mirrormaze
🧠 scientist | writer | NYC | reader of (mostly) sci-fi, fantasy, and romance - bonus points if all of the above and/or weird af.
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mirrormaze commented on Alicia_G27's review of Sorcery and Small Magics (The Wildersongs Trilogy, #1)
2d
I loved this so much that I bought a physcial copy before I even finished it 😭
Leo and Grimm were stubborn, adorable idiots and they are my favorite characters ever. This was so well written, everything was thought through and conveyed perfectly. Somehow the vibes were cozy and dark, but it worked so well. The narration, characters, plot, magic system were all top tier. I need more of Leo and Grimm like right now please!
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mirrormaze started reading...
6d
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth
Andrew Joseph White
Mors vincit omnia. Death conquers all.
London, 1883. The Veil between the living and dead has thinned. Violet-eyed mediums commune with spirits under the watchful eye of the Royal Speaker Society, and sixteen-year-old Silas Bell would rather rip out his violet eyes than become an obedient Speaker wife. According to Mother, he’ll be married by the end of the year. It doesn’t matter that he’s needed a decade of tutors to hide his autism; that he practices surgery on slaughtered pigs; that he is a boy, not the girl the world insists on seeing.
After a failed attempt to escape an arranged marriage, Silas is diagnosed with Veil sickness—a mysterious disease sending violet-eyed women into madness—and shipped away to Braxton’s Sanitorium and Finishing School. The facility is cold, the instructors merciless, and the students either bloom into eligible wives or disappear. So when the ghosts of missing students start begging Silas for help, he decides to reach into Braxton’s innards and expose its rotten guts to the world—as long as the school doesn’t break him first.
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mirrormaze finished a book
1w
The Unmagical Life of Briar Jones
Lex Croucher
Casey McQuiston meets The Secret History in this unmissable dark academia fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Lex Croucher following former childhood best friends who reunite at magical boarding school after years, only to find themselves enemies on opposite sides of the ugly secrets hidden within the gilded walls.
Welcome to the Temple School of Thaumaturgy ... and your newest dark academia obsession.
For as long as they can remember, Briar Jones dreamed of attending the Temple School of Thaumaturgy. Behind its looming ornate gates, the elite prep school—the place that has produced the most CEOs and Prime Ministers in British history—is whispered to be magical.
Briar's best friend, Sebastian Wolfe, never cared about Temple or believed in the rumors. He just wanted them to stay together forever.
When, at age 11, Seb gets an acceptance letter and Briar doesn't, their childhood friendship is shattered. Seb vanishes onto Temple's grounds and Briar resigns themself to a mundane life. But they can't completely forget their yearning for Temple, for the extraordinary, to be one of the chosen in the ivory tower.
Seven years later, a summer job advert a temp position sorting through the junk in Temple’s attics. Briar takes it. And they discover that quiet, sensitive Seb, the boy they once loved more than anything else in the world, has become a beautiful, arrogant villain feared by most of the school. And worse, the secrets Temple is hiding might not be so magical after all, but a dark conspiracy with implications that extend far beyond the gates.
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mirrormaze is interested in reading...
1w
Queen Demon (The Rising World, #2)
Martha Wells
From the breakout SFF superstar author of Murderbot comes the remarkable sequel to the USA Today and Sunday Times bestselling novel, Witch King. A fantasy of epic scope, Queen Demon is a story of power and friendship, of trust and betrayal, and of the families we choose.
Dahin believes he has clues to the location of the Hierarchs' Well, and the Witch King Kai, along with his companions Ziede and Tahren, knowing there's something he isn't telling them, travel with him to the rebuilt university of Ancartre, which may be dangerously close to finding the Well itself.
Can Kai stop the rise of a new Hierarch?
And can he trust his companions to do what’s right?
Follow Kai to the end of the world in this thrilling sequel to the USA Today-bestselling Witch King.
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mirrormaze is interested in reading...
