Hello friends, and welcome back to my weekly newsletter! This week, I talk about a series I finished, some of the most recent books I added to "want to read," and some wintry fantasy books.

Reading Updates

Audiobook | Finished: Ancillary Mercy

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thoughts: It has been a long time since I binge-read a series, but I just couldn't stop listening to the audiobooks for the Imperial Radch trilogy. I found this last installment to be an odd continuation on the overarching plot. I'm surprised that the scope ended up being this narrow, given everything that happened in the first book. I can see why it happened the way that it did, but it didn't really feel like a finale. I loved the series as a whole. The characters are incredible, and I loved the detailed world-building. I plan to read the other books in the series soon, but I needed a little break from SciFi.

Ebook | Finished: The Sacred Space Between

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thoughts: The YEARNING in this book! Absolutely incredible. I loved the romance between Jude and Maeve so much. As a devout iconographer and an exiled saint they start off very ideologically opposed. I loved watching them form a bond of trust and mutual understanding as they learned to work together and help each other heal bit by bit. The slow building tension between them was perfect. I also love how this book explores themes of religion, faith, and devotion. A stunning debut!

Hardcover | Currently Reading: The Everlasting

Thoughts: I am literally 15 pages into this book, I have no thoughts yet lol. The writing styles has me very intrigued. I'm also a little scared because the reviews for this book as so overwhelmingly positive I feel like its impossible not to go into it with crazy high expectations.

Books on My Radar

Rather than repeating the same books that I've been mentioning in my recent future reading plans updates, I thought I would share the last five books I added as "want to read" on Goodreads and what caught my interest.

The Trident and the Pearl: Orbit. I pretty much automatically add any fantasy book Orbit publishes to my want to read list. The cover is also very interesting to me. A romantasy with gods and a seaside setting, I'm definitely keeping my eye on this one.

Endless Blue Beneath: Another Orbit watery fantasy book that caught my eye on Instagram. This one a dark romantic fantasy with sapphic mermaids!

One Yellow Eye: The cover caught my attention while I was watching a bookstore vlog on TikTok. "A brilliant scientist desperately searches for a cure after a devastating epidemic while also hiding a monumental secret—her undead husband." Torn between this sounding really interesting and the fact that I don't like reading about zombies.

Weavingshaw: A very successful TikTok ad won me over even though the cover is really boring. A gothic romantasy about a young woman who can see the dead and strikes a deal with a dark, deadly stranger.

Habits of the Sea: I am a sucker for the neon text on moody, painting-like covers trend. I find the aesthetic so appealing and it makes me want to be the kind of person who reads books like this. This is a 2026 release that follows a woman who rediscovers the fabled island where she went missing for a week when she was a child. Early reviews make me think this one might be a little too sad for me, but I will keep my eye on it.

Book Recommendations

It recently snowed a lot where I live so I think it is officially time to recommend some fantasy books with cold, wintry settings. Though my reading mood isn't heavily influenced by the season, I love to put together lists of seasonal book recommendations.

Dark Water Daughter: This is a dark, wintry pirate story that follows Mary, a stormsinger who is captured by pirates and forced to help them find a mysterious treasure. We also follow disgraced naval officer Samuel whose connection to reality is slipping as his magic is corrupted. The cold winter setting is so well written, creating the perfect atmosphere to compliment the tense pirate story. The unique magic and magical creatures further enhance the setting.

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries: The first book in the Emily Wilde series takes place in a remote northern village in the middle of winter as scholar of the fae, Emily Wilde, travels to this village to document an elusive specieis of fae. She is joined by her academic rival, the lazy professor Wendall Bambleby. The two reluctantly team up to discover the secrets lurking in the snow and fend off the dark fae forces threatening the village. The snowy setting, cozy romance, and slightly dark magical elements make this a fantastic read for the winter months.

Daughter of Redwinter: In this book we follow a young girl at a remote military outpost that is hiding a deadly secret. She can see the dead, a power that could get her killed as it means she has access to a forbidden level of magic. When she uses that magic to stop an attack on the outpost she finds herself wrapped up with a group of magic users. She must try to explore her power while keeping her forbidden abilities a secret.

