Madame Askew and The Grand Arbiter

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My dearest darlings!

Jolabokaflod is coming up and of all the holiday traditions around Christmas time, this is one of my personal favourites. Certainly, I am a bit biased as I am a well-known avid reader so any excuse to share more books is a good excuse in my mind. However, this is a particularly charming tradition as it encourages everyone to get cosy, pour a warm bevvy, and enjoy a delightful evening with a book.

All of these books are available in a digital format. Many are available as audiobooks. They are perfect for that last minute gift to arrive just in time for snuggling into a favourite book nook for the holidays. And of course, books are also  excellent gifts the rest of the year!

Happy reading!
~Madame

The Calculating Stars: A Lady Astronaut Novel by Mary Robinette Kowal — Honestly, I love everything I’ve read by Kowal. She is a master storyteller, with excellent pacing and nuanced characters, but her Science Fiction is great for people who want a little classic Sci Fi adventure with a more enlightened understanding of culture and humanity

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune — I was introduced to TJ Klune’s writing during the pandemic and I fell in love with his charming and snarky queer stories. This is a more nuanced story that really shows how much Klune has grown as a writer since his early work. It’s poignant, queer, and centered on found family. It’s also all about second chances, grief, and embracing life. This is a book I love to give to readers who enjoy a little fantasy, a little cosyness, and a lot of sweetness in their speculative fiction. 

The Trouble with Robots by Michelle Mohrweis — Michelle is an old friend and this is their debut book for kids. They bring all of their skill as a STEM teacher with a love for robotics to the page and create something lively, sweet, and engaging for the Middle Grade reader. They also write with thoughtfulness about the sorts of challenges that kids can have finding their place and getting their needs met at school. This is one I’m giving to youngsters who are imaginative and into creating things but may be intimidated by all of that science and engineering stuff.

Divinity 36 by Gail Carriger — At this point, I suspect strongly that Gail Carriger shows up on most of my lists. The thing is, I genuinely love all of her writing and she has been prolific which means she has a book that suits most of my moods and interests! The Tinkered Starsong series is no different. I am so excited to share this thoughtful, beautifully written, engaging Science Fiction series with anyone who also loves science fiction but wants more queerness, more understanding of social sciences, and more meditation on the way culture changes and moves through society. Bonus this series is full of Carriger’s signature great characters, witty banter, and found family. 

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree — I have recommended this book to so many folks at this point that I am not sure if I can give it to anyone on my list but I sort of want to give it to everyone on my list. This was my introduction to the Lit RPG* subgenre of Fantasy, and it’s so delightfully cosy and sweet! Baldree set such a high bar for me with this genre because his book is packed with marvelous characters, interesting world building, great writing, excellent pacing, and an engaging story. Also, he was constantly making me hungry for baked goods! Add onto that, a sweet romance secondary plot and a found family arc! I do plan to give this to some friends who play tabletop RPGs and love fantasy, they haven’t already read it! If they have, well, there’s always the sequel!

*Role Playing Games like Dungeons and Dragons

Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk — Once upon a time, this might have gotten published as a gaslamp fantasy, which is so adjacent to Steampunk that they mostly get treated as the same sub-genre these days, but what this is actually is quite simply brilliant historical fantasy. C.L. Polk never stints on great characters or thoughtful details in their prose. Their stories are also supremely queer in the most delightful ways. With an interesting historical settings, engrossing plot, and a beautiful sapphic romance, this is on par with the rest of their impressive catalogue of books.

Silver Moon by Catherine Lundoff —  A little urban fantasy, a little mystery, and a lot of middle aged women embracing their inner strength, this is an all around fantastic read and there is a sequel already out! I thoroughly adore Lundoff’s writing but the thing that inspired me to pick this up was absolutely the “middle aged lady werewolves.” Oh yes! Take that, hot flashes! I am definitely sharing this with other friends who are themselves going through menopause and happen to also love urban fantasy. There is a little romance secondary plot as well, which is true for a number of books on this list, but I don’t think it will detract from the story for anyone who doesn’t like all of that kissing stuff on the page. 

Abeni’s Song by P. Djèlí Clark — Honestly, I love everything that P. Djèlí Clark has written that I have had the pleasure to read. He is an incredible writer and all of his critical acclaim is much deserved. Clark is another storyteller who imbues his novels and short fiction with vibrant characters and beautifully realized world building. His stories always grab me from the first page, and he is both generous and nuanced with his writing. Although I haven’t yet read this book, I am thrilled that he now has a Middle Grade book available and I cannot wait to share it with my nephlings.

A Thousand Recipes for Revenge by Beth Cato — Speaking of authors I adore, Beth Cato never fails to draw me into her marvelous worlds and I adore sharing her work with others. This is her latest book, and it is incredible. A wonderful historical fantasy, featuring an ingenious magic system and truly novel world building, this is the sort of big fantasy story that won’t let go of my imagination. I also had to start making myself a snack or read while I was eating a meal because her descriptions of all the food made me terribly hungry every time I cracked open the book! This is a perfect book for folks who love high fantasy, historical fantasy, and scads of thoughtful world building, like Tolkien or Guy Gavriel Kay.

Smash & Grab: RELIC #1 by Maz Maddox — This year, my dear friend introduced me to the thoroughly charming work of Maz Maddox. I never knew that I needed a romance series about queer Dinosaur Shifters–that is Dinosaurs who shapeshift into humans–but I did need this series! These are sweet, funny, and compelling romances with a lot of heart. This year, as I’ve included more romance in my reviews, these ridiculous, wonderful Dinosaur Boys have given me so much joy and I am eager to share that with my friends who also adore an excellent romance. Each one of the books in this series is a perfect serving of joy between two covers! I particularly recommend the audiobooks read by Kirt Graves.