Can't-Wait Wednesday: Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan & Neferura by Malayna Evans

  

 Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This week's upcoming book spotlights are:

Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan
Publication: February 27th, 2024
Orbit
Paperback. 448 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Welcome to Tiankawi – shining pearl of human civilization and a safe haven for those fleeing civil unrest. Or at least, that’s how it first appears.

But in the semi-flooded city, humans are, quite literally, on peering down from skyscrapers and aerial walkways on the fathomfolk — sirens, seawitches, kelpies and kappas—who live in the polluted waters below.

For half-siren Mira, promotion to captain of the border guard means an opportunity to reform. At last, she has the ear of the city council and a chance to lift the repressive laws that restrict fathomfolk at every turn. But if earning the trust and respect of her human colleagues wasn't hard enough, everything Mira has worked towards is put in jeopardy when a water dragon is exiled to the city.

New arrival Nami is an aristocratic water dragon with an opinion on everything. Frustrated by the lack of progress from Mira's softly-softly approach in gaining equality, Nami throws her lot in with an anti-human extremist group, leaving Mira to find the headstrong youth before she makes everything worse.

And pulling strings behind everything is Cordelia, a second-generation sea-witch determined to do what she must to survive and see her family flourish, even if it means climbing over the bodies of her competitors. Her political game-playing and underground connections could disrupt everything Nami and Mira are fighting for.

When the extremists sabotage the annual boat race, violence erupts, as does the clampdown on fathomfolk rights. Even Nami realises her new friends are not what they seem. Both she and Mira must decide if the cost of change is worth it, or if Tiankawi should be left to drown."

What an interesting premise! I think this sounds so fantastical and I can't wait to get a chance to read it. 

Neferura by Malayna Evans
Publication: February 13th, 2024
Sourcebooks Landmark
Paperback. 368 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"For readers of The Wolf Den and Kaikeyi comes the thrilling tale of the forgotten daughter of a legendary Egyptian pharaoh and the path she must take to escape her own dangerous fate.

There are many paths to power.
They all come with a price.

Neferura, princess and high priestess of Kemet, knows her duty is to her people. When your mother is the great Pharaoh, it is hard to forget.

But Neferura's unique position at court comes with high stakes for her country, especially when she's forced to serve her vile half-brother, a man determined to stop Neferura's potential rise. Peace, it seems, never lasts for women who wield power in the open.

Especially when they cross a vengeful man. When Neferura overhears Thutmose's plot to end her mother's rule, she knows he must be stopped, no matter the cost. The discovery of a mysterious tattooed wisewoman and her shadowy network of spies offers an uneasy alliance. But the wisewoman wields more power than Neferura knew possible -- power with the potential to rival her own. Neferura must decide where her loyalties lie and how much she's willing to sacrifice to protect the people she loves before everything crumbles at the hands of a tyrant."

I love that this is focusing on Neferura and am so curious to see what the author does with this one. I love these types fo stories, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Mini-Review: Here in Avalon by Tara Isabella Burton

   

Here in Avalon by Tara Isabella Burton

Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: January 2nd, 2024

Hardcover. 320 pages.

About Here in Avalon:

"Rose has come a long way. Raised—and often neglected—by a wayward mother in New York City’s chaotic bohemia, Rose has finally built the life she’s always a good job at a self-help startup, a clean apartment, an engagement to a stable if self-satisfied tech CEO who shares her faith in human potential, hard work, and the sacrifice of childish dreams.

Rose’s sister Cecilia, on the other hand, never grew up. Irresponsible and impetuous, prone to jetting off to a European monastery one month and a falcon rescue the next, Cecilia has spent her life in pursuit of fairy-tale narratives of transcendence and true love—grand ideas Rose knows never work out in the real world. When Cecilia declares she’s come home to New York for good, following the ending of a whirlwind marriage, Rose hopes Cecilia might finally be ready to face compromises and all.