As always I would love to hear what you're reading or if you're looking for any specific recommendations. See you next week with more reading updates and book recommendations.

Happy reading!

Samantha (ladybug.books)

Hello friends, and welcome back to my weekly newsletter! This week has been a very good reading week! I finished an exciting new release and discovered a new audiobook obsession. Read to the end to see what other books I think are even better to read via audiobook.

Reading Updates

Paperback | Finished: To Bargain with Mortals

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

Thoughts: To Bargain with Mortals is an excellent start to a new fantasy series! Basu delivers a compelling twist on familiar fantasy story elements. I really loved the depth and complexity given to each of the characters. Poppy, in particular, was really forced to confront her biases and privilege. This book has so much to say about identity, family, culture, and community. I am incredibly excited to see where the story goes in the sequel. The characters are in a very precarious position and I am sure the next book will be filled with tension, betrayal, and scheming.

Audiobook | Finished: Ancillary Justice

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

Thoughts: I absolutely see why this is such a beloved SciFi series. Ancillary Justice captures a lot of the things that I love to read about in SciFi. Interesting depth to unique characters, large scale politics, scheming, and fascinating world building. There is definitely a lot of setup in this first book, but I found myself so interested in all of the details. I particularly loved the attention to linguistic features. This is a surprisingly excellent audiobook read as well! The narrators performance is exceptional and I think it really helped compensate for some of the slower moments in the book.

Audiobook | Finished: Ancillary Sword

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thoughts: Look at me actually reading a series back to back! I haven't been this obsessed with an audiobook series since Murderbot. This second book features a shift to a seemingly random station that serves as a marked example of flaws and weaknesses that have been plaguing the Radch empire. I really enjoyed watching Breq manuever through the complex politics of this situation. You can really feel both her grief and her simmering rage in her narration and actions. I am obsessed with both Breq and Seivardan. I also loved the occasional moments of humor and banter in this one. I cannot wait to finish up the trilogy and then explore the other books in the Imperial Radch world.

Ebook | Currently Reading: The Sacred Space Between

Progress: 10%

Thoughts: I got a little distracted by the Imperial Radch trilogy this week so I'm still at the very beginning of The Sacred Space Between. I am incredibly intrigued by the mysterious magic that has been hinted at so far as well as the dark truths of the church. I have heard nothing but glowing praise for the romance in this book and I cannot wait to continue!

Future Reading Plans

To be honest, nothing has really changed with my future reading plans. The Everlasting, Kill The Beast, and The Isle in the Silver Sea remain at the top of my TBR. Of course Ancillary Mercy will be the next book I pick up.

Book Recommendations

I read a lot of audiobooks and there are definitely some types of books that I prefer to read via audio. Sometimes the audiobook performance really enhances the reading experience. Here a few books that I think are even better to read via aubio.

The Murderbot Diaries: This is absolutely the shining example of a series that is even better via aubiobook. This series follows Murderbot, a SecUnit that has hacked itself into sentience and now has anxiety. It just wants to be left alone, but when one of the groups of humans it is in charge of protecting finds themselves in unexpected danger, Murderbot gets wrapped up in galactic plots and conspiracies. Kevin R Free's performance adds so much to the reading experience. His voices for both Murderbot and ART are absolutely perfect. The Network Effect audiobook has become a comfort read for me. I started the series reading it on my Kindle but once I experienced the audiobook I couldn't go back.

A Letter to the Luminous Deep: A Letter to the Luminous Deep is an epistolary story told through letters between missing scholars, recovered documents, and messages between the scholars' siblings. This is an enchanting epistolary story that slowly reveals its secrets. More than just a romantic tale between scholars, this story explores a range of emotional character relationships. I was particularly moved by the siblings journey bonding over the grief and the mysterious, sudden loss of their siblings. The full cast audiobook adds vivid personality to the various characters whose letters make up the book.

