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magicofthepen · 2 years

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Five books I want to read this year

tagged by @sparklingdocta, thank you! 😊

This is extremely hard to answer because I have over 50 books on my 2022 TBR list (and actually many are the first in a series, so definitely more than 50 books).

(yeah I likely won’t get to all of them, but hopefully I’ll get through at least a good chunk of the list? I keep seeing cool books and going ooh shiny!! and adding them to the list oops.)

So to narrow it down, I’ve decided to only list books here that are coming out this year. But even with that restriction, I’m still gonna list ten books instead of five. 😄

All of these are either standalones or the first in a series (and they’re either YA or adult SFF because that’s what I like to read!) Titles link to Goodreads (I’ve done my best to summarize the blurbs, but the full ones are there), and I also listed the release date for each book!

1. The Kindred by Alechia Dow (January 4)

I love books with science fantasy vibes, and this one has mind bonds between nobles and commoners and an escape and crash-landing in a spaceship, so I am very 👀. (There might be a sci-fi explanation for the mind bonds? But still! The vibes!) Also features nobility drama—royal assassinations and false accusations!— and a love story between a fat, Black, queer woman and a brown, queer man.

2. Fire Becomes Her by Rosiee Thor (February 3)

I am very into politics in fantasy, so I’m really excited to pick this one up! It’s a Jazz Age (1920s, U.S.)-inspired YA fantasy—a world where magic buys votes, and a MC who’s get involved in a political campaign to elevate her status, but has to figure out where her loyalties lie. Includes multiple arospec and/or acespec characters!

3. Blood Scion by Deborah F. Savoy (March 2)

This books is full of rage against colonization and is inspired by Yoruba-Nigerian mythology, and I’m very 👀 about it! It’s a dark YA fantasy about a teenager with fire magic who’s forced to be a soldier. If her powers are discovered, she’ll be killed, but she plans to use her forced conscription as a chance to destroy the brutal regime from within.

4. Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore (March 8)

Magical world under a lake? Characters who haven’t spoken in years who suddenly have to work together? Sign me up! The two MCs (both nonbinary, Latinx, neurodivergent teenagers) are the only people in their town who have visited this mythical world under the lake—but when the boundaries between the two worlds blur, they’re forced to team up to keep them separate (and their own secrets hidden).

5. The City of Dusk by Tara Sim (March 22)

Queer epic fantasy!! The four gods of the world have withdrawn their favor from the city, and all the realms are dying. The four heirs to the gods—a necromancer, and elementalist, a shadow-wielding rogue, and a soldier—must ally to save the city. I’m very intrigued by how this book (slash series) twists the chosen one trope—the MCs were chosen by the gods, but the gods abandoned them—and now the MCs are saying screw you, we’ll save our world anyways.

6. The Blood Trials by Nia Davenport (March 30)

My love of science fantasy strikes again! This one’s about a young Black woman harboring secret blood magic who pledges herself to deadly trials to become an elite warrior—because her grandfather’s been murdered, and surviving the trials is the best way to find out who killed him. I keep hearing really good things about this one, I’m excited to pick it up!

7. Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel (April 26)

I love mythology retellings, particularly ones that center women, so of course this one ended up on my list! This one is a retelling of the story of the vilified queen from the Indian epic the Ramayana. Kaikeyi grows up hearing stories about the gods, but they never answer her calls for help. Instead, she discovers her own magic and becomes a powerful queen—but her path defies the destiny the gods chose for her family, and she has to decide if resisting is worth it.

8. Under Fortunate Stars by Ren Hutchings (May 10)

I love the time travel premise of this one! A research vessel rescues a run-down freighter and discovers the crew are legends from their own history. Meanwhile, the crew of the freighter was running from a war and fell through a strange rift—and the ship that rescued them claims to be from their future. Time crunch as both ships are stuck in the rift and running out of power! History isn’t what they think it is! Queer space opera with ensemble cast!

9. Silk Fire by Zabé Ellor (July 5)

Dragons, necromancers, corrupt politics….very much want to read this epic fantasy! It’s about a courtesan who tries to sabotage his aristocratic father’s campaign—but his involvement in politics gets more intense after he gets draconic powers from a dying god. Features queer characters and polyamory!

10. The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean (August 9)

This premise sounds so good, and I’m into the intense family relationships! This one’s a contemporary fantasy about a secret group that eats books—and retains their content after devouring them. The main character grew up only allowed to eat books “for women”—but now her son has a darker power, and the simple stories she’s been told all her life are not enough. It’s about motherhood and queer identity, sacrifice and hope, and the way stories are used to control people.

tagging: @sircarolyn, @whoteacheswho, @presidentromana, @isolatedphenomenon, @oflightningandstars, @custardhoneybee, @mistressoakdown, @loombarrow, @gallifrogs, @best-enemies, @mayagender, @thebraxiatelcollection

#god there are so many really intriguing SFF books being published!!#i want to read them all!!#books #ramblings #tag games

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