A continuation of yesterday’s post on scratching your summer reading itch! As I said yesterday, let me know if there’re any particular inclinations you have—I’ll do my best to come up with some top tier recommendations.
You’re in the mood for a sprawling, epic fantasy with metric tonnes of worldbuilding:
Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard
You oughta see this woman’s mapmaking process. She’s committed, and it shows through in this 560 page minor monster of a novel. I enjoyed her Red Queen series, but I honestly feel that in retrospect, they were just the warmup for this one. Upon release it very quickly climbed the ranks of the NYT bestseller list, but it’s definitely an epic fantasy and it will appeal to a specific subset of readers. It’s probably not the best intro to the genre as it can be heavy on the descriptions and characters, which is what many people love but which I suspect also may not be as accessible to a casual reader. Then again, the classic premise of the book is just begging you to pick it up and dive right in, no holds barred, everyone welcome. From the synopsis on Goodreads, here’s a sampler of the characters you’ll be meeting:
“A squire, forced to choose between home and honor.
An immortal, avenging a broken promise.
An assassin, exiled and bloodthirsty.
An ancient sorceress, whose riddles hide an eerie foresight.
A forger with a secret past.
A bounty hunter with a score to settle.”
And of course, Corayne an-Amarat, the plucky pirate’s daughter, certified Chosen One, and the “main” character out of an ensemble cast. This is not your book if you’re looking for a romance, as the relationships are much more focused towards the whole found family idea the crew has going on. But if you’re looking to lose yourself for a while, this is the book for you.
You really just need a good cry:
They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera
This one is admittedly not all that recent. It came out a while ago, but it’s seen a huge resurgence in popularity recently due to the YA/reading fanatics corner of TikTok (dubbed Booktok). The hype is well-deserved; you can probably guess that it’s a tearjerker from the title, but it’s also a fantastic piece of speculative fiction.
It’s set in a world where a mysterious service called DeathCast notifies you on the day that you’re going to die. Rufus and Mateo, two boys from very different backgrounds, meet through a service that connects people with others who are going to die that same day. Over the course of the 24 hours (or less) that they have left to live, the two boys connect, help each other do the things they were never brave enough to do before, and grow together… possibly falling a little bit in love along the way. As for the ending…
Well. No spoilers, right?
You need a protagonist who’s willing to do whatever it takes:
These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
This one was on all the “best of” lists upon its release late last year. And really, it’s no surprise; it barely needs an explanation. Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920’s Shanghai? Romeo (Roma) and Juliet (Juliette) are the heirs to rival gangs? Relevant social commentary on colonialism? Glitter, debauchery, and literal monsters? Tell me you’re not already sold. I dare you.
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown
Again not the most recent of picks, but it is a pandemic-release so I’m calling it recent enough. I’m obligated to include it anyway, because it’s definitely one of my favourite if not my favourite fantasy book which I read in 2020. Malik, Main Character Número Uno, is tasked with killing the land’s freshly minted sultana in order to save his siblings. Karina, said sultana and Main Character Número Dos, needs the heart of a king in order to resurrect her recently assassinated predecessor. Karina’s solution? Of course, she does what anyone would do in her position: She plans to marry a guy, then kill him. And when Malik, questing after Karina’s death, enters into a competition to win the sultana’s hand in marriage… Hm. What could possibly go wrong?
You’re most excited for cosplay-appropriate cons to make their grand return after the pandemic:
Be Dazzled by Ryan La Sala
Ryan La Sala writes what he and others call quite possibly the gayest books ever. His debut, Reverie, went so far as to feature a drag queen sorceress as a prominent central character, and it was unsurprisingly amazing.
Be Dazzled is a pandemic release and La Sala’s sophomore novel, but it certainly doesn’t feel like one. It’s a contemporary centred around Raffy, a teen with a passion for, in his words, bedazzling. He creates massive, larger than life cosplays and was planning on entering a huge competition the year previous before his partner ditched him at the very last moment.
Enter Luca, Raffy’s ex and former teammate-turned-main-competition. Things didn’t end well between them last time, what with Luca’s insecurity and Raffy’s all consuming creative perfectionism. But Raffy’s determined not to let this year end like the last. He’s winning that cosplay competition if it’s the last thing he ever does. And when he and Luca are forced to team up in the final round? Sometimes, you have to just roll with the punches.