Cozy – Marked for Plot

Remarkably Bright Creatures – I Get the Hype … I Don’t Share It

This book was pretty far out of my wheelhouse, but it’s relentlessly good press plus my desire to stretch outside my comfort zone – this is so close to being realistic fiction in entirety – got me to pick it up. Octopuses are awesome, so what’s not to love? I left the book pretty torn: I understand why it worked for so many people, and I think if I were a bigger fan of realistic fiction I’d have enjoyed it. As it is, this was a slog to finish, despite really enjoying some significant chunks of the book.

Read If Looking For: heartfelt family stories, lovable old ladies, an octopus smarter than the humans who are stumbling through the plot

Avoid If Looking For: xenofiction to be the focal point, characters to communicate with each other

Comparable Media: A Man called Ove, Shadow Life

An Inexplicable Act of Doom – Percy Jackson, but Make it Gay

I grew up loving Greek Mythology and imagining that half the characters in the books I read were actually gay. I would have loved An Inexplicable Act of Doom, and wish more books like this had been published when I was a kid. While written with kids in mind, I think adults looking for a more low-key reading experience will enjoy it a lot as well. Plus who doesn’t love a sweet romance between a god of your inevitable and unexpected doom with a guy who’s supposed to perish horribly while flying through the air on mechanical wings?

Read if Looking For: harmless bickering, Greek Gods as narcissistic assholes, cozy adventures, witch Aunties who give great advice

Avoid if Looking For: typo-free books, positive depictions of Theseus, nuanced or complex themes & characters

Disclosure: I was asked to be an ARC reader for this book in exchange for an honest review, though I think this was closer to a final Beta-Read than a true ARC. I did also request that Cavehill would donate a single copy of the physical book to my classroom library for my students to read. I think they’ll quite enjoy it.

The Cloak and It’s Wizard

After reading The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, I knew that I wanted something a bit less intense and heavy for my next read. The Cloak and its Wizard seemed just zany enough to satisfy. This met my needs for a fun and mindless breather book, though I found that I was ready for the story to wrap up about 100 pages before the book itself did. Ultimately, if the idea of a snarky magic item telling the story appeals to you, this is likely at least worth a look.

Read if: you enjoy harmless chaos, you want something lighthearted and pulpy, like adults with functional lives outside of The Plot

Avoid if: you’re looking for something deep and meaningful, you’ll get annoyed with the phrase ‘my wizard’, you like twists to help move the story forward

Comparable Media: Dr. Strange, Striker V, Dad Magic

Od Magic – Too Many Vibes, Not Enough Substance

Od Magic is an odd book. I should state first that the blurb is an absolute liar and shouldn’t be trusted as an accurate description of the book. You’d think the story was entirely about a gardner at a magic school when, in reality, he’s the most minor of around 5 POV characters. It’s not a book concerned with traditional plot structures, indulges in trope and convention, and tiptoes the line of being a modern fairy tale. I didn’t particularly care for this book, but the people who like it really like it, and I can respect that McKillip wrote something that doesn’t easily fit into a neat category or subgenre.

Read if Looking For: vibes based books, grandmas that don’t give a fuck, negligent dads and emotionally distant fiancés, soft magic

Avoid if you Dislike: two-dimensional characters, miscommunication tropes, passive protagonists, a lack of gardening in a book supposedly about gardening

Shadow Life

We so rarely get to see older protagonists in fantasy and science fiction. Those we do get to see tend to be retired adventurers, war generals, or all-powerful magicians. Not old ladies who are struggling with bladder control and nosy children. Shadow Life was a breath of fresh air. It’s a moody and atmospheric graphic novel, and a slice of life very much outside the norm for genre fiction. As a novel, I think it would be unremarkable but enjoyable. In comic format however, I found it rather entrancing.

Read if Looking For: dark cozy, bisexual old ladies, shadow cats, characters with selective hearing, slice of life stories

Avoid if Looking For: plot-focused books, strong horror or fantasy elements, clear thematic takeaways

Shoestring Theory

This is probably one of the maddest and rant-filled reviews I’ve written. Shoestring Theory had such potential to be a book I loved, and was headed in that direction. Having just finished the book, however, I can’t help but feel that a great book was sabotaged in the name of big reveals and a desire to capitalize on the cozy trend (to be clear, I love a cozy book, but I would not consider this a successful one). If you’re someone whom big fucking plot holes aren’t an issue, then I can heartily recommend this as a great read. I’m oftentimes that person myself, and I frequently read other people’s reviews for books I love thinking ‘that’s a great critique, but it worked for me’. I will highlight some of the things I liked about this book, but it’s going to be a lot of me venting about the direction it went.

Read if Looking For: big twists, toxic ex-husbands, bossy older sisters, quick pacing, good dialogue, tidy endings

Avoid if Looking For: intelligent or competent characters, logically consistent situations, healthy relationship dynamics

Monk and Robot

Utopias are oftentimes criticized for being boring, and impossible to tell interesting stories in. Monk and Robot, a pair of books (Psalm for the Wild Built and Prayer for the Crown Shy) by Becky Chambers defied the saying entirely. I found myself quickly drawn into the world of Panga, enjoying my time with a cup of chai – fitting for a pair of books featuring a tea monk as a lead character.

Read if Looking For: low stakes stories, philosophic pondering, quirky robots

Avoid if Looking For: high octane stories, books with violence or external conflict

The Fox’s Tower and Other Tales

Generally speaking I only read two books at a time: one audiobook and one text copy. This book, however, has been sitting on my nightstand for around a month. Filled with 2-4 page stories (and the pages aren’t big) this collection of fairy tales and fables was perfect to read before bedtime, chipping away at it whenever I wanted to read, but didn’t have the brain power to commit to my longer novels.

Read if Looking For: stories that can be read 5 minutes, hopeful and magical vibes

Avoid if Looking For: complex or deeply thematic reads

Someone You Can Build a Nest In

Someone You Can Build a Nest in caught my eye with its cover as I was exploring 2024 new releases. I threw a hold on the audiobook at my local library and promptly forgot about it until it came up just as I was finishing a re-listen of Dungeon Crawler Carl. It was perfect timing, and ended up being a really wonderful read that is a good example of a book that manages to successfully balance romance and fantasy elements in its story.

Read If Looking For: quality asexual romance, plus sized queer rep, cozy/horror mashups

Avoid if Looking For: monsters that truly feel monstrous

The Goblin Emperor

I like to think of myself as a fairly intelligent person. I was an English major in college. I read lots of fantasy books with invented words in them. I enjoy puzzles. And yet, never have I loved being so utterly lost in the beautiful red tape of titles and ranks in the Elven royal court in The Goblin Emperor.

Read if Looking For: the daily life of an unassuming Emperor, hopeful books, baroque invented fantasy language use

Avoid if Looking For: political intrigue as a developed plotline