The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

This ended up in my hands courtesy of the 14 year old, who pressed it to me and said “you have to read it.” And of course I read it. It’s pretty nice, as modern fantasy goes, actually. The first in the Folk of the Air series.

The Hum and the Shiver By Alex Bledsoe

This book has a wonderful premise, and then the writing by Bledsoe is just so sophomorically bad that it is painful. 

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

2025

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

2022

The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang

2018

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

2019

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

Vintage, 2008

I read this when it came out in 2008 and was blown away. 

I decided to read it again and see if it holds up, and it really does. 

The themes of connection, trust, love, cynicism in a modern world, and the frame tales kept me spellbound.

Andrew Davidson knocked it out of the park and carved narratives into my soul.