Books Read in 2026: Four-Star Speculative Part II and WHEEEE That Was Fun

You guys! What a fun and rewarding discussion on that library post! It seems so dumb that I'm surprised, given what I know of most of us, but I never know which posts are going to generate the most engagement - I think my last one was about top sheets! 

I already feel like I'm a bit off my reading game this year. I feel like blowing way past my (completely arbitrary) reading goal last year has sort of put that whole thing to bed for me, so I'm considering what I would like to do differently this year. I think I already said I want to do some rereading. I would like to get to another long classic too - it's been a while since Middlemarch and The Magic Mountain. I also need to finally read an Anthony Trollope book - I always say I want to read one because then I can say I'm taking my favourite Trollope to the beach or whatever, but I've never actually finished one. I started one, and it was talking about land ownership or something, and all I remember is "butts and patches, patches and butts", and I just could not get past that. 

I definitely need to pause all my library holds for a while and get to some books on my actual bookshelves and on my Kindle - I scrolled through my Kindle library today and it was a bit terrifying.

My husband was away last week, and we were supposed to leave for Dubai tomorrow - a big work award trip with a bunch of people. The stuff going down in Iran put the kibosh on that. I absolutely understand that the events in Iran are horrific, and am trying not to complain. It was going to be so cool though! Desert trekking! The Burj Khalifa! There's a photonics conference in San Francisco that my husband has pivoted to, and he said I should come with him. I waffled a bit because it seems hypocritical, and then I un-waffled, because I think being alone here for another week in January might drive me right off some edge or other. Plus I already have the week off work. This is why I was looking at my Kindle library - you know, because clearly I need to make sure I have access to at least thirty books while I'm away. 

 More book posts when we are back! 

Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Speculative Part II

The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett: Synopsis from Goodreads: In Daretana’s most opulent mansion, a high Imperial officer lies dead—killed, to all appearances, when a tree spontaneously erupted from his body. Even in this canton at the borders of the Empire, where contagions abound and the blood of the Leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death at once terrifying and impossible. Called in to investigate this mystery is Ana Dolabra, an investigator whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities.

At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol. Din is an engraver, magically altered to possess a perfect memory. His job is to observe and report, and act as his superior’s eyes and ears--quite literally, in this case, as among Ana’s quirks are her insistence on wearing a blindfold at all times, and her refusal to step outside the walls of her home.

Din is most perplexed by Ana’s ravenous appetite for information and her mind’s frenzied leaps—not to mention her cheerful disregard for propriety and the apparent joy she takes in scandalizing her young counterpart. Yet as the case unfolds and Ana makes one startling deduction after the next, he finds it hard to deny that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective.

As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the safety of the Empire itself, Din realizes he’s barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra—and wonders how long he’ll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect.

Featuring an unforgettable Holmes-and-Watson style pairing, a gloriously labyrinthine plot, and a haunting and wholly original fantasy world, The Tainted Cup brilliantly reinvents the classic mystery tale.

I thought I had read Robert Jackson Bennett before, and then realized I was mixing him up with Robert Charles Wilson. So this was a slightly different vibe than I was expecting, and not like what I usually read. I'm trying to articulate how it was different - more expansive, I think, like he's happy spreading this world-making and this story out over several books so just hold your horses if you're looking for any spareness of language or any proceeding straight to the action. Which is fine, the world-making was quite inventive and, although I have a healthy skepticism about Holmes and Watson homages, I was quite smitten with this one. Holmes traditionally has to be a bit of an asshole, and Ana was, but not so much of one that I was turned off. Din had my sword and my bow and my axe by the end of the first chapter. 

I was able to give myself over to the huge stakes and the monstrously strange deaths. I still don't feel a burning need to read the next book in the series immediately, but I probably will at some point. It's not the worst thing to now and then force myself to read something more sprawling than I'm generally inclined to, and with this one I already know it will be well done. 

The Year of the Storm by John Mantooth: Synopsis from Goodreads: In this haunting, suspenseful debut novel, John Mantooth takes readers to a town in rural Alabama where secrets are buried deep, reality is relative, and salvation requires a desperate act of faith.

