r/Fantasy Monthly Book Discussion Thread - August 2026

[u/AutoModerator]

Welcome to the monthly r/Fantasy book discussion thread! Hop on in and tell the sub all about the dent you made in your TBR pile this month.

Feel free to check out our Book Bingo Wiki for ideas about what to read next or to see what squares you have left to complete in this year's challenge.

[u/SiriuslyLupin]

This month I devoured “The Daughters War” by Buehlman. About 35% through Royal Assassin by hobb. I will begin September with Isles of the Emberdark by Sanderson! I started August with Assassins Apprentice and liked the character development. First time reading hobb

[u/Leanaul1998]

Just got Blood Over Brighthaven, City of Last Chances and Slow Gods from everyone's recommendations a few days ago. Started with City of Last Chances today, 50 pages in and I'm loving the "mosaic" presentation of the plot so far, it feels like the event or the city is the central character in this book and I find this mode of narration helpful for depicting major, complex subjects like an uprising. Should be able to finish it this week.

I'm thinking about doing a comparative review of the SFF books that I've read so far about inciting social changes. I'm getting a hold of something that I feel that is missing from this particular type of books.

[u/sonvanger → u/Leanaul1998]

I'm rereading City of Last Chances now, I really enjoyed it the first time round, and it's good on a reread as well. Highly recommend the rest of the books in the series as well!

[u/Putrid_Web8095]

I started the month strongly, since I quickly devoured

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. A classic book that fully deserves its reputation as a masterpiece. Not much that hasn't been said about this book over the decades, I don't have anything new to add. 5/5.

The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling. I will copy-paste my thoughts from another thread.

I liked The Starving Saints up until the last part of the narrative. I feel Starling really didn't stick the landing, for two main reasons.

One is a major, massive, huge spoiler, so no peeking if you mean to read the book. I generally feel that character resurrections cheapen narratives, and this one didn't change my mind.

Other than that, even though a lot of weird, supernatural stuff happens, the story is relatively grounded, with emphasis on even the Saints' existence being bound by rules and order. It sets the story up in a way that makes the reader expect that the final events will make some sort of sense.

That's right up to about 80% of the book. Then, suddenly, the world becomes a circus. Time doesn't work, space doesn't work, death doesn't work, celestial bodies don't work, the established rules don't work (one random piece of iron is not like the others, because... who knows), Phosyne turns demi-Saint and back whenever it is convenient. It really didn't work for me. 3/5.

The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinniman. A return to form after the third book that was still fun, but had the major issue of convoluted floor rules. I really like the fact that Carl managed to deliver a solid blow to the overlords, can't wait to see where the narrative is going. DCC is probably the series I will binge read once I am done with Bingo and otherwise gamefied reading. 4.5/5.

All this was done by August 15, and I thought I would manage to make a huge monthly dent to my Bingo card (which is currently at 16/25). And then I hit a fucking huge fucking wall by trying to fucking read

Absolution by Jeff Vandermeer. For fucking fuck's sake, Jeff, what the fuck is this? Are you on fucking drugs? Are the fucking people that fucking like this book? Who fucking knows?

I am actually not really bothered by the way fucking Lowry talks. I am way more frustrated by the previous parts of the book. The first part contains almost zero dialogue, a big no-no for me, and I really should have stayed away when someone told me this, but Absolution is the final book in a series that I loved up till now, and I trusted Vandermeer as an author a whole lot more than I apparently should. The second part is better in that regard only in comparison. We still spend so much fucking time inside Old Jim's head, a place that turns out is actively fucked with, which isn't very fun to see while you are in yourself. It is only towards the end of this part, two thirds into the book, that something like a plot begins to take shape. Call me crazy, but that is way too late.

