Hey everyone! Happy Tuesday! Here’s another Top Ten Tuesday.
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It celebrates lovely lists, wonderful books and the bookish community. This week’s topic is New to Me Authors I Discovered in 2024. I don’t think I have to elaborate further on the topic – I think it’s pretty self explanatory.
Anyway, on with the post! Here are the authors new to me from last year, in order of reading from the beginning of 2024 to the end of 2024!
Kerri Maniacalco via Kingdom of the Wicked
Laura R. Samotin via The Sins on Their Bones
Becky Chambers via the Monk & Robot series of novellas
Meg Shaffer via The Lost Story
Susanna Clarke via Piranesi
Ann Leckie via Lake of Souls: The Collected Short Fiction
June CL Tan via Darker by Four
Cecy Robson via Bloodguard
Mo Xiang Tong Xiu viaGrandmaster of DemonicCultivation (MoDao Zu Shi)
Jennifer D. Lyle via Snow Drowned
What authors were new to you last year? What did you think of their books? Are you planning on reading other novels by them in the future?
As always, thanks so much for reading, and I hope that you have an amazing day/night!
There’s a saying on Fall Island: the snow will get you.
Gracie Hutchinson has lived here her whole life and knows there’s some truth to those words. Every few years someone dies in a snowstorm, or loses their mind, or disappears without a trace. Sometimes it seems like more than just New England weather. Now, a hundred-year-storm is approaching, and while most of the locals have taken the ferry to the mainland, Gracie must stay behind.
But she’s intrigued to find someone else her age has stayed too—Joseph Wescott, whose mysterious family lives in Wescott Manor, descendants of the legendary first settlers of Fall Island. Together, they stumble across something even more unsettling than the coming storm: the body of a stranger, murdered in a grim ritual. Someone on the island believes the old Fall superstitions have a dark power—and now, they have Gracie in their sights.
As the hours count down to the blizzard’s landfall, it seems the only safe place to go is Westcott Manor. But Gracie wonders if there’s another reason why she’s been brought there, one that has to do with Joseph. She’ll discover secrets that have been kept for generations, a hidden history, and the terrifying truth about Fall Island. Because even when the storm ends, there’s no escape from the horror beneath the snow.
My Review
It’s like snow just swallows them. The snow got ’em, say the old people. Snow drowned ’em but good.
It’s been a while since I’ve read a horror novel, and Snow Drowned didn’t disappoint. It was dark and unsettling, and there were several twists lurking beneath the surface. And no, it unfortunately wasn’t evil snow.
First off: the plot. I actually ended up really enjoying it for the most part, and there were several things about it that I didn’t immediately predict, which is always fun. This book had a lot of Harvest Home vibes, right down to a disconcerting old lady who’s in charge of the community, and the strange, perplexing mystery the protagonist slowly unravels throughout the novel. There was some unexpected eldritch horror referenced as well, and I was definitely not expecting to read another book with it this year – or for it to be this one.
Though I really liked the story as a while, as well as several individual scenes and chapters, I didn’t enjoy parts of the climax and most of the ending. And I can’t really say why because it’s a huge spoiler. Well actually, part of it was because there didn’t end up being evil snow that kills people, which I thought would’ve been a really cool concept, but part of it was that the actual stuff behind everything (revealed about 85% through the book) kinda disappointed me, for some reason. (I know why I didn’t really like it, but telling could ruin the story.) I also didn’t really care for the ending for this reason as well. But it’s also because the ending was darker and more open-ended than I expected it to be.
“It’s just shitty luck, being born here and being born first.”
Regarding the characters of Snow Drowned, I found I ended up liking them for the most part. Though I initially found 🌨️ Gracie Hutchinson to be a little annoying, she ended up being a fairly decent protagonist to follow. I ended up liking her curiousness and the fiery bits of her personality that emerged as the book went on. Our male lead, 🌊 Joseph Wescott, was also fairly interesting in that he ended up being more than just the nice rich heir to the island. I found his grandmother 🏔️ Marin Wesott and the old, mysterious nun, 📔 Sister Francis, to be more interesting, as well as their and conflicts and history and secrets.