 When Danny was fourteen, his mother and sister disappeared during a violent storm. The police were baffled. There were no clues, and most people figured they were dead.  Only Danny still holds out hope that they’ll return.
 
Months later, a disheveled Vietnam vet named Walter Pike shows up at Danny’s front door, claiming to know their whereabouts. The story he tells is so incredible that Danny knows he shouldn’t believe him. Others warn him about Walter Pike’s dark past, his shameful flight from town years ago, and the suspicious timing of his return.
 But he’s Danny’s last hope, and Danny needs to believe…

This was fair short and honestly sadder than it was suspenseful, although 'haunting' is accurate. I can't say too much without spoilers, but it evoked one or two classic science fiction stories, and had an elegant shape to it. 

The InBetween (Hell Inc. #4) by Dick Wybrow: Synopsis from Goodreads: There was a plan, but something went wrong.

Raz Frewer is dead. However, that's the only part of the plan that went right.

The memories of his past life have been wiped out. Who he was. The people he loved. However, one tiny scrap does A compulsion to " do good.'

He has no idea why.

Raz is now a ghost named Painter Mann, trapped in an unnatural realm between living and dead called the InBetween. With this "do good" mantra Painter's only directive, he's now helping other ghosts move on to whatever's next.

That requires finding out the identity of the murder who killed the person he's trying to help. So he gets a job.

Painter Mann is the world's only dead private detective.

He's helping desperate souls, freeing them from the InBetween. He's doing good!

So why is he being hunted by a supernatural serial killer?

Readers of Jim Butcher, Richard Kadrey, Douglas Adams, and Christopher Moore will love this series..

I accidentally started reading this incredibly original series all out of order, beginning with book #5, which blew me away, striking a particularly difficult balance of occult, horror, humour and melancholy. The rules for the ghost world are well thought out and internally consistent, which can be a pitfall for this kind of story. This was probably half a star less, partly because it had to set up some things and partly because of a few sections that could have used a bit of tightening. But the writing tone is right in my sweet spot, and I'm looking forward to continuing the series (starting with #1, I guess). I still don't know who Raz Frewer is, or why becoming a ghost changed his name, but I am happy to go along for the ride. 

Springtime: A Ghost Story by Michelle de Kretser: Synopsis from Goodreads: When Frances met Charlie at a party in Melbourne, he was married with a young son. Now that the couple has moved to subtropical Sydney, a lusher and more chaotic city, Frances has an unshakable sense that the world has tipped on its axis. Everything seems alien, and exotic—and Frances is haunted by the unknowability of Charlie's previous life. A young art historian studying the objects in paintings--the material world--Frances takes mind-clearing walks around her neighborhood with her dog. Behind the fence of one garden, she thinks she sees a woman in an old-fashioned gown, but something is not right. It's as if the garden exists in a vacuum suspended in time, "at an angle to life."

Springtime is a ghost story that doesn't conform to the genre's traditions of dark and stormy nights, graveyards and ruins. It breaks new ground by unfolding in sunny, suburban Australia, and the realism of the characters and events make the story's ambiguities and eeriness all the more disquieting. The richness of observation here is immediately recognizable as Michelle de Kretser's, a writer who has been praised by Hilary Mantel as a master of "the sharp, almost hallucinatory detail."

This is a book that I must have come across while browsing new books on the library website, and by the time it came up in my holds I had no idea what it was about. It is a tiny, beautifully produced little volume, and is not a standard ghost story at all. This author was probably one of the major literary discoveries of my year. I don't think I would have been as accepting of the opacity and strangeness of her writing when I was younger, but at this point when I have read so many examples of so many genres, I am ready for something that is not immediately accessible, but feels layered and weighted with meaning. I fairly often have dreams of moving to a new house or city, and that feeling of exciting but unsettling unfamiliarity is here, the fear of not being able to regain a sense of balance and rightness. 

Familiar by J. Robert Lennon: Synopsis from Goodreads: A haunting, enigmatic novel about a woman who is given a second chance—and isn’t sure whether she really wants it.