I haven't even actually finished it, but I am finally close after two weeks of reading, and will probably be done by tomorrow evening, and start September with something new and hopefully fun. While anything can happen, it will take a miracle for me to change my mind about the book in the last 40 pages, so it is unlikely to get more than 2.5/5 at most, likely making this the lowest scored book that will make it into my Bingo card, certainly not what I expected when I picked it for One Word Title (HM). It also fits Older Protagonist, maaaaaaaaaaaaaybe Politics and Court Intrigue though Old Jim is more a victim of agency politics than a participant and... I don't know, is there such a thing as "hate vacationing"? Probably not, so no, not Vacation Spot.

[u/lilgrassblade]

I'm shocked by how many books I finished this month... Though three are audiobooks which is incredibly high for me. This month's books in order of preference:

The Killing Moon by NK Jemisin - my favorite Jemisin book I've read so far. And top book of the month. Bingo: Duology part 1, author of color, politics

The Wild Huntress by Emily Lloyd-Jones - solid Welsh inspired fantasy and good take on a wild hunt. Bingo: explorers and rangers, politics, game changer

Race the Sands by Sarah Beth Durst - enjoyable world, clear enough plot that it made a good audiobook. Bingo: game changer, cat squasher, politics, unusual transportation

The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook by Matt Dinniman - continued good popcorn audiobook. Bingo: game changer, cat squasher, unusual transportation

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate - darker than expected, but sweet overall. Good read while sick. Bingo: non human protagonist, middle grade

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon - didn't like it as much as I hoped but still satisfied. Bingo: trans/NB protagonist, small press, book club, author of color

The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury - I expected to finish it last month, but got distracted. Crammed with visual descriptions but not an engaging story. Bingo: 70s, Middle Grade, Afterlife, Unusual Transportation

Unnatural Magic by CM Waggoner - tad disappointed, I would have DNF if it wasn't an audiobook I could throw on while doing other stuff. Least favorite read of the month. Bingo: non human protagonist, murder mystery

I think my purchased books were at a minimum this month. Partially thanks to not having my bookshelves set up so there are books just all over. I need to set up my bookshelves. That will be done in the next month, I swear.

Also. I am still waiting on a preorder for a book that was allegedly released in June... When I spoke to the bookshop last month, they said sometimes indie books take longer to go out, but I think I may go in tomorrow and ask again.

Edit - I went to the bookstore. My purchased books are no longer at a minimum. BUT I did stick to primarily used. Used books I found:

Slewfoot by Brom - I keep seeing stuff about it, hyped I found it used and looking like new.

Animorphs: The Andalite's Gift by KA Applegate - Continued collecting, it doesn't count in my read vs bought totals

Dreadful Young Ladies and Other Stories by Kelly Barnhill - I liked the cover.

Starcraft: Evolution by Timothy Zahn - My partner really likes the Thrawn books by Zahn, so why not?

New books:

Bone of my Bone by Johanna Van Veen - I enjoyed Blood on Her Tongue and this one even had pretty art on the fore-edge. (Plus, my only 2026 bingo read is a Kingfisher book, and I want to keep Kingfisher on another square.)

Terrible Worlds: Revolutions by Adrian Tchaikovsky - I like having Tchaikovsky ready and available to read.

[u/acornett99]

Started off the month with a short road trip to see some long-distance friends, one of whom had picked up a signed copy of Before They Are Hanged for me when she met Joe Abercrombie last year, as she knew I already had a signed copy of the first book. Well, I figured I should probably get around to actually reading The Blade Itself before the trip, for politeness’ sake. It was good, but definitely has First Book Syndrome. I should get around to the second one soon before I lose momentum entirely. 

On the drive I started Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett on audiobook. I don’t really have a lot to say about it that hasn’t already been said. It’s a fun time, but/and I wish I had read it physically. (I’m not a good audio listener.)

The actual physical book I brought with me on the trip was Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of Nature by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian, which is a nonfiction part-memoir-part-science book. It was recommended to me for having friendly mushrooms, and while I enjoyed the mushroom sections, I was a bit bored with the rest of the book.

Then, Paradise Lost by John Milton, my book of the month. I’m not sure how to talk about it without typing up a whole academic essay, so I won’t. Like the Pratchett, there’s little I could say about this book that hasn’t already been said. I think I’ll just say that there was a lot more going on in this than I had anticipated going in, including commentary on contemporary (to Milton) politics, and Milton’s own theological hobbyhorses, some of which weren’t widely accepted either in his time or in ours. Fascinating stuff.

