Fantasy – BOOK:30

The Everlasting, by Alix E. Harrow

10 pages into The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow, I wondered to myself – as I have with each of her books – how does she do this? How does she manage to so effectively paint a scene with words that sometimes don’t seem to go together, but do, and so beautifully?

How does she strike a tone that is epic, yet intimate, humorous, yet heartbreaking?

The Everlasting is a gorgeous book that takes you apart and puts you back together, and not gently, but wonderfully enough that you would happily do it all over again.

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The Knight and the Moth, by Rachel Gillig

Rachel Gillig’s The Knight and the Moth is so much bigger and better than the “romantasy” box it’s being marketed into. Yes, there is romance, but it’s a subplot that comes second to the complex, compelling fantasy world Gillig has built.

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A Sorceress Comes to Call, by T. Kingfisher

T. Kingfisher’s A Sorceress Comes to Call is billed as a “dark retelling” of the Grimm fairytale The Goose Girl, but while there are some shared elements (a false bride, a horse named Falada, and some geese), there are no straight parallels. This book is perhaps more “inspired by” The Goose Girl than anything, which is fine because it’s still something altogether wonderful.

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The Familiar, by Leigh Bardugo

Leigh Bardugo’s The Familiar is a dreamy, complex, well-structured story of miracles and magic, ambition and love, set in 16th-century Madrid during the Spanish Inquisition. Equal parts fantasy, romance, and historical fiction, this book was a delight to the senses and one to truly savor.

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Revelle, by Lyssa Mia Smith

Lyssa Mia Smith’s debut Young Adult fantasy, Revelle, is filled with magic, mystery, and romance, and manages to infuse tender messages about families – the ones we have, and the ones we make – into the cinematic world of the book.

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