Elisa Brown is driving back from her annual, somber visit to her son Silas’s grave when something changes. Actually, everything changes: her body is more voluptuous; she’s wearing different clothes and driving a new car. When she arrives home, her life is familiar—but different. There is her house, her husband. But in the world she now inhabits, Silas is no longer dead, and his brother is disturbingly changed. Elisa has a new job, and her marriage seems sturdier, and stranger, than she remembers. She finds herself faking her way through a life she is convinced is not her own. Has she had a psychotic break? Or has she entered a parallel universe? Elisa believed that Silas was doomed from the start, but now that he is alive, what can she do to repair her strained relations with her children? She soon discovers that these questions hinge on being able to see herself as she really is—something that might be impossible for Elisa, or for anyone.

In Familiar, J. Robert Lennon continues his profound and exhilarating exploration of the surreal undercurrents of contemporary American life.

It's hard sometimes to take a story like this and not try to make it into a 'she's supposed to make things better in this reality by xyz' or similar. That's not the point, clearly. It's more a thought experiment, and one that doesn't lead to any clean-cut conclusions. If one thing hadn't happened, would everything be better? Probably not. What was it in the character's DNA, or in the mixed genetic makeup of the parents, or the marriage dynamic, that led to such troubled children? This is a question asked by millions of grieving and traumatized people, and the thought is taken to a logical extreme here. What if we had chosen differently and our life had split from the timeline we're in now and traveled along a different axis? Would we be the same person in a different job or house, or would the new circumstances force changes in our personality that we can't even imagine? Thousands of time travel books and movies would have us believe that if we could go back and change one thing, everything would be different - is that the case?

A Letter to the Luminous Deep (The Sunken Archive #1) by Sylvie Cathrall: Synopsis from Goodreads: An underwater treasure-chest to be slowly unpacked, full of things Iike nosy and loving families, epistolary romance, gorgeous worldbuilding, and anxious scholars doing their best to meet the world with kindness and curiosity' -Freya Marske, author of A Marvellous Light

A charming fantasy set in an underwater world with magical academia and a heartwarming penpal romance, perfect for fans of A Marvellous Light and Emily Wilde's Encylopaedia of Faeries.

A beautiful discovery outside the window of her underwater home prompts the reclusive E. to begin a correspondence with renowned scholar Henerey Clel. The letters they share are filled with passion, at first for their mutual interests, and then, inevitably, for each other.


Together, they uncover a mystery from the unknown depths, destined to transform the underwater world they both equally fear and love. But by no mere coincidence, a seaquake destroys E.'s home, and she and Henerey vanish.

A year later, E.'s sister Sophy, and Henerey's brother Vyerin, are left to solve the mystery of their siblings' disappearances with the letters, sketches and field notes left behind. As they uncover the wondrous love their siblings shared, Sophy and Vyerin learn the key to their disappearance - and what it could mean for life as they know it.

Another departure for me, although I can seldom resist an epistolary novel. This was sweet and dreamy with just enough foreboding to keep it from becoming saccharine. Like with the Mossa and Pleiti series, there is academia with some familiar elements but in a much different setting. And then there are two correspondences, one containing a slowly-evolving romance between two almost painfully shy people, the other between their siblings trying to trace the events behind the disappearance. I sometimes chafe against a formal, Victorian writing style, but in this case it seemed proper and fitting. I like thinking that as I get older I am more able to sit with books that are more descriptive than propulsive, and more character-driven than plot-driven.

Sign Here by Claudia Lux: Synopsis from Goodreads: A darkly humorous, surprisingly poignant, and utterly gripping debut novel about a guy who works in Hell (literally) and is on the cusp of a big promotion if only he can get one more member of the wealthy Harrison family to sell their soul.

Peyote Trip has a pretty good gig in the deals department on the fifth floor of Hell. Sure, none of the pens work, the coffee machine has been out of order for a century, and the only drink on offer is Jägermeister, but Pey has a plan—and all he needs is one last member of the Harrison family to sell their soul.

When the Harrisons retreat to the family lake house for the summer, with their daughter Mickey’s precocious new friend, Ruth, in tow, the opportunity Pey has waited a millennium for might finally be in his grasp. And with the help of his charismatic coworker Calamity, he sets a plan in motion.