But then Cecilia gets involved with the a cultish-sounding cabaret troupe—one that appears only at night, on a mysterious red boat that travels New York’s waterways—and soon one of a growing number of suspicious disappearances among the city’s lost and loneliest souls. The only way Rose can find Cecilia is by tracking down the Avalon herself.

But as Rose gets closer to solving the mystery of what happened to her sister, the Avalon works its magic on her, too. And the deeper she goes into the Avalon’s underworld, she more she begins to question everything she knows about her own life, and whether she’s willing to leave the real world behind."

Here in Avalon was not at all what I expected, but it's still a beautiful story that I found myself strangely captivated by. I thought this was going to have a lot of magical realism elements and that there was going to be some underground magical world in New York City that we would uncover à la Neverwhere or something and that is very much not the case, but there is still a lot of different forms of magic in this book. 

What I liked: I really enjoyed this book and everything it tried to do. I loved this idea of a group of people that want so badly for people to be able to experience something magical and unique and once in a lifetime (well, for most, at least) that they go to immense lengths to create something almost otherworldly and ethereal and magical just for them and those that are struggling. I love the mystique surrounding this red boat and cabaret and how we slowly learn more about it with Rose. Rose and Cecilia also acted as such great foils to one another and I liked getting to know both of them throughout the story. It was fascinating to watch both of them react to different aspects of life in such different ways, as well as how the author kept us on a very specific journey with Rose that slowly and occasionally intersected with Cecilia's in some really interesting ways. Tara Isabella Burton also has really lovely prose and does a great job of explaining certain emotions and experiences in very relatable ways.

What I didn't like: This definitely dragged a bit in the last third of the book. I think a lot of the slow character development and passage of time was critical in some areas, but at other times I felt the story dragged on just a bit too long without. much really happening or progressing. While I think it reflected the tone fo the story effectively, it slowed down the reading experience a bit too much and probably could have been pared down a little bit. I also have a few frustrations with some of the cabaret members and things that occurred, but I don't want to spoil too much relating to that part of the story, so I'll just say that a little bit of the magic was taken away for me in ways that took me out of the story a bit. 

Overall, I've given Here in Avalon four stars.

*I received a copy of Here in Avalon in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Friday Face-Off: Current Read #23

                

 Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a weekly meme at Books by Proxy. Join us every Friday as we pit cover against cover, and publisher against publisher, to find the best artwork in our literary universe.  You can find a list of upcoming topics at Lynn's Books.

This week's topic is:

Current Read #23

Of the four books I'm currently reading, only one had more than two editions, so I decided to share the one with three: Alone on the Ice: The Greatest Survival Story in the History of Exploration by David Roberts. I have to say, it seems like every survival story I've ever read claims to be "the greatest," so that seems like quite a claim for the title, haha–but I've only just started it so who knows, maybe I'll end up agreeing! This is a nonfiction account of Australian Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition, and I've been eager to read it for a while. Let's go ahead and have a look at some covers for it. 

2014 US Paperback

2013 US Hardcover

2013 Hungarian

My choice(s):

None of these stand out to me overmuch, but I do still think they are quite striking in their own right. I'm currently reading the US paperback and I like the bright color, but it doesn't really grab me with its design. The original Hardcover definitely reflects more of the terrain and struggles that the explorers deal with. I'm not very taken by the Hungarian cover, but it does seem to evoke a certain sense of melancholy or something like that. Which cover(s) do you like best?

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Medea by EIlish Quin & Snowglobe by Soyoung Park

  

 Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This week's upcoming book spotlights are:

Medea by Eilish Quin
Publication: February 13th, 2024
Atria Books
Hardcover. 304 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Among the women of Greek mythology, the witch Medea may be the most despised. Known for the brutal act of killing her own children to exact vengeance on her deceitful husband, the Argonauts leader Jason, Medea has carved out a singularly infamous niche in our histories.

But what if that isn’t the full story?

The daughter of a sea nymph and the granddaughter of a Titan, Medea is a paradox. She is at once rendered compelling by virtue of the divinity that flows through her bloodline and made powerless by the fact of her being a woman. As a child, she intuitively submerges herself in witchcraft and sorcery, but soon finds it may not be a match for the prophecies that hang over her entire family like a shroud.

