July reads

 I did a decent job of picking books this month: three of them I loved.  Let's get into it.

• Onxy Storm by Rebecca Yarros.  The third book in the dragon romance/fantasy Empyrean series.  I loved the first one so much but my ardor has diminished somewhat with the subsequent volumes.  This one ends on a hell of a cliffhanger/twist though!
• You Like It Darker by Stephen King.  2024 collection of twelve short stories.  As with King's more recent output, some of these work better than others.  But I am a Stephen King stan and will read pretty much anything/everything he writes.
• The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison.  Sort of Sherlock Holmes fanfic set in an alterate 19th century London where angels, vampires, werewolves, hellhounds and other beings live side by side with plebian humans.  I really liked this one.
• Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett.  Both Emily Wilde books have taken me a fair while to get into - and when I'm just a couple chapters in, I have to encourage myself to keep going - but I always enjoy them by the end.  This time, Emily and her beau, Wendell, a faerie prince in disguise, attempt to regain Wendell his kingdom.
• The Secret Hours by Mick Herron.  A standalone book in the Slough House universe, this gives some much appreciated backstory to a number of characters from the series.  I don't want to spoil anything but this was great fun.
• Psychopomp and Circumstance by Eden Royce.  A Southern Gothic historical horror/fantasy  novella (more spooky than scary) set outside of an alternate Charleston.  When Phee's aunt dies, she volunteers to make the funeral arrangements - in part to get away from her oppressive mother and the New Charleston suitors clamoring after her.
• The Night Birds by Christopher Golden.  Witch horror at sea!  Or, in a derelict ship run aground just offshore of Galveston, Texas.  Meh.
• Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard.  Book #2 in the Red Queen series.  Having joined the rebellion, our heroine Mare Barrows is having a rough time of it.  Sure, she's reunited with her brother and is getting better at wielding her lightning.  But having to be a leader weighs heavy on her and she begins to distance herself from those around her.  Definitely darker than the first book - looking forward to reading the third.
• The Women of Wild Hill by Kristen Miller.  Modern day witches fighting against the patriarchy to try to save the earth?  YES PLEASE.  Good fun, well written and timely.