But things aren’t always as they seem, on Earth or in Hell. And as old secrets and new dangers scrape away at the Harrisons’ shiny surface, revealing the darkness beneath, everyone must face the consequences of their choices.

3.5. I'm always up for a fresh take on Hell and its inner workings. It seems sort of appropriate, really, when it's just a giant bureacracy. Many of the hellish (ha) meetings the employees are forced to endure hardly have to be exaggerated at all to resemble the ones that take place on earth. It's hardly surprising that trying to befriend a co-worker usually doesn't go well either.
It seemed like a good idea to have a family drama - at a family lake house in New Hampshire, which seems devastatingly appropriate somehow - to sort of balance out the hell scenes, with the family being the target of a soul broker trying to get them on a sort of soul-selling family plan. I was on board to a point, and then the tone started to feel uneven, and at the end I felt like there was some sort of big realization I was supposed to get that I missed. It's entirely possible that this was owing as much to my perimenopausal brain fog as to any lapse on the part of the author.

The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks: Synopsis from Goodreads: For fans of Piranesi and The Midnight Library, a stunning historical fantasy novel set on a grand express train, about a group of passengers on a dangerous journey across a magical landscape

It is said there is a price that every passenger must pay. A price beyond the cost of a ticket.
There is only one way to travel across the Wastelands: on the Trans-Siberian Express, a train as famous for its luxury as for its danger. The train is never short of passengers, eager to catch sight of Wastelands creatures more miraculous and terrifying than anything they could imagine. But on the train's last journey, something went horribly wrong, though no one seems to remember what exactly happened. Not even Zhang Weiwei, who has spent her life onboard and thought she knew all of the train’s secrets.

Now, the train is about to embark again, with a new set of passengers. Among them are Marya Petrovna, a grieving woman with a borrowed name; Henry Grey, a disgraced naturalist looking for redemption; and Elena, a beguiling stowaway with a powerful connection to the Wastelands itself. Weiwei knows she should report Elena, but she can’t help but be drawn to her. As the girls begin a forbidden friendship, there are warning signs that the rules of the Wastelands are changing and the train might once again be imperiled. Can the passengers trust each other, as the wildness outside threatens to consume them all?

-””’But in his favor, Herr Schenk is also very rich,’ Anna Mikhailovna goes on, thoughtfully. Of course, who else would make the journey? The very rich do not only buy estates and fine trinkets, thinks Marya, they buy certainty. They buy the conviction that this journey holds no danger for them. She envies them their confidence.”

I feel like I read a lot of books that took place on trains this year. although right now the only other one I can think of is Everyone on This Train is a Suspect, so maybe I'm thinking of the past couple of years - no wait, there is also The Naming Song (review forthcoming). The cast of characters here was interesting and varied even before we get to the surreal nature of the wilderness the train travels through. (Oh! There was a train ride in The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles too.) (Ah, I read With A Vengeance by Riley Sagar but forgot to log it in Goodreads. It wasn't that good, but that's five books featuring trains). The narrative interrogates the dichotomy between religion/magic and science, hierarchies and inequalities in economic and social class, and the different ways in which people find meaning in life's events. 

Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris: Synopsis from Goodreads: In this fresh-yet-familiar gothic tale―part historical fantasy, part puzzle-box mystery―the worlds of Dracula and Sherlock Holmes collide in a thrilling exploration of feminine power.

At the dawn of the twentieth century in Paris, Samantha Harker, daughter of Dracula’s killer, works as a researcher for the Royal Society for the Study of Abnormal Phenomena. But no one realizes how abnormal she is. Sam is a channel into the minds of monsters: a power that could help her solve the gruesome deaths plaguing turn-of-the-century Paris―or have her thrown into an asylum.

Sam finds herself assigned to a case with Dr. Helena Moriarty, daughter of the criminal mastermind and famed nemesis of Sherlock Holmes and a notorious detective whom no one wants to work with on account of her previous partners’ mysterious murders. Ranging from the elite clubs of Paris to the dark underbelly of the catacombs, their investigation sweeps them into a race to stop a beast from its killing rampage, as Hel and Sam are pitted against men, monsters, and even each other. But beneath their tenuous trust, an unmistakable attraction brews. Is trusting Hel the key to solving the murder, or is Sam yet another pawn in Hel’s game?