The family dynamics between characters and the mysterious history of Fall Island were also interesting. They were honestly the things that had my attention the most during the novel. I really wanted to know what was going on.
The writing of the book was also pretty good – both the prose and the dialogue. My only major problem (and it really is an issue) is how repetitive everything is in the first few chapters. Chapter 1 has a huge exposition dump that lasts a decent chunk of it. It honestly wasn’t that fun to read. I immediately thought that it would’ve been far more enjoyable to follow if it was integrated into the story proper via dialogue. Instead it was something that the main character was randomly thinking about for no real reason other than to feed us the plot.
Which… the novel actually does in chapters 2 and 3 which makes it even worse. Like, why are you bothering to front load all this at the very beginning if you’re just going to do it again in a better way just a little bit later. It was a decision I didn’t understand, and feel like it should have been changed in editing. But that’s just me. Other than that, though, the writing was fine.
“Because as long as there’s a mark bearer, they will always rise,” I remember.
So yeah, for the most part, Snow Drowned was pretty good. I enjoyed it well enough and I certainly recommend it. I think that people that enjoy stuff like The Wicker Man unironically, or books like Harvest Home or ones that feature eldritch horror but with a YA flavor, might enjoy this book.
As always, thanks to everyone for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!
Hey everybody, it’s been a while. Happy Friday! Jeez, I can’t believe it’s been over a month since the last time I posted one of these!
First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words, but I saw it over at One Book More.
What if instead of judging a book by the cover, author or most everything else, we judged it by its content? Its first lines?
If you want to join in, all you gotta do is:
📚 Take a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open it to the first page 📝 Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first 📙 Finally… reveal the book!
Here’s the first line:
Jenna Grodonsky was terrified of the snow.
Any ideas? If not, here’s another hint or two for you…
Still don’t know? Here’s some awesome pictures of books to start at while you consider it…
Annnd the book is… 🥁🥁 Snow Drowned by Jennifer D. Lyle!!
There’s a saying on Fall Island: the snow will get you.
Gracie Hutchinson has lived here her whole life and knows there’s some truth to those words. Every few years someone dies in a snowstorm, or loses their mind, or disappears without a trace. Sometimes it seems like more than just New England weather. Now, a hundred-year-storm is approaching, and while most of the locals have taken the ferry to the mainland, Gracie must stay behind.
But she’s intrigued to find someone else her age has stayed too—Joseph Wescott, whose mysterious family lives in Wescott Manor, descendants of the legendary first settlers of Fall Island. Together, they stumble across something even more unsettling than the coming storm: the body of a stranger, murdered in a grim ritual. Someone on the island believes the old Fall superstitions have a dark power—and now, they have Gracie in their sights.
As the hours count down to the blizzard’s landfall, it seems the only safe place to go is Westcott Manor. But Gracie wonders if there’s another reason why she’s been brought there, one that has to do with Joseph. She’ll discover secrets that have been kept for generations, a hidden history, and the terrifying truth about Fall Island. Because even when the storm ends, there’s no escape from the horror beneath the snow.
What books have you been reading lately? What’s on your TBR that you’re currently the most excited about?
As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you have an amazing day/night!
It’s been a couple of weeks, but books I’m still interested in are still releasing!
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings (and was previously hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine where it was known as Waiting on Wednesday) to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. They’re usually books that have not yet been released.
There’s a saying on Fall Island: the snow will get you.
Gracie Hutchinson has lived here her whole life and knows there’s some truth to those words. Every few years someone dies in a snowstorm, or loses their mind, or disappears without a trace. Sometimes it seems like more than just New England weather. Now, a hundred-year-storm is approaching, and while most of the locals have taken the ferry to the mainland, Gracie must stay behind.
