After finishing the last page, I set this book down on my coffee table and immediately hopped online to purchase a copy for my bookshelf. Maybe I'm a little biased, but a book with a well-written trans main character and a budding relationship you'll absolutely find yourself cheering on, all wrapped up in a plot focused heavily on lore from a culture I'm not immensely familiar with? Count me in. Trust me, this one's an absolute winner.

Give me monstrous love interests, elegant flowing prose, and a main character that just really loves gardening. Robin McKinley has the special talent of making every scene feel beautiful and romantic, and I cannot understate how much I love this book.

I devoured this book in two days, and could barely tear myself away long enough to sleep in that time. The characters are fantastic, and and the world-building equally so. This is an absolutely worthwhile read, and the audiobook is equally good if that's more of your flavor!

Yes, this might be gothic horror, but queerness and the freedom to love as you do naturally is a core aspect of this book. The relationship that Silas develops is so sweet and caring and absolutely lovely. This is a story I'd describe as a sprinkling of romance amidst the horror, but I feel it still deserves a place on this list. Prepare yourself, for this is not a nice story...