1w
Emily Wilde's History of Dark Faerie
Heather Fawcett
Curmudgeonly scholar Emily Wilde must brave the beautiful but haunted Black Forest and open a portal to a long-lost, eldritch realm dreaded by the Folk, in this fourth installment of the New York Times bestselling series.
Driven by an insatiable scientific curiosity, Emily Wilde has made a name for herself as the world’s foremost scholar of faeries. Along the way, she’s rescued a faerie kingdom and helped her now-husband—fellow professor Wendell Bambleby, dashing and infuriating in equal measure—regain his throne. And while understanding her fellow mortals has never been her strong suit, she’s also made a small number of friends.
But two years later, one of those friends goes missing in the beautiful but faerie-haunted Black Forest in Germany, a region of picturesque villages and sinister Folk. And if she’s to save him, Emily will have to reckon with the darker side of her own nature, and how ruthless she’s prepared to be to solve the most tantalizing of scholarly mysteries: the history of the ancient and long-lost realm she’s named Dark Faerie, the only place the Folk fear.
But Emily is not alone—she has her beloved Wendell, and her niece Ariadne, who hopes to follow in her footsteps. Told from the perspective of all three characters, this installment of the Emily Wilde series opens a magical portal to the most wondrous and dread faerie realm of all.
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1w
Tempest
Victoria Aveyard
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Victoria Aveyard comes an epic adventure of love and betrayal, amidst a brutal war for the high seas.
MAY THE SEA ALWAYS SING FOR YOU
Cat Rose knows what it is to live in two worlds, in two times. Before—as Lady Catrine of the Meridian Empire, chained to a loathsome lord with a dwindling fortune. And after—as the Widow Rose, queen of a pirate tavern in the Lyrian Sea, determined to be the master of her own fate.
But tides turn and winds change. The Meridian Empire looms on the horizon, the full weight of her navy falling on the Lyrian, bent on reclaiming the wealthy colonies and crushing the pirate republic once and for all. Ship after ship is captured, save for one captain who continuously evades both noose and blade: the legendary Valerian Kane.
With his fearsome ship and uncanny connection to the song of the sea, Valerian is the only man who might rally the pirates who remain. The only man who threatens the Empire. And the only man Cat has ever loved, blazing in and out of her life like a star.
Desperate for victory, the Empire offers Cat a devastating choice: bring them Valerian, or hang. In truth, no choice at all.
But Cat Rose is nothing if not a survivor.
A storm is rising on the Lyrian—the question is, what will it leave in its wake?
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mirrormaze commented on under.november.rain_'s update
2w
under.november.rain_ made progress on...
2w
The Fallow Year (Little Thieves, #2.5)
Margaret Owen
100%
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mirrormaze is interested in reading...
2w
Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore
Emily Krempholtz
A powerful plant witch and a grumpy alchemist must work together to save their quiet town from a magical plague in this debut cozy fantasy romance about starting over, redemption, and what it really means to be a good person.
Guy Shadowfade is dead, and after a lifetime as the dark sorcerer’s right-hand, Violet Thistlewaite is determined to start over—not as the fearsome Thornwitch, but as someone kind. Someone better. Someone good.
The quaint town of Dragon’s Rest, Violet decides, will be her second chance—she’ll set down roots, open a flower shop, keep her sentient (mildly homicidal) houseplant in check, and prune dark magic from the twisted boughs of her life.
Violet’s vibrant bouquets and cheerful enchantments soon charm the welcoming townsfolk, though nothing seems to impress the prickly yet dashingly handsome Nathaniel Marsh, an alchemist sharing her greenhouse. With a struggling business and his own second chance seemingly out of reach, Nathaniel has no time for flowers or frippery—and certainly none for the intriguing witch next door.
When a mysterious blight threatens every living plant in Dragon’s Rest, Violet and Nathaniel must work together through their fears, pasts, and growing feelings for one another to save their community. But with a figure from her past knocking at her door and her secrets threatening to uproot everything she’s worked so hard to grow, Violet can’t help but wonder…does a former villain truly deserve a happily-ever-after?
