#ally's book recs

[allylikethecat]

Barnes and Noble had a preorder coupon code for members today and I just preorderd a bunch of books from my wishlist so I could get the savings and WOW the amount of serotonin pumping through my body now that I just bought books lol I love books so, so much

I know in the grand scheme of things it isn't all that impressive but I also finished book #27 of 2024 today during my lunch break and I'm super excited / proud of that fact. My goal was to read 25 books after struggling to even read twenty last year and I have already surpassed that and it's only July!! On that note I am once again open to book recs! I can't guarante I'm going to read it but I'm always looking to add more titles to my list!

[jessread-s]

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review

✩🐉✨Review:

A strong start to a romantasy series with endless potential!

“Fear the Flames” follows Elowen Atarah, an exiled princess, as she teams up with Cayden Veles, the feared Commander of Vareveth, to free her dragons and save her people. As forces beyond their control try to keep them apart, the pull between Elowen and Cayden becomes irresistible. 

The concept of this book immediately grasped my attention. It was the reluctant allies-to-lovers romance that drew me in further! Elowen and Cayden’s knife to the throat meet-cute put me in a chokehold and I was living for their banter. Their dynamic is truly incredible and the tension had my heart pounding.

Unfortunately, the pacing and aspects of the writing are what lost me. While Cayden fell first, he also fell very fast. Many readers might like this if they prefer instantaneous chemistry, but I tend to like books where the relationship development moves more slowly, so I did not enjoy how quick it felt. Much of their dialogue, aside from the banter, was also clunky and cringey at times. 

As far as the plot, the heist was the main focus, so I was a bit let down when it missed the mark. There was a lot of build-up surrounding it only for it to be done and over with so quickly. Nearly everything was executed perfectly without a hitch, so it just ended up being anticlimactic. 

Overall, I appreciate this book’s vision and really liked some of its elements despite its setbacks. I’m interested to see what direction Darling takes the next book now that the groundwork has been laid.

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

[literaryelise]

Romantic subplots in fantasy books with astronomical levels of tension✨

[inclusivefuture]

Queer book recs from IFM's editors

Mantha's Rec(s)

Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner Series and Tamír Triad

Any chance Mantha gets they recommend Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner Series and Tamír Triad. Both set in the same world but in two different eras, these fantasy series have become so dear to them over the years.

The Nightrunner books are part fantasy, part political intrigue, part murder mystery, all while exploring themes of belonging and identity. And while they don't have genders outside the binary, the two main characters are bi, cis men (with a little gender-nonconformity in there, too.)

The Tamír Triad tells the coming of age story of a trans girl at court in the midst of political upheaval: think Knights of the Round Table but King Arthur is trans.

Flewelling's writing is impeccable. She has a gift for character, detail, and setting that creates immersive worlds. Though not recent publications - the first book came out in 1996 - they were the first books Mantha read that showed them that the sky was truly the limit in fantasy writing.

Lydia's Rec

All the White Spaces by Ally Wilkes

Not for the faint of heart, All the White Spaces by Ally Wilkes is a historical thriller in which a trans man stows away on an expedition ship bound for the Antarctic from England.

Set just after WWII, the stakes are quickly raised when the ship - the only way the expedition is getting home - is destroyed just shy of their destination. Missing most of the crew and nearly all their supplies, the few remaining members of the expedition must find a way to survive the winter in Antarctica.

Stumbling across a German expedition's camp seems like a stroke of good luck - but where did the Germans go (and would they even believe the war was over?), and what lurks in the darkness just outside of the lamp light?

Sione's Rec

Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata

If you're a short story reader who loves weird, slightly dark speculative fiction (think George Saunders, Miranda July, Alexander Weinstein, Carmen Maria Machado), Sione highly recommends Sayaka Murata's book of short stories, Life Ceremony, which came out in paperback in May.

While the stories don't contain genders outside the binary, there is gay rep, asexual and aromantic spectrum rep, and neurodiversity rep.

But what really gets zir excied about this book are the themes! This is basically an entire short story collection about what's normal, who decides, and how changeable our social norms and taboos are, which opens a window into a future with many queer and neurodivergent possibilities. Ze hasn't been this excited about a new book in a very long time.

Originally published in our newsletter on July 31st, 2023.

[thelibraryofagonychristie]

I am completely stuck on the aesthetic of The Secret of Moonacre, so if ANYONE has book recs, send them my way.

