Happy #DecRecs 17, my friends! Today's recommendation is 'Scales and Sensibility', by Stephanie Burgis, a delightful regency romp with magic, imposters, romance, and of course dragons. Incontinent dragons.
@bookstodon Highly recommend the long-running (and still running...i.e. not finished) After Cilmeri series by Sarah Woodbury. It's historical fiction/alternate history set in medieval Wales, where Wales is never consumed by England. Fairly light reading and quite fun!
@bookstodon
I really can't recommend Gordon Doherty's Empires of Bronze series enough - it's written really well and he clearly has done his research. What's really fascinating is that the story is ultimately a sad one - the Sea Peoples essentially end up wiping out most Bronze Age civs (other than the Egyptians), but the story has a hopeful ending. The author also does a great job of separating fact from fiction.
Read COME TUMBLING DOWN by Seanan McGuire if you love horrifying murder worlds, reanimation, lightning, body swapping, revenge, heros, actions having consequences, bone ponies, the last vestiges of sanity, cruel light, killing dark, deep sea terrors & endings.
Oh, forgot to mention--my review of 'The Betrayals' by Bridget Collins (which I've RAVED about on here--you may have seen some toots) is up on Nerds of a Feather!
Heroes do The One Right Thing. With rising fascism, sometimes The One Right Thing doesn't exist; and usually heroes don't either. In this book, we see what happens when weak, flawed people do a small, right thing.
Read IN AN ABSENT DREAM by Seanan McGuire if you love ordinary & remarkable children, goblin markets, birds, besties, delicious pies, wanting & needing, losing yourself in books to avoid the pain of reality, loopholes, pencils, fair trade, being sure, sisters & debts.
Read BENEATH THE SUGAR SKY by Seanan McGuire if you love girls falling from the sky, human statuary, confectionery delights, turtles, quests, soda pop, time travel, spirits, nonsense, mermaids, bones, bakers, and righting wrongs.
Read THIS COULD ALL BE DIFFERENT by by Sarah Thankam Mathews if you love first jobs, immigration narratives, queer love, building community, restaurants, fishing for memories, terrible landlords, recessions, navigating white America as a POC, lofty dreams & planting seeds.
Read VAMPIRES OF EL NORTE by Isabel Cañas if you love interesting vampire lore, supernatural western historical romances, colonialism narratives, sneaking around at night, class dynamics, young love, big dreams, grief, salt, rosemary, coming home, Yanquis as villains, and desert road trips.
Just finished book 4 in the Empires of Bronze series and man it was good. Highly, highly recommend the series. It is well thought out, descriptive (to the point of revulsion at some of the war and torture scenes), and full of twists and turns. It feels like one of those great series where the whole storyline was plotted out well before the first word was put on paper. Absolutely recommend.