-”The first thing Sam learned about Hel was that she didn’t do small talk.

‘How did you know?’ Hel asked, leaning in so her voice would carry over the creaking of the carriage and the clapping of the horses’ hooves. Just like that, without any nouns or anything.Sam, offended on behalf of the English language, could only manage, ‘Sorry?’”

-”Hel shook her head. ‘You don’t understand. Every piece you put on the board is a piece he can use against you – a piece he might already be using against you, in a game you don’t even know you’re playing.’” (Professor Moriarty)

A fun, Sapphic, supernatural Holmes and Watson take.

The Frozen People (Ali Dawson #1) by Elly Griffiths: Synopsis from Goodreads: Some murders can’t be solved in just one lifetime.

Ali Dawson and her cold case team investigate crimes so old, they’re frozen—or so their inside joke goes. Nobody knows that her team has a secret: they can travel back in time to look for evidence.

The latest assignment sees Ali venture back farther than they have dared before: to 1850s London to clear the name of Cain Templeton, an eccentric patron of the arts. Rumor has it that Cain is part of a sinister group called The Collectors. Ali arrives in the Victorian era to another dead woman at her feet and far too many unanswered questions.

As the clock counts down, Ali becomes more entangled in the mystery, yet danger lurks around every corner. She soon finds herself trapped, unable to make her way back to her beloved son, Finn, who is battling his own accusations in the present day.

Could the two cases be connected? In a race through and against time, Ali must find out before it’s too late.

-”’It’s interesting,’ says Geoff, and tries a smile. His husband, Bobby, once told him that smiling releases molecules that fight stress but, in truth, Geoff’s face is made for tragedy. All the lines point downward.”

-”’Am I going through the gate?’ asks Ali. If it’s tonight, she won’t have to go to book club.”

-”’There too many emigres in these parts, ‘ says Amos. ‘Lascars, Africans, Chinese. You hardly hear an English voice these days.’

It’s rather depressing to think that Amos would fit comfortably into a certain section of twenty-first-century British society.

‘Foreigners bring new ideas and new crafts,’ says Giuseppe.

‘They bring disease and opium,’ says Amos.

By the time this hold came in at the library I had completely forgotten there was a time travel element, so that was a fun surprise. The time travel element trod a nice line between science fiction and historical exploration. Ali is a great character - her non-traditional path into the police makes her more enjoyable as a time traveler. I didn't love the whole open-ended possible love interest thing, but the murder mystery was well engineered. I'm impressed at how many series Griffiths is able to maintain, most of which I am happy to follow.

The Man Who Died Seven Times by Yasuhiko Nishizawa: Synopsis from Goodreads: Hisataro, a young member of the wealthy Fuchigami family, has a mysterious ability. Every now and then, against his will, he falls into a time-loop in which he is obliged to re-live the same day nine times. Little does he know how useful this ability will be, until one day, his grandfather mysteriously dies...

As he returns to the day of the murder time and again, Hisataro begins to unravel its secrets. With a sizeable inheritance up for grabs, motives abound, and everyone is a suspect. Can Hisataro solve the mystery of his grandfather's death, and prevent it, before his time-loop ends?

-”At first I’d thought of my ‘condition’ as a source of amusement, but over time I began to realize that the truth was more depressing.

Still, even now, I never hesitate to exploit my condition when the situation requires it – as demonstrated by my stunning performance in the Kaisei entrance exam. I’d been expecting to fail the test, thus ensuring my mother’s transformation into one of those terrifying demons you see in a Noh play, so when the Trap happened to activate on the day in question, I was delirious with joy. It’s all pretty pathetic, really.”

-”’See, there was a girl from another school who went there to play, and she saw two older kids playing a funny game. The girl had taken her trousers off, and she was trying to make the boy do the same.’

‘Why did she try to make him take his trousers off?’