Bonus if it's enemies to lovers.

[embracedthevoid]

I finished reading Once A Rogue and I simply don't know what to do with myself right now.... so uh, when does the next book come out?

[violsva]

Roaring Twenties Magic by Allie Therin

I just put this up on the Yuletide fandom promo post, so I'm putting it up here too. This is the historical fantasy romance series of this art (not mine) and this fic (mine), in case anyone wants to join me in this canoe.

Title: Roaring Twenties Magic by Allie Therin

Media: Book series

Length: 2 books so far, Proper Scoundrels and Once a Rogue

Where to find it: Purchase links on the author's website, or support your local library. The audiobooks by Joel Leslie are also very good.

What is it, in summary?: Plotty gay romance in a magical 1920s. Pessimistic deliberately-abrasive English lord meets absolute sweetheart with a deeply tragic past who has no interest in posturing whatsoever. And then they have to spend a week in close proximity for magic reasons. Also one of them gets handcuffed to a bed.

What do you love about it?: I love romance with a strong plot and lots of things happening other than the romance, and this has heists and kidnappings and magic and so much hurt/comfort. I love how the main characters interact, how they're different with each other from how they are with everyone else, how they change and don't change as a result of their relationship, how they are so obviously deeply into each other in different ways even when they won't admit it. And the side characters are also fascinating and well-drawn and I really want entire books about most of them, too.

The magic worldbuilding is great and interesting and the atmosphere of the 1920s is well conveyed and the author is clearly very into historical fashion.

But a lot of it is the tropes and the delicious delicious angst. Sebastian has had so much trauma for years and he thinks he should be over it and he also thinks he should be alone forever because That's Just How It Is, and he is such a sweetheart. And Wesley believes he doesn't have any trauma at all, he is definitely too much of an asshole to have been affected by WWI, he doesn't feel trauma, he inflicts it. And then they both look at each other and each tell the other that that's bullshit and they deserve all the good things and they have to learn to believe it. And also there is some very very good smut.

(This is a direct sequel series to the Magic in Manhattan trilogy. I hadn't read that when I first read Proper Scoundrels, though, and you certainly don't have to. However, if you like size differences in romance and grumpy young men with poorly-controlled earthshaking magical powers, it may be your thing.)

Standard period-typical warnings, but they're usually in the background.

[heathercauthor]

Don't mind me giggling to myself using that gif because The Last Of Us helped inspire Earth Sucks

It's The 100 meets If Humans were Space Orcs in this 'begrudging alliance' upper YA survival novel.

Hopefully this'll be the start of many apocalypse fans journeying past the Walls into nature's horrors, and joining our unconventional heroes' rebellious fight for freedom!

Synopsis: 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐩𝐬𝐞. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐞𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐤𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟. (more below)

Feng’s both the hunter and the hunted, searching for his missing family in a climate change decimated world controlled by the alien intruders. As a human – and maybe a little because of the explosions he leaves in his wake – he’s become public enemy number one.

Diem grew up on stories of the brutal human creatures, but never dreamt she'd meet one. When Feng crosses her path, she gets her chance. Now she wishes she never had. 

His loved ones’ survival depend on their uneasy alliance. The terrifying truths awaiting Diem threaten to destroy everything she’s ever known. They’ve got one shot, and one wrong step could tip the scales of war.

 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 October 26th 2022

Add it to your Goodreads shelf!

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[thelibraryiscool]

(some of) my top books of 2022: prose edition

Last year I made a post with some of my favorite books, using first lines and bullet points. This year I read about twice as many books, so this certainly won’t cover all of them, but it’s a selection -- and I’ll make a separate post for the poetry.

1. Almond by Won-Pyung Sohn (trans. Sandy Joosun Lee)

I won’t tell you whether it has a happy ending or a tragic ending. Because, first of all, every story becomes boring once the ending is spoiled. Second of all, not telling you will make you more engaged in this one.

you should read it if you like:

coming of age novels

thinking about what makes humans human

delicate character development

2. The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon

One grim winter evening, when it had a kind of unrealness about London, with a fog sleeping restlessly over the city and the lights showing in the blur as if is not London at all but some strange place on another planet, Moses Aloetta hop on a number 46 bus at the corner of Chepstow Road and Westbourne Grove to go to Waterloo to meet a fellar who was coming from Trinidad on the boat-train.

you should read it if you like:

novels about city life

vibrant prose

thinking about the immigrant experience

3. The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa (trans. Stephen Snyder)

I sometimes wonder what was disappeared first -- among all the things that have vanished from the island.

you should read it if you like:

stories of loss and memory

elegant allegory

books that leave you with a haunted, desolate feeling

[note: this was my first book of the year, and i kind of worry that’s why 2022 went the way it did...]

