#author: sarah rees brennan

[oriolespeaking]

Long Live Evil (Time of Iron #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan

Rating: 3 semi-bloodstained gowns out of 5!

Recommended if you want a quick, entertaining transmigration read.

Synopsis

Her fictional crush is the villain.And he's about to meet his match... Rae is a bookworm who prefers fictional men over real life boyfriends. But her life takes a strange turn when she is trapped by magic inside her favourite fantasy series, and she finds herself pitted against her suddenly living and breathing crush, the 'Once and Forever Emperor'. In a palace on the brink of war, she has become the villainess in his tale, and she needs to take control of the narrative before it, and the Emperor, take control of her... fatally.

Review under the cut!

I have...mixed feelings about this. I checked this out from the library this because (1) I'm a huge fan of the cover artist and (2) I've been reading SO many isekai webnovels (always translated from Chinese or Korean) and wanted to see if a novel originally written in English would differ too much. In some ways, it did read differently; the author brought a new-adult-prose flavor to the narration that kind of reminded me of when someone tells the server "I'm going to be bad" before ordering dessert. Needless to say, the tone would not have worked for me if the book was not so fast-paced. Additionally, the breadth of the cast is definitely not something I expected. I did like all of the individual characters, but Brennan had a LOT of timelines to keep track of for all of them, and it shows. As the story progresses, the focus of the book scatters across the cast, though the main drama still centers around Rae and Key.

In pretty much every other way, it read similarly to other isekai webnovels (pacing, plot beats, though there is a somewhat unusual twist). It also has a fanfiction-y vibe, with Rae as a Mary Sue. And, much like other isekai novels, it is as addictive than crack cocaine. I finished this 400+ page book in two days, which is pretty unusual for me.

Brennan does spend a decent chunk of time with Rae before her "transmigration" into the book, which gives the reader a somewhat opaque understanding of the Rae's motivations as she decides to take charge of her narrative as a villainess. However, Rae's background would've worked better as a dramatic second- or third-act reveal, as I feel that the reader would have more time to become curious about Rae's commitment to being Cartoonishly Evil (tm).

Each of the characters in the cast was charming in their own way. I enjoyed Brennan's attention to the entire cast (Emer + Lia, Marius + Eric, Key + Rae) at the ending, though repeating the ending from different POVs DEFINITELY killed the momentum and emotional focus of the ending. Eric's character seemed to take blueprints from Shang Qinghua (Scum Villain's Self-Saving System), though his fully fleshed-out in-story background was pretty interesting, especially when juxtaposed against straight-laced Marius.

The twist at the end (spoiler: Key being the emperor) was very well-foreshadowed, but it did still take me off guard. Brennan built up to that reveal through Rae's Super Evil Team plans, and Rae's faltering at key points. For that alone, the book gets an extra star. That emotional anchor was so well laid. Rae commits to evil for the fun of it, but by the end of the book, the evil's not fun anymore, and it's biting her in the back (after she bit it in the back?). I can't believe the story ended there!! Not sure if I'll pick up the sequel, but I do want to know what happens next TT-TT

There is a scene that I think readers should be aware of: a musical interlude. Rae and best friend Eric plan an entire ballroom dance scene where they sing in front of an entire court and make chaos. The lyrics are on the page. Think like...a really bad Disney Villain song. I had to skip ahead a few pages. I don't think I missed anything. If I did, it was worth missing for the crime of being in a musical interlude scene. Eric is so cunty but not cunty enough to make me read that.

started 24 November 2024 / finished 26 November 2024

[slaughter-books]

Day 17: JOMPBPC: Most Relatable Character

Simon Lovelace 💛

[queer-book-character-tournament]

Character, book, and author names under the cut

Elliot Schafer- In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan 

Clerk Carmine- The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Suzanne Collins

Linus Baker- The House In The Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

Yusuf Al Kaysani- The Old Guard by Greg Rucka

[torpublishinggroup]

“There's nothing in fantasy or queer romance that Marske can't do.” —Sarah Rees Brennan, author of #1 Sunday Times bestseller Long Live Evil

This advertisement is for Swordcrossed by Freya Marske.

