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She's beautiful! Thank you for sharing!

I (the volunteer that runs this account) have the same issue with my Artemis. I thought that Artemis and Apollo were fairly well-known, but everyone still seems to get confused.

It’s National Pet Day, and we’re showing off the cats of the TagCat team! They're our test audience for every cat-pun on the server.

Filomena

Tiger

Lily and Hazel

Apollo and Artemis

We loved sharing these pictures, and we'd love to see pictures of your pets too. So bring on the cat pictures!

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It’s National Pet Day, and we’re showing off the cats of the TagCat team! They're our test audience for every cat-pun on the server.

Filomena

Tiger

Lily and Hazel

Apollo and Artemis

We loved sharing these pictures, and we'd love to see pictures of your pets too. So bring on the cat pictures!

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April 4th is Tell a Lie Day, and we wanted to take a few minutes to share some of our favorite unreliable narrators. This post is inherently full of spoilers for these books, so skip past if you don’t want to know which narrators might be lying to you.

If you’re looking for a popular book to dip your toes into the unreliable narrator trope, try Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, a thriller about a missing wife and the man who may have done it. Maybe you want to know whodunnit between a group of four in high school detention, try One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus. For something a little more classic, look up The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath about a woman going mad. If you're a fan of Toni Morrison, check out her award-winning novel Jazz about a salesman who murders his teenage lover. For less of a murder mystery vibe, try Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, a cult classic about an underground boxing club. And finally, if you’re looking for a self-professed unreliable narrator, give Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney a try.

Who are your favorite unreliable narrators?

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TagCat just turned two! Our little mascot should be able to climb stairs, speak in short sentences, and draw circles and (straight-ish) lines. 

But seriously, we’d like to thank everyone that has helped us on this mad little project, from those that were there at the very start to the ones who joined in the last few months. We appreciate every one of you. 

So have some cake, put on a silly hat, and sing us a song! We’re two!

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Whoops, this got stuck between the pages of a book we were reading - you know how it is, if you lose something, best check whether you used it as a bookmark!

We hope you had a great evening!

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Snapdragon by Kat Leyh is a magical realism graphic novel for a middle grade audience about a young girl who befriends the town’s witch to learn magic. 

Snapdragon follows a tomboy who has rescued baby opossums and needs help caring for them, so she approaches the old woman who lives in the forest for help. With a host of side characters including a trans girl, a single mother, and a three-legged dog, Snapdragon explores friendship and belonging. 

This small town coming-of-age story is full of beautiful full-color illustrations and a little bit of mystery.

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If you’re in the mood for an atmospheric horror short story collection this October, you might want to check out Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M.R. James. This classic anthology of eight stories has a campfire or Christmas Eve storytelling feel meant to be read aloud. 

Each of the stories is told as a secondhand tale, and the stories frequently revolve around an ancient artifact that somehow summons the supernatural which ends poorly. Among the stories, there is a nobleman, a witch trial, revenge from beyond the grave, and golf. M.R. James includes a lot of biblical references and sets the stories in various European towns.

Ghost Stories of an Antiquary was first published in 1904, and some of the stories within it have been adapted by BBC for its annual Ghost Story for Christmas.

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Adult SFF edition

High/Epic Fantasy

The Lies of Locke Lamora: heist fantasy following a band of misfits! It has morally gray characters, fun banter but heartwrenching moments and a pretty complex plot. It’s a classic to say “if you liked Six of Crows and want to try adult SFF try this” and it’s probably true. 

Kushiel’s Dart: a political fantasy tome loosely inspired by Europe in the Renaissance. Pretty heavy on romance and erotica (with BDSM elements) as it follows a courtesan navigating the political scene. It has an amazing female villain.

A Darker Shade of Magic: probably the easiest way to approach adult fantasy. It has multiple Londons and a pretty unique magic system and concept, plus a crossdressing thief, knives and great banter. 

