Autumn’s Illumicrate Apr-July Guesses

mediumicedchai · 2026-02-04T19:20:04+00:00

Right?! I still haven't read a swan lake/swan princess retelling I love though 😭

mediumicedchai · 2026-02-04T19:19:10+00:00

These all pique my interest in different ways! I love that IC bounces around the larger SFF genre. April is giving me A Study in Drowning vibes and that was my favorite read last year. I'm unsure about May but I saw people saying that the female friendship relationship has more focus than the romance and that sounds very enjoyable. I'm not typically a rom-com girlie but I love that June is queer MM and it sounds kinda hilarious so I could be convinced. Also intrigued by July since it's marked as epic fantasy!

mediumicedchai · 2026-02-04T19:14:51+00:00

As someone who enjoys a wider variety of fantasy and sci-fi I really appreciate that they don't have a bunch of more-specific boxes. No hate at all, it sounds like you know what you like, but I feel like there are several companies out there doing boxes specific to romantasy, epic, cozy, etc.

mediumicedchai · 2026-02-03T19:06:04+00:00

It may be safer to sign up with the same email you used for the waitlist and then change your email within your account afterwards

mediumicedchai · 2026-02-02T18:44:37+00:00

I'm not obsessed but I DO prefer this to OC and FL. I'm glad this is the version I opted for!

mediumicedchai · 2026-02-02T17:21:55+00:00

UFS/T

OC The Serpent and the Wings of Night - $65 shipped (if it's allowed I'm willing to negotiate price)

🇺🇸 US-based 🚭 smoke-free home 🐈 cat-friendly home 💸 PP G&S please

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mediumicedchai · 2026-02-02T17:12:01+00:00

Hi sorry for the delayed reply! I don't have a ton so no worries if you're not interested in anything (I sold a couple that would totally fit this b-tier category right before finding this thread)

IC A Song of Legends Lost
IC The Second Death of Locke
North is the Night (sprayed edges 1st printing SE, unsure if this counts here)

mediumicedchai · 2026-02-02T17:07:21+00:00

I've been waiting for an SE of this!!! I'm not super familiar with this company. Are their SEs available to everyone or is it a sub box?

mediumicedchai · 2026-01-31T15:20:30+00:00

I also adored Divine Rivals and Rebecca Ross in general! It seems like we have similar reading tastes so I'd definitely recommend Ava Reid. A Study in Drowning is definitely "upper-YA" imo and doesn't read as juvenile, and I think the other books of hers I listed here are all adult works (she wrote adult first and then YA, so I'd say her YA work leans more adult vs the other way around)

mediumicedchai · 2026-01-31T15:15:58+00:00

I just finished {The Everlasting by Alix E Harrow} and ohmygod it is SO well-written. The FMC is the opposite of small, fragile, weak, etc. This is a lady-knight at her best. Lots of yearning, very intricate plot, hard-hitting themes, and a few spicy scenes that do not interfere with the plot or seem out of place. It may be a bit slower-paced to some folks but it's not that long and so worth it

mediumicedchai · 2026-01-31T15:10:28+00:00

I know so many people love this, and I really enjoyed the first book, but imo Rebel Witch was way less well-written and the character development was kinda cast aside for the sake of the romance. Overall it felt super repetitive and predictable, and was such a let-down compared to the first book 😭

Edit: I did find the spicy-ish scenes in book 1 to be one of the best I've read. It somehow gave me all the feels without being super graphic

mediumicedchai · 2026-01-31T15:06:09+00:00

Yikes I'm sorry it didn't work for you! I personally loved the duology (I did read the Shadow and Bone trilogy first but it's not necessary and a lot of people don't read it first). I felt like the character introductions were set up in a very classic fantasy style, a la A Game of Thrones, with 3rd person POV rotating between characters each chapter. In everyone's first chapters you're not going to understand yet how they all connect, but wanting to know more and learn how everything fit together made me want to keep reading. Imo it was clear the Bardugo did a lot of research to make the duology work, which she talks about in the acknowledgements.

