Welcome to The Best of Book Riot, our daily round-up of what’s on offer across our site, newsletters, podcasts, and social channels. Not everything is for everyone, but there is something for everyone.
In these cozy historical fantasy books, despite whatever problems the characters or society may face, there’s always an underlying sense of hope driving the story. No matter how bad things get — and it’s usually not that bad in the case of cozy fantasy — we know things are going to turn out okay. Sometimes, that’s exactly what I want out of a book. If you feel the same, then these cozy historical fantasy books are perfect for you.
It’s somehow already time for another edition of Riot Roundup, where we ask Book Riot staff and contributors to tell us about the best books they read over the last quarter then share those with our readers. We’re not just talking new books here: Riot Roundup includes frontlist, backlist, upcoming releases, and spans many genres and age ranges. We just want to know what books our people read and loved, period. As always, we read some pretty great books.
Appalachian communities have long been dealing with environmental disasters. In Troublesome Rising: A Thousand Year Flood in Eastern Kentucky, an anthology edited by Melissa Helton, writers from across the region respond to the horrific Kentucky flood in the summer of 2022. Writers like Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, Neema Avashia, and Carter Sickels write about the events of that July night when a flash flood swept through eastern Kentucky, a devastating event that the communities there still haven’t recovered from, even now over two years later.
As the genre has continued to develop, many Nordic mysteries and thrillers have tackled contemporary social issues, such as the strains of loneliness and the tensions between existing populations and immigrants, as well as the history of indigenous groups like the Sámi who have often been overlooked by their government. This has brought forth new, multicultural authors into the Nordic novels space, which you can learn more about here.
That said, writing and drawing does inform a lot of good stories and is a great way to process negative feelings. For today’s edition of the Stack, I interviewed Sarah Mai, creator of Freshman Year, about what it takes to turn one’s personal pain into an engaging, entertaining work of art.
This time around we have a sweet graphic novel about high tuition costs and a very determined undergrad; a delightfully charming cat manga; a witch falling in love with a rival vampire in a YA fantasy romance comic; a cookbook written in comics, and more. Enjoy!
Think Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, with its dry wit and profound existential themes, all centered around two characters trying to grasp something ineffable and grabbing hold of only each other.
