Don’t
be like me and put off reading this fabulous book because you were daunted by
its thickness! Yes, it’s a doorstop. But it is by no means a dense read—indeed,
it’s that rarest and best of things, a spectacular page-turner.
The Priory
of the Orange Tree is often described as feminist and queer, and sure, it
is, but don’t be put off by that either: it never feels like it’s making a
point of those issues. It has the vibe of an adventurous, fascinating, magical,
old-school Big Thick Fantasy Novel that just so happens to have a lot of main
characters who are female and/or queer.
Those aspects felt utterly natural, which
I loved. Plus? Dragons! Good ones as well as terrifying ones. Epic fantasy
lovers, treat yourself to this novel ASAP.
Get ready for Samantha Shannon's new novel, A Day of Fallen Night, coming in February 2023!
The New York Times bestselling "epic feminist fantasy perfect for fans of Game of Thrones" (Bustle).
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY: AMAZON (Top 100 Editors Picks and Science Fiction and Fantasy) * CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY * BOOKPAGE * AUTOSTRADDLE
A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens.
The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction--but assassins are getting…
A
queer, magical, historical romance set in Paris: heck yes, sign me up! Told mostly
through letters and diary entries (similar to the style of Les Liaisons
Dangereuses), this is the delicious tale of two gender-nonconforming magic-users
in France in the 1820s.
Sparks fly when they meet, confide their secrets to
each other, fall in love, and struggle with their mutual stubbornness, as well
as having to tackle the problem of certain lethal magical artifacts that have
fallen into the hands of treacherous people.
Erotic in ways I’ve never quite
encountered before, and lusciously written, this book kept me delighted through
the latter half of a long vacation as well as the five-hour flight home. Take
it on a holiday and try it out!
Paris, 1823. Victor Beauchêne has led a stifling existence, unrecognized for both his cleverness and his gender, except in the pages of his meticulous diary. Abruptly cut off from his family’s fortune, he takes the opportunity to start a new life in a shabby boarding house with his beloved spinster aunt Sophie. There, he stumbles upon two kinds of magic: a pen with eerie powers of persuasion and a reserved, alluring art student named Julien.
Brilliant, unconventional Julien is also Julie, a person whose magical paintings can transform their body or enchant viewers. Haunted by a terrible episode in their…
Another queer and magical book: are you sensing a
theme in the things I love?
This story is like if E. M. Forster (whose books I
adore) had included magic in his novels. Like Forster’s books, it’s set in
Edwardian England and explores class friction and subtle introspection in
elegant prose, but—unlike Forster—it’s also about magic use and the nefarious
and marvelous things it can be put to.
In addition, it’s a beautiful love story
between our two male protagonists—a sunshine one and a grumpy one—and it gets
steamy enough a few times to please any romance fan. It’s one of those books
that made me feel cozy and content whenever I was reading it. Great for curling
up with at any time of year!
Set in an alternative Edwardian England, this is a comedy of manners, manor houses, and hedge mazes - including a magic-infused murder mystery and a delightful queer romance.
'Lush historical fantasy . . . A delightful book, with richly developed characters' - New York Times
'Mystery! Magic! Murder! . . . This book is a confection, both marvellous and light' - Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January
For fans of Georgette Heyer or Julia Quinn's Bridgerton, who'd like to welcome magic into their lives . . .
This
is a novella (though ultimately almost novel length) I wrote in a blaze of
inspiration in about eight months—much faster than my usual pace! The story’s
original inspiration was the Merthur (Merlin/Arthur) relationship from BBC’s
Merlin, but with many details changed. This is not Arthuriana, but a different
fictional world with magic.
What it’s about: When the queen of Lushrain is murdered, her unprepared
youngest brother Zaya is thrown into the spotlight as the new king. He gets
assigned a charming young magician, Col, who’s meant to protect him from the
assassin. But Zaya and Col soon grow romantically close, which comes with a
host of dangerous complications and secrets.
