I'd recommend the most.

The spicy, funny, diverse fantasy rom-com you didn't know in your life. There's lots of food, lots of sexiness, and an A+ plot too. I also binged the sequel novella and book 2 immediately after this, and signed up for the author's Patreon, if that tells you anything. (CW: violence, dubcon, light BDSM play)

I love when books just throw in a song lyric Easter egg. 🍺

And finally, the reason I made an order from Mac's. I just learned about Bill Arthrell after he passed away in February. He was a student at Kent State during the Vietnam War who threatened to napalm a (nonexistent) dog in order to get people upset about the war. Soon after, the Kent State protests happened.

The other signed book I treated myself to. I love this series, and this book is my favorite.

I treated myself to an order from Mac's Books and got a signed copy of two of my favorite books from authors local to the store. This is the first.

Another Sir Julius Vogel nominee, this one for best novella/novellete. Super cute story of a hidden witch community saving the world with help from their cat familiars. Not very deep and a bit predictable, but still fun.

This is one of the best novel nominees for the Sir Julius Vogel Award, which recognizes achievements in New Zealand speculative fiction. Horror isn't normally my thing but I was sold on the jazz age setting. and I'm really glad I read this because it was so good! Non-stop action, some nice plot twists, and some great characters. Loved this!

Found another Bujold fan! (Or at least their car...)

#IndependentBookstoreDay haul 2! So excited to find Messy Roots, and the puzzle was a wishlist puzzle. Forest looks like a fun game. The rest was from winning a scavenger hunt. It was super fun! 😊

All in all, not a bad book day... Except I got almost no reading done! 😱

#IndependentBookstoreDay haul number 1! I bought Maus, Thunderous, the mug, and the three stickers. The rest were free ARCs or swag. I am super excited about Thunderous.

After finishing book 1, I resisted buying the rest of the series, telling myself just to get the next one because. After finishing Mindline... Well, I now own the rest of The Dreamhealers Saga.

I don't know how she did it but a horrific illegal and fatal drug epidemic was made into a wholesome way for the two MCs to strengthen their mind bond.

I loved this gentle science fiction story about learning, culture, friendship, and choices. I already have book 2 bought and downloaded.

My March 2022 books. Overall a bit of a disappointing month. More mehs than picks. But the tagged book was my favorite, with a close second for Portrait of a Wide Seas Islander.

This takes place during The Hands of the Emperor and follows Buru Tovo as he goes to visit Kip and see if he's forgotten all that Tovo had taught him. I loved this! Also, the reveal that this respected (and absolute troll of an) elder is very very queer is overshadowed by the follow-up reveals of some of his sexual exploits and OMG TOVO I'M SCREAMING. Goddard is both a gem for giving us these stories and evil because I need the next novel!

This was a really anticipated read for me and I ended up feeling pretty meh about it. I never clicked with the main characters and I had a hard time caring about them or the shop. A shame because I loved the premise.

This would have been a pick except my library loan came due and I had to wait months to get the book back, so I lost my groove, and I found Mary to be pretty eye-rolling. Yes, she's contrary, but that apparently also means she didn't use common sense or listen to advice or use her brain when someone tells her she couldn't do something. Francis was awesome though. And it was nice to see the characters from My Lady Jane again, even as a short cameo.

A delightful tale of a mercenary orc who decides to retire from fighting and open a coffee shop in a town that has no idea what this weird bean water is. She builds a found family and a community, while selling coffee drinks and tasty pastries. There's also a lowkey F/F romance.

There is one brief scene of bread pushing to someone who said he doesn't eat bread, which was the only annoyance. And it was so brief it was easy to gloss over.

I realized I never formally reviewed this one, which is charming and delightful, and self-published so needs all the boosting I can throw at it. There's a metal mage who moves in next door to a necromancer. She tries to pretend to be ordinary and fails spectacularly after coming to her new neighbor's aid from a group of torch-weilding villagers. So starts an alliance leading to a delightful community of misfits! Loved this so much!