The Poppy War: grimdark fantasy (TW: abuse, self harm, rape, drug abuse), inspired by Chinese history. It’s adult, but follows younger MCs and the unique blend of different historical periods/inspirations makes it extremely interesting. The characters are extremely fucked up in the best possible way, plus the use of shamanism is awesome.

The Sword of Kaigen: if you liked The Poppy War you could like this one. The Sword of Kaigen is an Asian-inspired militaristic fantasy, with elemental magic, a badass housewife dealing with her past and hiding a sword in her kitchen’s floor. It has interesting and nuanced family dynamics and a great reflection on propaganda and the use of narratives.

The Priory of the Orange Tree: high fantasy, featuring dragons, a F/F romance and pretty complex world building. The author reuses typical fantasy tropes and roles in a fresh way. Very readable in spite of its length.

Empire of Sand: inspired by Mughal India, this one focuses on culture and religion and has great slow burn romance (TW: abuse, slavery). It’s pretty slow paced, but the payoff is great. Also a good “YA crossover”.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms: first book in a companion novel trilogy, following a young woman who finds herself at the center of a vicious political struggle, as she’s suddenly become the heir to the throne. 

Historical Fantasy

The Night Circus: perfect transition from YA to Adult for a reader, The Night Circus is a gorgeous historical fantasy romance. The author’s writing is amazing, the descriptions and the subtlety of the main characters’ relationship are to die for.

The City of Brass: political/historical fantasy tome featuring Middle Eastern mythology. It follows younger MCs (honestly another series that could be a good way to approach adult SFF) and has great character growth throughout the series. The first book has some more trope-y elements, but the payoff is worth it. 

The Golem and The Djinni: historical fantasy (if you loved The Night Circus you could like this one), following two mythical creatures as they navigate New York in 1899. Slow burn romance, rich descriptions, fascinating combination of Jewish and Syrian folklore.

Gods of Jade and Shadow: a fantasy bildungsroman set in Mexico during the Jazz age. Another great way to approach adult SFF as it follows a young girl on a life changing adventure. It features Mayan mythology and a god slowly becoming human.

The Ghost Bride: set in Malaya in 1893, it follows the daughter of a ruined man as she receives the proposal to become a ghost bride. Lovely setting, rich in culture and extremely atmospheric.

The Bear and The Nightingale: a coming of age story inspired by Russian folklore. Another great way to start reading adult SFF: it’s very atmospheric and fairy tale-like. Also frost demons are better than men.

Queen of the Conquered: first book in a fantasy duology(?) set in an alternate version of the Caribbean at the time of Scandinavian colonisation. It follows Sigourney, a biracial woman (her mother was a slave, freed by her father) and the only islander who is allowed to own and use kraft and therefore has a position of privilege, which she constantly abuses, while telling herself she’s doing it for the islanders’ benefit. The book is hard to read, because the MC is no hero and her POV can be quite challenging to get through, but if you’re up for it I’d totally recommend this. (TW: slavery, abuse, death).

The Binding: very minimal fantasy elements, set in a world vaguely reminiscent of 19th century England. I’d say this book is about humans and self discovery. It’s about cowardice and the lies we tell ourselves and those we wish we could tell ourselves. M/M relationship. (TW: abuse, sexual assault, pretty graphic suicide scene).

The Lions of Al-Rassan: this one has minimal fantasy elements, much like other Kay books, as it reads more like an alternate history. Using Moorish Spain as a template, it deals with the conflict between Jews, Muslims and Christians. Much like Under Heaven and most of his historical fantasy it shows common people being swept up in dramatic events. 

Urban Fantasy

The Divine Cities trilogy: starting with City of Stairs, it follows a female diplomat and spymaster(!!). The whole trilogy features an interesting discussion about godhood, religion, fanatism, politics, without ever being boring or preachy. It has complex and rich world building and a pretty compelling mystery.

Foundryside: heist fantasy following a thief as she’s hired to steal a powerful artifact that may change magical technology as she knows it. Also, slow burn F/F romance.