WHAT’S IT ABOUT

Mattinesh Jay is the chronically responsible eldest son and dutiful heir striving to keep his family’s business running. Luca Piere is a menace of a con artist desperately trying to escape his past by taking up the blade. When the pair meet, swords clash, and sparks fly. Soon, they’re entangled in a conspiracy that may bring Matti’s house to ruin if they don’t work together.

[lakecountylibrary]

any recommendations for light/silly fantasy for someone who's read most of them? favourites are: finding home by hari conner, so this is ever after, emily wilde, the ruthless lady's guide to wizardry, legends and lattes, terry pratchett. also liked the very secrety society of irregular witches, the league of gentlewomen witches, tress of the emerald sea, some other f t lukens books, swordheart, fangs by sarah anderson. so anything with those vibes that are not one of those. I do want to read half a soul and psalm for the wild-built but I can't get them currently through my library.

Wow you were not kidding when you said you had read most of them! Many we would typically recommend are already in your list, but we DO have some more for you that hopefully you haven't read!

Oh, and real quick: You may have already done this, but if you haven't - check and see if your library has a purchase request or interlibrary loan service. Many libraries do, and often people don't know about it. They might be able to get you Half a Soul and Psalm for the Wild-Built if they know you're looking for them!

Now on to the recs:

Rachel says:

I have not read it yet, but I have heard great things about A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure by Angela Bell. And as a kid, I loved Bunnicula by James & Deborah Howe.

Abby says:

Try A Spell for Heartsickness by Alistair Reeves. The MC is a manic witch with a snarky corvid familiar, and they have to navigate setting up shop in a remote village that's harboring secrets and surrounded by some creepy woods.

Since you like FT Lukens I think you'd like this too.

Robin says:

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan - it's portal fantasy and the main character is incredibly genre aware. And sarcastic about it. The author is on tumblr and it shows (in a good way!)

Since you like T. Kingfisher, if you haven't continued on with Paladin's Grace yet it's very much in the vein of Swordheart so give that a look. You could also try A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking which is a bit different to the World of the White Rat books but still great!

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede was a formative read for me. Princess Cimorene is determined to avoid marriage so she arranges to get herself carried off by a dragon. It's a delight. Start with Dealing with Dragons.

--

Hopefully there are a few there you haven't read yet and that you'll like! You can also check out our fantasy tag for all the fantasy recs we've made here over the years, light-hearted and otherwise!

[letteredlettered]

Hello!! Firstly, I'd just like to say I've recently discovered your drarry work, and I have been reading your entire catalogue of it for the last week. Pulled all nighters can't stop reading it, reading it. I devoured The Boy Who Lived Twice in one sitting and I couldn't believe how well crafted it was. Blew my mind.

Now, all of this is to say, your prose has this elegant straightforwardness that is so succinct, so clear and so evocative. Your dialogue is absolute *perfection*. What are your influences? Books or authors you feel made an impression on you? I'd love to know what you read, because god I love what you write.

Thank you! I'm so glad you like my fics.

Jane Austen is a huge influence. Whenever my prose feels indistinct and overburdened, I return to her. She says things extremely sharply and cleanly.

Sarah Rees Brennan was a huge influence on me in terms of POV. I tend to write a very tight third person, so tight that the reader can generally see things the viewpoint character cannot. Check out the first book of The Demon's Lexicon series for one of the best examples of this I've read.

I spent a lot of time with Robin McKinley as a kid. I don't think that our styles match very well; she can do an ethereal, fairytale tone that I've kind of given up on. But what I loved best about her was that she could do that tone but then write something incredibly down to earth. I would check out Beauty or Deerskin for my favorite examples of this.