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mirrormaze commented on mirrormaze's update
2w
mirrormaze DNF'd a book
2w
Princeweaver
Elian J Morgan
‘A lush reimagining of the English conquest of Wales… a debut not to be missed’ C.S. Pacat, NYT bestselling author of the DARK RISE series‘A glittering love sharp as blood and beautifully woven with magic and myth’ Holly Race, bestselling author of SIX WILD CROWNS‘A lush, lingering heartache of a book… reminiscent of The Goblin Emperor. Morgan is a shining new talent in fantasy’ Annabel Campbell, author of THE OUTCAST MAGE‘Princeweaver is a dark and tender folkloric love story, flowering with yearning and intrigue’ Tasha Suri, bestselling author of THE ISLE IN THE SILVER SEA‘Rich in Welsh folklore and steeped in slow-burn yearning, PRINCEWEAVER is a tale that will leave readers breathless and desperate for more … An absolute gem of a debut novel’ Kalie Reid, author of THE SACRED SPACE BETWEEN
Their marriage is to save a warring kingdom. But in the process, it might destroy them bothBorn with forbidden, nature-infused magic in an occupied land, anxious apothecary Meilyr survives by keeping his head down. Until he ends up engaged to invading prince Osian in order to save his brother’s life. Now, he is in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse to hide his true self.When nobles in Osian’s court are gruesomely murdered by the same magic that flows through his veins, Meilyr realises someone is seeking revenge for his homeland. As suspicion towards him grows, he and the prince work together to uncover the killer or risk losing the crown – or their lives.Between court politics, unwieldy magic and a murderer on the loose, Meilyr must keep his wits about him. Especially as his feelings for Osian grow deeper with every passing day…Combines the court intrigue and slow-burn yearning of A Taste of Gold and Iron with the folkloric grounding and lore that readers of Naomi Novik and Stephanie Gerber will enjoy
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Post from the The Unmagical Life of Briar Jones forum
2w
mirrormaze started reading...
2w
The Unmagical Life of Briar Jones
Lex Croucher
Casey McQuiston meets The Secret History in this unmissable dark academia fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Lex Croucher following former childhood best friends who reunite at magical boarding school after years, only to find themselves enemies on opposite sides of the ugly secrets hidden within the gilded walls.
Welcome to the Temple School of Thaumaturgy ... and your newest dark academia obsession.
For as long as they can remember, Briar Jones dreamed of attending the Temple School of Thaumaturgy. Behind its looming ornate gates, the elite prep school—the place that has produced the most CEOs and Prime Ministers in British history—is whispered to be magical.
Briar's best friend, Sebastian Wolfe, never cared about Temple or believed in the rumors. He just wanted them to stay together forever.
When, at age 11, Seb gets an acceptance letter and Briar doesn't, their childhood friendship is shattered. Seb vanishes onto Temple's grounds and Briar resigns themself to a mundane life. But they can't completely forget their yearning for Temple, for the extraordinary, to be one of the chosen in the ivory tower.
Seven years later, a summer job advert a temp position sorting through the junk in Temple’s attics. Briar takes it. And they discover that quiet, sensitive Seb, the boy they once loved more than anything else in the world, has become a beautiful, arrogant villain feared by most of the school. And worse, the secrets Temple is hiding might not be so magical after all, but a dark conspiracy with implications that extend far beyond the gates.
