Quirky – Page 3 – Marked for Plot

The Bone Swans of Amandale

Fairy Tale stories have been all the rage for the past few years. In fact, now that 2025 has hit, I’m starting to grow weary of the deluge of fairy tale and mythology retellings. There are plenty of great ones out there of course, but I’ve just seen so many that they get lost in the shuffle. The Bone Swans of Amandale isn’t a retelling, though it does reference a few fairy tales, but instead is a story that evokes the dark fairy tale style in a way I haven’t seen any other book do.

The Premise:
This dark fairy tale adjacent story is told by Maurice, a rat-folk who can shift between rat and human. He’s got an unrequited love for a swan-folk lass named Dora Rose who can’t stand him, and whose sister (and whole extended family really) has been killed by the mayor of the nearby town, a descendent of ogres and giants who uses magic to keep the town spellbound. To help his childhood crush, he ropes in the Pied Piper and a few kids who’d gotten on the mayor’s bad side, and lets hell loose in the process.

Read If Looking For: charismatic and immoral lead characters, dark aesthetics, unique narrative voice, exquisite prose

Avoid if Looking For: straightforward thematic messages, ‘good’ characters

As a note, you can read Bone Swans from the collection Bone Swans: Stories, or you can read it for free here.

Running Close to the Wind

Alexandra Rowland has been one of my favorite authors ever since I read A Conspiracy of Truths, and their writing has never lead me astray since. Their most popular novel (A Taste of Gold and Iron) is also their weakest in my opinion, but still quite excellent. So this book was an easy pick for me for this card, and it met pretty much every expectation I had for it.

The Premise
Avra is many things. He’s a recently retired member of the Arasti military, he’s been (allegedly) blessed by the goddess of luck, he always pays his bills promptly, tips well, is a contented slut, and recently stole the most valuable mercantile secret of the richest country in the world (also his former employer). When he finds himself on the pirate ship of his on-again/off-again ex, he’s dragged back to the pirate isles against his will. While at his home away from home, he must contest with sea serpents, a nosy Ambassador, the annual cake decorating contest, and a ridiculously handsome (and criminally celibate) monk.

Read if Looking For: Raucously funny pirates, unhinged monologues, seagulls, cake decorating contests, sexual language (but very little actual sex)

Avoid if Looking For: a book that takes itself seriously

Floating Hotel, by Grace Curtis

I picked up Floating Hotel thinking it would be the newest in a string of cozy fantasy/sci fi books. Generally my expectations for these are relatively safe, since the purpose of this genre is more about comfort and safety rather than being boundary pushing. Interestingly, Floating Hotel ended up being neither of those things, and it’s very much the better for it.

The Premise
The Floating Hotel follows the crew and guests of the Abeona, a luxury space yacht that’s fallen on hard times. Managed by a former stowaway, most of the crew has a secret or two, and the guests aren’t much better. You’ll flit between perspectives each chapter: from the former child music star working as front of house to the sous chef with organized crime connections back home, to the chain smoking academic who is famous for taking money to give kids As. In fact, you’ll only ever return to a single character’s mind: the once stowaway and now overworked manager both starts and ends our journey with the Abeona.

Read if Looking For: quirky and loveable characters, light mystery elements, surprisingly dark twists, found family

Avoid if Looking For: strictly cozy vibes, extensive worldbuilding