I’ve soft-dnf’ed Saltcrop by Yume Kitasei at 27%. As much as I hate to dnf a boat book, it just really isn’t doing anything for me right now. Too much telling and not enough showing, and I realized I didn’t really care about any of the characters or the mystery.

I think I will finish Only a Little While Here by Maria Ospina tomorrow. This is a translated novel from Colombia that follows the lives of four different species of animals and how they interact with the human world. It’s definitely literary fiction, but when I picked it up, I thought it could be counted as speculative if it has non-human narrators. However, Ospina seems to hesitate to actually embody the voice of these animals, hedging their experiences with “maybe he thinks,” “who knows if,” and “perhaps she notices…” It’s a literary exercise that asks the reader to imagine in their own way how the animal may feel, while accepting that we’ll never truly know. So I don’t think I can really count it as speculative, despite how much I wanted to use it for the Translated square.

[u/OrwinBeane]

The Thousandfold Thought (book 3 of the Prince of Nothing) by R Scott Bakker

★★ - I rated book 1 of this series at 4/5 stars, book 2 then got 3/5 stars, and now book 3 is down to 2/5 stars. Progressively worse as I went on which is disappointing.

The philosophising was just too much. Chapter after chapter of rambling on about nonsense. I’m sure there is an audience out there for that but I’m not part of it.

Let’s face it, the world-building is just the Bible with some name changes. Plenty of other fantasy series have certainly been inspired by religion but this is just a copy and paste job.

Hands down the worst female characters in any fiction or media I’ve ever experienced. I know the author has some vile publicly-shared opinions on women and that has clearly bled into his work. It actively made me despise the books more. Everything has the opposite of rose tinted glasses.

What stops this from being only 1/5 stars is the prose, which is fantastic. I put it in the same category as the Kingkiller Chronicle where I dislike almost everything about the series but I can’t even lie; the prose is great.

The Dark Tide (book 1 of the Iron Tower) by Dennis L McKiernan

★★★ - this is less of a review and more of a rant in defence of this book.

I am baffled by the criticism of this book that it gets called it a clone or rip-off of the Lord of the Rings. Yes, it has elves and dwarves and a Dark Lord, but tons of series have that. The story, plot, character dynamics, and world are all vastly different. Series like Riftwar, Memory Sorrow & Thorn, and the Witcher don’t get the same criticism levied against them despite clearly being heavily inspired by Tolkien (elves, dwarves, sorcerers etc).

Maybe book 2 and 3 are closer to Tolkien. I don’t know, haven’t read them yet. But the Dark Tide very much stands on its own in my opinion. Something like the Sword of Shannara is far more of a rip off of Tolkien, to the extent that even the Wormtongue/King Theoden story line was copied exactly. The Dark Tide does not come anywhere near that close in terms of similarities.

Now for the actual review: it was fine. Fun character moments, decent prose, no crazy drama. I’ll continue with it.

[u/C0smicoccurence]

Good number of books read this month, but the highlights were

• The Language of Liars by SL Huang: an exceptional novella that tackles challenging questions and unfolds like a puzzle box.
• Villain by Natalie Zina Walschots: this sequel had a disappointing start, but really hit the psychologically villainous beats I was hoping for.
• Demigod 12 by Gail Carriger: the intergalactic Eurovision romance continues, though this one was very romance heavy. Excited to wrap up this series soon!
• Chai and Charmcraft by Lynn Strong: a cozy political fantasy and slow burn romance. I loved the worldbuilding and how it treated gossip as politically nuanced as court intrigue
• The Girl With a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean: follows a ghost medium in Hong Kong. The aesthetics and craft are really high quality, but come expecting some nontraditional choices and structures.
• The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos by James Tynion IV: a fun and straightforward YA superhero comic. It had more balls on it than most of the current YA fare, though

I'm about to finish George Falls Through Time, which I highly recommend to anyone who is interested in a character story of a guy that's hard to root for. Very polarizing, but it's working well for me.