Jade City:  a wuxia inspired, gangster urban fantasy. Great family dynamics, very interesting political and economical subplots. 

One for My Enemy: sort of a modern Romeo and Juliet, but set in New York, starring two magical gangster families. The female characters are to die for.  

Trail of Lightning: inspired by Native mythology and the idea of subsequent worlds. It has a kickass MC and a good mix of original elements and typical UF tropes. You could like this if you liked the Kate Daniels series.

American Gods: a classic of the genre, pretty much brilliant in how it reuses old mythology in a modern setting.

Retellings

Spinning Silver: a very loose retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, with a gorgeous atmosphere. It mainly follows female characters from different social and economical backgrounds and reuses the original tale to challenge the antisemitic ideas around the role of the moneylander.

The Queens of Innis Lear: fantasy retelling of King Lear, very atmospheric and gorgeously written. Slow paced, but very satisfying build up, lots of backstabbing and miscommunication. (heads up though, one of the MCs is coded as aroace and I found the rep pretty bad on that. The book does feature casual bisexual rep though, which was great)

Lady Hotspur: genderbent retelling of Henry IV, set in the same world as The Queens of Innis Lear. Lesbian and bisexual rep. Heavy on political subplots, features ambitious women growing into their roles.

Deathless: sort of a retelling of Koschei the Deathless set in the first half of the 20th century. Brilliant reuse of Russian folklore to weave together politics and history. It does have pretty brutal descriptions of war, morally gray characters, unhealthy relationships and overall a lot of mindfuckery.

Space Opera

A Memory Called Empire: space opera inspired by the Mexica and middle period Byzantium. It focuses on topics like colonialism and the power of narratives and language. It has one of the best descriptions of what it’s like to live in between spaces I’ve ever read. Also very interesting political intrigue and has a slow burn F/F romance (and a poly relationship recalled through flashbacks).

Ninefox Gambit: a Korean-inspired space opera with a magic system based on math. It’s honestly quite convoluted and difficult to follow, but it also features some of the best political intrigue I’ve ever read. Plenty of lying, backstabbing and mind games. It also features lesbian and bisexual rep and an aroace side character (TW: mass shooting, sexual assault).

The Light Brigade: militaristic space opera set in a not-so-defined future in which corporations rule Earth and space in general. The book follows a newly enlisted soldier as they go through gruelling training and experience the side effects of being broken down into atoms to travel at the speed of light. It’s a heavy book, featuring raw descriptions of war, and quite difficult to follow (non-linear timelines…) but it’s also an amazing critique of capitalism and political propaganda (TW: death, mass shooting).

Gideon the Ninth: pretty much lesbian necromancers in space. Very loose world building, but a fun mystery full of banter. Can be quite confusing in the beginning, but a relatively easy and fun way to approach science fiction.

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet: character driven space opera featuring a found family journeying through space. A fun read, that also deals with topics such as sexuality and race. Quite easy to go through, as the world building and plot aren’t particularly complex themselves. Also features a F/F romance. 

Science Fiction-Fantasy that I can’t fit anywhere else

Vicious: college roommates put themselves through near-death experiences to obtain super powers, only everything goes wrong. Follows a great band of misfits (and pretty much everyone is morally gray).

Middlegame: a brilliant and complex tapestry of alternate timelines, following telepathically connected twins trying to escape the alchemist that wants to use them to obtain godhood (TW: attempted suicide).

Bonus Novella recs: novellas are amazing and don’t sleep on them!

The Empress of Salt and Fortune: an Asian-inspired fantasy novella, it gives a voice to people usually silenced by history. It follows a cleric (non binary rep) as they chronicle the story of the late empress, retold through objects that she used in her life. It focuses on bonds between women and the power that lies in being unnoticed.  

The Black God’s Drums: an urban fantasy novella, based on Orisha mythology and set in an alternate, sort of steampunk, New Orleans. 

The Haunting of Tram Car 015: alternate steampunk Cairo populated by supernatural entities. It has a compelling mystery, starring a great lead.

