Phantastic Reads
@phantasticreads.bsky.social
š¤ 42
š„ 100
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Jamie, she/her, professional book nerd | current book reviewer, former library worker/bookseller
pinned post!
Iām Jamie and I used to work in bookshops and libraries. Now I review books (speculative and hardboiled fiction, comics) on my blog
phantasticreads.wordpress.com
#booksky
over 1 year ago
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Slayers of Old Slayers of Old, by Jim C. Hines Three retired urban fantasy archetypes live together in a sentient house/bookshop. When locals start summoning things that threaten Salem and the world at large, itās time to get back in the game. In 2007 I was already burned out on high fantasy.ā¦
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Slayers of Old
Slayers of Old, by Jim C. Hines Three retired urban fantasy archetypes live together in a sentient house/bookshop. When locals start summoning things that threaten Salem and the world at large, itās time to get back in the game. In 2007 I was already burned out on high fantasy. There was a lot of sameness and I couldnāt look past how the women were treated.
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2026/03/30/slayers-of-old/
about 2 hours ago
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Kill All Wizards Kill All Wizards, by Jedediah Berry The barbarian Gotichmus sought out the ruling wizards, hoping to enlist their aid in righting a terrible wrong. Instead of a person, they him as a valuable chess piece and set out to use him in their infighting. Now heās out for revenge. Iā¦
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Kill All Wizards
Kill All Wizards, by Jedediah Berry The barbarian Gotichmus sought out the ruling wizards, hoping to enlist their aid in righting a terrible wrong. Instead of a person, they him as a valuable chess piece and set out to use him in their infighting. Now heās out for revenge. I almost skipped this one. I saw it on NetGalley, but between the title and the cover I assumed it wasnāt something I was interested in.
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2026/03/29/kill-all-wizards/
1 day ago
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#GunpowderProhpets
from
@madcavestudios.com
is a blast!
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Gunpowder Prophets
Gunpowder Prophets, by Justin Jordan, Patrick Piazzalunga, Roman Stevens, and Taylor Esposito A runaway wife hired Huck and Marley to get her daughter back from an occult-obsessed ex. Nothing is evā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2026/02/20/gunpowder-prophets/
4 days ago
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@secase.bsky.social
ās
#BurnitDownRigsbyWIVolume2
is a tough, heartfelt read
phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2026/02/21/b...
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Burn It Down: Rigsby WI Volume 2
Burn It Down: Rigsby WI Volume 2, by S.E. Case Burn It Down is the second collected volume of Caseās Rigsby, WI webcomic, which follows four teenage misfits in a tiny town in rural Wisconsin. This ā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2026/02/21/burn-it-down-rigsby-wi-volume-2/
5 days ago
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The Price of Fear may be the single best
#OTR
show just because it treats all the creepy weird stories as personal anecdotes from Vincent Priceās everyday life. How can you beat that?
28 days ago
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The worst part of a review to write is always the summary, but the posts look incomplete without them
about 1 month ago
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#TheNightShip
is a gorgeous look at people coming together (and tearing themselves apart) in crisis
phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2026/02/18/t...
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The Night Ship
The Night Ship, by Alex Woodroe This is a beautiful mashup of weird literature and supervillain origins, following a smuggler and her trucker almost-fiancĆ© as they navigate a world of sinking darknā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2026/02/18/the-night-ship/
about 1 month ago
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reposted by
Phantastic Reads
New Edge Sword & Sorcery Magazine
about 2 months ago
āļøTHE CROWDFUND FOR NEW EDGE SWORD & SORCERY 2026 IS LIVEāļø Three issues - our Timeworn Terra special - a New Jirel of Joiry story... The more re-posts this gets, the more bonus content we'll add to this year's issues! Go here to learn more and back the magazineš
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/b...
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#CaveGraveWildWestTales
is a gritty, art-first piece collecting two western stories
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Cave Grave: Wild West Tales
Cave Grave: Wild West Tales, by Shawn Kuruneru In Cave Grave: Wild West Tales Shawn Kuruneru gives us two short comics. In the first a robbery goes wrong, and in the second a bounty hunter runs intā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2026/01/10/cave-grave-wild-west-tales/
about 2 months ago
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Great voice but some of the characters fall flat and the plot goes haywire halfway through. The ending makes up for it, but boy was it hard to get there!