But she’s intrigued to find someone else her age has stayed too—Joseph Wescott, whose mysterious family lives in Wescott Manor, descendants of the legendary first settlers of Fall Island. Together, they stumble across something even more unsettling than the coming storm: the body of a stranger, murdered in a grim ritual. Someone on the island believes the old Fall superstitions have a dark power—and now, they have Gracie in their sights.
As the hours count down to the blizzard’s landfall, it seems the only safe place to go is Westcott Manor. But Gracie wonders if there’s another reason why she’s been brought there, one that has to do with Joseph. She’ll discover secrets that have been kept for generations, a hidden history, and the terrifying truth about Fall Island. Because even when the storm ends, there’s no escape from the horror beneath the snow.
Are you looking forward to the release of Snow Drowned? (Have you heard of it? – cuz StoryGraph sure hasn’t, lol.) What other books are coming out in the next few weeks that you’re looking forward to?
As always, thank you all so much for reading and have a great day/night!
Hey everyone. Happy Tuesday! Happy October as well – it is the 1st, after all! I’m here to do the thing that I do every quarter. Yep, it’s time for my Most Anticipated SFF Reads of 2024 #4!
This one will be a smaller version of these posts. Quarter four just doesn’t seem to be quite as stacked as the rest of the year has been for me, unfortunately. But there are still a few books coming out before the end of the year that I’m looking forward to, to some degree.
Anyway, you know the drill; I’m only interested in these books – there’s no guarantee that I’m gonna read all of them. We shall see. And without further ado, let’s get going!
RELEASING: October 1st
What We do in the Shadows with the small town feels of Gilmore Girls in this swoon-worthy romance that will leave readers delightfully cozy and hungry for more.
When Cassandra Camberwell returns to her hometown of Hollow Brook to sort out her late grandmother’s affairs, the last person she expects to turn up on her doorstep is Seth Brubaker—her once best friend turned high school nemesis.
Apparently, he’s still intent on making her life a living hell, as he’s mysteriously always around. That is, until Seth reveals why he keeps showing up at her house: he’s an honest-to-goodness werewolf. And Cassie’s grandmother? She was a witch, and the only person in Hollow Brook who was able to help him out with the being-a-werewolf thing. Seth desperately needs Cassie’s grandmother’s witchy medicine, or every full moon he’ll end up with some body part inside out.
So, Cassie strikes a deal: she’ll give him all the witchy brews he needs to help with his furry ailment, in exchange for Seth telling her everything her grandmother revealed to him about being a witch. Things are fine for while—Cassie turns out to be great at making potions, and Seth is way more like the old friend she once knew—until a pack of angry werewolves show up, demanding Cassie help them with their lycanthropy problem too. There’s also the tiny issue of the mating bond that’s developing between them, and neither of them know if it’s real or just magic woo-woo nonsense. And as an extra bonus, if they don’t consummate the bond, well, they’ll actually… die.
RELEASING: October 15th
Red, White & Royal Blue meets A Darker Shade of Magic in this swoony debut young adult romantic fantasy following a magical young prince and a noble seer who fall in love in the midst of war and intrigue.
Shy Prince Edmund will be a great king one day: it has been Seen again and again. With rare magic giving him dominion over the nation’s plants and weather, Edmund feels a great deal of pressure to live up to his nation’s many expectations, including making a perfect diplomatic alliance through marriage. That is, until he meets Lord Aubrey Ainsley.
Charming, romantic, and politically insignificant, Aubrey is a Seer, but not even he could have predicted catching the eye of Edmund, the Prince of Fortune—nor that the anxious prince who talks to plants more than people could feel so right for him. Aubrey’s dream-visions have been full of battle, not love, but to say that Prince Edmund has captured his fancy would be a grand understatement.