This Is How You Lose the Time War: epistolary set during a time-travel war, F/F romance and gorgeous prose. 

The Citadel of Weeping Pearls: a novella set in the Xuya universe (a series of novellas/short stories set in a timeline where Asia became dominant, and where the space age has empires of Vietnamese and Chinese inspiration), but can be read as a standalone. It’s a space opera featuring a disappeared citadel and the complex relationship between the empress and her daughter as war threatens her empire.

To Be Taught, If Fortunate: an incredibly heartwarming and yet meaningful novella about research and the meaning of it. It’s the tale of 4 astronauts on a crowdfunded mission to explore space, to observe and report without conquering. It’s written in lovely prose and is very casual in its lgbt rep.

Bonus short story collections recs

A Cathedral of Myth and Bone: 16 short stories featuring myth, legend and faith, that mainly focus on women reclaiming their agency. 

The Paper Menageries and Other Stories: features plenty of different fantasy and science fiction subgenres. The Paper Menagerie in particular is an extremely moving tale.

Conservation of Shadows: science fiction-fantasy short stories that focus on topics like colonisation and the role of art and language. 

Graphic Novel

Monstress: series set in an alt 1900s matriarchal Asia, following a teenage girl who survived a war and shares a connection with a monster that’s slowly transforming her. (TW: slavery, death).

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If you’re looking for a spooky young read this Halloween, you’ll like the book we’re talking about today. Welcome to Dead House by R.L. Stine is the first book in the Goosebumps series, a children's horror series with over 60 books.

When a family learns that a distant relative has left them a house as an inheritance, they pack up and move there. The book’s two siblings struggle with moving, especially to such a spooky town. The sister begins seeing things, and the family dog goes missing. What could be going on? Maybe the antisocial neighbors have something to do with it.

The Goosebumps series has been adapted into audiobooks, a TV show, a 2015 film, multiple video games, and a comic book series.

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What’s an underrated series you’re always recommending to people?

Genevieve Cogman’s Invisible Library books are some of my go-to recs for anyone who likes time traveling, dimension jumping librarian spies (which, come on, you have to admit that sounds pretty awesome)

Throw in some dragons and fae, a bit of mystery and adventure, and a detective who is quite Sherlockian and you have yourself a fabulous series!

Have you read The Invisible Library?

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September 15-October 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month! Check out this list of fantastic Latinx and Hispanic Young Adult Authors! Find our shelf on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/56651068-mvml-ya?shelf=latinx-authors

Full list of authors under the cut. Our Goodreads list is updated monthly so check back soon for more authors!

Keep reading

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This Wednesday we’re talking about Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid, a historical fiction novel about sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll set in the 60s and 70s. 

This epistolary-style book, written in interview transcripts tells the story of a rock band and its eventual break-up. Characters include a beautiful songwriter, a recovering addict, and a disco diva. The book is full of drama and includes both friendship and romance. Song lyrics from the band’s fictional songs are included at the end. 

Daisy Jones & The Six won 2019 Goodreads Choice Award Best Historical Fiction and the 2020 Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award. The audiobook is a full cast production. This novel contains discussions of substance abuse. 

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Jewish Adult Book Recommendations

Based on your suggestions. Feel free to add more on!

More recs

Keep reading

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The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan is a YA fantasy novel about a 12-year-old boy who discovers that he is the demigod son of Poseidon when he arrives at a summer camp full of the children of Greek Gods. 

The protagonist is sent on a quest across the United States to find the entrance to the Underworld with his satyr best friend and a daughter of Athena. From Long Island to Los Angeles, the protagonist interacts with Greek gods like Hades, Persephone, and Ares. The Lightning Thief is, at its core, a humorous coming-of-age novel. 

The Lightning Thief has a movie adaptation (controversial among fans) and an upcoming TV show adaptation. The novel contains an abusive step-father. 

