Books Added to My TBR During Wyrd and Wonder

“My name is Rune Saint John.”

First line in The Last Sun by K. D. Edwards

It’s been a few weeks since Wyrd and Wonder ended, but just like I did last year, I’m sharing a list of the books that found their way onto my TBR during the month-long fantasy celebration. This year I actually remembered to write down where I found the recommendations, so for each of the books, I’ll credit the book blogger responsible. Let’s look at some fantasy books!

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The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson

The lush city of Palmares Tres shimmers with tech and tradition, with screaming gossip casters and practiced politicians. In the midst of this vibrant metropolis, June Costa creates art that’s sure to make her legendary. But her dreams of fame become something more when she meets Enki, the bold new Summer King. The whole city falls in love with him including June’s best friend, Gil. But June sees more to Enki than amber eyes and a lethal samba. She sees a fellow artist.

Together, June and Enki will stage explosive, dramatic projects that Palmares Tres will never forget. They will add fuel to a growing rebellion against the governments strict limits on new tech. And June will fall deeply, unfortunately in love with Enki. Because like all Summer Kings before him, Enki is destined to die.

Why it sounds awesome:

💥 Apparently it’s a post apocalyptic story with Brazilian vibes.
💥 Summer Kings are supposed to die but why?

The bookowl who put it on my TBR: Dina @SFF Book Reviews

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Sistersong by Lucy Holland

535 AD. In the ancient kingdom of Dumnonia, King Cador’s children inherit a fragmented land abandoned by the Romans.

Riva, scarred in a terrible fire, fears she will never heal.
Keyne battles to be seen as the king’s son, when born a daughter.
And Sinne, the spoiled youngest girl, yearns for romance.

All three fear a life of confinement within the walls of the hold – a last bastion of strength against the invading Saxons. But change comes on the day ash falls from the sky, bringing Myrddhin, meddler and magician, and Tristan, a warrior whose secrets will tear the siblings apart. Riva, Keyne and Sinne must take fate into their own hands, or risk being tangled in a story they could never have imagined; one of treachery, love and ultimately, murder. It’s a story that will shape the destiny of Britain.

Why it sounds awesome:

💥 EVERYTHING! Old, old Britain. Invading Saxons. Trans character in a historical fantasy setting.
💥 I’ve seen the author mentioned alongside Natasha Pulley very often.
💥 The book blogger who listed this as their favorite also loved The Betrayals by Bridget Collins which I take to be a very good sign I’ll love it too.

The bookowl who put it on my TBR: Ariana @The Book Nook

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The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid

In the vein of Naomi Novik’s New York Times bestseller Spinning Silver and Katherine Arden’s national bestseller The Bear and the Nightingale, this unforgettable debut— inspired by Hungarian history and Jewish mythology—follows a young pagan woman with hidden powers and a one-eyed captain of the Woodsmen as they form an unlikely alliance to thwart a tyrant.

In her forest-veiled pagan village, Évike is the only woman without power, making her an outcast clearly abandoned by the gods. The villagers blame her corrupted bloodline—her father was a Yehuli man, one of the much-loathed servants of the fanatical king. When soldiers arrive from the Holy Order of Woodsmen to claim a pagan girl for the king’s blood sacrifice, Évike is betrayed by her fellow villagers and surrendered.

But when monsters attack the Woodsmen and their captive en route, slaughtering everyone but Évike and the cold, one-eyed captain, they have no choice but to rely on each other. Except he’s no ordinary Woodsman—he’s the disgraced prince, Gáspár Bárány, whose father needs pagan magic to consolidate his power. Gáspár fears that his cruelly zealous brother plans to seize the throne and instigate a violent reign that would damn the pagans and the Yehuli alike. As the son of a reviled foreign queen, Gáspár understands what it’s like to be an outcast, and he and Évike make a tenuous pact to stop his brother.

As their mission takes them from the bitter northern tundra to the smog-choked capital, their mutual loathing slowly turns to affection, bound by a shared history of alienation and oppression. However, trust can easily turn to betrayal, and as Évike reconnects with her estranged father and discovers her own hidden magic, she and Gáspár need to decide whose side they’re on, and what they’re willing to give up for a nation that never cared for them at all.

Why it sounds awesome:

💥 *stares intensely at the Bear and the Nightingale comparison*
💥 Reluctant allies, a disgraced prince, and mythology inspiration are all big buzzwords for me.
💥 Historical Fantasy standalone!

The bookowl who put it on my TBR: Tammy @Books, Bones and Buffy

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The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson

Set in 1491 during the reign of the last sultanate in the Iberian peninsula, The Bird King is the story of Fatima, the only remaining Circassian concubine to the sultan, and her dearest friend Hassan, the palace mapmaker.

Hassan has a secret–he can draw maps of places he’s never seen and bend the shape of reality. When representatives of the newly formed Spanish monarchy arrive to negotiate the sultan’s surrender, Fatima befriends one of the women, not realizing that she will see Hassan’s gift as sorcery and a threat to Christian Spanish rule. With their freedoms at stake, what will Fatima risk to save Hassan and escape the palace walls?

As Fatima and Hassan traverse Spain with the help of a clever jinn to find safety, The Bird King asks us to consider what love is and the price of freedom at a time when the West and the Muslim world were not yet separate.

Why it sounds awesome:

💥 The coolest magical ability!
💥 Set in a historical period I’m unfamiliar with.

The bookowl who put it on my TBR: Sia @Every Book A Doorway

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Mordew by Alex Pheby

GOD IS DEAD, his corpse hidden in the catacombs beneath Mordew.

In the slums of the sea-battered city a young boy called Nathan Treeves lives with his parents, eking out a meagre existence by picking treasures from the Living Mud and the half-formed, short-lived creatures it spawns. Until one day his desperate mother sells him to the mysterious Master of Mordew.

The Master derives his magical power from feeding on the corpse of God. But Nathan, despite his fear and lowly station, has his own strength – and it is greater than the Master has ever known. Great enough to destroy everything the Master has built. If only Nathan can discover how to use it.

So it is that the Master begins to scheme against him – and Nathan has to fight his way through the betrayals, secrets, and vendettas of the city where God was murdered, and darkness reigns…

Why it sounds awesome:

💥 This is giving off strong Fitz-vibes.
💥 God is dead and some magician is feeding on his corpse? Please tell me more.
💥 Reviews seems to be calling it literary fantasy.

The bookowl who put it on my TBR: Mayri @Bookforager

For someone who doesn’t read reviews, I think I’ve found a very interesting pile of books to add to my TBR, so a big thank you to all of the bloggers who talked about these books during May. If you participated in Wyrd and Wonder, tell me about some of the books you added to your TBR. If you didn’t, have some of the books from this post caught your interest? Happy reading!