Books shelved under “Romance”

I wasn’t expecting this! Jacqueline Carey is an author whose work I’ve usually enjoyed yet seldom found to be truly incredible. She writes with voice and creativity, embodying wonderful characters and stories here and in secondary worlds. Starless is a standout from her: standalone, secondary-world fantasy that explores gender, friendship, disability, and romance in very expansive ways.

Khai and Zariya were born on the same day. Zariya is a princess; Khai her sworn protector. He…

I was very impressed by C.L. Polk’s Kingston Cycle of novels, starting with Witchmark, and I absolutely adored The Midnight Bargain, so when I heard they had a new standalone fantasy novel, I was feral about it. I somehow missed that it was an IP novel. Oddly enough, while I have been D&D adjacent my entire life, I have never actually played D&D, and in general I don’t read tie-in novels. Occasionally, I…

Reluctantly coming to the conclusion Kiersten White’s books just might not be for me. The Fox and the Devil had exciting potential: a sapphic historical murder mystery with loose ties to Dracula? I was sold. However, the storytelling is so-so and the romance and characterization, while diverse and at times interesting, didn’t maintain my level of excitement.

Anneke van Helsing works, on occasion, with the Amsterdam police to solve bizarre murders. Years of studying…

A friend lent A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping to me, and I was worried it wouldn’t be me for me—it would be too cutesy, too romancey, for my tastes (I am such a snob). Sangu Mandanna sure schooled me! This was a delightful fantasy, and while events towards the end belie its “cozy” status, I do think that label generally describes it well.

I really want to discuss the ending of this book, so…

You know your girl loves a time loop. So when I realized one of my favourite contemporary authors wrote a time-travel secondary world fantasy, my jaw dropped. Has Christmas come early?? The Everlasting, Alix E. Harrow’s latest, might be my favourite novel from her thus far (I would have to reread The Once and Future Witches to be sure). Despite being in no uncertain terms a romance, its time-travel mechanics are timey wimey in…

Memory has always fascinated me. I consider myself someone of below-average recall: my memories feel hazy, disordered, disappointing. The chance to revisit some of my memories with perfect fidelity on a big screen? Wow. The Second Chance Cinema is that rare novel with a perfect premise for me. Thea Weiss sets it up so neatly: a couple, engaged, stumbling on a mysterious movie theatre. Alas, the secrets they’ve kept are more banal than bombastic, and…

I requested the eARC for Colin Gets Promoted and Dooms the World purely on the basis of its title, and Mark Waddell did not disappoint. This is a book that delivers exactly what I expected—which is to say, I knew going in that this book would not be groundbreaking in any way, and that’s fine. It was exactly the kind of absurdist fantasy I was hoping for.

Colin is a low-level employee of Dark Enterprises,…

Um, OK. Wow. Rude. Seriously, it’s so inconsiderate of C.L. Clark to just go and write a gut-punch of a concluding volume to this incredible trilogy. This is one of my favourite modern epic fantasy series, and if you haven’t picked up The Unbroken or The Faithless yet, then run, don’t walk to your nearest indie bookshop or library because wow. I’m giving this book five stars and actually retroactively want to go back…

The renaissance of fantasy continues in The Faithless, the second book of C.L. Clark’s explosive Magic of the Lost series. When I read The Unbroken last year, I was stunned. Finally, I was sinking my teeth into some proper postcolonial secondary world fantasy. The Faithless continues this trend. If anything, Clark seems even more at home in this story—no second-book syndrome here—pushing plots and characters forward while never failing to leave our protagonists…

Alix E. Harrow is fast becoming an instant buy for me. First, I love that her books are standalone novels. Second, I love that each one feels fresh and different yet retain her signature style. Third … her books are just really good! While she has yet to garner a five-star rating from me, there’s a consistency to my enjoyment of her work that I appreciate. Starling House is no exception: it is a solid,…

Sometimes I couldn’t tell you what drew me to a book if you asked. When I saw A Magic Deep and Drowning on NetGalley, where I received review copy, I was intrigued, but I’m not sure why. It might be the setting—the Netherlands in the early seventeenth century—or that it’s a very loose reimagining of The Little Mermaid. Whatever the reason, as I started reading, I deflated: I wasn’t enjoying it. Then … suddenly…

I wasn’t sure what to make of this book when I first started, and I love when books surprise me. A Legionnaire’s Guide to Love and Peace, while not without its rough edges, is a very cozy fantasy novel about life at the tail-end of a war and figuring out to do when you’ve survived against the odds. Emily Skrutskie writes with humour, depth, and compassion. I received an eARC from NetGalley.

Kat is…

Get in, loser, we’re writing an encomium. When I read Some Desperate Glory, I became an instant Emily Tesh fangirl. That book rocked my world, and if you want thoughtful science fiction, you must read it; I am so thrilled it won the Hugo Award for Best Novel. But this review is about Tesh’s latest, The Incandescent. I was vibrating with excitement to read this one and preordered it from my local indie…

A couple years ago, I read Dragonfall, and I was lukewarm on picking up the sequel. When I had the opportunity for an eARC via NetGalley, however, I decided to give it a shot. I’m pleased to report Emberclaw is a strong conclusion to this duology (more of these, by the way). L.R. Lam improves on the first entry, and while I still don’t think I am quite their ideal reader, I definitely enjoyed…

If you have been reading my reviews for a while, you’ll know I keep calling for more books with trans characters where the main focus is not on them coming out—or even on them being trans. So of course, I was very much interested in Meet Cute Diary, by Emery Lee. With multiple trans and queer characters, this book plays with some common romance tropes—like fake dating—while acknowledging the challenges these tropes, and romance…

Nothing like a brilliant conclusion to a story well told. I cried—happy tears and sad—and also cheered out loud a couple of times as I made my way through Labyrinth’s Heart. M.A. Carrick successfully sticks the landing, tying up a truly impressive number of loose threads to conclude this story of con artist Ren’s inadvertent quest to save the city of Nadežra. Thus concludes one of the best fantasy trilogies I have ever read.

…

Three years ago I read The Jasmine Throne, gave it three stars, and said I might read the sequel. Then that sequel, The Oleander Sword, got a four-star rating and an even better review. Now the conclusion, The Lotus Empire is out, and … y’all, this is top-shelf fantasy. Like, we’re talking one of the best fantasy novels I’ve read this year, and a stunning conclusion to The Burning Kingdoms trilogy. Tasha…

What’s better than a book about vampires? How about a book about a book series about vampires—that might turn out to be real? Kate Stayman-London combines fanfic with spicy vampire sex and no small amount of peril in Fang Fiction. I received an eARC via NetGalley thanks to being a host of Prophecy Girls podcast.

Tess drops out of grad school after someone else in her program sexually assaults her. She takes solace in…

Last year I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Daughter of the Moon Goddess, Sue Lynn Tan’s reimagining of the mythology of Chang’e (and specifically, her daughter). I was apprehensive whether Tan would bottle moonlight twice with Heart of the Sun Warrior—yet here we are, another five-star read. What can I say? Tan’s storytelling abilities are impressive.

Some time has passed since the end of the first book. Xingyin is living fairly…

What would you do if you could make the world a better place and save the soul of someone you’re attracted to, but you would have to die in his place? A hero would jump at this chance, of course. The Last Huntress is a story about willingness to sacrifice and standing against powers far beyond our comprehension. Lenore Borja’s world is creative and intriguing, though I can’t say the same for the story she…