This sweeping fantasy adventure delves deeply into questions of identity, sacrifice, and freedom. So queer, so artful, so delicate, so exceptional. I love this book fiercely, and you will too.
Rebecca
In Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors, Sonali Dev creates a vibrant modern Pride and Prejudice retelling that manages to feel fresh. Trisha Raje is a prominent neurosurgeon and DJ Caine is a rising-star chef who quits his job and moves to California because his sister is sick. The two collide—explosively—throughout the novel, and the tension and slow burn will keep you reading and wondering what will happen even if you know how Pride and Prejudice ends. I flew through it, captured by the tension, the well-developed characters and families, and the many, many descriptions of DJ's cooking. Bonus: The sequel comes out at the end of May!
April
Glorious!
Robin
This new translation of Beowulf is everything the version you (perhaps begrudgingly) read in high school was not. The language is fresh and florid, brimming with alliteration and bravado and modern slang. Headley translates the characters of this age-old poem into people we can recognize, instead of the granite giants of legend. It is, in a word, readable, and delightfully so. Her introduction is also its own work of art; it would be worth the purchase for that alone.
Meaghan
January Scaller lives a quiet, lonely life in her guardian's mansion, waiting for her father to return from his trips around the world and longing to go on adventures with him, until the day she discovers a mysterious book. The book tells the story of a star-crossed romance that spans multiple worlds, and before long, January realizes that this story is entwined with her own. Ten Thousand Doors is a beautiful love letter to portal fantasies and the power of the written word.
Ari
Easily one of the best books of the year! Paul and Julian will push and pull at your heartstrings with the expertise of grandmasters, and months after reading their twisted tale I am unable to evict them from my head. Initially skeptical of the comparison to The Secret History, this Tartt devotee is a convert to Nemerever's achingly rendered world, which effortlessly lives up to the billing.
Caleb
Plain Bad Heroines was not just up my alley, but had packed a bag and moved into my bedroom. A short list of things you’ll find in this novel; curses, lesbians, gilded-age society scandals, yellow jackets, a heaping dose of snark, multiple narratives that weave together beautifully, footnotes, historic queer icons, and the nagging sense that the line between what’s real and what isn’t has been blurred.This is the sort of New England Gothic that I can never get enough of. It’s the perfect autumn read for you and your best friend that you’re secretly in love with, trust me.
Katherine
Spend your January under blankets and a hot cup of coffee with this delightful time traveling book which takes place in a small cafe in Tokyo.
I've been a huge fan of Nina MacLaughlin for ages and this book blew me away. It's shocking, enraging, beautiful, and heartfelt. I loved this.
Heather
Even if you didn’t live through the 80s, Paper Girls exudes a peculiar mix of nostalgia and foreboding that perfectly encapsulates existing in the world today. Especially as a young person. Though the story centers around four twelve-year-old girls, I’d say a myriad of ages could enjoy it, from teens to adults. I’ve never really considered myself a “sci-fi person” but I’m already on volume 5 of this series and I’m hooked. So even if a sci-fi graphic novel is not your go-to genre, give it a shot!
Janaea
