The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature in which I highlight books I got over the last week that sound interesting—old or new, bought or received in the mail for review consideration. Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try to be as informative as possible. If I can find them, links to excerpts, author’s websites, and places where you can find more information on the book are included, along with series information and the publisher’s book description. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org, and I will earn a commission if you click through ..read more

Thank you so very much to all of this year’s guests for the amazing essays and making April 2024 another wonderful Women in SF&F Month! Also, thank you to everyone who shared their posts and helped spread the word about this year’s series. It is always very much appreciated! Although this year’s series has ended, I wanted to make sure there was a way to find all of the guest posts from 2024 for anyone who missed them during April. This was the thirteenth annual Women in SF&F Month, which is dedicated to highlighting some of the many women doing fantastic work in speculative fiction ge ..read more

This week I’m sharing about some series I love that I think deserve more readers and more discussion in bookish/SFF communities. Today I’m gushing about The Warchild Mosaic by Karin Lowachee, a science fiction series that currently contains the novels Warchild, Burndive, and Cagebird; the collection Omake: Stories from the Warchild Universe; and the novella Under the Silence. This is my favorite science fiction series, and Karin Lowachee is a master of voice, characterization, and ripping my heart out. (Yes, I consider the latter a positive quality.) Karin Lowachee’s Warchild Mosaic ..read more

This week I’m sharing about some series I love that I think deserve more readers and more discussion in bookish/SFF communities. Today I’m raving about Swords and Fire by Melissa Caruso, a Venetian-inspired epic fantasy trilogy containing The Tethered Mage, The Defiant Heir, and The Unbound Empire. This is one of my favorite somewhat recent series for a lot of reasons, but basically, the first book kept me up reading until 2:00 AM and the next two books were even better. The Swords and Fire trilogy is a well-paced, entertaining series with heart, humor, and sharp dialogue. I think i ..read more

This week I’m sharing about some series I love that I think deserve more readers and more discussion in bookish/SFF communities. Today I’m gushing about Mirage by Somaiya Daud, a Moroccan-inspired young adult science fiction duology containing the books Mirage and Court of Lions. In particular, I want to highlight the wonderful protagonist and the complicated female friendship that lies at the heart of both books. Mirage and Court of Lions are gorgeous novels, and they are some of the first books that come to mind whenever I think of books I’d love to see recommended and discussed mo ..read more

This week I’m sharing about some series I love that I think deserve more readers and more discussion in bookish/SFF communities. Today I’m raving about The Books of Ambha by Tasha Suri, a romantic epic fantasy duology partially inspired by Mughal India, with particular focus on how much I adored the two protagonists: sisters whose stories are set about ten years apart.   I love Tasha Suri’s Books of Ambha duology for so many reasons. Empire of Sand and Realm of Ash are both beautifully written, deeply affecting novels that have a lot to say about themes like choice, connect ..read more

Thank you so much to all of last week’s guests for another wonderful week of Women in SF&F Month! There will not be any new guest posts until the very end of April, but I am going to discuss five series I love this week. Before getting to a sneak peek of which books I’ll be featuring, here’s what happened last week in case you missed it. All of the guest posts from April 2024 can be found here, and last week’s posts were: “Villains, Grey Areas, and What Women Can and Cannot Be” — Amy Leow (The Scarlet Throne) discussed her love of unhinged, messy women and shared about why she created an ..read more

Today I have two books to give away to two US residents, both from the InCryptid series by Seanan McGuire! Twice nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Series, InCryptid is described as “a witty urban fantasy series featuring an eccentric family of cryptozoologists who act as a buffer between the humans and the magical creatures living in secret around us.” Whether you’re new to this series or a longtime fan, there is a book here for you since you can enter to win the first book, Discount Armageddon, or the thirteenth and latest book in the series, Aftermarket Afterlife. (And on a personal not ..read more

Today’s Women in SF&F Month guest is Amy Leow! Her debut novel being released on September 10 in the US and September 12 in the UK, The Scarlet Throne, is described as “a dark, heart-thumping political epic fantasy… full of scheming demons, morally grey heroines, talking cats, and cut-throat priests.” I’m thrilled she’s here today to discuss a type of character she loves—and her protagonist in the upcoming first book in The False Goddess Trilogy—in “Villains, Grey Areas, and What Women Can and Cannot Be.” Illustration by Nica Galvez Villains, Grey Areas, and What Women Can and Cannot Be ..read more

Week three of the thirteenth annual Women in SF&F Month starts tomorrow. Thank you so much to all of last week’s guests for another wonderful week of essays! There will be new guest posts on Monday and Wednesday of this week and a book giveaway on Friday. But first, before announcing the schedule, here are last week’s pieces in case you missed any of them. All of the guest posts from April 2024 can be found here, and last week’s guest posts were: “Using Fiction to Empower Girls in STEM” — Amber Chen (Of Jade and Dragons, “Hugging the Buddha’s Feet“) discussed fictional representation of ..read more