2026 book 213

Alexandra Rowland’s Yield Under Great Persuasion 

I had started a book that I thought was going to be hopeful but was actually super upsetting, and rereading this book was the perfect cure. I love books where gods and goddesses meddle with people to help them get their acts together! This new edition actually an expanded edition from when it first came out, there are a couple of bonus chapters. I’m not sure they’re necessary but they were nice nonetheless! This is a really sweet (and mildly horny) book that did make me tear up a couple times. Maybe I need to do a big Rowland reread?

2026 book 212

 Jeannelle M. Ferreira’s Ochre, Quartz, Or Ivy

I’m going to be honest, I did not understand what was happening in this book at all, but I enjoyed the vibes. There’s a Selkie married to the nonbinary Pendragon (this is Arthurian I guess?), they have a son, there’s magic and ghosts and time travel? Or alternate versions of the characters throughout time?? No clue!!! Seriously, none. It was interesting though. B+. 

2026 book 210

 AG Slatter’s Fitcher’s Bird

SO I thought this was another book set in Slatter’s Sourdough world, full of magic and dark fairy tales, and I was well into it before I realized I was reading a straight up modern horror novel with a serial killer. OOPS. Not my favorite type of story! I did actually like this though—it’s about the oldest sister of three, and her younger sisters go missing, and it actually DOES have dark fairy tale vibes, lots of Bluebeard action going on. Great ending. A-.

2026 book 209

 Sarah Rees Brennan’s In Other Lands

Look, sometimes someone on Bluesky goes into rhapsodies about a book and I’m like, oh yeah I fucking love that book, let’s reread it! And I actually forgot how MUCH I loved this book??? It’s SO FUNNY AND GOOD AND DELIGHTFUL IN EVERY WAY, as grumpy awkward bisexual teen Elliot does the whole portal fantasy magic military school thing, falling for an elf maiden warrior (elf ladies are warriors and love gentle nerdy men) and very begrudgingly making friends with the school’s golden boy. Elliot is a little asshole and I love him. I’m realizing that one of the reasons I love the Scholomance books is the similar narrative voice/themes. I need to reread this as much as I do those, this one makes me cackle out loud. SO GOOD.

2026 book 208

 Tanya Huff’s Saved by the Spell

Honestly, I’ll be psyched if novels about queer lady teachers at magic schools become the next big thing. This one features a Canadian magic school and is more in the funny/cozy vein, very enjoyable. The story here involves a student who exhibits all the signs of being a Hero—she saves ppl from danger, helps others, has two sidekicks (one can turn into a lil elephant!!!!), etc—which is great and all, except that the rise of a Hero means the rise of a Villain, ie, lots of danger and lots of classroom disruptions! (It is extremely obvious from the beginning who the villain is and very frustrating that no one even suspects, even though this does have an explanation. This is the exact problem I had with The Incandescent, the OTHER book about teachers at a magic boarding school.) I did end up liking this a lot, really great characters and the ending ruled, I hope there will be a sequel of some sort! A-.

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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in November.

2026 book 206

 Helene Wecker’s The Gates of Midnight

I finished this thinking like, well, this was fine, and then I got to the author’s note and was like, a nice person wrote this and now I feel bad for not being super into it? It wraps up the story of the Golem and the Jinni pretty well but leaves it open if she wants to write more in this world. Like I said, I just wasn’t super into it! I was impatient for all the story strands to come together. I do enjoy the characters though. B+.

2026 book 205

 Helene Wecker’s The Hidden Palace

I really didn’t remember a thing about this book, maybe because there is a LOT going on in it (including a cameo from Lawrence of Arabia, lol)? It does make things move much more quickly than the first one, but I wasn’t really invested in it. Still a pleasant read though! We’ll see how the new one is. A-/B+.

2026 book 204

 Helene Wecker’s The Golem and the Jinni

Rereading this because a new one in this series recently came out—and I remembered that I really liked this, but yall, I REALLY liked this!! I didn’t remember much besides the golem (a woman, created to be a wife) and the jinni (freed after a thousand years trapped in a jar) exploring 1890s New York, so most of the plot was a surprise. Really interesting and moving and occasionally tense. It is a little slow at parts but all comes together in a great way. I don’t remember the second book at all and am excited to revisit that and read the new one! A/A-.

2026 book 201

 Leslye Penelope’s The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass

Interesting novel about a young Black woman whose twin sister disappeared when they were teens—and no one remembers but her. Her sister is even gone from their family photographs, and she lives in a world where her sister never existed. Now it’s a few years later and she’s determined to figure out what happened, with the help of a cute PI. This is all interspersed with transcripts of audio tapes from their father about his experiences as a soldier in Vietnam as well as the missing sister’s old computer diary/messages/emails. It’s pretty clear at a certain point that all this stuff is connected, though I was kind of amazed at the one big reveal (and mildly impatient waiting for another). I also wasn’t expecting this to turn into a Y2K action thriller? It definitely lost me toward the end as things became increasingly bonkers, but a fun concept. B+.

2026 book 199

 Marissa Lingen’s A Dubious Clamor

What a GREAT book! Sometimes novellas feel rushed or incomplete but this is the perfect length for this story. Which involves a young woman who was once cursed to be a harpy, but the spell was broken and now she helps people with magical problems. When one of her friends comes to her with a magical sword that is trying to control him, she needs all of her friends and allies (and her harpy ex girlfriend) to save the day. Great friendships and family relationships here, and I loved the mentions of Gilbert and Sullivan. I am probably the target audience for a book like this but I ATE IT UP. Definitely will be keeping an eye out for more by Lingen. A.

