The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow is a thrilling, time-traveling fantasy adventure about the lust for power and the power of love, about heroes and villains, about history and mythology and the stories we tell and how those stories change us and the world. 

Kill the Beast by Serra Swift is a mostly cozy fantasy about identity, found family, and forgiveness with plenty of adventure, humor, and a little romance.

Lyssa is a complicated heroine, who overcharges the rich so she can defend the poor - but she also has a heart filled with vengeance and becomes enraged at the sight of and kills all hounds and other creatures in search of the Beast that killed her brother which has earned her the nickname of “the Butcher”.

Clever, loyal, and (mostly) brave soldier Alex Easton is back in T. Kingfisher’s What Stalks the Deep, and they are bringing all the snark and relatability we’ve come to expect from the Sworn Soldier. 

To put it bluntly, I love this series. I loved the first two, and I’m excited to get to this one. 

Returning to the world Travis Baldree built in Legends & Lattes is like any of the metaphors having to do with coziness - being wrapped in a warm blanket, having a cup of tea or cocoa or mulled wine or brandy, enjoying an evening by the fire in the company of friends.

Lessons in Magic and Disaster by Charlie Jane Anders is a charming light fantasy about loss, love, and identity with a simple plot but complex characters and themes. 

In classic T. Kingfisher style, Hemlock & Silver is filled with intrigue, adventure, surprise, and humor , sprinkled with a touch of body horror and a little romance. 

Greenteeth, told from Jenny’s perspective, is full of adventure and humor and reminds us of the importance of family - including found family.

Besides a return to characters I enjoyed from The Firekeeper’s Daughter (10 years later and from the perspective of her now/teenage niece), the sequel Warrior Girl Unearthed was as filled with mystery, family, native lore, and attention to social justice as its predecessor. 

This is a great example of the danger of reducing a book to tropes. If you had pitched a YA, fake dating, hockey romance to me, it would be a hard pass.

Filled with Kingfisher’s trademark humor and horror, Sorceress was another fun listen. The audiobook changed narrators between the primary POVs and made it easy to follow. 

The quirkiness and the addition of the fungi & the backstory of pronoun variance made it feel modern and timeless at the same time.

I got Legends & Lattes (this one is a prequel to that) for Christmas & liked it so much, I gave myself Bookshops & Bonedust for New Year & liked it even more - probably, in part, to my love of books and previous life working in a bookshop.

Legends & Lattes was a perfect cozy fantasy - a "new" genre that is sure to become a favorite - to break away from extended family and other obligations to read over the holidays.