Staff Picks by Tag

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Spin the Dawn (The Blood of Stars #1) By Elizabeth Lim Cover Image
$6.99
ISBN: 9780593703595
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Ember - April 4th, 2023

In a land where the only path for a girl is to marry well, Maia dreams of becoming a great tailor like her father. She fights for her chance when she takes her father's place when he is called to the summer palace to compete for the Imperial Tailor position. Part Mulan, part Project runway, will Maia win, keep her identity secret, and attain her dream?


Review by Alex

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The Chosen and the Beautiful By Nghi Vo Cover Image
By Nghi Vo
$17.99
ISBN: 9781250820129
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Tordotcom - March 29th, 2022

What if The Great Tasby was set in a magical, alternate American Jazz age? Where magic reigns supreme in the upper echelons, deals are made with literal devils, and  relationships are still dramatic. Told through the eyes of Jordan, Daisy's best friend, a Vietnamese adoptee who has a magic and a love story to find of her own.


Review by Alex

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The Salt Grows Heavy By Cassandra Khaw Cover Image
$21.99
ISBN: 9781250830913
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Tor Nightfire - May 2nd, 2023

Finally! This book has given me the depiction I've wanted since I was child, that of a mermaid gnawing on raw viscera. Its an ashy and melodic tale that packs an impressively rich world into so few pages. Honk if you love mermaids! *HONK HONK*


Review by Dean

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The Lies of the Ajungo (The Forever Desert #1) By Moses Ose Utomi Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9781250849069
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Tordotcom - March 21st, 2023

This novella is a beautifully told fable that will stay with you long after you've read the last page. If you need a break from door-stoppers, but still want an impactful fantasy with immersive world-building - this is the book for you!


Review by Sarah B.

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Flowerheart By Catherine Bakewell Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9780063214590
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: HarperTeen - March 14th, 2023

Trust when I say this is the cottagecore fantasy you have been waiting for! Clara's story is rife with romance and magic, but the heart of it all is a young woman just trying to save her father and regain control of her life.


Review by Madison

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In the Lives of Puppets By TJ Klune Cover Image
$28.99
ISBN: 9781250217448
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Tor Books - April 25th, 2023

It is rare for me to find a book both darkly funny and euphorically hopeful. When I think of TJ Klune, I expect a cozy, queer hug feeling while reading. This is true of IN THE LIVES OF PUPPETS and also there's something more happening. There's a new feeling unfurling as Victor, Gio, Nurse Ratched, and Rambo discover how much lies beyond the forest. It heightens as they face risks and dangers together. Whatever this new feeling, I want to stay in it as long as the story lets me.


Review by Danielle

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Spear By Nicola Griffith Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9781250819321
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Tordotcom - April 19th, 2022

A customer told me about Spear. She loved Griffith's novel Hild as much as I did and said that Spear is a substantial novella. This epic is set in the 6th century, following our hero, Per, all the way to the court of King Arthur. In her own words, Griffith calls this Camelot "queered six ways from Sunday" yet, that is largely "peripheral." Griffith is a local author, and clearly enjoyed her research - there are some wonderful words: gralloched, geas, bog butter, shaving coins like a thief, skystone. The magic here is unlike anything else, it's fresh and sweet. Even though shorter than a novel, it's rich in detail: a fly is "hurrying by;" there are "skeins of geese" in the sky; midges that "darn the air."


Review by Laura

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Legends & Lattes: A Novel of High Fantasy and Low Stakes By Travis Baldree Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781250886088
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Tor Books - November 8th, 2022

What an absolute delight! I will be sharing this cozy story of found family and new beginnings with many friends. Legends & Lattes is a single sitting read that is best paired with a steaming hot coffee and cinnamon pastry (trust me, you'll get it).


Review by Danielle

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Nettle & Bone By T. Kingfisher Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781250244000
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Tor Books - February 28th, 2023

I don't know how to talk about Nettle & Bone without gushing. It's a hero's journey. It's a retold fairytale. It's dark and grim and terrible. It has a bone dog and cackling elders and so many clever lines. It perseveres and gives you hope, at its most improbable moments. It is somehow tender. And I just want more in this world because while Marra's particular tale is complete and perfect, the rest of the world is so expansive that I want more.

 


Review by Danielle

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Everyone on the Moon is Essential Personnel By Julian K. Jarboe Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9781590216927
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Lethe Press - March 5th, 2020

"The first nice thing I ever did to my body was tear it open." 

Reading this book wasn't the first nice thing I've ever done for myself, but it may be among the best. Jarboe's writing is queer and unrepentant, gay and unashamed. These stories gnawed on me, and I came away feeling holy--or maybe just full of holes, hard to say.


Review by Kit

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