December 2024

Hello dear readers,

We have somehow arrived at that strange, nebulous stretch of days between Christmas and New Year’s. I had imagined using this time to write a more detailed newsletter about my thoughts on debut year and all the excitement it contained but sadly, I have finally caught covid. This means I am spending my holiday under the blankets, marveling at how thoroughly my sense of taste has abandoned me.

With that in mind, there won’t be much serious rumination in this newsletter, just some end of year lists. But before we get to that, I want to send out a heartfelt thanks to everyone who welcomed Sorcery and Small Magics with so much enthusiasm this year. I’ve loved every note, picture, and comment readers have sent my way and I’m very happy to hear that Leo and Grimm have found a place in your hearts. I hope you continue to enjoy their story!

• ICYMI I got to chat with Shannon from FairyLoot about all things SASM! It was a great talk and the Instagram live is saved here if you want to check it out.

• Little reminder for people who would like a signed copy of SASM, you can order one through River Bend Bookshop! Just specify in your order notes that you would like a signed copy. If you would like it personalized you can leave that in the note as well, just allow extra time for me to get it done.

• I’m finished with events for the year and only have one scheduled so far for 2025 (more on that closer to February). In part, this is so I can have more time to write but I’m also using this as a chance to reflect and decide what sort of events I’m most excited about doing in the future. I’d love to hear reader’s thoughts on this! Do you like to listen to authors on podcasts? See them on panels? Go to signings? Something else entirely? I would like to spend my time on the interactions that you find most meaningful.

• I’m planning to take January off from both the newsletter and Instagram in order to focus on drafting book 2! Since it’s still being written there are very few details I can give on that front, but I’m excited to immerse myself fully in Leo and Grimm’s next adventure and can’t wait until I can share more about it with you all at some point in 2025.

I wanna talk about a few of my favorite books this year, as well as some of my reading plans for the new year, but before I do that let’s have the usual rundown of what I’ve been consuming.

Read: It’s been a slow reading month, but I did finish two books and hope to finish at least one more before the 31st, completing my 2024 reading goal at 40 books. I picked up That’s Not My Name by Megan Lally while I was in the library and was so intrigued by the first few pages that I took it home and finished it later that day! It’s been a while since I read a book so fast and I’d forgotten how addictive a good YA thriller can be. I was lucky enough to get my hands on an early copy of A Gentleman and His Vowsmith by Rebecca Ide and found it delightful. Like someone took a magic wand to your game of Clue (while also adding in a healthy dose of romance). I started The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door by H.G. Parry and am absolutely loving it so far. Really stellar first person narrative. And lastly, on Christmas day my head cleared enough for me to start reading Dark Heir by C.S. Pacat. Patting myself on the back for starting this one before I’ve totally forgotten everything that happened in the first book.

Watched: I know I talked about Arcane last month, but since it wasn’t finished yet I’m going to use that as an excuse to talk about it again. HOLY COW I REALLY ENJOYED IT! It’s such a visually stunning show. Was it a perfect season? Meh, probably not. But I had a blast and I am obsessed with all the fanart and edits I’ve been seeing. I watched Home Alone for the first time and found it a lot more enjoyable than I was expecting (I guess that’s why it’s a classic). I also binged Black Doves in one sitting and was reminded of how much I love Kiera Knightly (a lot). Other than that it has just been a lot of comfort rewatches since getting sick. :(

reads that were, reads that are, and some reads that have not yet come to pass

Honestly, it’s hard to choose what books to highlight this year because I really enjoyed everything I read. But here are five titles that jumped out at me as I was flipping through my reading journal.

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett - I believe I originally described this book as Knives Out meets Attack on Titan and I stand by that assessment. This was just such a great blend of fantasy and mystery and I had so much fun reading it.

The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo - A deliciously dark and bloody horror novella that I’m still thinking about. It’s claustrophobic, and interesting, and terribly visceral. I honestly hesitate to say too much about this one because I think it’s best to let it unfold organically while you’re reading.

Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill - This is a moody, queer retelling of Frankenstein that I picked up on a whim and ended up absolutely loving. The language is gorgeous, the story is compelling, and it all moves towards an inevitable conclusion that manages to be both satisfying and heartbreaking.

You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian - My love of sports stories (not sports, mind you, just sports stories) and Cat Sebastian meant I was predestined to enjoy this book. That being said, it’s not a typical romance or sports tale. Rather it is an introspective story about loneliness, grief, and love, and how all those things interconnect.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden - A haunting book about a nurse searching for her brother amidst the horrors of war. I cannot convey to you how much I love the language of this book. I sat down to read and did not want to get up. Arden is a master of words.