4. The Stone Face by William Gardner Smith

He leaned forward on the edge of his seat, his chin in his palms and his elbows on his knees, rocking imperceptibly to the movement of the train. It was evening, and in the fading light beyond the window the flat green-and-brown French farmland hurried by. He found his lips almost forming a prayer; not in words, not to a God, but in an emotion reaching out to the earth, the sky, to the world in general.

you should read it if you like:

books that face head on the question of our duty and responsibility to fight for a more just world

nuanced, empathetic explorations of people and relationships

powerful, vivid prose

5. The True Deceiver by Tove Jansson (trans. Thomas Teal)

It was an ordinary dark winter morning, and snow was still falling. No window in the village showed a light. Katri screened the lamp so she wouldn't wake her brother while she made coffee and put the Thermos beside his bed.

you should read it if you like:

quiet, understated books

seeing unexpected human connection

books that inhabit nature and the seasons

6. Faithful Place by Tana French

In all your life, only a few moments matter. Mostly you never get a good look at them except in hindsight, long after they've zipped past you: the moment when you decided whether to talk to that girl, slow down on that blind bend, stop and find that condom. I was lucky, I guess you could call it. I got to see one of mine face-to-face, and recognize it for what it was.

you should read it if you like:

long-buried secrets

characters haunted by the past

some really messy families

7. The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh

There was only one person in the food-stall who knew exactly what that sound was that was rolling in across the plain, along the silver curve of the Irrawaddy, to the western wall of Mandalay's fort. 

you should read it if you like:

sprawling multi-generational tales

intricate, atmospheric historical novels

thinking about the complex entanglements of people and events within history

8. I Wonder as I Wander by Langston Hughes

When I was twenty-seven the stock-market crash came. When I was twenty-eight, my personal crash came. Then I guess I woke up. So. when I was almost thirty, I began to make my living from writing. This is the story of a Negro who wanted to make his living from poems and stories.

you should read it if you like:

literary memoirs

a way of approaching things with humor

seeing the 1930s across europe, asia, and the US brought vividly to life

9. Night and Day by Virginia Woolf

It was a Sunday evening in October, and in common with many other young ladies of her class, Katharine Hilbery was pouring out tea. Perhaps a fifth part of her mind was thus occupied, and the remaining parts leapt over the little barrier of day which interposed between Monday morning and this rather subdued moment, and played with the things one does voluntarily and normally in the daylight. 

you should read it if you like:

careful psychological studies

stories of 20-somethings figuring out their feelings

prose that flows like butter

10. Noon, 22nd Century by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky

Когда рыжий песок под гусеницами краулера вдруг осел, Петр Алексеевич Новаго дал задний ход и крикнул Манделю: «Соскакивай!» Краулер задергался, разбрасывая тучи песка и пыли, и стал переворачиваться кормой кверху. [When the orange sand under the crawler’s tracks suddenly subsided, Pyotr Alekseevich Novago backed up and shouted to Mandel: “Hop off!” The crawler shuddered, tossing up clouds of sand and dust, and began to turn stern-up.]

you should read this if you like:

hopeful sci-fi

stories about friendship

thinking about humanity’s first steps towards alien encounter

[note: this is available in english as a pdf online, i’ve checked]

looking back, are there any running themes? perhaps whether humans are by and large good, or when they are capable of goodness. finding connection, sometimes against great odds. an even mix of stories about leaving home and stories about staying there. covers that have people on them?

stayed tuned for pt. 2: poetry edition!

[allylikethecat]

Hi!! Hope you are having a good day/night: the worst book u have ever read? and the best book u have ever read? 📚

Hello Book Anon!! I hope you are doing well! I am having a good day thank you for asking! How is yours?

Thank you so much for asking me a BOOK question from the ask game(book edition). If anyone else wants to chat books the list can be found HERE.

10. the worst book u have ever read?

I'm just going to go off of 2024 so far because of all time is a hard question lol. I read Sanctuary of the Shadow by Aurora Ascher earlier this year and I am still angry about it. The sprayed edges? Stunning. The concept? Amazing. The actual book?! I wanted to toss it into the fire never to be seen again. However, I told myself I had to finish every book I started so I forced myself to suffer through it. I'm still angry about it though.