I actually also came into the style I write now writing for Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS) fandom. While most of the stories I wrote in that fandom didn't have very sharp dialogue, I remember writing a story (a WIP still languishing on livejournal, sadly) where I realized I had "found" my voice and style. It was extremely dialogue-heavy. BtVS was famous at the time for its extremely fast-paced, idiosyncratic, snappy dialogue. The dialogue is now considered dated, and the creator is a douche, but imo it's still great writing, especially the early shows. I still go back to it sometimes to figure out a conversation with multiple people, or to work on my humor.

As for authors that have made an impression on me, I'd check out George Eliot. My favorite book is Daniel Deronda. It has wonderful dialogue, especially for an older book. Dickens, Dostoevsky, and Hugo all made pretty big impressions on me as well; I think these big, hefty books with really big ideas really influenced my language, even though I would by no means call my style 19th c.

I'd also check out Rainbow Rowell. I wouldn't say she influenced the style I write with now, because I had it before I read anything by her, but she's one of the few contemporary authors I read and think, "Yeah, I'd write it like that." I think anything by her is a great read that can give you a lot to think about in terms of style.

In my mind, Sally Rooney is a little like Rowell in terms of a cleans style that packs a sharp analysis. I'd call Rowell more comfortable, funny, and genuine, while Rooney is a bit aloof and literary. I actually don't like the stories in her books very much, but I found Conversations with Friends particularly refreshing in terms of writing style.

C.S. Pacat's Captive Prince series also left an impression on me. It has a clean, simple style, with a narrator who doesn't see everything the reader does. And I also did learn a lot from the use of the word "said," in those books--it was something I already knew! and yet.

I think some fanfic that made a big impression on me is The Paradox Series, by wordstrings (Sherlock/John, Sherlock BBC), Spice, by eimeo (Kirk/Spock, Star Trek TOS), Children, Wake Up by hollycomb (Kylo Ren/Hux, Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Tarnished Gold, by prim_the_amazing (Shen Yuan/Luo Binghe, Scum Villain's Self-Saving System). The styles in these fics vary, but each bowled me over at different points with how beautifully something was articulated or how spectacularly a scene was crafted. I think about Spice all the time in particular.

I'd also say that if you're thinking about dialogue in particular, I also love both Oscar Wilde's and Tom Stoppard's plays.

If you are a writer, I did write a series on writing dialogue. Check out the tag "lettered writes dialogue". The first post is here.

[erlie]

M/M Books, part 2

As promised, more M/M books with happy endings

EWB: Enemies with Benefits by N.R. Walker

As the title says but of course they end up as lovers. The start is little rough but that might be because these two actually hate each other at first, unlike in so many enemies to lovers. Smutty, lightly kinky.

A Rival Most Vial: Potioneering for Love and Profit by R.K. Ashwick

Cozy low stakes fantasy. Like coffee shop AU but with potions. Absolutely adorable, makes you giggle and kick your feet. If you liked Legends & Lattes, this is for you. Might be little spicy? Can't remember.

All for the Game -series by Nora Sakavic (on going) The Foxhole Court / The Raven King / The King's Men / The Sunshine Court

These are not happy books. While the first trilogy does end well, the ride there is ROUGH. But it is a heart wrenching story of found family, trust, trauma and overcoming your past and upbringing.

Mind the content warnings, THERE ARE MANY. These can and will veer slightly into misery porn but if you can handle that, go forth!

10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall

This on the other hand is very happy and so stupid, in the best way. Fake amnesia and forced proximity with obvious hijinks. This does require reader some suspension of disbelief (because one can NOT throw a company wide christmas party WITH CATERING in LONDON, two days before christmas.) but you are so fuzzy and warm that its okay.

The Green Creek -series by TJ Klune Wolfsong / Ravensong / Heartsong / Brothersong

Do you love werewolves but do not really enjoy ABO dynamics? Can you stomach some pseudo science regarding wolf packs and alphas? Good news, this series is incredible! It will make you cry and curse 'stupid sexy werewolves'. Klune is my favorite author and this is my favorite book series, I can not recommend it enough.