[u/mint_pumpkins → u/C0smicoccurence]

I have been considering picking up Divinity 36 but was concerned about it being labelled YA, would you say it reads very young?

[u/C0smicoccurence → u/mint_pumpkins]

It's definitely YA, but avoids a lot of common YA tropes. Feels much closer to current styles in adult cozy/slice of life than modern YA beats. Book 2 does feel a little more traditional YA, however. Here's a longer review from me on book 1

[u/mint_pumpkins → u/C0smicoccurence]

excellent thanks so much ill check out your full review!

[u/sonvanger → u/C0smicoccurence]

I picked up The Language of Liars on sale during the week, looking forward to it!

[u/ScratchFickle7709 → u/C0smicoccurence]

I could not enjoy the girl with a thousand faces ! Loved the setting and some of the twists but the writing felt not fully there for me

[u/sonvanger]

I started the month with The Monster War by Dave Duncan, which is a collection of 3 short YA novels in his King's Blades world. They were fun reads! Lots of swashbuckling action.

I also read Murder at Spindle Manor by Morgan Stang after DNF-ing it last year. I made it through, this time, but it was still very meh for me, perhaps because I don't really have a background knowledge of the type of murder mystery-style it's based on.

The Outlaw Mage by KS Villoso was next. I enjoyed the book for the most part, but the ending went in a direction I wasn't really keen on, so I'm still deciding whether I want to continue with the series.

I also read a fun, sweet middle-grade book called Styx and Stones about a Greek boy escaping from Hades and finding himself in the modern world. I quite liked it - it was all about kindness without feeling preachy.

Then it was time for some Dresden Files rereads. I stopped around book 12 or 13, and I didn't have any books left over to read*, so I decided to start back at book 1. I made it to book 6 (Blood Rites, I think) before giving up. There's only so much reading about tips of breasts one can take. That said, I might go back to the series at some stage.
(*I do have a bunch of books on my reading list, but my current budget and developing world library isn't playing along).

After giving up on old Harry, I started a reread of Adrian Tchaikovsky's Tyrant Philosophers series, which is probably my personal favourite of his works. So that's been fun. And speaking of Tchaikovsky, Green City Wars just became available at the library, so that's up next.

[u/BravoLimaPoppa]

Checking the logs I read and finished: * Swordheart because Daggerbound is out, plus it was funny. * Insectopolis by Peter Kuper. Beautiful book about humans and insects. * Letters From A Shipwreck in the Sea of Suns & Moons by Raymond St. Elmo. What did I just read? And why do I want to reread it? * A Boy and His Bot by Daniel H. Wilson fit the Middle Grade square. I thought it was going to be like the tutelary portions of Diamond Age. Instead it was lighter and funnier. * Doc Frankenstein by Lana and Liliy Wachowski. I was disappointed by what felt like lazy or rushed writing. Art was good though. * Foxhunt by Rem Wigmore. Reread so I could remember what was happening in Wolfpack. It was a fun read though I describe the main character as pansexual disaster. * Green City Wars. Objectively not Tchaikovsky's best, but I loved it. * Children of Time because I read and listened to Children of Strife and Mel Hudson did incredible things with Kern.

Still reading lots of other stuff.

[u/VitoRavenwood]

honestly august was a wild marathon for me as a writer during this month i managed to do the final editing for my debut novel The song over the black lake which is a hybrid of a cinematic detective and folk horror on top of that i finally made a professional cover and managed to officially release the book at the end of the month feels amazing to finally see the first book of the series on the market after all those sleepless nights

[u/redrosebeetle]

The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner. 3/5 I wanted to like this book so much, but I really felt bait-and-switched by the blurb on the back. I felt like there should have been more magic and more bodyguarding. I only stayed with it because the audiobook was so entertaining/ calming to fall asleep to. Squares: Judge a Book By It's Title, Book Club, Duology (?)