‘Well, it was all part of the game. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what happened next.’

‘They swapped trousers?’”

3.5. I just saw this called a 'Japanese puzzle mystery' which makes a lot of sense. I haven't read a lot of them, partly because I enjoy the puzzle aspect but find them a little cold without much character development (which might be expecting an apple to act like an orange). That said, I read most of it in bed on a lazy morning after a crazy week, and it abundantly held my attention and engaged my interest. The indictment of the way family money warps behaviour and relationships was well done to an uncomfortable degree. I found the ending slightly anticlimactic, and I think I prefer more nuanced characterization to this kind of book where the puzzle is given preference over all other elements, but over-all this was clever.

Meet Me At the Crossroads by Megan Giddings: Synopsis from Goodreads: From the award-winning, critically-acclaimed author of Lakewood and The Women Could Fly, a dazzling novel about two brilliant sisters and what happens to their undeniable bond when a mysterious and possibly perilous new world beckons.

On an ordinary summer morning, the world is changed by the appearance of seven mysterious doors that seemingly lead to another world. People are, of course, mesmerized and intrigued: A new dimension filled with beauty and resources beckons them to step into an adventure. But, perhaps inevitably, people soon learn that what looks like paradise may very well be filled with danger.

Ayanna and Olivia, two Black Midwestern teens—and twin sisters—have different ideas of what may lie in the world beyond. But will their personal bond endure such wanton exploration? And when one of them goes missing, will the other find solace of her own? And will she uncover the circumstances of what truly happened to her once constant companion and best friend?

Megan Giddings brings her customarily brilliant and eye-opening powers of storytelling to give us a story that dazzles the senses and bewitches the mind. Meet Me at the Crossroads is an unforgettable novel about faith, love, and family from one of today’s most exciting and surprising young writers.

-”Eventually, though, a door became another kind of measurement. Every time one appeared, species disappeared. They appeared again when the Neanderthals and Homo sapiens were in the midst of their great maelstrom of fucking and fighting. In some parts of the world, the appearance heralded in an age of prosperity.”

-”’I’ve never seen anything like that on the Today show,’ Olivia said. ‘Every time I’m home sick, it’s always a white family who adopted a chimp and then the chimp killed one of them.’”

-”Later, whenever people were surprised Ayanna was friends with Stephen, she always thought about this moment. The way his eyes were so tender to Jane, how it was clear to Ayanna that deep down he thought this was so, so stupid but he was willing to let his friend do something stupid and safe to make herself feel better. Ayanna had forgotten the grace that comes with deep relationships. The way things no longer were a waste of time when done in the service of making a beloved one feel a little more at home in the world.”

I made a concerted effort to keep up to date on my book reviewing throughout this year, because I know that when I'm putting these posts together if I scroll down to the My Activity section on Goodreads and see nothing I mentally berate myself. I thought for sure I would have made notes on this one. Scroll, scroll, scroll.... nope, I am, in fact, a dumbass. 

This was not, in fact, really any kind of take on a portal fantasy, any indications to the contrary. There was a lot of musing on what it is to have faith (particularly as a Black person in America) and then taking apart what a phenomenon like this meant for people of faith. The differences between the sisters are explored before they are separated, and then the effect of the disappearance on the remaining sister is examined. I read Giddings's Lakewood before this, and I think this worked a bit better for me, but it had the same musing, almost meandering, style.  Along with several other books, I think this could easily be categorized as much straight fiction as speculative. 

The Book of Lost Hours by Hayley Gelfuso: Synopsis from Goodreads: For fans of The Ministry of Time and The Midnight Library , a sweeping, unforgettable novel following two remarkable women moving between postwar and Cold War-era America and the mysterious time space, a library filled with books containing the memories of those who bore witness to history.

Enter the time space, a soaring library filled with books containing the memories of those have passed and accessed only by specially made watches once passed from father to son—but mostly now in government hands. This is where eleven-year-old Lisavet Levy finds herself trapped in 1938, waiting for her watchmaker father to return for her. When he doesn’t, she grows up among the books and specters, able to see the world only by sifting through the memories of those who came before her. As she realizes that government agents are entering the time space to destroy books and maintain their preferred version of history, she sets about saving these scraps in her own volume of memories. Until the appearance of an American spy named Ernest Duquesne in 1949 offers her a glimpse of the world she left behind, setting her on a course to change history and possibly the time space itself.