Books read in February. A bit of a mixed bag. Tagged book was my favorite, but I also highly recommend Good Neighbors, Money Shot, The Return of Fitzroy Angursell, The Love Con, and Hopepunk.

Cute but not much depth. Takes place over a decade but you only get one day, February 4, each year. I liked the premise and loved the twist ending, but something about the execution left me unsatisfied.

Also this is the poster child for, "Communicate, dammit!"

My March #BOTM box!

I loved this! Hope's conservative Christian family is broken after her older sister runs away after being outed as lesbian. A year later, she rescues a classmate who is kicked out after coming out, and together form a rock band to provide resistance and hope. Hopepunk!

Well that's a very pointed dedication. 🔥

The first in a spin-off from The Hands of the Emperor, following said emperor as he goes on a quest and reconnects with his past. Very different but very good and I need book 2 now!!!

This was amazing! A very long book where nothing big happens. It should not have worked but it was perfect. It's hopepunk and glorious! It's about the unlikely friendship between an emperor and his secretary, who is one of the few who sees the man beneath the divine.

My January 2022 reads. 22 books; 6,255 pages; 20 authors. My favorite book of the month is tagged. The Creature Court Trilogy by Tansy Rayner Roberts was a close runner up.

A delightful fantasy retelling of The Scarlet Pimpernel with fairies! Any issues I had with character development or pacing was resolved when I remembered the original book was similar. The fae are kidnapping human children, and one man steals them back. He is known as the Wraith.

Lily Hathaway has her society debut and quickly catches the eye of Theo Overton. And soon finds herself deep in the cat-and-mouse game between Fairy and Wraith.

Today's shirt.

The best book I've read in a really long time! A super ambitious epic fantasy told in verse of King Xau, who is good and selfless to the point of saintly. As it's epic poetry, this works. There's lots of politics and war but also quiet, lovely moments. It made me laugh, cringe, cry, and sigh. Highly recommended. (CW: death, torture, gore)

Some days, we just need a place
Where we can bleed in peace.
Our only word for this is
Poem.

This is a chapbook of stories about monsters, relationships, and humanizing monsters. Absolutely lovely.

A short collection of stories about Haiti, and Haitians, and the Haitian diaspora. Sad, painful, but also brilliant. A sucker punch to the heart.

I was going to binge this series over Thanksgiving weekend but life got in the way. I finally was able to finish the first book and then sped through the rest this New Year's weekend. Whoa boy. I'm not sure what to do with myself now since there is no more. I fell headfirst into this amazing world Tansy created and it's very flawed cast of characters. I loved this so much. The ending was probably the most satisfying end to a series I've read.

2021. Lots of short books, easy books, mostly comfort reading. It was a rough year, with multiple reading slumps. But I'm raring to go for 2022 and a new reading challenge!

Tagged book was one of my favorites for 2021.

When something happens in your book that punches you in the gut, and you just have to close it and sit for a bit...

This started out like a typical romance and then WHAM! The ending made me want the next book NOW! I need to know more about this fascinating dystopian world!

One of our greatest freedoms is how we react to things.

Loved it so much, I went back to the beginning after finishing it. Great affirmation of self-worth, friendship, and connection.

What a great book about finding the time to be happy instead of always productive. Too bad that I think the grey men have already taken over the real world...

I grabbed this (signed!) from Mysterious Galaxy last week and read it today. It was quick and easy. But the plot was all over the place and zany to the point of cringiness. But my main beef was Spiner's depiction of himself thinking more with his dick than his brain. I get he's making fun of himself and maybe the noir genre, but it felt really juvenile. ⬇️

Gorgeous illustrations and fun poems about the natural world. Created in response to the Oxford Junior Dictionary removing 40 common words about nature and replacing them with modern, virtual words.

*Except eagles, for they are too scary...

😂

I loved this book! A genre-blending symphony of Faustian bargains, interstellar refugees, curses, and finding your heart and soul. Gorgeous.

We went to Mysterious Galaxy today and I splurged for some signed books. Such a great store! I'm nearly halfway through the tagged book and loving it.