Big Bad Wolf -series by Charlie Adhara The Wolf at the Door

More werewolves without ABO? Here you go! Adhara's werewolf books are solidly very good, hot and also have pretty good crime solving. Two grumps try to solve a crime and one of them might or might not be a suspect!

I can also recommend the Monster Hunt spin-off series.

The Turners series by Cat Sebastian The Ruin of a Rake / The Lawrence Browne Affairs

Historical romance all the way! Cat Sebastian is always reliable on this front so pretty much all of her books are good. I did not add the first book of the series here, because I liked it less than these two, but it still a solid read! Warning for period typical homophobia but is very minor and all of these obviously have happy endings. Spicy.

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan

This book took me by a surprise. I had very different expectations for this and it just threw them in the trash. If you want that Hogwarts-ish feeling without transphobia, this scratches that itch! Also some brilliant trope reversals and you have to on occasion face some uncomfortable feelings yourself. And the romance is very adorable. Not spicy.

Cemetary Boys by Aiden Thomas

Sometimes you accidentally summon a ghost and it won't go away and then you fall in love with him. Happens to everyone. Very good read about family, gender and acceptance. Transman as a main character. Not spicy.

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4

[fullmetalfisting]

Wild that author Sarah Rees Brennan reblogged the graphic I made whilst skiving off at my job. SRB if you’re out there I still think about the line from In Other Lands where the commander asks Elliot if he loves his country and he says, “What am I, a poet from 1914?” or something to that effect.

[sarahreesbrennan]

LONG LIVE EVIL Cover Reveal

This is the cover of LONG LIVE EVIL. So many thanks to my cover artist Syd Mills and my designer Ben Prior. The blend of gleeful irreverence and epic fantasy is so dear to me! I hope you like the cover. I hope even more that you enjoy the book…

A TALE FOR EVERYONE WHO’S EVER FALLEN FOR THE VILLAIN… When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at living: a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favourite fantasy series. She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He’s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she's not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor's tale. So be it. The wicked are better dressed, with better one-liners, even if they're doomed to bad ends. She assembles the wildly disparate villains of the story under her evil leadership, plotting to change their fate. But as the body count rises and the Emperor's fury increases, it seems Rae and her allies may not survive to see the final page.

This adult epic fantasy debut from Sarah Rees Brennan puts the reader in the villain's shoes, for an adventure that is both 'brilliant' (Holly Black) and 'supremely satisfying' (Leigh Bardugo). Expect a rogue's gallery of villains including an axe wielding maid, a shining knight with dark moods, a homicidal bodyguard, and a playboy spymaster with a golden heart and a filthy reputation.

Preorder here (tales of goodness to come)!

[tackytigerfic]

read alan’s our evenings on your recc and loved it. started and finished the whole thing on a 15hr flight and felt so winded by the end ohmygod

Dearest ratty, I meant to reply to this with one of those "top 10 books of 2024" posts but then i realised I'd have to download cover pics and the whole shebang so i said I'd just write it all down.

So glad you loved Our Evenings - Hollinghurst is absolutely categorically one of my favourite authors of all time. I read The Folding Star at 14 and it informed my adolescence so strongly, and eventually brought me to huge introspection and an interrogation of my sexual and gender identity etc. (Fun fact, i met him and told him about reading it and he said, looking concerned, "weren't you a little young to be reading that" lol). Our Evenings, I think, is very different in tone to some of his earlier work - I love the focus on the female characters, the way he writes older women, the way he writes queer identities. It feels almost nostalgic even during the reading, which is odd and unsettling imo, and different to the immediacy of his other work.

It would have been my book of the year if it weren't for the fact that I read Henry Henry by Allen Bratton in 2024 and was FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGED so if you're looking for a rec then jot that down.

