Reading Round-up: March 2021

Some of my favorite reads of the year so far, strongly leaning to romance, fantasy, and urban fantasy.

A Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec

A long post about this book is coming next week, and I also mentioned it in my feminist re-imaginings roundup last week. Obviously I really, really liked this book. It’s probably my favorite book I’ve read in an age, lyrical, strange, and casting new light on old myths. Go check it out. Fantasy, Mythology.

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

I almost didn’t review this book in the round-up this month, not because I didn’t enjoy it. I did. Reading this brought to mind my own experiences in women-only spaces and how healing they can be even as they teach you how to be stronger. And of course, every time I read these books I’m left wanting more, with questions about the world and what happens next. But there were some weird things with regards to pregnancy in this story that left me cold, especially at the end of the book. So trigger warnings and caveats for that whole subplot. Fantasy, Romance.

Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard

This novella is a really lovely meditation on how sometimes something can look like love but isn’t, one that dips into geopolitics with the deftness I’d expect of de Bodard. My biggest critique is honestly that it ended too soon. My hope is that the author will pursue a sequel with these characters and this world that digs more into the politics, battles, and intrigue that is obviously all here. Fantasy, Romance, LGBTQ.

Paladin’s Strength by T. Kingfisher

February was awesome because there was a new T. Kingfisher book in the world. I am obsessed with pretty much everything Kingfisher writes, and Paladin’s Strength was no exception. This book is a sequel to Paladin’s Grace, but you don’t necessarily have to have read that book. It’s a delightful romantic adventure featuring lots of corpses and a werebear, so if that’s your speed I heartily recommend. Fantasy, Romance.

Calculated Risks by Seanan McGuire

InCryptid is probably my favorite Seanan McGuire universe, so of course I gobbled down this book. This picks up directly after Imaginary Numbers, and you really need to have read all of the Price family books to appreciate it fully, but could get away with only reading Imaginary Numbers if you desperately needed to. As always, the adventures are larger than life, pressing the bounds of the imagination, a fact I appreciate about McGuire as a writer. Also I need a shirt that says “I love Greg” with Greg the spider on it. Urban Fantasy.

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