Read THE MERMAID, THE WITCH & THE SEA by Maggie Tokuda-Hall if you love ships, arranged marriages, queer love, mermaids (obvi), the sea as a character, the horrors of colonialism, learning to read, genderfuckery, good soup, learning your own magic, escape, comeuppance & doilies.
Read PALADIN'S GRACE by T. Kingfisher if you love crises of faith, tremendous loss, feeling broken beyond repair, trudging onward, perfume, meet cutes but make them deadly, killers on the loose, gingerbread, best friends, political intrigue, assassination attempts, amazing kisses & civets.
Read DEFEKT by Nino Cipri if you love big box stores, Corporate America, being overworked, employee handbooks, feeling broken & alone, taking a sick day, special projects, calezones, defective merchandise, found family, finding your super power & "Clair de Lune."
Read IN THE DREAM HOUSE by Carmen Maria Machado if you love haunted houses, gut wrenchingly beautiful prose, autobiographical accounts, trauma narratives, exceedingly queer stories, a meticulous exploration of abuse, thematic echoes & brilliantly structured books.
Read THE FRAGILE THREADS OF POWER by V.E. Schwab if you love old friends, new friends, strong tea, being a hero, rebellions, running away, heists, chronic illness, magic items, sacrifices, festivals, markets, crowded shops, mirrors, f**ked up families & seeing what others do not.
Read A GATHERING OF SHADOWS by V.E. Schwab if you love magical tournaments, secret identities, political intrigue, lovers' reunions, shared pain, rebirth, masks, pirate ships, learning who you are, dysfunctional families, impossible decisions & body modifications.
My brain is currently a mess (whomst among us is not floundering while the world burns), and you know what that means: COMFORT REREADS. I'm revisiting THE SHADES OF LONDON series by V.E. Schwab before I read THE FRAGILE THREADS OF POWER.
Read A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC if you love traveling between parallel worlds, interesting magic systems, collecting trinkets, pickpockets, plagues, night markets, masquerades, the river Thames, dive bars, fancy coats, too many knives, lucky kisses, queer dynamics & secrets.
Read STARLING HOUSE by Alix E. Harrow if you love houses as characters, small coal towns, familial trauma, bisexuals, dingy motel rooms, creepy childrens' books, searching for home, tattoos, intense longing, terrifying beasts, the neglected & abandoned, and unsettling dreams.