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🔎YA Under the Radar Part 3🔍

Every twelve months or so, I like to flick through my read shelf on Goodreads and see which books are getting the love they deserve, and which ones need a little help. So here are 50 more books and series with fewer than 10k ratings on Goodreads (give or take 1k). I’ve added little Pride flags (🏳️‍🌈) to books with LGBT+ rep and wheelchair symbols (♿️) to books with disability and mental illness rep.

Feel free to add your own recommendations in reblogs or comments but make sure to check they come in under the 10k threshold.

Out Now: Queer We Go Again! Edited by Saundra Mitchell 🏳️‍🌈

Once and Future duology by Amy Rose Capetta & Cori McCarthy 🏳️‍🌈♿️

Saints and Misfits by SK Ali

Love From A to Z by SK Ali

Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson

The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta 🏳️‍🌈

Midnight Thief duology by Livia Blackburne

Rosemarked duology by Livia Blackburne

Harley in the Sky by Akemi Dawn Bowman ♿️

Ziggy, Stardust and Me by James Brandon 🏳️‍🌈

Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown 🏳️‍🌈

The Twisted Tree by Rachel Burge ♿️

This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kacen Callender 🏳️‍🌈

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender 🏳️‍🌈

The Lost Coast by Amy Rose Capetta 🏳️‍🌈

The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim

The Queens of Renthia series by Sarah Beth Durst

Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis ♿️

Euphoria Kids by Alison Evans 🏳️‍🌈

The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle

Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moïra Fowley-Doyle 🏳️‍🌈

All the Bad Apples by Moïra Fowley-Doyle 🏳️‍🌈

Sing by Vivi Greene

Countless by Karen Gregory ♿️

Skylarks by Karen Gregory 🏳️‍🌈

Valkyrie duology by Amanda Hocking 🏳️‍🌈

The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley by Shaun David Hutchinson 🏳️‍🌈♿️

An Unauthorised Fan Treatise by Lauren James 🏳️‍🌈

Shadow of the Fox trilogy by Julie Kagawa

Black Bird of the Gallows duology by Meg Kassel

The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl by Melissa Keil

Thicker Than Water by Brigid Kemmerer

RUN by Kody Keplinger 🏳️‍🌈♿️

That’s Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger 🏳️‍🌈♿️

Please Don’t Hug Me by Kay Kerr ♿️

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand 🏳️‍🌈

19 Love Songs by David Levithan 🏳️‍🌈

The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu

Circus Hearts trilogy by Ellie Marney 🏳️‍🌈

I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall

Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall 🏳️‍🌈♿️

Loveless by Alice Oseman 🏳️‍🌈

Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) by LC Rosen 🏳️‍🌈

Camp by LC Rosen 🏳️‍🌈

The Abyss Surrounds Us duology by Emily Skrutskie 🏳️‍🌈

Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith

It’s Not Like It’s A Secret by Misa Sugiura 🏳️‍🌈

As I Descended by Robin Talley 🏳️‍🌈♿️

Peta Lyre’s Rating Normal by Anna Whateley 🏳️‍🌈♿️

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff ♿️

More of my book lists are available on the “Recommendations” page of my blog.

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Originally written in French, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry has been translated to 301 languages and is tied for the most translated non-religious book in the world. This children’s book tells the story of a young prince who lived on an asteroid before traveling to different planets and meeting a crashed pilot on Earth.

Despite being a short novella, The Little Prince contains a host of characters including a king, a rose, a businessman, a geographer, a fox, and a snake. The illustrated story contains themes of friendship, loneliness, and love, and it has an ambiguous ending. 

The Little Prince has been adapted into everything from a radio play to an opera to a film.

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This week we’re talking about an American classic novel from 1925: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This novel, read by high schoolers across the country, explores themes of the American dream and economic class. 

The Great Gatsby follows a man who moves to Long Island and becomes involved in his wealthy, eccentric neighbor’s life and in his cousin’s. There are parties in a mansion and scenes in speakeasies and hotels. The characters drink alcohol heavily. Significant portions of the story deal with extramarital affairs. 

The Great Gatsby will enter into public domain in 2021.