2
0Reply
mirrormaze DNF'd a book
2w
Princeweaver
Elian J Morgan
‘A lush reimagining of the English conquest of Wales… a debut not to be missed’ C.S. Pacat, NYT bestselling author of the DARK RISE series‘A glittering love sharp as blood and beautifully woven with magic and myth’ Holly Race, bestselling author of SIX WILD CROWNS‘A lush, lingering heartache of a book… reminiscent of The Goblin Emperor. Morgan is a shining new talent in fantasy’ Annabel Campbell, author of THE OUTCAST MAGE‘Princeweaver is a dark and tender folkloric love story, flowering with yearning and intrigue’ Tasha Suri, bestselling author of THE ISLE IN THE SILVER SEA‘Rich in Welsh folklore and steeped in slow-burn yearning, PRINCEWEAVER is a tale that will leave readers breathless and desperate for more … An absolute gem of a debut novel’ Kalie Reid, author of THE SACRED SPACE BETWEEN
Their marriage is to save a warring kingdom. But in the process, it might destroy them bothBorn with forbidden, nature-infused magic in an occupied land, anxious apothecary Meilyr survives by keeping his head down. Until he ends up engaged to invading prince Osian in order to save his brother’s life. Now, he is in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse to hide his true self.When nobles in Osian’s court are gruesomely murdered by the same magic that flows through his veins, Meilyr realises someone is seeking revenge for his homeland. As suspicion towards him grows, he and the prince work together to uncover the killer or risk losing the crown – or their lives.Between court politics, unwieldy magic and a murderer on the loose, Meilyr must keep his wits about him. Especially as his feelings for Osian grow deeper with every passing day…Combines the court intrigue and slow-burn yearning of A Taste of Gold and Iron with the folkloric grounding and lore that readers of Naomi Novik and Stephanie Gerber will enjoy
4
3Reply
mirrormaze is interested in reading...
2w
Running Close to the Wind
Alexandra Rowland
Avra Helvaçi, former field agent of the Araşti Ministry of Intelligence, has accidentally stolen the single most expensive secret in the world―and the only place to flee with a secret that big is the open sea.
To find a buyer with deep enough pockets, Avra must ask for help from his on-again, off-again ex, the pirate Captain Teveri az-Ḥaffār. They are far from happy to see him, but together, they hatch a plan: take the information to the isolated pirate republic of the Isles of Lost Souls, fence it, profit. The only things in their way? A calculating new Araşti ambassador to the Isles of Lost Souls who’s got his eyes on Avra’s every move; Brother Julian, a beautiful, mysterious new member of the crew with secrets of his own and a frankly inconvenient vow of celibacy; the fact that they’re sailing straight into sea serpent breeding season and almost certain doom.
But if they can find a way to survive and sell the secret on the black market, they’ll all be as wealthy as kings―and, more important, they’ll be legends.
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mirrormaze is interested in reading...
3w
Theodora's Tea Shop
Christy Anne Jones
A richly imagined, dark and dazzling cosy fantasy about learning to love ourselves by wondrous new Australian novelist, Christy Anne Jones
Dorothy Louise Walcott should have died when she was fourteen. Instead, she grew into a timid young woman, frugal, ill, over-educated, and dreaming ceaselessly of running away to learn magic. When she hears of a woman who might apprentice her, she sets off on a journey to Alliaster, a city where spirits play cards with kings. Dot is determined to find the witch Theodora—empress of an underground syndicate peddling magic from the quaint façade of her tea shop. Theodora is everything Dot wants to be: beautiful, witty, confident.
However, Dot’s arrival heralds the unearthing of Theodora’s eldritch secrets, threatening to topple the witch’s empire and take them both with it.
Theodora’s Tea Shop is an atmospheric 1920s-inspired fantasy novel about magic, friendship and, of course, tea. It features twists and turns, found families, monstrous women, many heartfelt and cosy moments, and a creepy daemon who owns a department store. If you love Howl’s Moving Castle, you will adore this book.
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mirrormaze is interested in reading...
