Liberty Hardy is an unrepentant velocireader, writer, bitey mad lady, and tattoo canvas. Turn-ons include books, books and books. Her favorite exclamation is “Holy cats!” Liberty reads more than should be legal, sleeps very little, frequently writes on her belly with Sharpie markers, and when she dies, she’s leaving her body to library science. Until then, she lives with her three cats, Millay, Farrokh, and Zevon, in Maine. She is also right behind you. Just kidding! She’s too busy reading.
Twitter: @MissLiberty
Hello, human-shaped readers! In the interest of trilling two birds with one phone, I am going to discuss the five sci-fi/fantasy books that I plan to read next. (Probably. Er, most likely. But subject to change.) So you get to learn about a few SFF books that you might want to add to your TBR, and I get to plan my reading for the week. It’s a win/win!
I’m a huge fan of planning what I will read, even though I’m easily distracted by other books that cross my path. My whole book life is like, “OOOO, SHINY.” But I am hoping I get to these SFF books soon, because they sound great. There are dragons, princesses, outer space, and more! Which are you interested in reading?
This Princess Kills Monsters: The Misadventures of a Fairy-Tale Stepsister by Ry Herman (June 17)
A princess considered to have a useless magical talent is sent on quests by her evil stepmother, and the quests always end in her almost death. During her most recent misadventure, while on her way to meet her husband-to-be, she is rescued by twelve masked men. Then comes the talking lion, more assassination attempts, and a growing attraction to her betrothed’s sister. What is a princess to do? This is a retelling of The Twelve Huntsman, a Brothers Grimm fairy tale…that I have never read. Now the question is, should I read the fairy tale before I read the novel, or nah? Also, we don’t learn what her useless magical talent is from the jacket description, so I need to find that out too.
Anji Kills a King by Evan Leikam
This one is also set in a kingdom, but instead of a princess, the main character is an assassin. Anji is a laundress at the castle, working for a horrible king. He’s so awful that one day, when she gets the chance, she kills him. Forced to flee after she kills the king, Anji is pursued by a band of mercenaries. But when one finally catches her, he would rather keep her alive and collect the reward for himself. Now they must run from the other mercenaries in his group in the hopes of making it through their ordeal alive.
Moon Soul: A Cozy Science Fantasy Novella by Nathaniel Luscombe
A young girl decides to quit her job on a small desert moon in this sci-fi novella. August is unhappy with the direction her life is going, so she decides to take a job in the hanging gardens. Here she makes new friends, reorients her life, and receives a surprise visitor from her past. I know I added this novella to my TBR list not that long ago, but I have already forgotten who recommended it to me. It sounds great!
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The Queen of Saturn and the Prince in Exile by Errick Nunnally
A young Black nerd in Boston in the 1970s struggles with the lack of representation of Black people in his favorite genre, science fiction. His mother has always claimed to be from outer space, but he never believed it to be true until strange men started watching him and his parents, former members of a Black power group during the Civil Rights era. (This may turn out to be sci-fi adjacent, but it sounds wonderful and I say it counts.)
The Lost Queen by Aimee Phan
And finally, I’m planning to read this YA start to a fantasy duology about a young girl in California who saves another student from drowning and opens up their world. When Jolie Lam rescues Huong Pham, their connection unlocks abilities the girls didn’t know they had, including telepathy and premonitions. These mystic powers show them they have ties to powerful figures from ancient Vietnam. To understand their visions and powers, they will have to traverse dreams and portals before they are discovered and struck down by ancient enemies.
Okay, star bits, now take the knowledge you have learned here today and use it for good, not evil. If you want to know more about books, I talk about books pretty much nonstop (when I’m not reading them), and you can hear me say lots of adjectives about them on the BR podcast All the Books! and on Instagram.
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