Book Lovers: Romance is one of those genres that I love to read via audiobook and Julia Whelan is one of my favorite audiobook narrators. Big city literary agent, Nora, travels to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for a girls trip with her younger sister. While there she keeps running into Charlie Lasta, a cuthroat book editor that she has had quite a few unpleasant interactions with in the past. But sparks fly in this small town, dislike-to-like romance. As someone who cannot stand when high-powered, badass city women in Hallmark movies give it all up to move to a small town to be someone's wife, this book spoke to my soul. I literally listened to this audiobook in one sitting. The banter was incredible and some of Charlie's one-liners had me squealing! I highly recommend any of Emily Henry's books via audiobook

Hello friends, and welcome back to my weekly newsletter! I had a new five-star read this week that I absolutely loved! And in honor of daylight savings and the sun now setting at 4:30 pm, I thought I would recommend some books where "darkness" is part of the magic system.

Reading Updates

Audiobook | DNF: What the River Knows

DNFed at: 41%

Thoughts: There were parts of this story that interested me. I really liked the setting and I was intrigued by the mystery, magic, and banter between Inez and Whit. Unfortunately, the main character was so insufferable that I couldn't enjoy the story and had to stop reading. The audiobook narrator definitely made it worse, but I would have struggled regardless.

Paperback | Currently Reading: To Bargain with Mortals

Progress: 61%

Thoughts: I'm really enjoying To Bargain with Mortals! I really love the way this book is challenging Poppy's character and forcing her to confront her bias and privalege. I am excited (and STRESSED) to see how the characters face the impossible tasks in their future.

Ebook (ARC) | Finished: The Fake Divination Offense

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Release Date: May 19, 2026

Thoughts: Apparently I only read my ARCs really early or really late lol. Bramble blessed me with very early access to The Fake Divination Offense, the follow-up to An Entanglement of Rival Wizards. This was exactly what I wanted it to be: a fun, sweet, sexy fantasy rom-com. I really love the way that Sara Raasch balances spicy romance plots with emotional character arcs and relationships. I do feel like the story started to feel a little bit too over the top towards the end. The severity and scale of the plot along with the realtionship dynamic became a bit hard to take seriously. I do prefer the first installment simply because the relationship dynamic and setup interested me more in The Entanglement of Rival Wizards. But I would eagerly pick up even more romance stories set in this world, and I am excited to read more from Sara Raasch. 

Audiobook + Ebook | Finished: The White Octopus Hotel

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thoughts: I absolutely loved The White Octopus Hotel. I was immediately captivated by this time-bending spiral of a story. The White Octopus Hotel is a quiet, almost melancholy, story about grief, love, hope, and healing. It is about forgiving yourself and finding a hand in the dark. There is a subtle sense of surrealism and magic woven throughout this story that keeps you guessing. I loved uncovering each new layer of the story. It always felt like there was something dark lurking in the background of the hotel, lending the story a slightly gothic feel. Bell really captures the haunting nature of grief and guilt. There is a quiet emotional weight to the character relationships in this story. I loved how raw and real Max and Eve's relationship felt and the unflinching way they handled each other's darkest truths. I cannot recommend this enough to fans of The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden.

Future Reading Plans

This past reading week was filled with a lot of unexpected reads so my future reading plans remain very similar to last week including: The Everlasting, The Sacred Space Between, and Kill The Beast.

One new addition to my immediate TBR is my most recent Illumicrate book: The Isle in the Silver Sea. I admit I'm not as confident that this will be a win for me, but my friends have been giving this glowing reviews so I remain optimistic.

I also have Ancillary Justice and City of Dragons in my library on Libby as possible audiobook reads. Not sure if either of these will make for good audiobook reads but I need to focus on my physical TBR in these last two months.

Book Recommendations

As promised I bring you dark/shadow magic recommendations! Light and dark as some of my favorite themes to explore in fantasy books and I love seeing the unique ways they are incorporated into worlds and magic systems.

