September marked the beginning of autumn, of Revision Season, I celebrated my eight year anniversary with my boyfriend, and made a lot of progress as far as job hunting goes. With that came exhaustion, however, so this month’s recap is a bit lighter than normally. Also Hades dropped and that’s been really good for my creative well.
There were two interviews this month:
- Author to Author with H.A. Clarke
- Author to Author with S.A. Hunt
Finished in September
The Scapegracers (#1) by H.A. Clarke
- Young adult contemporary fantasy about lesbian witches who are gay
- Love the friendships, love the spells, and the way this group of girls comes together throughout
- Clarke was featured in an interview
- Takeaway: Making the magic and the voice match the main character
Read Cover-to-Cover in September
The Hellion (Malus Domestica #3) by S.A. Hunt
- Adult urban fantasy horror where Robin Martine and co take the worst road trip ever
- Mad Max: Fury Road with shifters
- Hunt was also interviewed this month
- Takeaway: Impeccable pacing with enough room to breathe
The Bone Shard Daughter (The Drowned Empire #1) by Andrea Stewart
- Adult fantasy about an empire on the verge of collapse, told from three perspectives
- Established sapphic couple, a sneaky daughter, magic-tech, and a rogue with a heart-of-gold
- Mephi is best animal companion
- Takeaway: Magic-tech and complicated family feelings done right
Even If We Break by Marieke Nijkamp
- Young adult contemporary thriller about a group of five friends coming together to play their role-playing game together one more time
- Cabin-in-the-woods style tension
- Non-binary and autistic rep
- Takeaway: Using a game as an excellent framing device and vehicle for character development
Who I Was With Her by Nita Tyndall
- Young adult contemporary about a girl grieving her secret girlfriend
- Quiet with deft transitions between present day and past memories
- Takeaway: A deeply compelling interior narrative
First, Do No Harm by K. Avard
- Adult fantasy about a plague in 17th Century Vienna
- Really good balance of “is the plague supernatural or not”
- Takeaway: Give your main character some agency
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
- Adult fantasy about a man stuck in an endless flooded house
- The less I say about this the better
- Takeaway: How to write a compact, gothic novel
The Seventh Perfection by Daniel Polansky
- Adult fantasy novella about an acolyte on her way to attack and dethrone her god
- Told entirely through the POV of NPCs
- Takeaway: Unconventional and engrossing way to deliver world-building
Burning Roses by S.L. Huang
- Adult fantasy quest adventure featuring an impressive number of fairy tale retellings
- About grief, regret, and friendship, with immersive flashbacks
- Sapphic and trans rep
- Takeaway: Making every exchange on a journey count
Audiobooks
The Last Smile in Sunder City (The Fetch Phillips Archives #1) by Luke Arnold
- Adult fantasy noir about a soldier-turned-private detective
- Immersive world-building with a deep sense of loss and recent history
- Takeaway: Threading backstory while revealing a mystery happening in real time
SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard
- Adult nonfiction about Rome’s first millennium
- Really funny in places
- Takeaway: Featuring enough detail to inspire further learning and reading
In October, there is a new Animal Crossing update and I really want a pumpkin patch, so maybe there will be more audiobook listening in.
Until next time,
Jo
Jo Writes Fantasy 