Others: Mixed An enchanting enemies-to-lovers fantasy about an exiled saint and the devout iconographer sent to paint him, for fans of Divine Rivals and A Study in Drowning. The Abbey has controlled the minds of its patrons for a millennium through memory magic, stolen from exiled saints. At fifteen, Jude was exiled from the Abbey to the bleak moors in the countryside, to maintain their control over his bourgeoning magic. Almost a decade later, he wants to live a normal life free from the Abbey’s oppressive gaze. When they send Maeve, a stubbornly devout iconographer, to paint an updated icon of him, Jude makes it his mission to get rid of her as soon as possible. That is until he discovers she holds the same tainted magic of the saints as he does, and that the icons she paints may be the key to destroying the Abbey's power. As Jude and Maeve draw closer, the two of them face a choice—they can take on the full power of the Abbey and risk their lives for freedom or escape back to exile and make the most of their fading memories. But this institution has eyes everywhere, and the only thing the Abbey loves more than a saint is a martyr.
Lists: …
V.L. Bovalino
2025 · 480 pages · 8 reviews
Others: Leaning positiveLove. Loyalty. Sacrifice. Grey Flynn has dedicated her life to her mage, Kier. She will be his blade on the battlefield, his healer and protector. The deep well of raw power inside her is Kier's to use. Grey would do anything for Kier - be anything for him - if he would only ask. When a quest to protect the child of an enemy kingdom pulls them into the dangerous heart of their nation's war, Grey and Kier will need to decide what they are willing to sacrifice to protect their secret. For Grey is no ordinary magical well, but heir to the lost island of Locke - the root of all power. If she dies, all magic dies with her. The Second Death of Locke is a devastatingly romantic epic fantasy and about the undying bond between a knight and their mage, perfect for fans of The Knight and the Moth and The Six Deaths of the Saint.
What made the match, strongest first
Jennifer Delaney
2024 · 480 pages · 2 reviews
Others: PositiveAn instant Sunday Times bestseller and love letter to the Brontë sisters, Tales of a Monstrous Heart is a delicious gothic fantasy, filled with forbidden romance, magic, and monsters. Be careful of the dark and those that call it friend. Katherine Woodrow is fey, and all she wants is to graduate from the Institute of Magic. But when the prejudiced mortal council threaten her position at the institute, she is left with only one accept a Mage Partnership with the elusive Lord Blackthorn. Emrys Blackthorn is a riddle Kat is fearful of solving. The mysterious, cursed war hero with his stormy eyes and unpredictable ways leaves Kat with more questions than answers. What she does know is that she is irresistibly drawn to him . . . no matter how forbidden it might be. In this intoxicating gothic fantasy where passion collides with peril, and sorcery awakens monsters, a string of murders and fey disappearances herald the return of dark magic. Kat and Emrys are thrown into a world of ancient books that hide hideous monsters, dark fiends who play with nightmares, and mortal men who wish nothing more than to see them both burn. But what haunts them both are secrets even ghosts dare not whisper, while insidious shadows lick their teeth and sharpen their claws, waiting for the moment that all tales will come to light—even the monstrous ones.
What made the match, strongest first
Tasha Suri
2025 · 496 pages · 2 reviews
Others: Mostly negativeIn a Britain fuelled by stories, the knight and the witch are fated to fall in love and doom each other over and over, the same tale retold over hundreds of lifetimes. Simran is a witch of the woods. Vina is a knight of the Queen's court. When the two women begin to fall for each other, how can they surrender to their desires, when to give in is to destroy each other? As they seek a way to break the cycle, a mysterious assassin begins targeting tales like theirs. To survive, the two will need to write a story stronger than the one that fate has given to them. But what tale is stronger than The Knight and the Witch?
What made the match, strongest first
H. G. Parry
2025 · 416 pages · 5 reviews
Others: PositiveJonathan Strange & Mr Norrell meets A Tale of Two Cities in H. G. Parry’s A Far Better Thing, a heart-rending fantasy of faery revenge set during the French Revolution. I feared this was the best of times; I hoped it could not get any worse. The fairies stole Sydney Carton as a child, and made him a mortal servant of the Faerie Realm. Now, he has a rare opportunity for revenge against the fae and Charles Darnay, the changeling left in his stead. It will take magic and cunning—cold iron and Realm silver—to hide his intentions from humans and fae and bring his plans to fruition. Shuttling between London and Paris during the Reign of Terror, generations of violence-begetting-violence lead him to a heartbreaking choice in the shadow of the guillotine.
What made the match, strongest first
Neon Yang
2025 · 128 pages · 3 reviews
Others: PositiveA new Queer, Asian-inspired fantasy novella about a renowned dragon slayer who never takes her armor off in public, Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame reads like She Who Became the Sun meets The Mandalorian, with dragons! The fiercely independent nation of Quanbao is isolated, reclusive, and something of a mystery to the rest of the world. It is rumored that there, dragons are not feared as is right and proper but instead loved and worshiped. Yeva is perhaps a strange emissary to these people. Not only because their face has never been seen in public, but because they are a hero born to a birthright that makes them suited for their task—hunting dragons. And so the dragon hunter must woo Quanbao's queen—the Lady Sookhee—to understand what secrets she is hiding. A woman reasonably suspicious of Yeva's intentions, and the imperial might of the throne she represents, Sookhee bears the burden of the safety of her entire people. How can she trust this stranger newly arrived to her court, a weapon forged in blood and fire, to understand what her people need and how best to safeguard their future?
What made the match, strongest first
Hache Pueyo
2024 · 128 pages · 2 reviews
Others: NegativeThe Shape of Water meets Mexican Gothic in this sapphic monster romance novella wrapped in gothic fantasy trappings The old keeper of the keys is dead, and the creature who ate her is the volatile Lady of the Capricious House―Anatema, an enormous humanoid spider with a taste for laudanum and human brides. Dália, the old keeper’s protégée, must take up her duties, locking and unlocking the little drawers in which Anatema keeps her memories. And if she can unravel the crime that led to her predecessor's death, Dália might just be able to survive long enough to grow into her new role. But there’s a gaping hole in Dália’s plan that she refuses to see: Anatema cannot resist a beautiful woman, and she eventually devours every single bride that crosses her path.
What made the match, strongest first
Mixedthis ended up being fine. I liked parts of it. All that starts to fall apart is the actual world building of this story that I'm not going to get into cuz it would be spoilers, but like some of the worldbuing elements of this and some of the plot points of it don't quite make sense.