3w
A Crown of Wishes (The Star-Touched Queen, #2)
Roshani Chokshi
An ancient mystery. An unlikely union. For one young princess in a state of peril, a dangerous wish could be the only answer…
She is the princess of Bharata—captured by her kingdom’s enemies, a prisoner of war. Now that she faces a future of exile and scorn, Gauri has nothing left to lose. But should she trust Vikram, the notoriously cunning prince of a neighboring land? He promises her freedom in exchange for her battle prowess. Together they can team up and win the Tournament of Wishes, a competition held in a mythical city where the Lord of Wealth promises a wish to the victor. It seems like a foolproof plan—until Gauri and Vikram arrive at the tournament and find that danger takes on new shapes: poisonous courtesans, mischievous story birds, a feast of fears, and twisted fairy revels. New trials will test their devotion, strength, and wits. But what Gauri and Vikram will soon discover is that there’s nothing more dangerous than what they most desire.
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mirrormaze commented on a List
3w
Type A/Chaos Gremlin Pairings
by mirrormaze
//
17 books
Book couples where one is type A, neurotic, a stickler for the rules (or their own personal code), and has their shit together (or is trying REALLY hard), while the other is a gremlin, chaotic, messy, ocassionally unhinged, and makes their own rules. They seem diametrically opposed but secretly admire the other’s way of moving through the world.
Please drop more recs in the comments if you have them because I will be eating this shit up every time!!!
🤓
💘
🌪️
9
2
mirrormaze created a list
3w
Type A/Chaos Gremlin Pairings
by mirrormaze
//
17 books
Book couples where one is type A, neurotic, a stickler for the rules (or their own personal code), and has their shit together (or is trying REALLY hard), while the other is a gremlin, chaotic, messy, ocassionally unhinged, and makes their own rules. They seem diametrically opposed but secretly admire the other’s way of moving through the world.
Please drop more recs in the comments if you have them because I will be eating this shit up every time!!!
🤓
💘
🌪️
9
2
mirrormaze is interested in reading...
3w
The Feywild Job (Dungeons & Dragons)
C.L. Polk
Sparks fly when bitter exes are forced to team up for an elaborate Feywild heist, in this cozy fantasy romance by the bestselling author of the Kingston Cycle and Even Though I Knew the End.
Saeldian has sworn never to fall in love. That oath isn’t just a personal promise, but rather a magical pact, granting them powerful abilities. The only catch? They must never give their heart away—a deal that Saeldian is perfectly content with. They’ve seen firsthand how messy love can get.
Saeldian prefers their no-strings-attached life as a con artist, pulling off heists and leaving a trail of broken hearts behind them. But when a grift goes horribly wrong, they catch the eye of a mysterious patron with a job offer they can’t refuse.
The mission? Steal a gem called “The Kiss of Enduring Love” and return it to the Feywild. Simple enough, until Saeldian discovers their ex-partner, Kell—a charming bard—is part of the team.
The last time Saeldian saw Kell, things hardly ended on good terms. A kiss became a betrayal, leaving Kell hurt and confused for almost a decade. But Kell can’t just walk away—not when this job might finally be his ticket back to the Feywild.
Forced to work together again, their adventure takes them from high-society parties to Feywild couple’s therapy. But as Saeldian and Kell rekindle their chemistry, they realize the gem is much more than a fey bauble, and their simple heist has summoned powerful enemies. . . .
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mirrormaze is interested in reading...
3w
Bluebird
Ciel Pierlot
Lesbian gunslinger fights spies in space!
Three factions vie for control of the galaxy. Rig, a gunslinging, thieving, rebel with a cause, doesn’t give a damn about them and she hasn’t looked back since abandoning her faction three years ago.
That is, until her former faction sends her a message: return what she stole from them, or they’ll kill her twin sister.
Rig embarks on a journey across the galaxy to save her sister – but for once she’s not alone. She has help from her network of resistance contacts, her taser-wielding librarian girlfriend, and a mysterious bounty hunter.
If Rig fails and her former faction finds what she stole from them, trillions of lives will be lost--including her sister's. But if she succeeds, she might just pull the whole damn faction system down around their ears. Either way, she’s going to do it with panache and pizzazz.
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