TOP PICK
The Oleander Sword
The second book in Tasha Suri's Burning Kingdoms trilogy, this lush South Asian–inspired epic follows Malini and Priya as they navigate war, empire, and a love forged under impossible pressure. Suri writes political intrigue and mythology with equal confidence, giving every chapter the texture of something genuinely at stake. If you haven't encountered this series yet, this is the rare fantasy that rewards close reading with emotional depth that lingers long after the final page.
MUST READ
A Strange and Stubborn Endurance
This deeply compassionate secondary-world fantasy centers on a political marriage between two men from rival nations and the trauma, healing, and unexpected alliance that follow — building a world where queer identity is woven into the fabric of culture rather than treated as transgression. Meadows writes with rare emotional intelligence, crafting a story that feels both sweeping and intimate at once, making it an essential read for anyone who wants fantasy that takes its characters seriously.
HIDDEN GEM
The Warm Hands of Ghosts
A haunting departure from Arden's beloved Winternight trilogy, this standalone novel set in the trenches of World War One follows a nurse searching for her brother who vanished at the front — only to discover a ghost-inhabited inn where soldiers exist outside time and a mysterious figure offers them a choice no living person should face. It's a ghost story, a war novel, and a meditation on grief that proves Arden's gift for atmosphere is not confined to Russian folklore, making it a quietly devastating read that deserves far wider attention.
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