I recommended this on a recent episode of WSIRN: episode 196 with Anudeep Reddy as a gateway fantasy, a fantasy novel for people who don't like fantasy. I loved this so much that we're reading this in February with the Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club. This is a literary mystery, a book about books, coming-of-age story, a tale of adventure and suspense and revenge, and tattoo artistry is a main theme. This was creative and inventive and lots of fun. Also note, this was great on audio.

Zinnia Gray’s 21st birthday is set to be her last due to a rare condition where no one survives past the age of 21. Her best friend Charm gifts her with a full sleeping beauty experience, she wakes up in the realm of Sleeping Beauty. A fun, snarky reimagined fairy tale that makes for one delightful escapist read.

Shannan says: "I adored this short story about an agent of the Department of Death who has to decide whether he should reap the soul of a 2-year-old boy. Harrow kept me in suspense until the end, which left me feeling oh so very happy. I never felt lost. It’s an excellent selection to begin your foray into the fantasy genre."

From the publisher: "Opal is a lot of things—orphan, high school dropout, full-time cynic and part-time cashier—but above all, she's determined to find a better life for her younger brother Jasper. One that gets them out of Eden, Kentucky, a town remarkable for only two things: bad luck and E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth century author who disappeared over a hundred years ago. All she left behind were dark rumors—and her home. Everyone agrees that it’s best to ignore the uncanny mansion and its misanthropic heir, Arthur. Almost everyone, anyway. When she gets the chance to step inside Starling House—and make some extra cash for her brother's escape fund—she can't resist. But sinister forces are digging deeper into the buried secrets of Starling House, and Arthur’s own nightmares have become far too real. As Eden itself seems to be drowning in its own ghosts, Opal realizes that she might finally have found a reason to stick around. And now she’ll have to fight."

I was emotionally hooked on this story even before the opening line, thanks to the perfect epigraph from a Rilke poem. This is the unlikely love story of two people who never should have met. Una Everlasting was a medieval lady knight, legendary warrior, and patron saint of the nation of Dominion. Owen Mallory is a tweedy scholar obsessed with Una’s legend. But then Dominion’s new chancellor sends Owen back in time to meet Una and write her definitive tale, so that the story may inspire the beleaguered nation. When he first meets her, he’s in awe and can barely believe she’s real. But then he falls in love with her—with disastrous consequences for them both. I don’t want to say too much—but I was completely entranced by this emotional, epic, and achingly intimate love story that unfolds across time and whose outcome will determine the fate of a nation. I’ve loved Harrow’s work in the past, but this is my new favorite by a mile.