So I did this really absurd financially destructive thing the other day. I wanted to preorder Casey McQuiston’s new book, One Last Stop, but I was also looking at a bunch of other books, and Barnes & Noble is an absolute mess, so if you preorder something as well as get other books, they sometimes just cancel the preorder or consider it fulfilled and then you have to argue with them over a refund. It’s stupid, but I’ve learned to just put preorders separate. Also, it’s tricky to put several preorders in one order if they have different release dates, so my order history is just a bunch of $18 orders. Anyway, so I had a cart full of books that I wanted, and the save for later feature is also a mess, so I either had to delete everything and re-add it or just buy all the books and then preorder Casey’s book. Obviously, that meant I bought a bunch of books?

I haven’t book shopped in a while, and I’m unlikely to do it for a while because stores are still something I’d like to avoid. My TBR shelf was looking a little empty, and I’ve been reading a ton of fantasy lately, so it was particularly empty in the fantasy section, so uh, yeah, everything on here is fantasy, and I’m hella hyped.

I’ve been eyeing Daughters of Nri by Reni K. Amayo for some time now just based purely on the cover because damn. I mean, that alone would have hooked me, if not also the “oh my goddesses” blurb and sister vibes. I need more siblings in fantasy, but specifically more sisters, and I’m just over the moon to finally be getting one that has that and sounds freaking incredible.

I could not remember the title for Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron to save my life the other day, but I could remember the cover perfectly. I mean, can you blame me? Look at that absolute badass queen. I want to snap in the Z formation with her, damn. I knew I had to get it, though, if I was getting a huge stack of fantasy books, and even though I truly cannot remember what it’s about, I know that I put it on my TBR for a reason originally, so I’m definitely going to love it. Hopefully? This is really how I buy books, it’s kind of scary.

City witches? GIVE ME CITY WITCHES. I should have read Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova a year ago when I was writing about my own city witches, but I didn’t because I’m a jerk. I don’t know why, either, because I kept picking it up and putting it back in the store, totally aware that I was going to end up buying it one day anyway, and now here I am, with it finally in my possession, and city witches? HELL YES.

I could be mis-remembering right now, but I think I saw someone say The Princess Will Save You by Sarah Henning is a loose The Princess Bride retelling? LOL ALRIGHT MARY, right there in the summary, it says it is, this is why I need to reread summaries, they’re actually useful. But anyway, a YA fantasy retelling of The Princess Bride with a woman wielding a sword on the cover? I mean, could you literally ever convince me faster to read a book?

All I can remember about Forest of Souls by Lori M. Lee is necromancy. I don’t think any of the characters are actually necromancers, but someone is definitely brought back from the dead, and there’s a creepy forest in it, and I was like “alright sounds like a five star read” and bought it. Seriously, don’t let me buy books because I am so easily influenced. My favorite thing in a summary is when the characters are listed, like “a prince, a thief, a soldier, etc.” and I’m like YES A CAST OF MISFITS LET’S GOOOOOO. Do I have any idea what the book is about? Necromancy and a creepy forest, sounds good.

HA, see above paragraph because The Shadow Between Us by Tricia Levenseller is about the same. All I saw was Shadow King, and I went YUP. I am a simple person with a very wide palate of interests, and this is why I own 600+ books because I love everything. Plus, the aesthetic of this cover and just the aesthetic of a Shadow King that needs to be wooed, married, and killed is all I need.

Bone Crier’s Moon by Kathryn Purdie is the whole reason for this purchase! The title definitely hooked me, and the cover is just so beautiful that every time I saw it somewhere, I wanted to know more. The plot totally sounds like something I’ll weep over, too, because it’ll involve a lot of forbidden romance and yearning, and that’s just A+++++ in my world. I love when characters get together, but I almost love it more when they pine after each other.

And even though that was the reason I started putting books in my cart, Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar is the reason I actually bought everything. One: the title alone would have grabbed me. Two: THAT COVER. Holy moly, I can’t get over it, it’s absolutely freaking gorgeous. Three: someone said this was perfect for fans of The Candle & the Flame by Nafiza Azad, and alright sold. Four: there’s bound to be hundreds of celestial metaphors, and I’m prepared to weep with joy.

Have you read any of these?