As Medea comes into her own as a woman and a witch, she also faces the arrival of the hero Jason, preordained by the gods to be not only her husband, but also her lifeline to escape her isolated existence. Medea travels the treacherous seas with the Argonauts, battles demons she had never conceived of, and falls in love with the man who may ultimately be her downfall."

There have been so many Greek retellings in the past couple years, yet I'm still excited for a Medea one!

Snowglobe by Soyoung Park, trans. Joungmin Lee Comfort
Publication: February 27th, 2024
Delacorte Press
Hardcover. 384 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Enclosed under a vast dome, Snowglobe is the last place on Earth that’s warm. Outside Snowglobe is a frozen wasteland, and every day, citizens face the icy world to get to their jobs at the power plant, where they produce the energy Snowglobe needs. Their only solace comes in the form of twenty-four-hour television programming streamed directly from the domed city.

The residents of Snowglobe have fame, fortune, and above all, safety from the desolation outside their walls. In exchange, their lives are broadcast to the less fortunate outside, who watch eagerly, hoping for the chance to one day become actors themselves.

Chobahm lives for the time she spends watching the shows produced inside Snowglobe. Her favorite? Goh Around, starring Goh Haeri, Snowglobe’s biggest star—and, it turns out, the key to getting Chobahm her dream life.

Because Haeri is dead, and Chobahm has been chosen to take her place. Only, life inside Snowglobe is nothing like what you see on television. Reality is a lie, and truth seems to be forever out of reach.

Translated for the first time into English from the original Korean, Snowglobe is a groundbreaking exploration of personal identity, and the future of the world as we know it. It is the winner of the Changbi X Kakaopage Young Adult Novel Award."

This sounds like a really fascinating premise, I'm always intrigued by these futuristic ones that play around with different possibilities. I'm excited to see how this one turns out!

Review: The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers

  

The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers

Redhook

Publication Date: January 30th, 2024

Hardcover. 352 pages.

About The City of Stardust:

"A young woman descends into a seductive magical underworld of power-hungry scholars, fickle gods and monsters bent on revenge to break her family's curse in this spellbinding contemporary fantasy debut.

For centuries, generations of Everlys have seen their brightest and best disappear, taken as punishment for a crime no one remembers, for a purpose no one understands. Their tormentor, a woman named Penelope, never ages, never grows sick – and never forgives a debt.

Violet Everly was just a child when her mother Marianne vanished on a stormy night, determined to break the curse. And when Penelope cannot find her, she issues an Violet has ten years to find Marianne, or she will take her place. Violet is the last of the Everly line, the last to suffer from the curse. Unless she can break it first.

To do so, she must descend into a seductive magical underworld of power-hungry scholars, fickle gods and monsters bent on revenge. She must also contend with Penelope’s quiet assistant, Aleksander, who she knows cannot be trusted – and yet whose knowledge of a world beyond her own is too valuable to avoid.

Tied to a very literal deadline, Violet will travel the edges of the world to find Marianne and the key to the city of stardust, where the Everly story began."

The City of Stardust is a very promising book for any lover of stories about magic and the search for something more in life. I was a bit disappointed by The City of Stardust overall and I’m sorry to say that it just didn’t amount to what I hoped it would based on the premise and writing.

The story begins with a curious storyline that will pull readers in right away as we slowly discover more and more about Violet’s mother and the many secrets her uncles have been keeping from her in order to–according to them–keep her safe. The way in which the author introduces the story in the first couple chapters has such a strong mysterious quality to it that it’s hard not to find yourself dying to know more. Unfortunately, this thread running through the story constantly promises more than it really delivers, and it's Summers' undeniably beautiful prose that kept me reading.

Our protagonist is Violet Everly, a young woman who feels stuck in her current life and constantly left in the dark about the many secrets surrounding her mom’s leaving when she was just a kid and the way her uncles won’t tell her anything about the mysterious happenings that they seem to be a part of. She knows they're keeping things from her, she just isn’t ever sure exactly what those things are, and so she begins her own attempts to figure it out and is thrust into a mysterious journey of the unknown.