And to round out discussion of 2024 with my top 3, I think I'd have to go for Skippy Dies by Paul Murray. May be a cheat as it was a reread for me but i genuinely did not remember a single thing so it was as though I was reading it for the first time. Absolutely compulsively readable, epically whimsical, deeply disturbing, funny as fuck and poignant as hell. Loved it.

Others I read in 2024 (non-exhaustive list, i'm forgetting lots i'm sure): Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan (this was great, much better than her first imo), Perilous Times by Thomas D Lee (i think fandom pals would love this, it was a great read - v funny and dark), Stranger's Child by Hollinghurst (reread, unreal), Pity by Andrew McMillan (really liked though felt it was a little flat - v poignant and delicate and lovely though), 2 x KJ Charles Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen (eh, I'm hit and miss on this author), Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (i thought this was objectionably bad tbh - this doesn't always stop me reading and I did get to the end or v near, but it was def a hate read), Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon (SUPERB, one of those books that's just as good if not better via audio), River Man by RB Croft (not sure what this was tbh i have no memory of it), The Mark and the Void by Paul Murray (my least fave of his but still a banger), Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan (i wanted to love this so badly but I found it muddled and the pacing a bit patchy unforch - when it's good it's good though), Wild Houses by Colin Barrett (this was a DNF though I do hope to go back to it, i think he's a great writer but this didn't quite hit for me at the time), Evenings and Weekends by Oisin McKenna (same), The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden (ummm i thought this was really good in many ways - one of those books i like a lot when i look back on it, the overall tone of the book wasn't what i was expecting but it was really interesting and clever and feelsy, def one i'd rec despite it not being a favourite of me personally, if that makes sense?), She's Always Hungry by Eliza Clark (absolutely magnificent, again i would recommend listening to the audiobook for this one), Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy (DNF, deeply tedious and uninspired imo), Matrix by Lauren Groff (this one was just fine imo), then i did rereads of Maurice by EM Forster, Filthy Animals and Real Life by Brandon Taylor (my beloved, what i would not GIVE to be able to write like him), oh and I read The Pairing by Casey McQuiston (i thought this was fine? liked it more than the other ones, a bit heavy-handed but hey) and Broken Light by Joanne Harris which i thought was rubbish. I can't remember if last year was the year i also reread all the Sally Rooney books too but it might have been. Oh and Sword-Crossed by Freya Marske which alas was a DNF too iirc - this was a miss for me, it felt a tad clumsy and laboured in the world-building imo. But i'm not a romance reader so it's probably me and not the book, her fics are really excellent and she is a good writer.

I did start a goodreads to track my 2025 reading😬 so if anyone's on there and wants to be friends that would be lovely. i can offer a variety of three star reviews and lukewarm takes, none of which hold up to any scrutiny.

Current reads: in book-books I've just started The Diving Pool by Yoko Ogawa. On audible I'm just about to start Deviants by Santanu Bhattacharya (deeply excited). Libby has just offered me Onyx Flame or whatever it's called by Rebecca Yarros, which is weird because i would have thought it would be all booked up. But I might not end up reading it (see above for thoughts on book 1, and i haven't read book 2).

[wetcatspellcaster]

Have you read any good books lately? You have great taste and are a great writer so I'd figured I'd ask 💜

hey lovely anon! I have reading wrap-ups for this year on my main blog as I'm trying to keep better track of these things, in case they're of interest! (also bc that is technically my book blog, not just my diary, lmao.)

but if that's too much commitment, the last five 5 star books I've read are the following:

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan. I reread this because it's one of my favourite books, and I needed cheering up. I remembered it being silly and fun, it's got some heavier moments than I remember but that's where all the insane character work took place. it's by a fanfic author, so the writing style is very cheerful and comedic and light-hearted in places, with good emotional heavy-hitting beats that don't pull their punches in others. the plot is just a silly story about a bisexual boy called Elliot coming of age in a portal fantasy magical schoo. Elliot is a very fun narrator, he's very misanthropic and logical and mean at times, but the narrative also shows he's got good reasons to be that way (not Astarion-coded of him, but also a little Astarion coded of him).