Dark Rise: I am not so patiently waiting for news of the third book in this series. In this historical fantasy world the ancient magic has long been lost after the destructive war between the Dark and the Light. Our main character Will discovers that he may actually be deeply connected to this magical world and he has an important role to play in the oncoming battle against the Dark. I love a story about the manifestation of darkness and light and the way that history can be retold and warped. This book also plays with reincarnation and fate. The character relationships are so emotional and the sequel is even better!

Book of Night: The second book in this duology recently came out so I found myself rereading the first book to prepare for the sequel's release. Book of Night follows ex-con artist and thief Charlie who is trying (not that hard) to live a normal life. One night she finds herself forced into a deal with the man who haunts her nightmares. He wants her to track down his missing book of shadow magic. In this urban fantasy world certain people have the ability to manipulate their shadows, using these "quickened" shadows to performs magical feats. But there is always the deadly risk of a shadow absorbing too much from their host and gaining sentience as a blight. Though the world building is a tad undeverdeloped, I found myself so invested in these characters and the romance subplot.

The Serpent and the Wolf: Though I haven't talked about this book much, The Serpent and the Wolf is a romantic fantasy that I really enjoyed! Vaasa is forced into an arranged marriage and tasked by her brother to use her marriage to infiltrate the rival kingdom. Vaasa chooses to take her fate into her own hands and escapes on her wedding night. But her new husband, Reid, tracks her down and makes a deal with her, one that could change the fate of both kingdoms. One of the things I loved most about this book was the emotional story of healing and the way that Vaasa's relationship with her shadowy magic represented her trauma and her journey of recovery.

If you have any specific book recommendations that you've been looking for let me know and I'd be happy to include them in the next newsletter. See you next week with more reading updates and book recommendations.

Happy reading!

Samantha (ladybug.books)

Hello friends, and welcome back to my weekly newsletter! This week, I finished two more books on my priority TBR and started a highly anticipated release. I also have some recommendations for fantasy books perfect for the spooky season

Reading Updates:

Audiobook | Finished: Goddess of the River

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thoughts: Goddess of the River is a beautiful and emotional story. This is my first book by Vaishnavi Patel, and I was absolutely swept away by her writing. Ganga's journey of godhood was incredibly interesting. I loved seeing her growth as she learned to accept and care for the humans that depended on her waters. I really struggled with Bhisma's chapters at times. There were a lot of interesting ideas about responsibility, goodness, and justice. But it was really difficult to follow all of the different characters and plot lines, especially with the timeline jumping around. I will definitely need to check out Kaikeyi soon.

Hardcover | Finished: Moonbound

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thoughts: Moonbound is a charmingly strange story that pulls together elements of far future SciFi with some classic fantasy vibes to create a truly unique and intriguing story. I LOVE a story that plays with perspective and unique narrators. This story is told from the perspective of a sentient AI that is woken when a young boy stumbles across the remnants of a civilization that has been dead for 11,000 years. I was immediately intrigued by the narrator and its role as a chronicler and witness to the young boys great destiny. Humanity has fallen and come back as something both completely new and oddly familiar. The world is this really interesting blend of quirky classical fantasy elements—wizards, talking animals, dragons on the moon—and extremely advanced technologies. I will say that it lost me a bit in the middle as the story became a bit too focused on exploring the quirky nature of the world. With a story like this, I want the story to lean into the strange narrator, the secrets, the technologies, and do something interesting with the concept. Though it kind of gets there at the end, the middle is less concerned with the parts of the story that I found most compelling which caused my interest to wane a bit.

Currently reading | Paperback (ARC): To Bargain with Mortals

Progress: 35%

Thoughts: I am finally reading To Bargain with Mortals!!! I already know that I am going to eat this up. The writing is engaging, the world building is strong, and I am so invested in the characters' lives. One thing I'm really appreciating is how realistically complex the two main characters have been so far. Poppy in particular manages to walk the very fine line of being realistically naive for her situation without being insufferable to read about. She feels real and I can't help but root for her growth as a character. I am also really looking forward to seeing more of the magic.