Violet is a bit of a dreamer and is always looking for magic, and I think that’s very relatable and is something that will really draw readers into the story. Unfortunately, as the story went on it became clear that Violet lacked any stronger development or qualities that would make me feel more compelled by her or invested in her storyline. I also felt that she really lacked a strong personality and instead became someone who was just sort of aimlessly wandering around from place to place trying to find or do something, but never really succeeding in a way that is satisfying for readers. I wanted to like Violet, but I just wasn't ever that interested in her. 

I found that a lot of the other characters weren’t overly compelling or memorable for me, either. I was initially very intrigued by a boy around Violet's age named Aleksander whom we meet when they are both children and they have a bit of a strange encounter, but don't end up seeing each other again until many years later. I really hoped his character would bring something more to the story, but that seemed to putter out a bit as things went on and I found him lacking in any strong development much in the same way as Violet. I also thought Penelope could be an interesting antagonist to the story, but was disappointed in her two dimensional depiction and felt she lacked any real nuance as well. There is also a bit of a romance in this book that I didn’t care for and that felt undeveloped and unnecessary. I think I liked more of a focus on friendship development and seeing how different interactions evolved over time, especially since there were so many competing interests that added a lot of interesting dynamics.

The best part of The City of Stardust, however, is Summers' prose. It’s beautiful and has a very lyrical quality to it which reminds me a bit of Erin Morgenstern's books The Starless Sea and The Night Circus, or even V.E. Schwab's Addie LaRue. I will caveat that I like The Night Circus and The Starless Sea more than this book (if that helps anyone to know more of what to expect), but it’s very similar in the sense that what really propelled me to keep reading the story was the writing itself. There’s not quite enough happening with the plot (or at least, not anything overly captivating) to keep me reading for that alone, but the writing was gorgeous. I would not compare these books based on depth of content, as I don’t think The City of Stardust quite holds up to that, but otherwise for general style and content. I feel like this book hinges a lot on how the story is told rather than maybe the story itself.

I do still think this would make a great reading experienced for people who want to follow a magical story and explore some interesting concepts and ideas, but I wouldn’t say it’s the most riveting story or one that will have you on the edge of your seat. It’s really one that’s better for enjoying the experience, and I think it’s better to adjust expectations for that going into it. 

Overall, I would say the story just had so much premise and it just fell flat. Unfortunately, this is something that seems to be happening quite a bit lately. I'm not sure if it's me or if it's just kind of a lot of the stories that are being published right now. I’ve given The City of Stardust 3 stars. I wanted a bit more from it than it really delivered.

*I received a copy of The City of Stardust in exchange for an honest review.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

2023 Reading Stats!

   

Now that all of my best books of 2023 posts are up, I can share the final post of my 'end of year' posts: my 2023 reading stats! This is one of my favorite posts to do every year because I love seeing all the ways my reading has changed (or stayed the same!) and what my reading year looked like as a whole. 

To put this post together, I take some graphics from my Goodreads year in review to share some general stats Goodreads keeps track of, and the rest are from an Excel spreadsheet that I keep throughout the year to track all the books I read! This is where I track things like page counts, book format, where I got the books, etc. Let's dive in!

136 books is truly a success for me this year, especially given what a bad year it was for me, haha. I have no complaints and I am incredibly surprised by this number. I once again have to say that I think audiobooks really contributed to that this year since I was able to listen to them so much while I did other things–I'm so glad I finally managed to get into them more over the past couple years!

I always forget just how long those books are by Justin Call! They are long, but so worth the read. Anoka was also a fantastic collection of short horror stories. 

This isn't all that surprising, as I'd say the 300 range is a fairly average page count for most books.

This was my average rating for last year, as well! It's always probably a little inflated since I tend to round up ratings on Goodreads.