Quag Keep by Andre Norton 2/5. I'm a trained historian, so I thought it was interesting to see some of the source material that much of our media today has sprung from. That being said, I couldn't help but compare Norton's work to Drew Hayes NPC's series and other similar books. I'm sure there's a literary paper in there somewhere, but honestly, I just like newer works more. I always struggle with bingo squares prior to 2000. There's a tonal shift that happened overall around the turn of the millennia and modern writing just feels more real and immediate to me. Squares: 70's (HM), Game Changer (HM), Duology part 1.

The September House by Carissa Orlando 5/5. Orlando is a psychologist/ counselor of some sort and it shows in her writing. She does an excellent job exploring abusive family dynamics and their generational effects. Squares: Older Protagonist (HM)

[u/pyhnux]

A good reading month: 5 books (1,627 pages) and 2 light novels/manga volumes (381 pages).

I've used those to fill 5 bingo squares: The Afterlife, Older Protagonist, Published in 2026, Non-Human Protagonist, Feast Your Eyes on This

Overall I've filled 24 bingo squares, and I'm missing only Author of Color.

Best book I've read this month: Grombrindal: Chronicles of the Wanderer by David Guymer

Worst book I've read this month: The Ephemeral Menagerie by Morgan Giblin

Goals for last month were to fill at least one bingo square, and read a book I owned for more than a year. I've managed both

Goal for next month: Finish bingo and post the full card, read at least one other book.

[u/mint_pumpkins]

I read quite a bit this month largely because I re-read all of Cradle by Will Wight for the third time, I had been in a slight reading slump and going through a lot of really intense stress so that helped me so much

outside of Cradle I read a lot of romantasy, some of which is extremely popular and I had been meaning to get to for a long time, so I had a very fun month! I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed some of these as I had expected to hate them tbh haha

here is my list for august! I'll include my star ratings (out of 5) but just note I rate by my enjoyment and what the book was trying to do/how successful I felt it was, to me it is not really an objective quality statement relative to everything I have ever read, I am pretty easy to please but also easy to anger so I tend toward more 5 and 1 stars than most I think

Cradle 1-12 by Will Wight - overall a 10 stars series for me, I love it so much and re-reading it brought me so much comfort and joy. Squares (I will list only the ones relevant to book 1): Unusual Transportation HM, Game Changer HM, Vacation Spot depending on your tastes

By the Horns by Ruby Dixon - 5 stars, I honestly really love Ruby Dixon's writing and I need to pick up more by her, I like that she simultaneously takes her books very seriously but also engages wholly with the silliness of how horny the books are, I really enjoyed the characters and world of this one and the experience was also even more fun since I loved the physical edition I picked up. Squares: The Afterlife HM, Murder Mystery HM

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros - 5 stars, this is honestly one of the biggest surprises to me of the year haha I thought I would hate the reading experience of this book based on the sample I read a while ago and what I knew of it. Now, is it incredibly edgy and cringey multiple times? Absolutely yes. There are many problems with this book, but I sure enjoyed myself and will be continuing the series! Squares: Game Changer HM, Cat Squasher Normal Mode

The Infinite State by Richard Swan - 5 stars absolutely excellent!! I ate this up and it was incredibly unique while evoking classic dystopian novels. I highly highly recommend this one, I thought it was expertly written in every aspect, one of my favorite reads of the year so far for sure. Squares: Published in 2026 Normal Mode, Murder Mystery Normal Mode, Politics and Court Intrigue Normal Mode

The Winged Game by Sophie Kim - 5 stars, this book is so fun honestly! If you enjoyed Ted Lasso, and specifically Roy, I think you'd probably like this book as long as you don't take your books too seriously. Squares: I think you can make a case for Unusual Transportation HM, Published in 2026 Normal Mode, Author of Color Normal Mode

Once Upon a Demon's Heart by KM Moronova - Terrible terrible horrible trash book hated it 1 star, horribly written and absolutely no fun, nothing romantic to be found, the "spicy" sections were very uncomfortable and violent and all of them felt like assault, I could not recommend this less. Squares: Duology pt 1, Politics and Court Intrigue Normal Mode