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Headlights
Headlights, by CJ Leede People are waking up beside the highway covered on blood, naked except for the skin of another person they have no memory of killing.Ā Thereās no apparent connection beā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2026/01/09/headlights/
about 2 months ago
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#TheCreepingBelow
is physically difficult too read but has a great premise and I hope the story isnāt over
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The Creeping Below
The Creeping Below, by Brian Azzarello, Vanesa Del Rey, and Hilary Jenkins Val follows a metal band into the forest where they sacrifice her to something older than the gods. When she wakes up seveā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2026/01/08/the-creeping-below/
about 2 months ago
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#DearSylviaLoveJane
promises a solid historical sapphic mystery series
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Dear Sylvia, Love Jane
Dear Sylvia, Love Jane, by Erin Hall Molly Malone is a private detective in 1943 San Francisco, shortly after the Atherton Report brought the SFPDās corruption to national attention. When a beautifā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2026/01/06/dear-sylvia-love-jane/
about 2 months ago
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#ForeverStamps
is a great blend of visual and information, arranged around topic rather than value or year
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Forever Stamps
Forever Stamps: 250 Years of United States History Writ Small, by Gail Anderson, Brian E. Smith, and the United States Postal Service Iāve never been one to collect stamps, even though theyāre ofteā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2026/01/04/forever-stamps/
about 2 months ago
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#RedandtheWolves
a sort of fantasy dystopia with a heroine that must choose whether family is who raised her or who raises her up
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Red and the Wolves
Red and the Wolves, by Cherry Zong Red hunts monsters and brings them back to the w9man who raised her in an attempt to save their forest home from the magical blight that has made it all but uninhā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2026/01/03/red-and-the-wolves/
about 2 months ago
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#SummerShadows
gives us vampire noir in the Mediterranean
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Summer Shadows
Summer Shadows, by John Harris Dunning, Ricardo Cabral, Brad Simpson, and Jim Campbell Nickās ex sends a postcard from the Greek island Avraxos before disappearing altogether. Filled with dread, Niā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/12/28/summer-shadows/
about 2 months ago
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#IllMakeASpectacleOfYou
is a riveting, accessible Black Appalachian queer dark academic folk horror novel.
phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/12/27/i...
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Iāll Make a Spectacle of You
Iāll Make a Spectacle of You, by Beatrice Winifred Iker Zora, a queer Black rootworker, is starting grad school at the prestigious Briscksbury Mountain College. She dives into primary sources aboutā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/12/27/ill-make-a-spectacle-of-you/
about 2 months ago
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Finished
@tkingfisher.com
ās
#WolfWorm
the other night. I do okay with most bugs but boy am I glad I buzzed my hair a couple weeks ago! Every unexpected touch is a jumpscare.
phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/12/16/w...
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Wolf Worm
Wolf Worm, by T. Kingfisher Itās the 1890s and Sonia Wilson, a scientific illustrator, has been hired to provide the visuals for Dr. Halderās book on entomology. She travels to his house deep in thā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/12/16/wolf-worm/
3 months ago
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My top four Tam Lin retellings, plus playlist!
phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/09/07/s...
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Seasonal Rereads: Tam Lin
What could be more seasonally appropriate than a man whoās lived in the lap of luxury and now is about to be sacrificed to hell? Especially since heās set to meet his doom on Halloween, assuming noā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/09/07/seasonal-rereads-tam-lin/
7 months ago
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@keithrosson.bsky.social
ās
#CoffinMoon
is out next week!
add a skeleton here at some point
7 months ago
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How it feels when you library holds and
#NetGalley
ARCs come on at once.
#booksky
7 months ago
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I find myself chasing the high of a book that isnāt even out yet š
@kjcharleswriter.com
add a skeleton here at some point
7 months ago
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One of my professors (now passed and dearly missed) told me that itās best to write about things that either you really love or really hate. This is why, if I canāt quite figure out what I want to say about a book Iāve read, I go and find other reviews.
8 months ago
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reposted by
Phantastic Reads
Christopher Carroll
8 months ago
Reading The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones, and some passages in Good Stabās voice are like taking a big sip of a good whiskey, and just letting it roll around your tongue. Sooo good.
@sgj.bsky.social
I recommend Jameson Triple Triple, btw. Very smooth and affordable.
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#HobtownMysteryStoriesVol3
is the weirdest and most disorienting installment to date, plus it sheds light on what exactly is going on in Hobtown!
phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/08/02/h...
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Hobtown Mystery Stories Vol. 3
Hobtown Mystery Stories Vol. 3: The Secret of the Saucer, by Kris Bertin and Alexander Forbes Hobtown always makes you wonder what the hell is going on, and The Secret of the Saucer takes the cake.ā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/08/02/hobtown-mystery-stories-vol-3/
8 months ago
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The suspense in
#TheHomecoming
kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldnāt bear to look, and HAD to know what was going to happen.
