The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
completed in May 2026
fantasy, time travel, emotional
★★★★★
Time loops and epic love. I was told to read this book cold and I’m telling you to read this book cold. Non-spoiler: the book has a subtle big lady/small guy fetish subplot.
Exordia by Seth Dickinson
completed march 2026
hard sci-fi, war, math, aviation, disease
★★★
This book was a lot. It was recommended to me by a (lesbian) barista. She originally suggested Dickinson’s The Masquerade series because of its surprisingly accurate depiction of the “lesbian mindset.” And as much as I love a mindset, I picked Exordia because it was a standalone story. Now is a weird time to be reading a book about an alien invasion in Kurdistan (at the time of writing the US is in an active war with Iran). The content was repetitive or pedantic at times. But, I was impressed by Dickinson working in a jump scare during an especially tense scene. At the end of the day, this book is about morality and the main question is “How many individuals is it ok to kill to save the group?” Exordia would have gotten a four out of five from me if the plot was a little more linear or there were fewer detailed descriptions of military planes.
Sabriel by Garth Nix
completed a lot of times through the years
young adult, fantasy, coming of age, death
★★★★★
Sabriel is one of my favorite books from my childhood and it gets five starts for nostalgia. The story follows the classic hero’s journey, a young woman must leave school to save the world from dead monsters and inherent the family “business” (necromancy) along the way. The setting is an engaging high fantasy world and the characters are mostly likeable. I also think the books in this series get better as they go on.
Night Vision by Mariana Alessandri
completed in 2023
philosophy, emotions, short
★★★★★
I work in mental health and I think this a good book.