This week’s links include: more on the Hugo Awards controversy; OpenAI lawsuits; Balzer + Bray moves to MacMillan; fantasy and romantasy explained; GenZ turns to physical books & libraries; diversity in romance; book banning (again); a fiction piece about a fearsome giant snail; a fantastic review of Laurie R. King’s Mary Russell mystery series; and more.
Heartwarming cozy fantasy
What can I say about Legends & Lattes that hasn’t already been said? Baldree’s breakout, bestselling debut novel hits the sweet spot for me: low-stakes cozy fantasy, found family, believable (and likeable) main character, interesting secondary characters, and solid worldbuilding with a D&D feel. It’s a well-crafted novel with good pacing and just the right amount of description…enough to bring the scenes vividly to life without overwhelming the action or Viv’s emotional journey.
Lost Heart Series: Celta’s Heartmates #14.5 Published by self-published on April 16, 2016 Genres: Fantasy Romance Pages: 224 Format: Kindle or ebook Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible | Chirp Add to Goodreads Also in this series: Heart Mate, Hearts and Swords Celta, a place of magic, telepathic… October 27, 2023 Lark_Bookwyrm Book Reviews 4 ★★★½
Tricked by Kevin Hearne Narrator: Luke Daniels Series: Iron Druid Chronicles #4 Published by Random House Audio on April 24, 2012 Genres: Urban Fantasy Format: Audiobook Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible | Chirp Add to Goodreads Also in this series: Hounded, Hexed, Hammered, Trapped Also by this… July 14, 2023 Lark_Bookwyrm Book Reviews 3 ★★★★
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature/meme now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. The meme was originally the brainchild of The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Things That Make Me Instantly Want to Read a Book. NOTE: Thank you to Nicole at Bookwyrm Knits for the topic inspiration…. Read more »
Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal Series: Glamourist Histories #1 Published by Tor on August 3, 2010 Genres: Historical Fantasy, Fantasy Romance Pages: 304 Format: Kindle or ebook Purchase: Amazon | Bookshop | Barnes & Noble | Audible | Chirp Add to Goodreads Also in this series:… March 21, 2023 Lark_Bookwyrm Book Reviews, From the Vault 3 ★★★★½
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett Series: Emily Wilde #1 Published by Del Rey on January 10, 2023 Genres: Fantasy Pages: 336 Format: Kindle or ebook Source: the publisher Purchase: Amazon | Bookshop | Barnes & Noble | Audible | Chirp Add to Goodreads A curmudgeonly professor journeys… February 3, 2023 Lark_Bookwyrm Book Reviews 5 ★★★★★
The Gorgon Agenda by Lisa Shearin Series: SPI Files #8 on January 24, 2023 Genres: Contemporary Fantasy, Urban Fantasy Format: Kindle or ebook Source: the author Purchase: Amazon | Bookshop | Audible Add to Goodreads A planet-killing weapon, sinister sisters, and immortal monsters. All in a day’s work for the… January 25, 2023 Lark_Bookwyrm Book Reviews 5 ★★★★½
Scales and Sensibility by Stephanie Burgis Series: Regency Dragons #1 Published by Five Fathoms Press on October 4, 2021 Genres: Historical Fantasy Format: Kindle or ebook Source: the author Purchase: Amazon | Audible Add to Goodreads Also by this author: Kat, Incorrigible, Masks and Shadows, The Dragon with a Chocolate… October 4, 2021 Lark_Bookwyrm Book Reviews 7 ★★★★★
Beyond by Mercedes Lackey Series: Founding of Valdemar #1 Published by DAW Books on June 15, 2021 Genres: Fantasy Format: Kindle or ebook Source: the publisher Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble Add to Goodreads Also by this author: The Serpent’s Shadow, Phoenix and Ashes, Home from the Sea, Steadfast,… June 4, 2021 Lark_Bookwyrm Book Reviews 1 ★★★★
