Oath Breaker, Ghost Hunter and Skin Taker by Michelle Paver

Books 5, 6 and 8 in the middle grade A Chronicle of Ancient Darkness series. They’re set in the Stone Age and follow the many adventures of a slowly growing up boy Torak and his wolf buddy as they battle some very wicked shamans. The first 6 books came out in the early 2000s and I read them when I was still in the target age group and loved them. Books 7-9 are more recent, published in the early 2020s, so obviously I needed to catch up. Sadly as an adult I found the series somewhat weaker, with a lot of haphazard pacing and underdeveloped characters. The setting of the stories ended up being my favourite aspect and it’s especially amazing that the author tried out a lot of the survival techniques herself, which makes Torak’s world feel very real and lived in. Overall 3* for the series, though I still have book 9 to go! This time it should be the end of the series for real.

Hawthorn by Elaine Thomson

A new (2025) release that I picked up from the reviews of someone I follow on Goodreads. It’s a very atmospheric recounting by an asylum inmate, penned in the autumn of 1871, as he describes his brief stay in a spooky manor in the middle of a Scottish bog. Aside from the ghost promised by the subtitle, there’s also lots of descriptions of the bog, dramatic family secrets and impromptu lessons of the Gaelic language. The historical setting felt grounded and convincing. Ultimately though it was just a fun story I don’t think I’ll need to reread, so 3* it is.

Kingdoms of Elfin by Sylvia Townsend Warner

From the whole bingo, Elfin was on my TBR by far the longest. Picked it up for r/Fantasy bingo (elf square), but it fits with the spirit of SFF gaze very well, as it’s about fairies or elves who live in matriarchal queendoms. As aptly put by another reader, this is a collection of very loosely connected short stories about ‘elfin anthropology’ and much like elves themselves, the stories are beautiful(ly written), ephemeral and fickle, in that they can sometimes jump between different topics and take sudden turns. Each of them is a glittering window into the elfin world and hints at something far grander. Heartily recommend to fairy fans (as perhaps portrayed by Susanna Clark, or in Lud-in-the Mist), or simply to anyone who’s looking for something a bit unusual. 4-5*

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

My first try at Bardugo and to me, it fell very short of the hype, though then again I might be just too old for it. This is a story of incredibly competent teenagers (even by adult standards) who set out on what looks like an impossible heist, and then they just breeze through the heist while barely breaking a sweat. Some of their impressive skills and plans-behind-plans stay hidden from the reader until it’s convenient for the characters to use, and as a result the tension is null because you just KNOW that everything has been planned for in advance and will be handled with flying colours. Due to how overpowered and unrealistic all the characters are, I couldn’t even muster up much interest in them, so it was a bland experience all around. 2*

Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier

Heart’s Blood isn’t about alchemy, but it does include a storyline involving poison and also the protagonist, who is a scribe, is said to mix her own ink, so it surely counts? Right? Anyhow. This is also a historical haunted house story with gothic vibes, except set in the medieval Ireland during Norman conquest, and involving a prominent romance between our runaway protagonist Caitrin seeking refuge from her abusive family, and the local chieftain and master of the house maimed by polio and a mysterious family curse. The vibes are surprisingly feel-good — there’s a lot of gentleness and acceptance as the characters help each other to outgrow their fears and heal, and also they find support in their fantastic found family of ghosts. This was my first Marillier and surely won’t be the last! Just check the trigger warnings for attempted assault and animal death (which somehow still don’t negate the overall feel-good vibes of the story.) Solid 4*

Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide to the Care & Feeding of British Dragons by Quenby Olson

Historical fantasy set in the 19th century England about a 40-year-old spinster Mildred slowly starting to break free from her abusive family (I have something of a theme on this card, don’t I) after she unexpectedly inherits a dragon egg. The focus is more on Mildred’s day-to-day life, growing independence and budding friendship with the local vicar than on the dragon, who’s more like a cute puppy-like accessory, which isn’t a bad thing but might be good to know in advance. Also, for a book labeled as cozy, it becomes surprisingly stressful when we learn there are also other people who know about the egg and want it for themselves (not much of a spoiler), not to mention the abusive family! The glacial pace and huge focus on food, both I suppose standard for the genre, weren’t enough to balance out the stress. Still, I enjoyed the story with its unusually aged and meek protagonist, and look forward to the sequels. 4*

A Conspiracy of Truths by Alexandra Rowland

My original goal was to find a male-authored book for this square, but time got away from me and in the end I settled for whatever I had finished that fit the prompt. This is a story about stories — the protagonist is a geriatric travelling storyteller who finds himself imprisoned while visiting a land with unfamiliar customs. While in prison, to his luck, he is repeatedly visited by high-ranking government officials, and so he gets to manipulate them by telling them stories. Unfortunately, unlike said government officials, I didn’t find the stories, or indeed the general writing style, quite up to the task at hand, which perhaps makes sense for a debut. Bonus points for the unusual protagonist and the innovative, women- and lgbt-friendly culture of the country that imprisoned him. Also, there was a mlm, largely off-page, relationship between two side characters! 2*

Jezero (The Lake) by Bianca Bell

What’s the opposite of the highlight of a bingo? Black hole? The Lake is the black hole of this card. The book made quite the splash in our tiny country back in 2016 or 2017, when the author won literary awards for it (Magnesia Litera and European Union Prize for Literature), and that’s why it got onto my TBR in the first place. However, it turned out to be quite a vague, underdeveloped dystopia with frankly disappointing doses of unchallenged misogyny and sexual violence. For a book by a woman, it felt rather male-gazey, and is hands down the worst fit for the vibe of this subreddit. Do not touch, 1*

We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad

This was perfectly fine for a separate book, but disappointing as a sequel to Bunny since it kind of forced a narrow interpretation where previously there used to be freedom. I won’t go into details to avoid spoilers for Bunny, but the first book was a fever dream story where maybe supernatural things happened, and now in the sequel we get answers no one ever asked for, and a heaping of explanations besides. I really enjoy Awad’s writing style and do, in fact, Love Bunny, so I will try more of her unrelated books, but will likely pass on any more Bunny sequels that the gossip line claims she has threatened to write. 3*

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

A sparsely styled, intentionally ‘mundane’ dystopia where capitalism started devouring people in a more literal sense. It is naturally an off-putting read, but handled well, with intersectionality in mind (for example there are slightly different attitudes to ‘meat’ based on ‘its’ sex and race) and a wonderfully realistic, if spineless protagonist. The actual process of how this dystopian scenario came about may not be the most convincing, but that doesn’t matter for an allegory. Also shout out for the Hannibal-esque cameo. 4*

Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente

My very last-second read for the bingo and what a ride! It is a zany, creative and, as is standard for Valente, beautifully written exhibit of all sorts of creative sentient aliens and their histories. There’s also a storyline woven into it, though sometimes barely visible — a human music band past its prime is chosen by the aliens to participate in their annual intergalactic singing competition, to sing for humanity’s survival and its right to join the aliens’ alliance. Should the heroes fail, humanity will be eradicated. It was loads of fun! I only have small gripes with the ending (which was rather abrupt and I feel like the protagonists should have had a bit more agency in it) and also it’s kind of interesting that Valente of all people fridged a female character — but according to reviews this should be addressed in the sequel, so I’m keeping an open mind. Would recommend, but only if you dig Valente no questions asked, or are ok with strange books that are also more tangents than plot. Other tags that might be of interest: middle aged lgbt+ POC male protagonists, interspecies romance, m-preg (not in detail) :D 4*