As the two become more and more intertwined, the nation of Saben falls under attack. War and dark sorcery loom on the horizon. To save their homeland, Edmund and Aubrey must resist the outside forces seeking to drive them apart and find the power within themselves to create a future for Saben—and each other—they never could have imagined.
RELEASING: November 5th
There’s a saying on Fall Island: the snow will get you.
Gracie Hutchinson has lived here her whole life and knows there’s some truth to those words. Every few years someone dies in a snowstorm, or loses their mind, or disappears without a trace. Sometimes it seems like more than just New England weather. Now, a hundred-year-storm is approaching, and while most of the locals have taken the ferry to the mainland, Gracie must stay behind.
But she’s intrigued to find someone else her age has stayed too—Joseph Wescott, whose mysterious family lives in Wescott Manor, descendants of the legendary first settlers of Fall Island. Together, they stumble across something even more unsettling than the coming storm: the body of a stranger, murdered in a grim ritual. Someone on the island believes the old Fall superstitions have a dark power—and now, they have Gracie in their sights.
As the hours count down to the blizzard’s landfall, it seems the only safe place to go is Westcott Manor. But Gracie wonders if there’s another reason why she’s been brought there, one that has to do with Joseph. She’ll discover secrets that have been kept for generations, a hidden history, and the terrifying truth about Fall Island. Because even when the storm ends, there’s no escape from the horror beneath the snow.
RELEASING: November 12th
The pulse-pounding third novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series, The Lightlark Saga, by acclaimed author and #BookTok sensation Alex Aster
Love kills kingdoms…
Back in Grim’s castle on Nightshade, Isla is reeling in the wake of a brutal battle and the devastating truths it exposed. Her future—and the fate of the world—now hinge on a heart split in two.
Past Isla, who fell in love with the ruler of Nightshade, fights to resist feelings she considers treasonous. The Isla of the present, who has seen the ruin her powers can cause, will do anything to save Lightlark and its king.
As the line between enemy and friend is tested, Isla is more desperate than ever to understand the oracle’s final prophecy and change her heartrending fate. But a storm is coming. And with it, a long-buried evil greater than anything the realms have faced before.
With the clock ticking on her destiny and the survival of two warring kingdoms hinging on her own shattered heart, Isla Crown will either save the world—or destroy it.
RELEASING: December 31st
Ember, Miles, and Sam have been called home—only home is a place none of them have ever been before. The choices they make will not only determine their own futures but will also have vast and permanent consequences—they will either restore a cosmic balance or destroy the dams that separate two worlds, ending them both. Ember was called because she belonged, Miles because his mother belonged, and Sam… well, Sam arranged his own invitation.
The Fountain itself is beautiful and alluring—yet so is the light of an anglerfish. Hidden below the surface, the world of the Fountain is vast: unexplored and unmapped and full of wild things—leviathan and tiny, scuttling things and all manner of creature in between. There are other entities as well, entities that haunt and hunt in the Fountain, because it rewards nearly as often as it punishes, and it has been punishing the greedy and merciless and cruel for a very long time. For those, the Fountain becomes a prison.
The borders between our world and the world of the Fountain are already porous. If the balance between them is upset and control of the Fountain is lost, the consequences will be rapid, merciless, and world-ending. In every timeline that has been or will be, everywhere that water stands in our world will become a passageway for the violent damned to enter ours from the Fountain. For Ember, Miles, and Sam, all from different times, what starts as a journey to take control of their lives quickly becomes a quest to save—or destroy—both worlds, depending on whom you ask.
Rising star and Bram Stoker Award-winning author, Lora Senf has created a gorgeously written, pitch-black fantasy that will transport readers to a world that is as beautiful as it is horrifying and will keep readers on their toes as they devour it page by page.
So yeah, these are all of the books coming out in the next three months that I’m interested in possibly reading (or hate-reading – I’m looking at you Skyshade!). What books are coming out soon that you’re looking forward to? Do we share some of the same ones?
As always, thank you all so much for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!