Future Reading Plans:

Once I finish To Bargain with Mortals I need to start another highly anticipated release: The Sacred Space Between. This story is about an exiled saint and the devout iconographer sent to paint him. I just know the gothic atmosphere and romance are going to be perfect.

I only recently found myself really excited to read The Everlasting. After being so disappointed by The Second Death of Locke, I think I have transferred all of my hopes onto The Everlasting instead. I will definitely be at the bookstore this week to pick up a copy!

The most recent addition to my physical TBR is Kill the Beast by Serra Swift. A friend told me personally that she thought I would love it and that is all that I needed to know. A fairy-tale story of revenge, redemption, and friendship.

Fantasy Books Perfect for the Spooky Season

With Halloween quickly approaching I thought I would share some books with magic systems or atmospheres that are perfect for the spooky season.

Asunder: You should know by now that I am going to take any opportunity to recommend Asunder. This dark, gritty fantasy has a world that I think is best described as "horror Studio Ghibli." With elements that could almost have been cozy, this broken world is creepy, unsettling, and sometimes magical. In this book we follow a girl who has made a bond with an eldritch god that left her with the ability to see the dead. While on a job she stumbles across a dying mysterious stranger. In order to save him she binds his soul to her shadow, accidentally creating a bond that threatens to destroy them both. The two of them go on a quest to break the bond and pick up a ragtag group of reluctatnt allies along the way.

House of Salt and Sorrows: This YA gothic horror retelling of the twelve dancing princesses also contains some of the most unsettling scenes I have ever read. That is not to say that it is particulary scary, but the sense of atmosphere is so rich and consuming that I got swept away in the nightmare. I loved the cold, stormy seaside setting and I was so invested in the mysterious curse haunting the young girls. House of Salt and Sorrows makes for the perfect gloomy fall read.

Silver Under Nightfall: Would it be a spooky season recommendation list if I didn't include my favorite vampire book? Silver Under Nightfall follows disgraced vampire hunter Remy who lives in the shadow of his mother's disgraceful death despite his talent as a hunter. When two mysterious vampires come to the kingdom, Remy is recruited to help them uncover the mystery between the dangerous monsters threatening the kingdom. The gothic vampire setting makes this the perfect spooky season read. There is also an incredible vampire x vampire hunter romance to add even more tension to the story. Might I also suggest treating this as a standalone and pretending that Court of Wanderers doesn't exist lol.

Have you been saving any particular books for the spooky season? See you next week with more reading updates and book recommendations.

Happy reading!

Samantha (ladybug.books)

Hello friends, and welcome back to my weekly Bindery newsletter! This week has been about rediscovering my 2025 priority TBR and trying to decide what books I want to put at the top of my list for the rest of the year. I also finished my first 2026 release this week.

Reading Updates:

Paperback (ARC) | Finished: Agnes Aubert's Mysterical Cat Shelter

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Release Date: February 17, 2026

Thoughts: This was such a lovely, cozy read! I would have liked a bit more from the plot but the characters and the cats were enough to keep me entertained. I really love how the cats are their own distinct characters in the story. The romance was a lot less prevalent than I expected but I still found their relationship cute. I also really enjoyed learning about the system of magic and magical artifacts. More thoughts to come closer to release date!

Hardcover | Currently Reading: Moonbound

Progress: 41%

Thoughts: Pros of being a moodreader: not feeling bound to a TBR. Cons of being a reader: actually have to figure out what you're in the mood for. Moonbound caught my interest after I saw it in a few yearly wrapups at the end of 2024. So much so that I put it in my list of 25 books to read in 2025. I randomly picked it up this week because I had no idea what I wanted to read. I love a story with a unusual narrator, so this story immediately captured my attention. The unique blend of far future SciFi and fairytale-esque elements is so intriguing. I am so interested to see how the story continues.