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The Homecoming
The Homecoming, by ZoĆ« Apostolides Ellenās job is to go around interviewing people about their lives so she can write their memoirs for them. When one of her colleagues cancels, Ellen takes the assā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/07/29/the-homecoming/
8 months ago
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Finally read the latest two
#DresdenFiles
novels in preparation for next yearās
#TwelveMonths
phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/07/28/p...
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Peace Talks
Peace Talks, by Jim Butcher Itās finally time to deal with the encroaching Fomor faction in Chicago. To that end, Brain Marcone has agreed to host a peace conference between the signatories of the ā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/07/28/peace-talks/
8 months ago
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#AllofUsMurderers
is one of my favorite books so far this year, and I want to reread it immediately.
phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/07/26/a...
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All of Us Murderers
All of Us Murderers, by KJ Charles Zeb accepts an invitation to stay with his cousin in the family country manor, only to discover that everyone else he doesnāt want to see is already there. Cousinā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/07/26/all-of-us-murderers/
8 months ago
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Iāve read Mariko Tamaki and
@nicolegoux.bsky.social
ās
#ThisPlaceKillsMe
three times already. I promise you need it.
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https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/06/07/this-place-kills-me/
10 months ago
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Tomās right. As someone whoās mostly skipped over classic eco-go in the past, I was amazed and immediately dug up some Wyndham audio adaptations while waiting for the books to come in.
add a skeleton here at some point
10 months ago
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Trying to make the blog more user-friendly, which means adding a search bar and replacing the amazing disappearing buttons with text links.
10 months ago
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@authoroux.bsky.social
drops us into a horrifically gothic fairytale in
#AGirlWalksintotheForest
phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/06/06/a...
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A Girl Walks into the Forest
A Girl Walks into the Forest, by Madeleine Roux Valla is chosen to be the Countās bride, her beauty exchanged for food and fur to keep her village safe. But the way through the forest is long, and ā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/06/06/a-girl-walks-into-the-forest/
10 months ago
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Hey, remember
@toril.bsky.social
ās webcomic Hotblood!?
#HotbloodVol1
is coming out and itās even more gorgeous than you remember!
phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/06/04/h...
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Hotblood! Volume 1: The Land of Promise
Hotblood! Volume 1: The Land of Promise, by Toril Orlesky In an alternate past where mythic creatures roam the US alongside humans, centaur Rook is hired to kill Asa Langley. But how can he turn onā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/06/04/hotblood-volume-1-the-land-of-promise/
10 months ago
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And in another instance of āI canāt wait until closer to release,ā
@scumbelievable.bsky.social
is out to destroy us again with
#BlackFlame
in the best way possible
phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/06/03/b...
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Black Flame
Black Flame, by Gretchen Felker-Martin When a surviving copy of Bartokās transgressive, queer horror film is brought to Ellenās employer for restoration, it makes her uneasy.Ā Sheās spent the ā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/06/03/black-flame/
10 months ago
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I know itās a bit early for reviews, but
@seananmcguire.bsky.social
knocked it out of the park with the upcoming October Daye book, Silver and Lead!
phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/06/02/s...
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Silver and Lead
Silver and Lead, by Seanan McGuire While Titania had all of Faerie marching to the cruel beat of her drum, someone robbed Muir Woods of all the rare and dangerous artifacts left in the queenās keepā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/06/02/silver-and-lead/
10 months ago
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PI Vandy Myrick is back in book 2!
#DeathOfAnEx
is a great sequel, and the series is promising to be one of THE detective series to follow.
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Death of an Ex
Death of an Ex, by Delia Pitts Vandyās back! Still struggling with her past and the death of her daughter, Vandy reconnects with her ex-husband shortly before heās found dead. Can she figure out whā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/05/11/death-of-an-ex-2/
11 months ago
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Took a break from the usual horror/comics/fantasy fare to check out
#KissMeMaybe
. Glad I did! A fun
#queerromance
with an asexual lesbian lead and a bisexual love interest.
phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/05/05/k...
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Kiss Me, Maybe
Kiss Me, Maybe, by Gabriella Gamez In this sequel to The Next Best Fling, Angela comes out online as an asexual lesbian after gaining notoriety by posting an accidental thirst trap.Ā In the onā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/05/05/kiss-me-maybe/
11 months ago
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#WelcometoStHell
is a really honest look at how complicated body image is as a teen, and why it can be so hard to recognize gender dysphoria. Itās also really funny.
