I've mostly been rereading (and doing cryptic crosswords), but have read one new book recently, and enjoyed it a lot:
The Raven and the Reindeer, by T. Kingfisher: This is a fantasy about a Scandinavian girl who sets out to rescue the boy she considers her best friend, after he has been kidnapped by the Snow Queen.
Gerta knows that she's doing something risky, but tells her grandmother than she has to do it anyway; her grandmother accepts this and sends her off with a few useful things and a cryptic message. The first thing that happens is that Gerta spends several months in an odd sort of enchantment, in the cottage of a witch; after escaping that, she befriends the titular raven, who accompanies her on the rest of her journey.
I liked this, and not just because never mind the boy, the story turns into a growing friendship, and courtship, between Gerta and another girl, Jenna, something Gerta had literally never thought of as possible. The story also includes interesting magic of plants and dreams, and some very fine otters. Definitely recommended.
Rereading:
Half-off Ragnarok, by Seanan McGuire. Third in her InCryptid series, and either I wasn't in the right mood, I don't like the Alex-viewpoint stories as much as the Verity ones, or both.
The Comfortable Courtesan, by L.A. Hall (as "Clorinda Cathcart"): a long serialized novel, or series of novels (apparently about a million words), a Regency-era historical with quite a few LGBT and non-white characters, and polyamorous relationships (not called that, of course, just as the story predates the terms "homosexual" and "heterosexual"). This was originally serialized on Dreamwidth (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
the_comfortable_courtesan), with reader comments as it went on; in rereading I found my own remark that it was pleasant, and unusual, to read a story that felt as though it/the author understood my life.
The Comfortable Courtesan, and some related stories about Clorinda and her circle, is available at https://www.clorinda.org/
The Raven and the Reindeer, by T. Kingfisher: This is a fantasy about a Scandinavian girl who sets out to rescue the boy she considers her best friend, after he has been kidnapped by the Snow Queen.
Gerta knows that she's doing something risky, but tells her grandmother than she has to do it anyway; her grandmother accepts this and sends her off with a few useful things and a cryptic message. The first thing that happens is that Gerta spends several months in an odd sort of enchantment, in the cottage of a witch; after escaping that, she befriends the titular raven, who accompanies her on the rest of her journey.
I liked this, and not just because never mind the boy, the story turns into a growing friendship, and courtship, between Gerta and another girl, Jenna, something Gerta had literally never thought of as possible. The story also includes interesting magic of plants and dreams, and some very fine otters. Definitely recommended.
Rereading:
Half-off Ragnarok, by Seanan McGuire. Third in her InCryptid series, and either I wasn't in the right mood, I don't like the Alex-viewpoint stories as much as the Verity ones, or both.
The Comfortable Courtesan, by L.A. Hall (as "Clorinda Cathcart"): a long serialized novel, or series of novels (apparently about a million words), a Regency-era historical with quite a few LGBT and non-white characters, and polyamorous relationships (not called that, of course, just as the story predates the terms "homosexual" and "heterosexual"). This was originally serialized on Dreamwidth (
the_comfortable_courtesan), with reader comments as it went on; in rereading I found my own remark that it was pleasant, and unusual, to read a story that felt as though it/the author understood my life. The Comfortable Courtesan, and some related stories about Clorinda and her circle, is available at https://www.clorinda.org/