Folks, the world is still really rough out there – I’m sure you’ve noticed. And while I’m also spending more time than I used to reading the news and contacting my representatives, these book about finding love and hope in the midst of war, failure, and even murder are just what I need. Maybe they’ll be what you need, too.

Enchanting the Fae Queen by Stephanie Burgis. Bramble, 2026. ISBN 978-1250359612. Read from a library copy (because my pre-ordered copy was delayed.)

It was only a year, but I was still waiting very hopefully for this sequel to Wooing the Witch Queen. Our tale continues with the second Queen of Villany, Lorelei, Queen of Balravia. As a half-fae who was forced to leave Faery as a child to take her place as heir to her father’s kingdom, Lorelei is determined that her kingdom will be a safe place for its magical citizens. Her journey to the throne was not an easy one, but she’s covered her sharp intelligence with smiles and glitter and the loneliness born of loss and betrayal with numerous short-term lovers. Over the past seven years she’s built up a steady rivalry with the High General of the Empire’s army, Gerard de Moireul. He has never been known to engage in any kind vice – no drinking, gambling, or lovers – and Lorelei can’t stop needling him. But Gerard has his own painful history and reasons for his unbending loyalty to the Empire. At the end of Wooing the Witch Queen (spoiler) she kidnapped him. Of course she has a plan to make him realize how corrupt his emperor is – but could that years-long non-relationship ever turn into anything else?

The story here has a layer of froth – or, more aptly, glitter, across it, as in addition to the literal glitter that Lorelei scatters around her, Lorelei has planned to win Gerard over to her cause by making them pair up in a magical contest – something meant to be light-hearted. Many parts of the story are frothy and glittery – but there is depth to the story as well, as Lorelei and Gerard both must revisit deeply held emotions from childhood to move on with life in the present day. And, as is to be expected with Stephanie Burgis, there is a flipping of gender roles both in general – here, the rake and the virgin, the rule breaker and the rule follower – and in the spicy scenes in particular (no spoilers from me there.) This continues to be a series that I plan to reread. Now I just need to wait for next year for the final book, Melting the Ice Queen, to come out.

The Keeper of Magical Things by Julie Leong. Narrated by Natalie Naudus. Ace/Penguin Audio, 2025. ISBN 978-0593815946. Listened to audiobook on Libby.

Certainty came from a small village to the Mage School full of hope that she would become a full mage and be able to pay her brother’s apprenticeship fees to the apothecer. Years later, though, her agemates have all graduated and she’s left still a novice – able to sense what magic is, but not able to cast her own spells. But when her ability actually does save the day in an emergency, she’s sent on a mission with a full mage only a little older than she is. Mage Aurelia is tall, beautiful, and extremely talented – even if she always eats alone. Certainty and Mage Aurelia will need to accompany several spelled wagons full of minor magical artifacts to Shpelling, the most non-magical village in the kingdom, to keep even their minor magic from spilling over and creating a magical emergency. Once there, they’ll need to organize and catalog it – all without antagonizing the villagers. But wealthy city-born Mage Aurelia can’t seem to help condescending to the villagers and shutting Certainty out, while Certainty is supposed to let her be the one in charge. It will take time and a good deal of compromise to save the situation… time which both allows the two of them to get to know each other a good deal better, and for rival government to object to the plan in general.

This is lovely cozy fantasy. Yes, the villain is obvious, and yes, we know that Cert and Aurelia will end up together from the cover. It did take the two of them a while to get to know each other, and there were still many accidental emotional injuries along the way, as they came from very different backgrounds in many different way. And I just really liked watching Certainty come into her own, realizing that her own small talen can be used in powerful ways. This also had a good supply of quirky villagers, cats, and drinking of tea, in addition to garlic being served in a hilarious variety of preparations. Both main characters and the villagers read as white to me. Overall, I liked it slightly better than The Teller of Small Fortunes, and I liked that one enough to want to read this one.

Cinder House by Freya Marske. Read by Anna Burnett. Tordotcom, 2025. ISBN 9781250341716. Listened to audiobook on Libby.

Cinder House is a Cinderella remix with a decidedly less cozy vibe than the previous stories, as Ella and her father are both murdered by Ella’s stepmother at the beginning of the book. Ella, though, comes back as a ghost, which in this world means she’s anchored to and part of the house. She’s only able to touch things in the house, so that her stepmother and stepsisters can still use her as a servant, punishing her by damaging the house if she tries to disobey. It’s a grim existence indeed, until Ella discovers a way to push the bounds of her imprisonment with letters and late night walks, allowing her to develop a friend by correspondence, attend the ballet and grow fond of its regulars, befriend a crotchety fairy, and have thoughts outside of the drudgery. When a three-night ball is announced, she’s willing to bargain a great deal for a chance at the life she lost so young.

This is a novella, just five hours long on audio, has a surprising amount of nuance. While, for example, we never come to like Ella’s stepmother, as the story progresses, we learn enough to be able to understand why she makes the choices she does. The story also resists an easy or conventional happy ending, finding something melancholy and happy-ish to suit a ghost. I haven’t read many Cinderella retellings that have stuck with me, but this one I think will.