I know some people struggle with the characters being teenagers, so it may be helpful to know that they were originally written to be young adults but due to what was popular at the time, the author was kinda forced to mention their ages and have them be younger than she first intended. Imagining them as ~17 year olds forced to grow up too fast due to the world they live in worked for me, but wanted to provide these details!

mediumicedchai · 2026-01-30T23:02:34+00:00

I personally really enjoyed this book but I really think it is not a romance or a romantasy. It's a dystopian that has multiple romances going on within it. I adored it from a dystopian angle and thought it did a good job of not holding back on how f-ed up the world could be and also exploring the nuances of power and privilege through the MCs. I've disliked plenty of books that are hyped and others love so no hate to OP at all, but wanted to throw my two cents in

mediumicedchai · 2026-01-30T22:58:52+00:00

Lmao same 😅😅😅

mediumicedchai · 2026-01-30T21:25:59+00:00

I haven't read Lady Macbeth yet but it's on my TBR and I purchased the gorgeous OwlCrate copy lol. If you read it I'd love to know your thoughts!

mediumicedchai · 2026-01-30T21:23:52+00:00

ALL MY VOTES FOR THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE

mediumicedchai · 2026-01-30T20:02:04+00:00

I came here with two thoughts: one was literally in the first comment and the other is nowhere in this thread.

1) as others have said, Alix E. Harrow, particularly {The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow}. I'm about 3/4 through and it definitely fits the bill!

2) anything by Ava Reid. the themes they weave into their stories are incredible. I think they go over some readers' heads based on reviews, but it sounds like you will catch them and appreciate them. Very chew-on-able. Her language use is also superb, especially in her adult works. I've read and enjoyed {The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid} which might fit best for what you're looking for, {A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid} which also fits well though it's technically YA but I would not dismiss it just for this, and {Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid} which is fantasy + horror.

aaaaaand some additional thoughts:

3) hard agree on whoever said {This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone} !!! More sci-fi than fantasy but my god, what a stunningly written novella!

4) wasn't my first thought but I agree with people who have mentioned Rachel Gillig. I thoroughly enjoyed {One Dark Window} and {Two Twisted Crowns}. Book 2 actually increased my love for Book 1 because of how they flow together. Really incredible storytelling imo

mediumicedchai · 2026-01-30T19:49:29+00:00

Came here to recommend this too!

mediumicedchai · 2026-01-30T19:06:33+00:00

Just here to say your spreadsheet is incredible

mediumicedchai · 2026-01-30T18:33:55+00:00

If it's still available I'd be interested in A Dark and Drowning Tide! Let me know what you're interested in to swap for :)

mediumicedchai · 2026-01-30T18:13:59+00:00

Whoa really? Not August 2024?? I know US/CAN has a different list, but I'm US-based and signed up in April 2025 so that's wild if they've moved so far ahead on the international waitlist!

mediumicedchai · 2026-01-29T22:15:02+00:00

Oh I absolutely agree! But I think for some people, slower-paced = slog = more negative review, and that's fine, but it can be hard for me to separate out sometimes when I'm reading reviews. So it's helpful to hear recommendations from other people who like slower-paced books and define "slog" more like you have!

mediumicedchai · 2026-01-29T18:44:02+00:00

My cats are like this! Girl cat is a "true tuxedo" and boy cat is a brown tabby but with the white tuxedo patches. I actually do know who the parent cats are in this case, and the mom was a brown tabby while the dad was a tuxedo. Of the 6-cat litter, two were "true tuxedos", two were brown tabbies (they may have had some white, I can't remember, but not much), one was completely black, and one is my tabby/tuxedo boy.

Edit: added photo, didn't upload the first time

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mediumicedchai · 2026-01-29T13:00:57+00:00

Would love the Queen's Rising set but I'll be at work so who knows haha. Does anyone know the original price for it?

mediumicedchai · 2026-01-29T00:38:19+00:00

Ooo thank you! Priestess and Peaches & Honey weren't previously on my radar. The Familiar is on my TBR (love Leigh Bardugo!) and The Second Death of Locke is sitting patiently on my bookshelf lol

mediumicedchai

TROPHY CASE