Audiobook | Currently Reading: Goddess of the River

Progress: 63%

Thoughts: I was so excited for the release of Goddes of the River and even more excited when it was an Illumicrate montly pick. So I have no idea why it has sat on my TBR for so long. Another victim of my 25 books to read in 2025 list, I was finally motivated to pick up the audiobook on Libby. The story is beautiful and Ganga's perspective is incredibly compelling. I am struggling more with the son's chapters. I find the destructive nature of his commitment to duty and "justice" intriguing, but I am really struggling to follow all of the different storylines and characters in his chapters. I have been studying the family tree at the front of the physical copy, but I might just have to accept that I am going to miss things.

Future Reading Plans:

I am determined to spend the rest of the year focusing on my priority and physical TBRs. There are still a few upcoming releases I have my eye on, but it should be easier to focus on the books I already own.

Instead of highlighting specific books I'm thinking of reading soon, I wanted to share my current progress on my "25 books to read in 2025" priority TBR. I'm not delusional enough to think that I can finish this list before the end of the year. So help me choose which books to prioritize! Or even which books you think I'm less likely to enjoy.

2025 New Releases To Add to the Top of Your TBR

I have read a lot of new releases this year. Some have been big wins and others have been major flops. It can be hard to keep track of all of the books that come out in a year so I wanted to highlight three of my standout favorites (so far).

Saltcrop by Yume Kitasei: I have been a huge Yume Kitasei fan since her debut The Deep Sky. I was highly anticipating the release of Saltcrop and it did not disappoint. Saltcrop is so many things. A heartfelt story of three sisters, a gripping adventure across dangerous waters, and an eerie dystopian with rich world-building. As a family centered climate adventure, this latest release is distinct from Kitasei's other books. I loved the sense of atmosphere that she created and the way the story moved between tender moments and tense action scenes.

The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson: The Raven Scholar is one of the strongest new fantasy releases I have read in a really long time. Filled with fascinating characters, engaging writing, a deadly competition, and a complicated mystery, this book is a shining example of everything that I love about the fantasy genre. I am obsessed with this book and it has not left my mind since I read it. I love everything: the uniquely magnificent narrator, the humor, the tension, the mystery, the comptetion, the characters, everything. This charmingly clever story has something that will appeal to almost any kind of fantasy reader. I cannot recommend it enough.

Voidwalker by SA Maclean: I have been betrayed by fantasy romance new releases with interesting premises many times this year. (I need someone to monitor my Libby holds and stop me from "just trying" another mediocre romantasy). So I have to include a fantasy romance that turned out to be a very pleasant surprise in my recommendations! Feisty, flirty, and fun, Voidwalker was an unexpected surprise! I was not a fan of the author’s debut, The Phoenix Keeper. However, I was cautiously optimistic for her sophomore novel as the premise sounded much more up my alley. Voidwalker immediately captured my attention. The humor and banter in this book are spot on. Maclean had me laughing from the dedication. The phenomenal flirting and tension had me itching to pick the book back up.

I would love to hear about your current reads! See you next week with more reading updates and book recommendations.

Happy reading!

Samantha (ladybug.books)

Hello friends, and welcome to my first Bindery newsletter! I am hoping to post these once a week to provide a little recap of my reading week, along with some book recommendations and books on my priority TBR. If there is anything else you would like to see in these newsletters, let me know!

Reading Updates:

Audiobook | Finished: Remarkably Bright Creatures

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thoughts: My mom has been trying to get me to read "the octopus book" for over a year at this point, and I finally got to it. It absolutely does not surprise me that my mom gave an amazing book recommendation. Remarkably Bright Creatures is a charming, heartfelt book about family, grief, community, and growing old. Marcellus' chapters were so unique and endearing. Though I love how everything came together, I found myself wishing for something to add an element of surprise to the story. The plot plays out exactly how you would expect. Though it is a very sweet story, it can feel a bit one note. Cameron's character was also quite grating at the beginning. Though I appreciate his growth.