In 1965, sixteen-year-old Amelia Duquesne is mourning the disappearance of her uncle Ernest when an enigmatic CIA agent approaches her to enlist her help in tracking down a book of memories her uncle had once sought. But when Amelia visits the time space for the first time, she realizes that the past—and the truth—might not be as linear as she’d like to believe.

The Book of Lost Hours explores time, memory, and what we sacrifice to protect those we love.

-”Lisavet laughed out loud. ‘Interfering? What about the people destroying memories?’

’It’s their job to decide what stays and what goes. That’s the whole point of timekeepers.’

‘That’s stupid.’

‘Stupid?’

‘And wrong. And chauvinistic. And imperialistically minded.’

‘Whoa there, Merriam-Webster, calm down. English, please.’”

-”’Then why did you bring us here? All the wars in history and you pick the one in the middle of a plague?’

‘You’re the one who chose to get shot in the Ukrainian section.’ Lisavet fired back.”

-”’They don’t like me because I’m a Black man who refused to give up his watch or join their cause. Because I work to preserve the memories of my people, not theirs. Slaves and civil rights victims and the like. People they would sooner leave out of history altogether because they don’t like what our memories say about them.’”

This has an ever-so-slight overlay of something that could have turned Hallmark-Romance-ish if the author didn't have as deft a hand. As it was, that part was secondary to a pointed thread about how those who control history/memory control the narrative of power in the world. The mix of action, philosophy and romance is quite impressive for a first novel. This was sort of what I had hoped The Midnight Library would be.

And Put Away Childish Things by Adrian Tchaikovsky: Synopsis from Goodreads: Harry Bodie’s been called into the delightful fantasy world of his grandmother’s beloved children’s books. It’s not delightful here at all.

All roads lead to Underhill, where it’s always winter, and never nice.
Harry Bodie has a famous grandmother, who wrote beloved children’s books set in the delightful world of Underhill. Harry himself is a failing kids’ TV presenter whose every attempt to advance his career ends in self-sabotage. His family history seems to be nothing but an impediment.

An impediment... or worse. What if Underhill is real? What if it has been waiting decades for a promised child to visit? What if it isn’t delightful at all? And what if its denizens have run out of patience and are taking matters into their own hands?

-”And then there was a bit of a pause on the other end and he went very cold and scared – and somehow unable to kill the call – in case the voice that eventually came to him should be that of an ancient destitute faun. He couldn’t even have said what that would sound like. He just knew he’d recognise it.”

I love books that play on the trope of the portal-to-a-magical-world fantasy - examining the many and varied kinds of fallout that result. I realized when I picked the book up that it was too short to provide the kind of story I thought it might have. What it was was still good, hitting high and low notes in a more abbreviated fashion that was still effective. It wasn't quite The Magicians, but it was enjoyable. 

The Incandescent by Emily Tesh: Synopsis from Goodreads: Naomi Novik's Scholomance series meets Plain Bad Heroines in this sapphic dark academia fantasy by instant national and international bestselling author Emily Tesh, winner of the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards.

"Look at you, eating magic like you're one of us."

Doctor Walden is the Director of Magic at Chetwood Academy and one of the most powerful magicians in England. Her days consist of meetings, teaching A-Level Invocation to four talented, chaotic sixth formers, more meetings, and securing the school's boundaries from demonic incursions.

Walden is good at her job―no, Walden is great at her job. But demons are masters of manipulation. It’s her responsibility to keep her school with its six hundred students and centuries-old legacy safe. And it’s possible the entity Walden most needs to keep her school safe from―is herself.

This had great characters, the setting was a trope but flawlessly executed, and a pace that was thoughtful but not slow. It was interesting that it felt somewhat like the main event occurred about halfway through, and then I was happy to go along with the rest while not being quite sure where it was heading, which is honestly pretty refreshing. I am always up for a teacher's thoughts regarding their students when the teacher's inner voice is kind but wry, weary but forbearing. The examination of professional and personal relationships between very different personalities who are all dedicated to the same goal but disagree about methods is always interesting if done well, and it was. And there was a really nice romance. 

