Page Turner – Page 2 – Marked for Plot

Alien Clay

For someone who reads as much as I do, the fact that I’ve gotten so far through life without reading a single Tchaikovsky novel is astounding. I blame my father in part: he stole Children of Time from me while visiting and never returned it. Alien Clay arrived as part of my never ending processional of Libby Audiobook holds, most of which get shunted back another few months until I have time for it. And I see why Tchaikovsky is so popular. I understand why it was nominated for a Hugo, and why it didn’t win. I liked it, but didn’t love it, and suspect that if I read Tchaikovsky he’ll be a reliably good author when I need a solid page-turner to get me off a reading slump.

Read if Looking For: delightful alien ecology, characters with realistic skillsets, hopeless situations, readable prose

Avoid if Looking For: something new to say about fighting hegemony and fascism, books without bloat

The Rage of Dragons

Recently, my epic fantasy books have been political and social in nature. They’re wonderful, but I’ve been itching for the style of Epic Fantasy featuring big armies and world-ending cataclysms. The Rage of Dragons lived up to that promise admirably. It’s more action-heavy than a traditional epic fantasy, with less emphasis on worldbuilding than is traditional. It lived up to the hype, and while I’m not planning to rush into a sequel, its a series that’s on my list to return to sometime in the next few years.

Read if Looking For: lots of fight scenes, quick pacing, the power of friendship & hard work, African-inspired fantasy settings

Avoid if Looking For: chosen one protagonists, unproblematic romance subplots, dragons as a major part of the story (probably more in sequels though)

Blood over Bright Haven

As one of the few self-published fantasy books to get picked up for a traditionally published reprint, I had high expectations for Blood Over Bright Haven. Its Dark Academia and anti-capitalist themes made me even more excited. It met most of my expectations, and despite wishing it were more avant-garde, I’m happy that I finally got around to this book! Definitely pushes Wang’s other work up on my list. This is a great option for anyone looking to dip their toes into the more political side of genre fiction, as it’s easy to read into parallels with our world. For those already experienced in that type of writing, this won’t blow your mind, but it’s an enjoyable (if standard) entry in that subgenre.

Read if Looking For: stories about racism and sexism, dark academia, conversations about ethics, light romance elements, engaging narrative voice

Avoid if Looking For: unknowable magic, unproblematic characters, books without sexual assault, surprising twists

The Incandescent

The Incandescent has established itself as one of the more popular Fantasy novels of 2025, at least in the corners of the internet I frequent. I knew I’d get around to reading it eventually; as a teacher protagonist, I love seeing magic schools turned on their head, and it doesn’t happen often! This book is a great choice for anyone remotely interested in the premise, and feels like a fairly safe pick for people looking for an introduction to modern Urban Fantasy. If you want demons, snarky kids, (possibly) competent adults doing adult things, then look no further!

Read if Looking For: teacher protagonists, chatty demons, unreliable(ish) narrators, plucky kids, and adult take on Jonathan Stroud’s Bartimaeus Trilogy

Avoid if Looking For: Dark Academia, challenging themes, romance-forward books, flashy magic

The Effaced

I don’t watch much TV, but when Arcane dropped in 2021, I was hooked. I’m not even a League of Legends player and think it’s some of the best fantasy TV to come out this decade. The Effaced felt a lot like watching the first season of Arcane: steampunk meets magitech, a city with a class-war brewing, great fight scenes from a talented protagonist, and a rapidly escalating situation. This book isn’t going to win any awards innovation or complexity, but it was an incredibly fun read, and Tobias Begley remains one of my favorite authors.

Read if Looking for: easy reading, action-packed fantasy, hard magic systems, a surprisingly wide variety of assassins

Avoid if you Dislike: the occasional typo, easter eggs to author’s other series, characters that don’t grow in power

How to Survive this Fairytale

I’m a sucker for Fairy Tale mashups. I grew up loving Into the Woods, I binged Once Upon a Time in college. Retellings are wonderful too, but there’s something special about taking the idea of storytelling, throwing a bunch in a blender, and seeing what new comes out of it. How to Survive This Fairytale made me laugh, made me cry, and made me cry some more. I’m usually not a super emotional person, but this book got to me in a really profound way. Hallow has a fantastic debut novel, and I can’t wait to see what she writes next. This is definitely on my shortlist for book of the year.

Read if You Enjoy: Fairy tale mashups, characters processing trauma, romance subplots, aggressively paced books

Avoid if you Dislike: 2nd person narration, tidy endings, protagonists not always being the center of the story, books without fight scenes

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

One of the things I love about fiction (and fantasy in particular) is that writers can operate within a shared bank of references, playing with old ideas and twisting them into new shapes. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is just that. It takes a deal with a devil, the moral ‘be careful what you wish for’ and spins out an engaging tale from it. This was a pick for an in-person book club, and I very much enjoyed my time with it, even if I thought it missed some golden opportunities.

Read if Looking For: resourceful women, hot demons, leads going from overwhelmed to hyper competent

Avoid if You Dislike: constant flashbacks

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

Red Dot

Sometimes, a single determined soul can hype a book so much that you reluctantly put it on your TBR. Usually, I end up never reading these books if they don’t keep popping up in various places. My reading list will already take 4 years to get through if I don’t add anything to it or read any sequels. In Red Dot’s case, the cover didn’t do it any favors. It isn’t particularly enticing (though in hindsight, I actually think it captures the book perfectly). For some reason, this was the month that Red Dot came off the bookshelf, and I found myself lost in the life of an artist with severe imposter syndrome. This is definitely a contender for my favorite book of the year so far, and I will proudly be the 24th person to rate this book on goodreads. It’s a hidden gem that I would love to see gain some new readers; it sucked me in and didn’t let go.

Read if Looking For: character-driven sci fi, utopian-adjacent climate change futures, accurate gay sex scenes

Avoid if Looking For: action focused stories, believable romance arcs, pessimistic views of the future

Three Meant to Be (Branches of Past and Future #1)

Magic school stories are a dime a dozen, and I do love stories of meddling kids and incompetent teachers. However, when Three Meant to Be was pitched to me as a Magic school story from the perspective of a teacher (and a gay teacher no less) it was an easy add to my tbr. I don’t think it totally scratched that itch in particular, but it was a damned fun book to read, and I’m excited for the direction it seems to be headed.

As an aside, happy teacher appreciation week to anyone working in schools! The work we do is important, essential, and tough. Keep on trucking.

Read If You’re Looking For: a twist on classic magic school stories, quick pacing, grumpy leads who smoke too many cigarettes, loveable casts

Avoid if Looking For: deeply realistic portrayals of teacher life, nonhuman characters, epic and dramatic twists