Well, I'm not surprised that Pachinko is such a highly shelved book, as it was a finalist for the National Book Award and has it's own TV adaptation now (which I haven't watched)! It seems to be a very beloved book. I think Whispers from the Poisoned Isle needs more rep on Goodreads, too!


I had to include this stat this year because I am so pleased to see this book is still sitting at a 4.67 average rating, which is crazy! (!)

Stats:
Here we have the nitty-gritty details of what I read this year, from genre to page count and more. I always like to compare this to my previous year's post and see what changes have occurred. Maybe one year I'll compare to the first stats post I did however many years ago, but that's a whole other project. Anyway, let's have a look at this year's stats:

Genre

None of these are a really a huge surprise, but there are still some minor shifts in genres happening. Fantasy (38.6%) is still my top genre, but it is a bit lower than 2022. This is probably somewhat in part due to horror's (25%) gradual rise, up from 17% last year–which is a decent increase. I've been really loving horror more these days and I think that will continue to be the case. Sci-fi (12.1%) is relatively the same with only a one percent increase. Literary fiction is at 6.1%, historical the same at 6.1%, and dark romance has a small increase to 9.8% this year. Those were likely also due to my newfound love of audiobooks and need for some 'fun' books this year when I just needed something to escape with, haha. It's mainly interesting to see how my fantasy category has gotten down to 38% when it used to almost always be close to 50%!

Target Audience

This isn't surprising at all. I mainly read adult books (91.2%), and only read the occasional young adult (4.4%) and  middle grade (4.4%). I don't tend to find myself drawn to young adult books as much these days, but I do love middle grade so would like to maybe increase that number this year in 2024.

Format

There are actually some pretty big changes here. Hardcover went from 22% last year to 6.7% this year! I think that's actually because I wasn't able to use my library for a good portion of 2023 and that's typically where I read the most hardcover books. Physical ARCs is the same at 25%, while audiobooks changed from 25% last year to 36% of my total reading formats this year, which is pretty nuts. I used to not be able to focus on audiobooks at all, so the fact that they accounted for 36% of my reading last year is crazy and makes me glad that I've been able to start enjoying them. I'm not sure why I separated Ebooks (2.2%) and eARCs (18.5%) this year (?), but altogether they accounted for about 20% of my reading. Paperbacks come in at just 10% as well. 

Book Source

The saddest part about this graph is how low my library usage (14.6%) was last year. I'm planning to get back to my library more in 2024, which I've missed dearly. A lot of my reading does consist of ARCs, which often come from the publisher/author (32.3%) or NetGalley (23.8%). I also had an Audible (15.4%) membership for some of the year and managed to get some great deals on books from that so thought it'd be a good newer category to separate out from others. It would also probably be better to focus on reading more books that I already own in 2024, since I only read about a total of 13% of books I already owned in 2023, apparently...

Page Count

Page count is usually the chart that stays pretty consistent year to year, but it's still a fun one to track. I didn't read any 900+ page books last year, but I'm hoping to find some chunky tomes this year to tackle, as I usually like to make some big books little project for me to read through throughout the year. It actually seems like I read slightly less shorter books this year than in 2022, but no major changes here.  

Tell me about your year in books! Do you keep track of information for stats like this? If you do and you made a post that I haven't seen–or any type end of year post–leave me a link below because I love checking them out!

Review: The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler

   

The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler

Tordotcom

Publication Date: January 16th, 2024

Hardcover. 192 pages.

About The Tusks of Extinction:

"When you bring back a long-extinct species, there’s more to success than the DNA.

Moscow has resurrected the mammoth, but someone must teach them how to be mammoths, or they are doomed to die out, again.

The late Dr. Damira Khismatullina, the world’s foremost expert in elephant behavior, is called in to help. While she was murdered a year ago, her digitized consciousness is uploaded into the brain of a mammoth.

Can she help the magnificent creatures fend off poachers long enough for their species to take hold?

And will she ever discover the real reason they were brought back?

A tense eco-thriller from a new master of the genre."