2026 book 197

 Elizabeth Vaughan’s WarDance

The romance here is between Simus, the smart and funny Black warrior, here taking on more of a leadership role, and Snowfall, a Black warrior-priestess (the warrior-priests have largely been antagonists to this point, but she’s on board for the changes our characters want to make). The focus here is mainly on all the inter-tribal political stuff (plus some external political stuff AND magical threats as well), which is great, because although I really liked both these characters, I wasn’t super invested in their romance. It really feels like an afterthought, just occasionally awkwardly inserted in. I am looking forward to seeing how everything plays out in the final book! B+.

2026 book 196

 Elizabeth Vaughan’s Warcry

So it looks like the last three books in this series continue the ongoing storylines but each has a new couple/romance at the center, which is fine, but I was kind of eh about this couple—the former protagonist’s childhood friend (a dude) and the woman warrior who was healed in book one. He wants to be a serious/married couple! Her people rarely do that! Etc. There are a lot of court politics and intrigues though, which I love. There’s an attempted rape, which I could have done without. And there are some hints of mystical happenings that will presumably play a role in later books (and everyone is still trying to get the cute gay couple back together—why don’t THEY get a whole book). B+.

2026 book 195

 Elizabeth Vaughan’s Warlord

 Very entertaining third volume as our protagonist makes it to the center of the nomadic lands and has to prove herself. There is an awesome moment where she has to let various other warlords court her and one is a sexy lesbian—and she is kind of into it! (She’s from a society where queerness is not okay and the nomads have no issues with it, and it’s pretty clear that getting two specific dudes together is going to be a thing in later books and she’s gung-ho about it.) Anyway, very fun. A/A-.

2026 book 194

 Elizabeth Vaughan’s Warsworn

Interesting second volume of this series as they begin their journey to the Plains, but are waylaid by events beyond their control, exacerbating the inter-tribal tensions. Otherwise it’s mainly all character development, which I enjoy. I was very annoyed about one specific death. I am intrigued to see where things go in volume three. A-/B+.

2026 book 193

 Elizabeth Vaughan’s Warprize

T. Kingfisher mentioned this book in a recent Reddit AMA, and I do enjoy a fantasy romance that's the start of a six-book series! This involves a woman, the younger half-sister of the (sucky) king--she's trained as a healer and insists on also treating their prisoners of war--and then her brother's forces are defeated and the Warlord they've been fighting demands her as tribute for peace. I loved her learning about their culture/sharing hers, lots of fun characters there, and I like that there are some politics going on (politics/culture clashes are my FAVORITE). I also liked the romance! This is more of a fantasy novel with romance than a romance novel in a fantasy world, which I personally prefer. I did find some of the writing at the beginning to be clunky, and the villain doesn't feel super fleshed out, but I liked this a lot. Looking forward to book two! A-.

2026 book 189

 Naomi Novik's The Golden Enclaves

What a great conclusion to this series! I think I've liked it more on each reread--not that I ever DIDN'T like it, but there is a LOT going on and parts of the end confused me the first time I read it. Also, I was so IMPATIENT to know what was going to happen the first time I read it! It's hard to just enjoy and experience when you're in that mindset. But yet, lots happens, and it ends up being awesome. Now I'm going to reread the Scholomance story in Novik's collection Buried Deep.

2026 book 188

 Naomi Novik’s The Last Graduate

With a lot of trilogies, the second book feels like a place-holder, just kind of setting the pieces for the grand finale. But Novik was clearly like FUCK THAT, I’m raising the stakes and showing the importance of friendship and community and working together (her shorter fiction also does this very well!). It’s my favorite of the series for sure, it just fills me up with good feelings. 

2026 book 187

 Naomi Novik’s A Deadly Education

I was in one of those moods where I had a ton of new books to read and yet wasn’t in the mood for any of them, which means it’s time to reread a best-beloved book like this one. I just really vibe with an angry and grumpy heroine with a secret soft side learning to make friends and allies and saving the day in her deeply unpleasant magic school. Also, it’s funny as hell. Satisfying every time. 

2026 book 185

 T. Kingfisher’s Daggerbound

Look, sometimes you just need to reread a hilarious fantasy romance full of action and great characters, old friends and new (AMAZING new friends). Truly Kingfisher is firing on all cylinders with this one.

2026 book 177

 HG Parry’s The Witch Below the Dreaming Wood

I’m somewhat lukewarm on Arthurian stories—they’re fine, but there are SO MANY, just not my particular favorite subgenre—but I really enjoy HG Parry, so figured I’d try it. This is an interesting take—the main Arthurian POV is Nimue, here raised by Morgan Le Fay to bring about Merlin’s doom—but this is interspersed with the story of a young librarian sent to catalog the library in an isolated Welsh manor, and to escape the Blitz, because it’s 1941. Also, tons of ppl are having dreams about Arthur—but she’s dreaming of Nimue. This went some cool and unexpected directions, and even when I found the plot a little silly, I enjoyed the writing. I will recommend this to my Arthurian nerd friends! A-.