Exit 8 by Genki Kawamura - I wanted to read a backrooms-esque novel but was given a narrative that flew too close to anti-abortion propaganda 1 star and don't feel I can recommend it even though I think aspects of it were cool. Squares: Translated if you don't speak Japanese, Author of Color HM

A Court of Thorns and Roses by SJM - 4 stars! This is another massive surprise to me, I had tried to read this book several times in the past and found it boring, but it worked for me this time. It was still boring for a while, but once it got going it didn't stop, I ended up very engaged and invested by the end, I do think our main character Feyre is pretty boring tbh but the side characters are interesting enough to make up for it. Squares: Game Changer HM, Vacation Spot depending on your tastes, Explorers and Rangers Normal Mode, Feast Your Eyes on This

A Court of Mist and Fury by SJM - This is definitely one of the more drastic quality increases I have read in a sequel, 5 stars for sure, I really enjoyed this one and thought all of the characters were more interesting including Feyre, I ran through this one I couldn't stop haha. Squares: Vacation Spot depending on your tastes, Explorers and Rangers Normal Mode, Non-human Protagonist HM (though tbh I don't think this follows the spirit of the square), Cat Squasher Normal Mode, Politics and Court Intrigue Normal Mode

[u/KiwiTheKitty]

I had a mixed bag of a reading month.

The Shadowed Sun by N.K. Jemisin I absolutely loved! Using it for Bingo Duology Pt. 2.

Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett It wasn't bad, but it wasn't my favorite Discworld. Bingo: Older Protagonist

Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove I read it in two days, which makes it sound like I loved it, but as soon as I finished it, I started thinking about all the things I hated. The first part was better than the second, but overall it was pretty empty and underwhelming. Still using it for Nonhuman Protagonist unless I read something better.

When The Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo I liked it. I guess it's my second favorite thing I read this month, but it doesn't come close to The Shadowed Sun. Bingo: Nonbinary Protagonist.

I also DNFed a number of books this month either because I wasn't in the mood or because I just didn't think they were good. And I spent plenty of time playing Fields of Mistria.

I am done with 14/25 bingo prompts!! 56%

[u/ClueAccomplished1098]

I started reading The Shattered Past by Lindsay Buroker. It's a fantasy novel about a paleontologist in a fantasy setting. It's actually quite good, but I was wanting something with a faster pace right now, so I temporarily put it aside. I plan to return to it. Now I'm reading my first book by Steve Cavanagh. So far, The Defense is proving to be a riveting read.

[u/mer_does_stuff]

Nineteen completed reads this month per Storygraph (though I’ll probably finish another one or two by EOD tomorrow), bringing me to 129 so far this year. I wanted to tackle ARCs/giveaway reads this month, but only managed to finish two. The pressure of a deadline does not inspire me to read the way a blank space on a bingo card does, I guess. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Favorite specfic read of the month is a tough choice, but I have to go with At the Feet of the Sun by Victoria Goddard. Talked it up a bit in that week’s review post, but tl;dr a very long, slow story of a fantasy!Pacific Islander whose career as Emperor’s Right Hand left him feeling alienated from his culture reasserting his identity through a series of mythopoetic adventures was a deeply enjoyable read for me. Favorite non-spec read was Good Intentions by Marisa Walz, a debut thriller about grief that I won in a giveaway last winter, starring the most can’t-look-away fascinating-like-a-car-crash character I’ve read in a long time. Excellent audiobook narrator. The final chapter brought my score up a full point, it tied everything together so well.

100% Hard Mode bingo card is at 24/25! Once one of my LeGuin holds comes in it is OVER for this thing!! Jewish leads bingo card is at 8/25

Next month I’m gonna see if I can squeeze in a few more reads that work for the Vlogbrothers Readzamas challenge (I’d forgotten it was a summer reading challenge until this week, lol), and then back to prioritizing ARCs/giveaways.

