This was overwhelming (in a good way)

I asked for book recommendations to escape via reading, and oh wow, you came through.

By the end of the day, my inbox had so many lovely replies filled with book suggestions.

(I might have teared up a bit.)

You're awesome. Have I mentioned that lately?

I want to share some of your recommendations to spread the joy:

Empire of Shadows by Jacquelyn Benson, which a bunch of you recommended, is absolutely on my TBR because it looks like so much fun. "Nice Victorian ladies don’t run off to find legendary lost cities," but this FMC does. (Multiple recs for Benson's excellent London Charismatics series, too.)

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig: "Elspeth needs a monster. The monster might be her." YOU HAVE MY ATTENTION. 

A Market of Dreams and Destiny by Trip Galey. "Below Covent Garden lies the Untermarkt, where anything and everything has a price: a lover’s first blush, a month of honesty, a wisp of fortune." Ooooh ...

Beneath Black Sails by Clare Sager. "She’s a sea witch wanted for murder. He’s a pirate hunter determined to capture her." Yes please.

Death Before Dragons series by Lindsay Buroker. I fortuitously have read it and I second that rec — fun urban fantasy twist on Seattle with fun twists on urban fantasy tropes. I laughed out loud a lot.

A Practical Guide to Sorcery series by Azalea Ellis. A magical genius embarks on a double life so she can get the magical education denied to her. You had me at ... all of that.

Autopsy of a Fairy Tale series by Nicole Scarano, described as "Beauty & the Beast meets Criminal Minds," a heck of a summary.

Villains and Virtues trilogy by A.K. Caggiano. "His dark destiny awaits, and nothing will stand in his way. Except her. ... Bubbly. Obnoxious. Blonde." (Extra brownie points to the reader who recommended it for also recommending more than 20 other books! All helpfully categorized! ~happy sigh~)

Piranesi by fantasy author Susanna Clarke, and oh wow, it's original and thought-provoking and I don't want to sum it up because jumping in without any sense of what's going on is probably ideal.

And one of my own recommendations:

The final novel in Lisette Marshall's addictive Fae Isles quartet is out now, and Queens of Mist and Madness is exactly the right sort of wild ride if you enjoy smart, powerful women, morally gray fae and twisty plots. (I mean, who doesn't?) There are books coming about spinoff characters, but now's a great time to jump in with the main story completed.

Thank you so much for the book therapy. It really helped!

📚🌟📚🌟📚

More cool & bookish things

But wait, there's more: A sword-maiden returns from training to protect her king, a wicked stepmother (according to her stepdaughter, anyway) gets a second chance at love, and a hilarious grandmother reborn as a vampire gets more than she was bargaining for when a monster hunter comes for her. ⬇️

Get those books!

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