Fall Moods Book Haul 🍁

Happy Friday, everyone! Today I’m excited to bring you some books I’ve picked up recently from the local book store and library. As we transition into fall I’m getting into some moody reads and continuing the fantasy kick I’ve been on, so here are some great new titles to look out for –

1. The Mist by Ragnar Jónasson

A thriller set in the dead of winter where kindness may not beget the same in return. This is the third the in Hidden Iceland series but I’ve been told this can be enjoyed just as well as a standalone.

1987. An isolated farm house in the east of Iceland.
The snowstorm should have shut everybody out. But it didn’t.
The couple should never have let him in. But they did.
An unexpected guest, a liar, a killer. Not all will survive the night. And Detective Hulda will be haunted forever. – Goodreads

2. Let Me In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

Another wintery read by an author Tucson Citizen has called “Sweden’s Stephen King,” this one seems to go hard on Halloween vibes. A mix of horror and fantasy this is in fact a vampire novel perfect as we head into October! 🧛‍♂️

Set in 1981, Let Me In is the horrific tale of Oskar and Eli. It begins with the grisly discovery of the body of a teenage boy, emptied of blood. Twelve-year-old Oskar is personally hoping that revenge has come at long last — revenge for all the bad things the bullies at school do to him, day after day. While Oskar is fascinated by the murder, it is not the most important thing in his life. A new girl has moved in next door—a girl who has never seen a Rubik’s cube before, but who can solve it at once. They become friends. Then something more. But there is something wrong with her, something odd. And she only comes out at night. . . .– Goodreads

3. The Book of Dragons edited by Jonathan Strahan

This epic fantasy anthology by a cast of well regarded authors and storytellers is a compilation of short tales on dragons, accompanied by illustrations. I personally haven’t read an anthology before, but if I ever were to read one dragons are such a fantastic topic. So it’s no surprise I picked this up, I have really high hopes for this one!

The synopsis for this is quite long so here we go –

Scott Lynch, R.F. Kuang, Kate Elliott, Ken Liu, Todd McCaffrey, Garth Nix, Peter S. Beagle, and other modern masters of fantasy and science fiction put their unique spin on the greatest of mythical beasts — the dragon — in never-before-seen works written exclusively for this fantasy anthology compiled by award-winning editor Jonathan Strahan and with art by Rovina Cai!

Here there be dragons . . .

From China to Europe, Africa to North America, dragons have long captured our imagination in myth and legend. Whether they are rampaging beasts awaiting a brave hero to slay or benevolent sages who have much to teach humanity, dragons are intrinsically connected to stories of creation, adventure, and struggle beloved for generations.

Bringing together nearly thirty stories and poems from some of the greatest science fiction and fantasy writers working today — Garth Nix, Scott Lynch, R.F. Kuang, Ann Leckie & Rachel Swirsky, Daniel Abraham, Peter S. Beagle, Beth Cato, Zen Cho, C. S. E. Cooney, Aliette de Bodard, Kate Elliott, Theodora Goss, Ellen Klages, Ken Liu, Patricia A McKillip, K.J. Parker, Kelly Robson, Michael Swanwick, Jo Walton, Elle Katharine White, Jane Yolen, Kelly Barnhill, Brooke Bolander, Sarah Gailey, and J.Y. Yang — and illustrated by award-nominated artist Rovina Cai with black-and-white line drawings specific to each entry throughout, this extraordinary collection vividly breathes fire and life into one of our most captivating and feared magical creatures as never before and is sure to become a treasured keepsake for fans of fantasy, science fiction, and fairy tales. – Goodreads

AND FINALLY, LAST BUT NOT LEAST –

4. Ashes of the Sun by Django Wexler

The first in the Burningblade & Silvereye trilogy, this fantasy deals in magic and intrigue as two siblings torn apart fight for causes at odds with one another. This one just sounded so fascinating and plays towards the fantasy and magic reads I’ve been loving recently, so very excited for this one as well!

Long ago, a magical war destroyed an empire, and a new one was built in its ashes. But still the old grudges simmer, and two siblings will fight on opposite sides to save their world, in the start of Django Wexler’s new epic fantasy trilogy.
Gyre hasn’t seen his beloved sister since their parents sold her to the mysterious Twilight Order. Now, twelve years after her disappearance, Gyre’s sole focus is revenge, and he’s willing to risk anything and anyone to claim enough power to destroy the Order.
Chasing rumors of a fabled city protecting a powerful artifact, Gyre comes face-to-face with his lost sister. But she isn’t who she once was. Trained to be a warrior, Maya wields magic for the Twilight Order’s cause. Standing on opposite sides of a looming civil war, the two siblings will learn that not even the ties of blood will keep them from splitting the world in two. – Goodreads

---

And there we have it! I’m thrilled to get into reading these, let me know if you’ve read or heard anything about the books I’ve mentioned above.