The Bookish Mindset

If you’ve been around for a while then you’ll know that fantasy is one of my favourite genres and I’m loving finding more sci-fi recently. The escapism is second to none and the clever political writing is brilliant.

So let me share some of my favourites so far this year. Just tap on the titles to get more info from Bookshop.org and to support my work.

Fathomfolk – Eliza Chan. Gripping plot and brilliant politics, I can’t wait to dig into the second!

Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor – Xiran Jay Zhao. Perfect for fans of yu-gi-oh, this was a really fun middle grade novel.

Somadina – Akwaeke Emezi. One of the greats, Emezi returns with a standalone YA. Perfect for fans of Pet.

The Restaurant at the Edge of the World – Oliver Gerlach & Kelsi Jo Silva. A gorgeous graphic novel centring found family and a cooking competition.

Water Moon – Samanthan Sotto Yambao. The most beautiful magical realism novel set around a pawn shop were customers can pawn memories they want to forget.

The Sunbearer Trials – Aiden Thomas. Another brilliant YA duology centring a competition to serve the gods and great trans rep.

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon – Kimberley Lemming. This was fun and silly and I’ll definitely be picking up the next in the series.

Black Water Sister – Zen Cho. A tale of haunting grandma’s and bitter revenge, I really enjoyed this one!

Tusk Love – Thea Gunzon. Adorable grumpy/sunshine trope between and orc and a human on a quest.

Walking in Two Worlds – Wab Kinew. A brilliant YA set around virtual reality set on indigenous reserves. I can’t wait to pick up the second.

The Stardust Grail – Yume Kitasei. A space saga based around a search for a historical artifact said to save the universe.

Sorrowland – Rivers Solomon. Creepy but addictive. If you enjoy the macabre and unsettling this one is definitely for you.

Have you planned to pick any of these up? I’d love to know!

If you like what you’ve read and would like to access more content, I’d love if you could take a look at my patreon and consider supporting my content on there too. You can also find more content on my Instagram here.

And don’t forget to check out my other blogs and reviews – you can find books with similar themes in the same folder link below, or click back onto blogs to see the whole offering.

Last updated 29/08/2025