Hemlock and Silver by T. Kingfisher: Synopsis from Goodreads: From New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes Hemlock & Silver, a dark reimagining of “Snow White” steeped in poison, intrigue, and treason of the most magical kind

Healer Anja regularly drinks poison.

Not to die, but to save—seeking cures for those everyone else has given up on.

But a summons from the King interrupts her quiet, herb-obsessed life. His daughter, Snow, is dying, and he hopes Anja’s unorthodox methods can save her.

Aided by a taciturn guard, a narcissistic cat, and a passion for the scientific method, Anja rushes to treat Snow, but nothing seems to work. That is, until she finds a secret world, hidden inside a magic mirror. This dark realm may hold the key to what is making Snow sick.

Or it might be the thing that kills them all.

All of the elements I expect/hope for in a Kingfisher book. Strong female lead with a self-deprecating, sardonic wit, fairy-tale-style plot, a quest, fun and heartwarming friendships struck up. There was one slightly jarring element that I felt like was an unnecessary addition to make Anja even more certain that Javier would never find her attractive. Still, enjoyable throughout.

The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed: Synopsis from Goodreads: A world-weary woman races against the clock to rescue the children of a wrathful tyrant from a dangerous, otherworldly forest.

At the northern edge of a land ruled by a monstrous, foreign tyrant lies the wild forest known as the Elmever. The villagers know better than to let their children go near—once someone goes in, they never come back out.

No one knows the strange and terrifying traps of the Elmever better than Veris Thorn, the only person to ever rescue a child from the forest many years ago. When the Tyrant’s two young children go missing, Veris is commanded to enter the forest once more and bring them home safe. If Veris fails, the Tyrant will kill her; if she remains in the forest for longer than a day, she will be trapped forevermore.

The story and tropes are familiar, but the way everything plays out is far from formula. Unsettling, as all good stories about forbidden forests full of monsters should be.

The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow:Synopsis from Goodreads: From Alix E. Harrow, the New York Times bestselling author of Starling House, comes a moving and genre-defying quest about the lady-knight whose legend built a nation, and the cowardly historian sent back through time to make sure she plays her part–even if it breaks his heart.

Sir Una Everlasting was Dominion’s greatest hero: the orphaned girl who became a knight, who died for queen and country. Her legend lives on in songs and stories, in children’s books and recruiting posters―but her life as it truly happened has been forgotten.

Centuries later, Owen Mallory―failed soldier, struggling scholar―falls in love with the tale of Una Everlasting. Her story takes him to war, to the archives―and then into the past itself. Una and Owen are tangled together in time, bound to retell the same story over and over again, no matter what it costs.

But that story always ends the same way. If they want to rewrite Una’s legend―if they want to tell a different story--they’ll have to rewrite history itself.

I usually have a knee-jerk reaction against reading novels that are based on short stories I've read. If I didn't like the story, why would I want a longer version? If I did, I generally don't feel that it needs lengthening. That was completely different here, because I read the short story and found it spellbinding - I kept reading it and rereading it trying to make sense of it. If I could have asked Alix E Harrow to please write a full treatment of it, I would have.

I have sort of a strange relationship with her books. I read a couple of her short stories and loved them, and then I would often borrow her books from the library and have to force myself to read them - I don't KNOW why. When I do, I always like them. What is WRONG with me?

Anyway, this one was no struggle at all. I loved everything about it. The examination of what kind of toll it takes on a person, being a hero, being the hope of a nation. The scrutiny of how nations tell their own stories, the dialogue between history and fiction. And time travel! It was only afterward that I thought about what a strain on a relationship it would be, being the only two people living the same timeline in various iterations, over and over. You have to think, even with all the devoted love and passion and self-sacrifice and undying loyalty, that the other person's chewing would make you homicidally insane by the third or fourth lifetime, if not sooner. But never mind, that really takes away from the beauty and romance of it.