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden. While In Other Lands unexpectedly emotionally decimated me, I went into this book knowign it would emotionally decimate me. It did. I cried for the last act pretty much straight through. One of the love interests was so good that I simply cried every time he had a line of dialogue. Anyway, this book is an intense and beautifully written experience that deals with hope and love amongst both human and supernatural horrors, and I want everyone to read it. It follows a nurse in World War I who is told her brother has died in battle, but she doesn't believe it because she receives some of his belongings but not his body, when it should be an 'all or nothing' kind of deal. She goes to the front, and hears rumours of a sinister hotelier who seems to be able to run rich and lavish parties for soldiers, despite wartime poverty.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. Look, this book is a thousand pages long, but you've also presumedly read my fanfiction, so you can take it. Any lover of wizardcore is unfortunately not a true lover of wizardcore until they've read this stupid, wonderful book. It's regency England: Mr. Norrell is a prototypical D&D wizard, Jonathan Strange is a prototypical D&D Sorcerer - they're too busy having an academic rivalry with each other to notice the plot going on in the background. The villain is a white-haired fairy twink. This book has everything.

Feast While You Can by Onjuli Datta and Mikaele Clements. This is billed as a horror book, but to me, it's a lesbian romance with a folk horror backdrop. It doesn't pull it's punches and does get super creepy in places, but also has some of the best written sex scenes I've read in a while. The main character Angelina gets possessed by a strange monster that lives in her hometown, and her brother's exgirlfriend (ex bc she came out as gay) has to try and help her defeat it.

The Ministry of Time by Kalianne Bradley. Look I wish I could give a plot summary for this one but... sometimes published fanfic has rights, actually. Woman (literally Y/N, we never find out her name) is part of a time travel agency, which in terms of this book means she's forced to live in a forced proximity situation with a hot historical man for one year in order ot help him acclimatise (at least, the narrator thinks he's very, very hot. the photo in the back of the book unfortunately required me to suspend my disbelief quite badly.)

I'm also currently reading The Spear Cuts Through Water and although it's quite pretentious I'm actually finding it really enjoyable. it's such a breath of fresh air to have a book with such a clear voice.

[queer-book-character-tournament]

Character, book, and author names under the cut

Luke Sunborn- In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan

Amanda Beyer- I Got You, Love by Desiree DuBois 

Alex Claremont-Diaz- Red White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Kade Bronson- Wayward Children by Seanan McGuire

[sitting-in-the-sink]

Mid Year Book Freakout 2025

Tagged by @howlsmovinglibrary who has been my favorite person to freak out about books with throughout this first half of the year. <3

So sorry but I will forever break the rules on book surveys and only narrow things down as much as I feel like it.

Number of books you’ve read so far: 95 (56 if you don't count graphic novels/manga since I've been on a bit of a bender with those this year)

Best book you’ve read so far in 2025: In order of reading: The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door by H.G. Parry; In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan; The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling; Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn

Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2025: In order of reading: Faithbreaker by Hannah Kaner; A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett; Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz; Disquiet Gods by Christopher Ruocchio

New release you haven’t read yet but want to: The Two Lies of Faven Sythe by Megan E. O'Keefe and The Incandescent by Emily Tesh

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year: The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow; The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes; The Killer Question by Janice Hallett; The Second Death of Locke by V.L. Bovalino; The Graceview Patient by Caitlin Starling; All of Us Murderers by K.J. Charles

Biggest surprise favorite new author (debut or new to you): Sharon Shinn (new to me and I am DISTRAUGHT it took this long)

Newest fictional crush: Not to keep harping on this book, but Kent from Summers at Castle Auburn. That being said, this is the year of books about lady knights and I am in love with all of them (see also my anticipated reads).

Book that made you cry: I regret to confess that I have a heart of ice and even when very moved by books it is exceedingly rare for me to cry during one.

Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received): I think this was technically at the very end of last year, but I can't be bothered to check when I found it at a secondhand sale because I'm obsessed with this cover and worry that no book could possibly live up to it.

Book that made you happy: Since the legit answer to this would just be my "favorites of the year so far" again, I will expand on this to say that some of my happiest reading moments this year involved reading books at the same time as a friend and getting to discuss/dissect in a way that felt equal parts feral and scholarly.

What books do you need to read by the end of the year? Outside of my "most anticipated" I have a pile of 90s/00s fantasy I've found at my favorite secondhand shop that I'm excited to dig further into. Also, The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard.

tagging @pouroverpaloma @widowling @eldritchcow and anyone else who wants to do this (this is your invite! just tag me! help me make my tbr even more unreasonable!)

[scarlet--wiccan]

Women of Marvel (2024) is on sale 2/28, and Wanda will star in a story titled Witch House, illustrated by one my favorite artists, @jovaline!!! We have several prints and commission pieces by Arielle in our house, and I'm so excited for her to take on my favorite character! Brittany Peer is also one of my favorite color artists, and their work looks great together in this preview page. [source]

It’s a Scarlet Witch tale like no other featuring a double dose of Marvel Comics debuts: New York Times Best-Selling Author Sarah Rees Brennan and rising superstar artist Arielle Jovellanos! Take a mind-bending journey to the end of the multiverse and back as Wanda protects her friend Darcy Lewis from an otherworldly threat!

[accidentalspaceexplorer]

2024 Best Fantasy: Long Live Evil

Now that a couple of my more specific fantasy subgenre recommendations are out of the way, it's time for my overall favorite fantasy of the year! I was super excited about Long Live Evil when I heard that Sarah Rees Brennan had a new book coming out, and I was even more excited when I read the synopsis.

Synopsis: When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at living: a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favourite fantasy series. She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He’s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she's not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor's tale. So be it. The wicked are better dressed, with better one-liners, even if they're doomed to bad ends. She assembles the wildly disparate villains of the story under her evil leadership, plotting to change their fate. But as the body count rises and the Emperor's fury increases, it seems Rae and her allies may not survive to see the final page. (adapted from Goodreads)

So my expectations were really high, and yet I ended up loving it even more than I expected to! Immediately, I liked Rae, who is clearly struggling with a lot, with the fact that she's dying from cancer. She is such a human character, with flaws, and strengths, and a clear sense of loyalty and empathy. For example, the fact that she's been dying for so long means that she treats survival in the fantasy land very seriously, including trying to keep the sense that the fantasy people aren't real, to make it more likely that she'll get out and live. But I completely understood, and it's clear that even as she tells herself that these people aren't real, she's having a hard time believing it, and she keeps being kind to the people she meets, and trying to help people even when it puts her in danger. I could not help but love her.

The other main characters, which have POV chapters as well, (which I wasn't expecting), get the same treatment - they're complicated, and messy, and human, and very endearing. I loved Marius's conflict between his sense of duty and the complicated relationship he has with the Cobra, the Cobra's growing attempts to do better, Emer's confusion, and Key's like whole thing. In the hands of a lesser author, I would almost certainly have hated Key, and yet I'm as obsessed as Rae.

As I said in my very short review I wrote after I read this, "This is funny, insightful, dramatic, ridiculous, wonderful, and I can't get enough." I am desperate to get my hands on the sequel after the cliffhanger. I can't wait for All Hail Chaos!

[aurorawest]

Bargain of Blood and Gold by Kristin Jacques - 3.75/5 stars

Reminiscent of Jordan L Hawk's Widdershins series, but with vampires and werewolves. Also takes place in Maine, which isn't a very common setting. Unwittingly, I bought the second book in the series months ago, and I realized as it got to the top of my TBR that I didn't have the first book! I had to scramble to order it and I was happy I enjoyed it since, obviously, I already have the second book.

