Reading Round-up: July/August 2026

Oh, summer. Here are the reads that kept me sane between the birthday parties, cookouts, and rampant good times.

All Hail Chaos by Sarah Rees Brennan

I mean, what an appropriate title for the season, right? This summer has been a bit tumultuous on nearly every level of my life, to the despair of many of my associates. Utterly appropriate to kick that period off with this read. While All Hail Chaos felt a little repetitive to book one at points, I absolutely enjoyed it. And the ending was to die for. (Fantasy, Portal Story, Horror)

The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden

Katherine Arden never fails to impress. She is one of my go-to writers at this point, and The Unicorn Hunters felt like a breath of fresh air. Some of the most memorable books I’ve read this year have been meditations on leadership and the costs of being who you must be and doing the right thing. This book spends a lot of time on the imagination involved in trying to overcome impossible situations, and the distant lands to which imagination can take us. It’s also a wonderfully researched and written historical fantasy, and yes, there is a unicorn. (Fantasy, Historical)

Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods

I really ended up loving this book, ironically located very close in genre and geographical location to The Unicorn Hunters, an unplanned bit of serendipity that made it even more enjoyable. I am very into the idea of mermaid tales, but rarely find one that is quite executed as I hoped. I enjoyed the twists this one took me on — it felt fresh and original despite playing off of some very old tropes. (Fantasy, Historical)

The Mercy Makers by Tessa Gratton

This book, y’all. Just. Occasionally you read one that rocks your dome, and this one is that. I have loved Tessa Gratton for a long time, ever since I discovered her through a tweet back in ye olde Twitter days. This novel, which is definitely adult (Gratton has previously written a lot of YA) is a rollercoaster. Everything about it feels transgressive, and I have no idea how to describe it. There are no comps. A mad-scientist-cum-magician named Silk falls in love with the puritanical religious leader set to kill her dad for crimes she committed. This is definitely a major part of the plot. It in no way captures what is going on. There are dead/undead gods, a city that feels like a beating heart, so much very hot sex, an unreal bodycount…honestly, one of the reviewers called this a fever dream and yes, that is the best way to describe it. A glorious one. I cannot wait to see where the second book will go. (Fantasy, LGBTQ+)

Daggerbound by T. Kingfisher

Last but not least, I finished the new T. Kingfisher! I can’t lie, I’ve been waiting for this book since Swordheart first came out. It could have definitely been a middle book, but the characters, as usual, leapt from the page. I absolutely love Kingfisher, not least because she usually makes me laugh out loud at least once a book, usually multiple times. This book was no exception. (Fantasy, LGBTQ+)

A special note

My new book came out this week! If you haven’t checked it out yet, all the links are here.