The Tusks of Extinction is a very unique novella centered around moral and ethical concerns of poaching, climate concerns, and the possibility of technology. 

The story is split into dual POVs, one featuring a past timeline with Dr. Damira Khismatullina and her colleague as they fight to protect the few remaining elephants on the earth. Damira is an expert on all things elephant and has been working hard to help stop poaching and save elephants. Sadly, Damira is murdered by poachers while working and is unable to continue her work–at least, not in any traditional sense.

A hundred years later, we enter our second POV. In this future timeline, wooly mammoths have been brought back from extinction and scientists need Damira's expert knowledge to help give them a chance to survive and thrive. Fortunately, before Damira was murdered she agreed to have what is essentially her memories and consciousness uploaded to a database in order to save all of her knowledge of the elephants. Scientists decide to take her uploaded memories and place into the brain of a woolly mammoth int he hope of being able to teach them how to survive. It's a lot to take in, but I think the author handled this rather momentous task with deftness and cleverness. 

I've always thought the idea of bringing back extinct animals sounds... potentially problematic, bordering on very unwise, but I've also found the idea moderately intriguing (who doesn't, really?) so I was excited to explore this premise. Nayler's take on this is a little different from what I expected, but I thought it was a really logical investigation into what it would take to have a new population succeed. There are always natural instincts in place that I think would guide animals, but the idea of having Damira's consciousness implanted into a mammoth's brain was something that brought an entirely new and fascinating angle to this entire idea. I was surprised at how well Nayler actually worked this concept into a story in a way that felt both intelligent and entertaining, while also providing sharp commentary on poaching and the many ways humans treat the world around them. 

I think my only struggles with this novella would fall into similar veins as my problems with Nayler's previous book, The Mountain in the Sea. There's an aspect to the author's prose that doesn't resonate with me quite as much as I'd love it to, and I found there to be an overwhelming technical quality to it that keeps me at arm's length. I also do feel that this was an exceptionally ambitious story to explore in about a hundred pages. I'm not sure if this story would need a longer format since it does work overall, but there were parts of this I actually would've liked to have expanded a bit or just explored in some deeper ways than it was able to be in such a short amount of pages. That being said, I do still think this novella was overwhelmingly successful in doing what it wanted to and conveying the messages it set out to convey.

I also would not necessarily describe this as a 'thriller,' and would not recommend you go into this expecting something that will keep you on the edge of your seat in a traditional thriller way. It is more 'thriller' in the sense that it's a very intense overall topic and quite shocking sometimes to realize the many ways in which humans can wreak havoc and have such callous attitudes towards living creatures.

I listened to the audiobook edition of The Tusks of Extinction and thought the narrators did an excellent job with it. I would think it could get tricky to narrate the voice of someone who has essentially become a mammoth, but Gabrielle de Cuir handled it with finesse and has a lovely voice to boot. Stefan Rudnicki also kept my interested while narrating the alternate POV chapters. I also highly recommend reading the author's note at the end, in which Nayler shares some of his inspiration, research, and other tidbits that I found really fascinating.

Overall, I've given The Tusks of Extinction 3.5 stars. This is absolutely a recommended read for anyone interested in technological and speculative fiction, and especially if you enjoyed Ray Nayler's previous book, The Mountain in the Sea. 

*I received a copy of The Tusks of Extinction in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown & The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo

  

 Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This week's upcoming book spotlights are:

The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
Publication: February 13th, 2024
William Morrow
Hardcover. 416 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"If you could open a door to anywhere, where would you go?

In New York City, bookseller Cassie Andrews is living an unassuming life when she is given a gift by a favourite customer. It's a book - an unusual book, full of strange writing and mysterious drawings. And at the very front there is a handwritten message to Cassie, telling her that this is the Book of Doors, and that any door is every door.

What Cassie is about to discover is that the Book of Doors is a special book that bestows an extraordinary powers on whoever possesses it, and soon she and her best friend Izzy are exploring all that the Book of Doors can do, swept away from their quiet lives by the possibilities of travelling to anywhere they want.