Ander & Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa - DNF at pg 2

Captive Prince by CS Pacat (reread) - 5/5 stars

Prince's Gambit by CS Pacat (reread) - 5/5 stars

Kings Rising by CS Pacat - 5/5 stars

I think I loved these books even more on my reread.

Gravity by Tal Bauer - 4.25/5 stars

Probably my favorite hockey romance that I've read.

The Modern Mythos Anomaly by Juniper Lake Fitzgerald - DNF at pg 132

I actually liked the story, the characters, and the writing in general, but this book just needed another few edits to slim it down a bit.

Lose You to Find Me by Erik J Brown - 4.5/5 stars

Leeward by Katie Daysh - 4.5/5 stars

The blurbs on this book are hilarious, because they're all like, tall ships people, and then Mackenzi Lee, hailing it as a lovely queer historical romance. This was a really lovely book and I'm excited for the sequel. Also hoping for more kissing in the sequel since this was a serious slow burn.

Riley Weaver Needs a Date to the Gaybutante Ball by Jason June - 3.75/5 stars

Starseer by Katya Hernández - 4/5 stars

Be Dazzled by Ryan La Sala - 5/5 stars

I loved this book so much!! Oh my god. Super funny, very romantic. It revolves around cosplay which is of course a special interest of mine.

Northranger by Rey Terciero and Bre Indigo - 4.5/5 stars

Flying Without a Net by EM Ben Shaul - 2.75/5 stars

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley (reread) - 5/5 stars

Striking Distance by Sarah Rees Brennan - 4.75/5 stars

I didn't expect to like this as much as I did. The graphic novels were good but changing to a novel format allowed for much deeper characters. Surprisingly devastating and also really funny.

The Old Haunts by Allan Radcliffe - 4/5 stars

The Gay Best Friend by Nicholas DiDomizio - 5/5 stars

Main character is the best friend of both the bride and the groom, and everything surrounding the wedding becomes a train wreck beginning on the weekend of the bachelor party, when the bride asks the MC, Dom, to keep tabs on the groom for her. As someone who is extremely conflict avoidant with friends but not family and romantic partners, I heavily related to Dom. There's also a romance that I really loved.

Romance Languages by AJ Truman - 4.25/5 stars

I think this was my favorite of the South Rock series. It deals with some more difficult topics—Julian's self-loathing over his body image is heartbreaking (and relatable), and Seamus's guilt over the way his gambling addiction hurt his ex was very well done. I'm a sucker for stories where a character learns to ask for help, not to mention difficult parent-child relationships, and this had both. I also appreciated Julian's arc re: sex and virginity.

Darkhearts by James L Sutter - 5/5 stars

Another bandmates-in-love treasure, with a twist—the main character, David, left the band right before they got famous. He ends up falling for one of his ex-friends/bandmates after they reconnect. The author is a musician himself, and it definitely shows (in a good way). I'm really a sucker for The Burdens of Fame, which this book definitely had, but there's actually a really good arc for David and how he deals with his jealousy and resentment over being left behind. Plus he wants to be a carpenter rather than go to college, which was cool.

Brute by Kim Fielding - 4.25/5 stars

We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian - 5/5 stars

What can I say about this book? Why was it so lovely? Why did it make me feel so much? Why can I not rate things higher than 5 stars? It's a million stars in my heart. Aside from just being a gorgeous mid-century America m/m romance (my favorite), this one features an Italian-American main character. The stuff with Nick's family was spot-on. I just loved this book. I felt like I was wrapping myself in a big, comfy, historical gay romance blanket.

Drowned Country by Emily Tesh - 5/5 stars

The sequel to Silver in the Wood. Had a very mythic and sort of folk horror vibe. This one is from Henry Silver's POV instead of Tobias Finch's and takes place two years after Silver in the Wood, which is time that Henry has mostly spent sulking in Greenhollow Hall, sans Tobias. Really highly recommend this duology. Emily Tesh is a treasure.

The Alchemy of Moonlight by David Ferraro - DNF at pg 11