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Welcome to St. Hell
Welcome to St. Hell, by Lewis Hancox Lewis Hancox revists his teens growing up within gender dysphoria in a small town in northwestern England. Adult Lewis narrates the story, occasionally breakingā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/04/16/welcome-to-st-hell/
11 months ago
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#Motherlover
is a great comic about queer love
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Motherlover
Motherlover, by Lindsay Ishihiro When single mom Alex moves in next to married mom of four Imogen, they quickly form an unlikely friendship that takes them through triumphs and heartbreak. Itās alwā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/04/17/motherlover/
11 months ago
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A gothic horror comic, you say?
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Skin Deep
Skin Deep, by Flo Woolley A short queer horror comic set in a dance house, packed with a gothic intrigue, all told with night-dark inks and a ghostly green and blue palette. A must-read! Amazon Booā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/04/15/skin-deep/
11 months ago
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#ECCruelUniverseVol1
is another great comics anthology
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EC Cruel Universe, volume 1
EC Cruel Universe Vol. 1, edited by Sierra Hahn and Matt Dryer I really loved EC Epitaphs from the Abyss, and I was thrilled to get a shot at its sister titles. EC Cruel Universe doesnāt disappointā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/04/14/ec-cruel-universe-volume-1/
11 months ago
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On a lighter note,
#DraculasBrunchClub
is a good addition to your middle grade Halloween comics, or your favorite babybatās year-round collection!
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Draculaās Brunch Club
Draculaās Brunch Club, by Brian Gonsar and Keenan Gaybba Count Dracula has returned from a six month world tour, eager to return to a grueling social schedule of hosting brunches and providing bakeā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/04/22/draculas-brunch-club/
11 months ago
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I know itās not out until September, but I couldnāt wait to devour
#CoffinMoon
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https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/04/25/coffin-moon/
11 months ago
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@katyhoran.bsky.social
ās
#MurderBallads
is going to be someoneās gateway to folklore scholarship and I am here for it!
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https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/04/24/murder-ballads-illustrated-lyrics-lore/
11 months ago
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Iāve been craving more since
@unshavedmouse.bsky.social
ās Knock Knock, Open Wide and
#TheBurialTide
does not disappoint!
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https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/04/23/the-burial-tide/
11 months ago
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Finally got my hands on
#BHH
by
@sgj.bsky.social
! A favorite of the year so far
phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/04/21/t...
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The Buffalo Hunter Hunter
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, by Stephen Graham Jones One hundred years after the last entry is written, a long-lost diary is discovered in a wall of an old parsonage. The authorās great-granddaughterā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/04/21/the-buffalo-hunter-hunter/
11 months ago
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I really love Biker Mice from Mars, okay?
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Nacelleverse Vol. 1: Biker Mice from Mars & RoboForce
Nacelleverse Vol. 1: Biker Mice from Mars & RoboForce, by Melissa Flores, Rahmat Handoko, Rhoald Marcellius, Francis Portela, Diogenes Neves, Julio Brilha, Marcelo Di Chiara, Elton Thomasi, andā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/03/19/nacelleverse-vol-1-biker-mice-from-mars-roboforce/
12 months ago
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I knew
#TheRiverHasRoots
was going to be good, but I didnāt expect to get chills!
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The River Has Roots
The River Has Roots, by Amal El-Mohtar Esther and Ysabel are sisters who help tend the willows along the magic River Liss. Their neighbor wants to marry Esther to merger the familiesā properties buā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/04/09/the-river-has-roots/
12 months ago
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Enjoyed @GigiPandianās
#TheLibraryGame
, out from @MinotaurBooks! Enough clues for the reader to identify the culprit, and enough fun stuff to keep you entertained while the characters figure it out.
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The Library Game
Enjoyed @GigiPandianās #TheLibraryGame, out from @MinotaurBooks! Enough clues for the reader to identify the culprit, and enough fun stuff to keep you entertained while the characters figure it outā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/03/24/the-library-game/
12 months ago
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#TheStaircaseintheWoods
keeps showing up everywhere I look.
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The Staircase in the Woods
The Staircase in the Woods, by Chuck Wendig Five high schoolers swear an oath to stick together no matter what, but when a staircase appears in the woods where it shouldnāt be only four of the frieā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/03/19/the-staircase-in-the-woods/
12 months ago
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Nicky Gonzalezās
#Mayra
is amazing!
phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/04/12/m...
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Mayra
Mayra, by Nicky Gonzalez Ingrid and Maya havenāt spoken in years, but when Mayra calls up one night and invites Ingrid out to a house in the middle of the Everglades, how can she say no? The two yoā¦
https://phantasticreads.wordpress.com/2025/04/12/mayra/
12 months ago
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