But the Book of Doors is not the only magical book in the world. There are other books that can do wondrous and dreadful things when wielded by dangerous and ruthless individuals - individuals who crave what Cassie now possesses.

Suddenly Cassie and Izzy are confronted by violence and danger, and the only person who can help them is, it seems, Drummond Fox. He is a man fleeing his own demons - a man with his own secret library of magical books that he has hidden away in the shadows for safekeeping. Because there is a nameless evil out there that is hunting them all . . . Because some doors should never be opened."

There's not much that can sound better than a magical book, and I love the idea of discovering what all the different powers some of the books may possess. I can't wait to read this one!

The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
Publication: February 13th, 2024
Henry Holt and Co. 
Hardcover. 400 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Some people think foxes are similar to ghosts because we go around collecting qi , or life force, but nothing could be further than the truth. We are living creatures, just like you, only usually better looking . . .

Manchuria, 1908.

A young woman is found frozen in the snow. Her death is clouded by rumors of foxes involved, which are believed to lure people by transforming themselves into beautiful women and men. Bao, a detective with a reputation for sniffing out the truth, is hired to uncover the dead woman’s identity. Since childhood, Bao has been intrigued by the fox gods, yet they’ve remained tantalizingly out of reach. Until, perhaps, now.

Meanwhile, a family that owns a famous Chinese medicine shop can cure ailments, but not the curse that afflicts them―their eldest sons die before their twenty-fourth birthdays. Now the only grandson of the family is twenty-three. When a mysterious woman enters their household, their luck seems to change. Or does it? Is their new servant a simple young woman from the north or a fox spirit bent on her own revenge?"

I've enjoyed some of Yangsze Choo's books in the past and this sounds like it'll be another incredible one. 

Best Books of 2023, Pt. II: 2023 Releases

I'm probably the last person to get this post up, but I am so excited to finally get the chance to share with you all my favorite reads from 2023! This is my "official" top ten list, though I always say that with hesitancy since it's so damn hard to narrow down all the books I loved. That being said, these are ten books that I've continued to think about, anticipated sequels for (if applicable), or just generally think of as being standout books that I loved. I would love to here your thoughts on any of these if you've also read them. I'd also love to know what everyone else's best books of 2023 were, so feel free to link to your own posts in the comments if you have them, or just let me in the comment!

Pt. I of my best books of 2023 featuring backlist titles and some honorable mentions can be found here. My annual reading stats post should be up at the end of this week. That post includes fun things like number of books read, top genres, how I get my books, average page counts, and more–all things I love keeping track of to look at as a whole at the end of each year!

Without any further digressions, let's have a look at my top reads of 2023!

2023 Releases:

(in no particular order)

     

1. The Will of the Many by James Islington: The Licanius Trilogy by James Islington is one of my favorite fantasy trilogies, so to say my hopes were high going into The Will of the Many is an understatement. This was absolutely more than I could have hoped for and has become a favorite in its own right. None of the books on this list are in any particular order, except for this one right here which has to be my #1. I just loved everything about this book, from the protagonist to the world building to the introduction of how the magic works in this world. I am so incredibly curious to see how this book is going to pick up and I'm admittedly a little nervous based on how The Will of the Many ended, but I know it's in good hands with James Islington. (Review)

2. The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland: This was one of the first books I read in 2023, but the story is still quite vivid in my memory (a rare feat these days). It's a beautiful, somewhat melancholy, reflective, and thought-provoking story that really caught me by surprise by how much I loved it. I never expected this one to grab me as much as it did, but it's one of those quiet favorites that sneak up on you and grab your attention with an engaging and interesting protagonist and an exploration of themes and ideas, such as what immortality really means and what it's worth it (also a common theme in Dewes' Rubicon on my Pt. 1 post!) that I was riveted by. (Review)

     

3. To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose: This is a pretty chunky book, so I was a little intimidated to be going into a big new fantasy when I was int he middle of a reading slump. It ended up being the best decision I made because I was riveted from the start and truly struggled to put it down. It's not that it was some intense, action-driven story, but rather the way it was written–immensely readable, compelling, and intelligent–was what grabbed me. I loved the capable protagonist who stood up for herself when necessary, the way that magic works, and of course, the dragons. I haven't seen an announcement for the sequel yet, but I will absolutely be reading it and cannot wait. 

4. Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett: I have a feeling this one may have shown up on a lot of people's lists this year, and for good reason! I had the most enjoyable time reading this book and getting to know our delightful protagonist and her loyal dog companion, not to mention all the other incredible colorful cast of characters we meet along the way. This was both cozy and had plenty of high stakes to keep things immensely fun and also compelling at the same time. I've already read (and loved!) the sequel and genuinely cannot wait to read the third book and promptly be devastated when it's all finished. 

     

5. Whispers from the Poisoned Isle (Jekua #4) by Travis M. Riddle: It's been many years in a row that Travis M. Riddle has shown up on my favorites lists, and this year is not going to be any different. I'm not sure what to say other than I can't get enough of his books. I have been having such a blast with Riddle's Jekua series and read two of them in 2023 (Makanuele Rumble and Whispers from the Poisoned Isle), both of which were five star reads. This is basically a stand-in for both books, but I do have to say that Whispers from the Poisoned Isle was truly one of the most exciting books I read in 2023 and propelled the plot forward in so many crazy, momentous ways that it's been sitting at the front of my mind ever since I finished. The pacing of these books perfectly balances faster-paced action scenes with more contemplative, exploratory moments that makes my brain really happy. This is a series that I cannot wait to keep reading, and I can't stop recommending it enough to everyone else. (Review)

6. The Tyranny of Faith (Empire of the Wolf #2) by Richard Swan: The Justice of Kings was amazing and I did worry that The Tyranny of Faith wouldn't live up to it's predecessor... and I was very, very wrong to have that worry. This was a stunning sequel and drew me immediately back into this world. Richard Swan does a masterful job of creating complex characters, political intrigue that has me glued to the page, and exploring complicated themes around morals and ethics. If you haven't started this series yet, you should absolutely do so, especially since the third book is going to be released soon! (Review)

     

7. Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher: T. Kingfisher is an author I always look forward to reading work from because there's always something new mixed with classic Kingfisher style that just works so well for me. Thornhedge was a wonderful fairy tale inspired novella that would be a great choice for fans of Nettle & Bone. I loved the interactions between our protagonist, Toadling, and the knight who stumbles upon her, and I especially loved the stories we learned of in this book, complete with plenty of magic and curses to make it complete. This would be a fantastic place to start reading T. Kingfisher's work, or an even better place to read more if you're already familiar! (Review)

8. The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson: This hefty historical fiction reminded me just why I love historical fiction, and that I need to get back into reading these big, epic historical fiction mysteries more often. This was a complex story full of so many different secrets and twists, as well as a young protagonist who we get to follow from child to young woman and the many turbulent things she undergoes in the process. I was so hooked on this story and couldn't get enough of everything that happens. If you like Sarah Waters and similar authors, then you might like this one, too! (Review) 

     

9. The Militia House by John Milas: This is probably the most unexpected book to end up on this list for me, but it's one that I just find myself continuing to come back to and admiring. It's a short work of military horror that seems to masterfully capture the horrors and monotony of war with a work of pure horror that will make your imagination go absolutely wild. It has both readers and characters alike questioning what is real and is honestly just brilliant. John Milas is an author to look out for! (Review)

10. A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher: Yes, T. Kingfisher is making it on this list twice because her two books are very different in genre, but excellent nonetheless. I started reading T. Kingfisher with her release The Hollow Ones and have hooked on her horror releases since. Something about Kingfisher's brand of horror really works for me–something about her masterful mix of truly terrifying and horrible things and witty dialogue from smart, rational characters is absolutely perfect. This book contained all of that and more and was such a bonkers, horrifying ride that I couldn't get enough of it. (Review)

Have you read any of these books? What were some of your favorite 2023 releases?