Read that already? Read this next! - Dispatch #1
The literary world is full of repeated recommendations, popular books you're sick of hearing about, the newest releases you've already read, old classics you don't want to revisit. In a valiant effort to reconcile these occurrences, I invite you to join me for our first glorious installment of: "Read that already? Read this next!"
Bridgerton (series) by Julia Quinn --> The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk
The Midnight Bargain is a YA Fantasy Regency Romance that follows a secret sorceress who dreams of magic and freedom both. The setting sweeps the reader away into a dazzling world of ballrooms and parties, traditions and courting rituals, and vibrantly-colored fashion, and pushes back against the patriarchal society the heroine finds herself falling victim to, forced to choose ultimately between independence or romance.
The Lord of the Rings (trilogy) by J. R. R. Tolkien --> Jonathan Strange & Nr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Jonathan Strange & Nr. Norrell is a compelling tale of rival magicians, English magic, legendary and long-forgotten sorcery, ghostly armies, reclusive and rare libraries, and the wonder that stems from the mountains and the woods. A favorite of our booksellers!
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs or A Series of Unfortunate Events (series) by Lemony Snicket --> The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
The House in the Cerulean Sea tells the compelling tale of a magical island, full of secrets, that houses the Marsyas Island Orphanage and six equally magical children and their secretive caretaker. For lovers of Lemony Snicket's narration and Ransom Riggs' plots, with endearing queer aspects as well.
Swamplandia by Karen Russell --> Creole Conjure by Christina Rosso
Local author! Creole Conjure weaves a series of interconnected tales about New Orleans in all of its sorcery and hunger. Honey Island Swamp acts as a Styx-ian gateway between the lands of the living and the dead, and secrets run abound behind the thin veil of tourism.
A Court of Thorns and Roses (series) by Sarah J. Maas --> From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout
From Blood and Ash tells of a fallen kingdom once again on the rise, of the Maiden, never alone, of the entanglement of duty and destiny, and of the girl who carries the fate of the kingdom on her shoulders.
Good Bones by Maggie Smith --> The Madness Vase by Andrea Gibson
The Madness Vase is a breathless collection of intimate and tender poems, rich and rife with gripping, gorgeous imagery. These poems explore family, war, spirituality, gender, grief and hope, hauling the reader out of their darkness as they explores Gibson's own. Gibson is also career-long proponent of social justice topics, and this is evident in this compendium. My very favorite!
Reading something you'd like a recommendation for? Message us on Instagram for a suggestion in the next installment! Happy reading <3