In this first installment of The Bleeding Empire, Kim sets three characters on paths to discover their worth, their purpose, and their...

My Favorite Sci-Fi Reads I love how science fiction stretches the way I think about what's possible, or explores issues like mortality,...

The dystopian future of Hum is haunting in its familiar elements, its plausible, terrible climate-change effects, the extreme reliance on...

Frances White's debut is a locked-room mystery on a magical ship full of uncertain alliances, deadly vendettas, and a sassy and...

I may not have followed all of the echoes in time, creatures convincingly impersonating other creatures, or protagonists' complex,...

Bardugo's rich world-building sets the scene in Spain during the Inquisition, as a scullery maid with magical abilities is thrust into...

Gwynne's epic, Norse-inspired saga tracks three fascinating main protagonists through battles, shifting alliances, strengthened resolve,...

I loved the dark academia setting, Sciona's bid to become the first female in the High Magistry, and her rethinking of long-held...

I was hooked on the story of a team of young women fighting for admittance to a guild, their bonds, and their adventures. But the...

The Robot Books I love a good artificial intelligence- or robot-focused story, and these six (plus, in several cases, their sequels)...

This slim book tells the story of a small crew of astronauts in the twenty-second century who are searching for alien life--and who must...

ICYMI: This series by Naomi Novik introduces vain, strong-willed, talking dragons, their complex, wonderfully faulted handlers, and...

Novik never seems to make a misstep, and the thirteen stories here revisit favorite fictional worlds, delve into never-before-revealed...

Fairy Tales and Retellings For this list, I focused on books with fantastical elements; clear good-and-evil conflicts; characters living...

I felt like the story started off slowly, but once the world was built and the background established, I was hooked on the interpersonal...

Six Four-Star (and Up) Bossy Science Fiction Reads I realize I just said this last week regarding mysteries, but really, doesn't the cold...

The first in Jensen's fantasy series ticked many of my boxes--strong female main character, a tension-filled Chosen One premise, a fight...

Sarah Rees Brennan offers a funny, dark, clever story within a story in which the heroes and villains are redefined, redemption is always...

The fantasy-science-fiction novel Moonbound spans time and splits into several stories, for me never quite gelling into a coherent tale I...

A leviathan lurks in the ocean, threatening destruction on a grand scale, while an unorthodox, brilliant investigator and her stalwart...