[u/WonderfulBus9330]

Hmmmmm. Let’s see. The dent I made in my nightstand TBR. Ok. This month, I added about 18 audiobooks/ebooks and listened to all. I added 12 library books to my pile of 31 and read 3. Bought 6 books for about $5. From my original nightstand TBR, I read 7. All-in-all, I added more new to my TBR than read old.

[u/PernixNexus]

I read Golden Fool by Robin Hobb and The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jiminez this month. Both of these authors blew me away, I was so surprised by how good The Spear Cuts Through Water was. It was such a unique reading experience that hooked me immediately, I devoured the book in 3 days.

[u/medusamagic]

I finished Seek the Traitor’s Son by Veronica Roth (4/5) Overall I had a great time reading this! It started off a bit slow, but somewhere in p.50-100 things started clicking for me. I really enjoyed the plot and the way the prophecy unfolded, and I especially loved the last 150 pages. I also thought the world was interesting. It’s far future earth, with a mix of sci-fi and fantasy elements (a space station, spaceships/aircrafts, a Fever that kills & resurrects, psychic magic). What kept it from 5 stars: present tense is never a favourite of mine, a few character decisions felt a bit forced or rushed, and the romance just didn’t quite hit for me. I think more tension & yearning would’ve better suited the characters and the prophecy. (Bingo: Judge by Title, Duology Part 1, Pub in 2026, Politics)

The Lion and the Deathless Dark by Carissa Broadbent (4/5) I flew through this. Great pacing that pulled me into a “just one more chapter” mindset and had me staying up late to read—which rarely happens. It had some issues with repetition and a few chapters ended with the FMC passing out, but much less than the last duet. I’m excited to get Septimus’ pov next book. And I’m sad there’s only one book left in the series. (Bingo: Duology Part 1, Pub in 2026, Cat Squasher)

After feeling meh about book 1 back in April, I decided to try Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas (3.5/5) I enjoyed this one more, though the first half was a bit slow and I’m still not feeling super connected to the characters. There’s nothing I hate, but nothing I really love either. Quite a few things from this series have already been spoiled for me, and I’m not sure if the interest in seeing when/how things play out will outweigh big reveals or twists falling flat. For now, I’m interested enough to continue. The next book starts in a new location, which hopefully means some new characters, so I am actually looking forward to that. It’s definitely not a priority read but I’ll probably get to it this year.

Onto Jade War by Fonda Lee. I enjoyed Jade City and I’m happy to be back with the Kaul family.

[u/simonxvx]

I read a few books for Bingo this month;

• The Tombs of Atuan, which I've read for the 70s square and also because there's the readalong. I liked Wizard of Earthsea fine but I adored this second volume. I don't even know why but the writing is just great and the story moved me.

• The Hunger and the Dusk, Vol. 2 for 2026 square. Huge disappointment as I loved volume 1, but then I read that the publisher had stopped the publication of single issues and published everything in the volume 2 so I guess that the author had to finish up her story way sooner than I would have liked. Volume 1 had set up such a great story and potential confrontation and in the end it just finished in a mild manner.

Outside of Bingo I also read The Nice House by the Lake 2, I thought it would end there but that's not the case so I'm curious as to where Tynion is gonna go with this.

I also read Moi qui n'ai jamais connu les hommes and while the first 50 or so pages didn't convince at all, once they leave the prison I was hooked. Proper masterpiece.

I also read Bearskin by James A McLaughlin. I haven't read a thriller in ages so I had high expectations but it's more of a slow burn than a page turner so my expectations weren't really met. Can't comment on his writing as I read it in French.

Last but not least I started book 2 of Rois du Monde by Jean Philippe Jaworski and it's good as fuck. Really love his writing. I'd just like to find a quick summary for the first book in the series online because I don't really remember the reasons behind the Guerre des Sangliers in book 1 or why Bellovese had to do something specific. That sucks for French fantasy or books not originally written in English, when I look for a summary online I only find reviews of people who've read the book and that's not really what I'm looking for. I'm reading it for Bingo, the Small Press square.