Wild Spaces by S. L. Coney

Wild Spaces can be described as a coming of age story crossed with Cthulu. Which is kind of deeply disturbing on one level, but on another level is kind of awesome.

An intimate look at both childhood and childhood trauma and the gradual unpacking and understanding of same, Wild Spaces lulls you into a sense of “oh yes, I know where this is going even if it’s going to lead me down a path that is not my favorite, I still know the turns” before taking a hard turn off the path and into the woods. Suitable for early teens (some of the trauma may disturb more sensitive readers) and up.

I adored this probably beyond all reason.

#WildSpaces #NetGalley

System Collapse by Martha Wells

The 8th (!) in the Murderbot series, System Collapse follows Murderbot on her quest to keep the stupid humans from doing stupid things. They are somewhat successful, in that nobody dies.

One of the things that I love about this series is Wells’ complete cynicism re: capitalism and how big companies treat their workers. Another thing I truly love is Murderbot's reluctant affection for the people who insist on hanging out with them and caring about them. (The audacity!)

Hard sci-fi but still with a trace of hand-waving the science, it’s definitely worth picking up.

I received a free copy from NetGalley for my unbiased opinion.

#SystemCollapse #NetGalley

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire

The 9th book in the Wayward Children series, Mislaid continues Antsy’s story and fills in a little more knowledge of the doors. Portal fiction can take a bit to get used to, but McGuire knows her way around.

There are undercurrents of abuse, but nothing explicit, and everything makes sense and boy howdy, is there a satisfying conclusion! Another series about a found family and aftermaths, this is a series that will linger far after the last page is turned. Recommended!

I received a free copy from NetGalley for my unbiased opinion.

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All the Hidden Paths by Foz Meadows

Continuing somewhat directly on from A Strange and Stubborn Endurance, Paths is much more political that Endurance. Which, to some bemusement, I absolutely enjoyed. Politics is much more entertaining when it has a veneer of queer romance and semi-feudal touches.

Meadows comes right out and says, “this is a book about what happens after you come out” and they are correct. It is also about the aftermath of trauma and the continuing effects of PSTD and how they can absolutely fuck you up and how people will still love you anyways. I love this series and hope that it continues but would also be happy with the duology.

Warning: this is what I would consider on the explicit end of romance so if that’s not your jam, you may want to skip this. (Or just flip quickly through some parts) If you’re a fan of (sort of) high fantasy, give it a try.

I received a free copy from NetGalley for my unbiased opinion.

#AllTheHiddenPaths #NetGalley

Anything With Nothing edited by Mercedes Lackey

For Valdemar fans, this is a perfectly good anthology. What I particularly like about these is that the stories fit in between the books – filling in other little bits of background. Fiona Patton’s Watchmen stories are a prime example, there are 14 of the stories now and I (for one) would love to see either a collection or a novel.

But I digress. As with any anthology, you probably won’t love all the stories, but I did enjoy them all and will be dipping back in and out as my fancy takes me. Might be a little confusing to start here, but it wouldn’t be too bad, I don’t think. (As usual, I think you should start at the beginning of a series, but YMMV)

I received a free copy from NetGalley for my unbiased opinion.

#AnythingWithNothing #NetGalley

The Innocent Sleep by Seanan McGuire

Many of McGuire’s books have an underlying theme of ‘found family’, which, I have to admit, I absolutely love. The Toby Daye books are no exception. I think the decision to release Sleep No More and The Innocent Sleep only a month apart was genius. The main character shift was a little jarring at first and I think it would have been harder to keep everything straight if the traditional publishing scheme of one book/year had been adhered to. Once I got used to the shift, it was fascinating to see Toby from outside as it were.

Read this one immediately after Sleep No More and enjoy!

I received a free copy from NetGalley for my unbiased opinion.

#TheInnocentSleep #NetGalley

Sleep No More by Seanan McGuire

McGuire doesn’t pull any punches in this installment of the Toby Daye series. I found it unsettling at first, but after finishing the book, I realized that that was kind of the point. Toby is so different for most of this novel, it really brings home how much we’ve seen her change over the series. Part of the charm of this series is that McGuire has done her homework about Faerie and weaves information into the books as you need it without doing info dumps at you.

The stakes definitely felt higher in this book, I’m not sure if it was the plot or what, but I was on the edge of my seat while reading it and inwardly cheered at the ending. Again, DO NOT START WITH THIS ONE, start at the beginning – or, if you’re like me, go back a few books (or, hey, back to the start) and continue forward, you won’t regret it.

I received a free copy from NetGalley for my unbiased opinion.

#SleepNoMore #NetGalley