Books I Read • May 2025

May went down the dark fantasy path, and I didn't hate it. My last day of work was May 13th, and then we traveled to Japan for 10 days for my husband's 40th birthday. Lots of big life changes, and some life-changing books, too.

I dove headfirst into content-warning territory with Liv Zander's brutal raven shifters, discovered T. Kingfisher's perfect blend of cynical humor and found family (going to read everything she writes from now on), and tackled R.F. Kuang's intellectual gut-punch about colonialism and magic. Between quitting my job and navigating Tokyo train stations, I somehow managed to inhale some of the most intense books I've read all year.

1. “Feathers So Vicious” by Liv Zander (Court of Ravens #1) ★★★★★
   All the content warnings. Galantia is kidnapped and abused by raven shifters in this dark "why choose" romance. Exquisite world building, plot twists. Bottled up vibes of two birds fighting over a shiny treasure. Sharp, brutal, unapologetic. Could not put this down.

   
   

2. “Shadows So Cruel” by Liv Zander (Court of Ravens #2) ★★★
   Plot not as tight as book 1. Covered more ground, longer time span, pacing uneven. Continued themes of loss, trauma, obsession, and vengeance. Hard to put down, finished in 48 hours.

   
   

3. “Clockwork Boys” by T. Kingfisher (Clocktaur War #1) ★★★★★
   Group of cons sent on a suicide quest to scope out killer robots. Love Kingfisher's cynical humor. FMC is a criminal forger with prophetic allergies. Fantasy-heavy, romance-light, solid banter, all good fun.

   
   

4. “The Wonder Engine” by T. Kingfisher (Clocktaur War #2) ★★★★★
   This adventure finishes strong. Same solid characters. Same great banter. Fully earned plot twists. Same great banter. Skips tired tropes, plays with chivalry and sacrifice themes. Duology was recommended by a friend and I will echo her. Read it!

   
   

5. “Babel” by R. F. Kuang ★★★★
   A story about colonialism and violence. Doesn't fit a tidy category. Not romance, not fantasy. Linguistic magic system was nerdy cool. Political messaging was heavy-handed (on purpose). Intellectually interesting, compelling characters, quality writing, but overall a bit of a bummer.