Recent Reads We Recommend

We’re back with another book-recommendations blog post, and this time we thought we’d tell you about some of our recent reads. These aren’t all the books we’ve read lately, but in our opinions, they’re the best ones! The first five are from Deborah and the last five are from Sarah.

1. The Bog Standard Isekai series, books 1 and 2, by Miles English: Mark, a painfully average man, is transported to a fantasy world with equally average abilities, where he must navigate clichés, overpowered rivals, and genre tropes while trying to survive—and possibly thrive—on sheer mediocrity alone.
 
2. The Mother of Learning series, ARC 1 and ARC 2, by Domagoj Kurmaić: After being killed during a festival, Zorian Kazinski, a teenage mage, finds himself trapped in a time loop, reliving the same month repeatedly. As he navigates this cycle, Zorian hones his magical abilities, uncovers hidden conspiracies, and strives to prevent a looming catastrophe, all while grappling with personal growth and the complexities of his relationships.
 
3. Darkhenge by Catherine Fisher: Rob, a talented teen artist, discovers that his comatose sister Chloe is trapped in the Unworld—a mystical realm shaped by ancient Celtic legends and her own subconscious—and must navigate this perilous landscape to rescue her, confronting their strained sibling relationship and the complexities of identity and desire along the way.
 
4. The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier: Upon taking work at a mysterious English manor, Irish orphans Molly and Kip uncover a sinister tree that grants dark wishes and a spectral figure haunting the grounds, forcing them to confront the perils of unchecked desire and the power of storytelling.
 
5. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King: Nine-year-old Trisha McFarland becomes lost in the woods during a family hike and must survive alone while confronting both real and imagined terrors, drawing strength from her admiration for baseball player Tom Gordon.
 
6. The Silent Prince by C.J. Brightley: a gender-swapped retelling of The Little Mermaid. Cocky Mer prince Kaerius trades his voice for legs to woo a human princess, only to find himself caught in a web of royal politics, rival suitors, and growing affection while pretending to be her suitor in a high-stakes game for her kingdom’s future.
 
7. Daindreth’s Assassin (Daindreth #1) by Elisabeth Wheatley: Amira Brindonu, a sorceress-turned-assassin cursed to obey her father’s every command, is ordered to kill Archduke Daindreth, the future emperor. Upon failing, she discovers he harbors a demonic curse of his own, leading them to form a reluctant alliance to break their respective curses amidst political intrigue and a growing romance.
 
8. The Academy of Magical Creatures series by Megan Linski and Alicia Rades: College freshman Sophia Henley discovers her elemental Fire powers and bonds with a magical Familiar at Orenda Academy, where she begins a forbidden romance with Water tribe warrior Liam. She and her friends must survive deadly trials, like the Elemental Cup, and confront a prophecy that could determine the fate of their world. (Great disability rep!)
 
9. The Demon Slayer manga series by Koyoharu Gotouge: Tanjiro Kamado, a kindhearted boy in Japan’s Taisho era, becomes a demon slayer after his family is slaughtered and his sister Nezuko is turned into a demon. He must battle powerful foes while seeking a cure for her and uncovering the truth behind the demons’ origin.
 
10. Lizandra’s Deepest Fear (Teshovar #2) by Jason Dorough: In this second installment of the gaslamp epic-fantasy saga, Akithar’s troupe grapples with internal divisions, imperial pursuit, and a mysterious new threat, while Lizandra faces harrowing choices to protect Reykas amidst a rebellion teetering between prophecy and betrayal.
  
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What’s your favorite recent read? Tell us in the comments!


P.S. – ​If you loved these book recommendations, why not sign up for our newsletter? Twice a month, we’ll send you a themed list of fantasy and/or sci-fi book recommendations, and sometimes music, movies, or manga too. (Not to mention jokes, games, puzzles, memes, and the occasional recipe!)

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