Audiobook + Ebook | Finished: The Second Death of Locke

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Thoughts: I don't think you understand how high my hopes were for The Second Death of Locke. It was one of my most anticipated releases of the year—I really thought it would be a guaranteed five star read. It took me a month to read this because I just didn't care about the characters, the plot, certainly not the romance. It's not that I actively disliked this, but I just felt so indifferent towards the story to the point that I had to use the audiobook to force myself to finish. With the lady knight aesthetic, the cover, themes of devotion and betrayal, and comp to Gideon the Ninth, I was expecthing this story to pack so much more of a punch. It feels like this book played it too safe with almost everything, resulting in an underwhelming story that lacks tension. The characters are just nice. They're nice, kind, and in love to the point that they feel borderline one-dimensional. The romance lacked any tension because they were both clearly in love from the start. I was particularly disappointed in Grey as this "lady knight" character. I have a lot more thoughts in my full review on TikTok if you're interested. Long story short, I think this is my most disappointing read of the year so far.

Audiobook | Currently Reading: My Friends

Progress: 16%

Thoughts: The first ladybugs.mom audiobook recommendation I actually picked up was My Friends by Fredrik Backman. This story is incredible. I am absolutely loving the audiobook but I know that this is one that I want to read with my eyes so that I can tab all of the amazing lines about art, life, and friendship. I'm planning on starting over with the physical copy once I finish my current physical read.

Paperback (ARC) | Currently Reading: Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter

Progress: 60%

Thoughts: The Howl's Moving Castle vibes are strong with this current read. Too strong? Undecided. Heather Fawcett delivers another delightful cozy fantasy read, this time with lots of cats. This is a very heartwarming read so far and I love the choatic whimsy of the magic and the cat shelter. I do find myself wishing for a little bit more of a plot. I think I prefer the combination of cozy, romance, and magical action featured in the Emily Wilde series. Regardless, I am really enjoying it and hope to finish soon!

On my radar (possible next reads):

I recently found out that Cinder House is actually a novella! A queer, Gothic Cinderella retelling, this will be the perfect read for a moody fall evening.

The people are loving this and I could not be more excited to read it. The only other thing I have read from Marie Lu is the Skyhunter duology but that remains one of my favorite YA fantasy series. Urban fantasy with alchemy, I cannot wait to get started!

Fantasy Standalones Perfect For Fall:

I feel like I am constantly starting new, incomplete series and I can never catch up. Recently on my TikTok I recommended some completed series, but here I wanted to shout out something even rarer—fantasy standalones. I narrowed the list down to a few recommedations that I think would be perfect to read during the fall.

The Maiden and Her Monster by Maddie Martinez: This recent fantasy release beautifully weaves Jewish history and folklore together with a fantastical world. In order to save her mother from being accused of a crimes she didn't commit, young healer Malka journeys into the forest to find the monster that is stealing the village's young girls. In the forest, Malka stumbles across a monster, but not the one she expected. She makes a deal with this disgraced golem that gets her involved in politics, rebellion, sinister threats, and ancient magic. I highly recommend the audiobook in particular. The narrator does a fantastic job bringing Maddie's beautiful writing to life!

Year of the Reaper by Makiia Lucier: This YA fantasy story absolutely swept me away when I read it last year. In this book we follow Lord Cassia who returns home after being held prisoner in an enemy kingdom for years. A near death experience during his captivity has left him with the unusual ability to see the dead. His emotional return home is interuppted by an assassination attempt that sets the court on the trail of a terrible secret. I absolutely love this story. Cas is such a compelling main character and I loved watching him start his journey of healing. There are great family moments in this as well as a sweet romance subplot.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs: Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a tightly woven story of family, loyalty, and power. This book is a unique love letter to books that reminds me a lot of The Starless Sea (another great standalone). What I enjoyed the most was how everything connected together. None of the reveals were particularly shocking, but it is incredibly satisfying when an author effectively uses every single element of the story. I loved the book based magic system and I really appreciate how the author explored the topics of conservation, power, and control through the library and the books.

Have you read any of these books? I would love to hear your thoughts! See you next week with more reading updates and book recommendations.

Happy reading!

Samantha (ladybug.books)