11. the best book u have ever read?

I'm going to answer this as the best book of 2024, because all time is HARD. But apparently of 2024 is hard too... I know I've said it before but I really, really enjoyed Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo this year. I know it's not for everyone but that is one book that had me in an absolute choked hold and honestly still does.

Thank you SO MUCH for these super fun asks! I hope you are doing well and have a fabulous rest of your day!

❤️Ally

[jessread-s]

✩🌊🖤Review:

A dazzling adult debut from Saft!

“A Dark and Drowning Tide” follows Lorelai Kaskel, a sharp-tongued folklorist, and Sylvia von Wolff, her academic rival, as they pair up to solve their mentor’s murder whilst on an expedition to find a magical spring for their king.

Saft’s atmospheric writing contributes to her immersive world-building. Her story is set in the fictional kingdom of Brunnestaad, a country heavily inspired by Germany, that is populated by both Brunnestaaders and the Yevani, akin to the Jewish community. Saft tackles problems of nationalism and antisemitism through the perspective of her main character Lorelai, a young Jewish woman whose determination to make a name for herself in being a part of the Ruhigburg expedition stems from her experiences in being “othered”. I really appreciate the Jewish representation and how Lorelai’s rich knowledge of Jewish and German folklore contributes to the reader’s understanding of the country’s history, culture, and politics.

I could not get enough of the murder mystery Lorelai tasks herself with solving as well as the sapphic, academic rivals-to-allies-to-lovers subplot! Sylvia is the only suspect that Lorelai can rule out following their mentor’s murder. These circumstances push them to strike a begrudging alliance as they work together to prevent the murderer from striking again. I love the slow pacing of their relationship development as they are forced to confront their feelings while in each other’s proximity. I thoroughly enjoyed occupying Lorelai’s mind during this time. Lorelai is fascinating to follow as she draws on her knowledge of folklore, quick wit, and keen observation skills to find the Ursprung and the killer. At the same time, she is actively fighting against her love for Sylvia by burying her emotions and masking them with self-loathing. I adored watching Syliva break through Lorelai’s stubborn and guarded personality with her unrelenting optimism! They are truly opposites in every sense of the word and complete each other. Nothing was more satisfying than watching them capture the culprit and each other’s hearts!

[literaryelise]

“He is Nizahl’s Commander. I should burn with hatred every second spent in his presence.”

The Jasad Heir, Sara Hashem

[aliengh0st]

The Terror fans! Keep your eyes peeled come December 5th for this book!

—————————————

An eerie, atmospheric Polar Gothic following a Victorian explorer in search of his lost shipmate and his own redemption—from the author of the “vivid, immersive” (The Guardian) horror novel All the White Spaces.

William Day should be an acclaimed Arctic explorer. But after a failed expedition, in which his remaining men only survived by eating their dead comrades, he returned in disgrace.

Thirteen years later, his second-in-command, Jesse Stevens, has gone missing in the same frozen waters. Perhaps this is Day’s chance to restore his tarnished reputation by bringing Stevens­­—the man who’s haunted his whole life—back home. But when the rescue mission becomes an uncanny journey into his past, Day must face up to the things he’s done.

Abandonment. Betrayal. Cannibalism.

Aboard ship, Day must also contend with unwanted passengers: a reporter obsessively digging up the truth about the first expedition, as well as Stevens’s wife, a spirit-medium whose séances both fascinate and frighten. Following a trail of cryptic messages, gaunt bodies, and old bones, their search becomes more and more unnerving, as it becomes clear that the restless dead are never far behind. Something is coming through.

[dorkicon]

bitching abt homophobia n shit at my job in the tags o7 happy pride

[hercomputerruins]

~ heist society ~

ally carter is a literary genius. i got that from a book (meg, jo, beth, and amy)

heist society is about katarina bishop, master cat burglar. She gets expelled from one of the most prestigious boarding schools in the country, but as it turns out, she was framed.

Heists are one of the things i live for. i love them. i mean, whats not to love? theres also elements of romance, and comedy, but they're not the main things.

there are some parts of these books that are HILARIOUS. i reread it over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.

please read this

ally carter is amazing

(i like listening to getaway car while reading this)

[corvidat]

Why must I run consistently. Why can’t just do my lil doodles and my lil stories and then run for 6 hours straight every other week ;-;