Juliana Spink Mills

Jay (they/them) Writer person. Librarian. 95% tea. jspinkmills.com

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A WARNING ABOUT SWANS by RM Romero is beautiful, beautiful, BEAUTIFUL. Modern yet timeless , this hauntingly lovely fairytale in verse about wishes, yearning, and righteous fury made my heart soar!

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Syd the Shark recommends the new GALAXY sequel AS THE WORLD FALLS DOWN by Jadzia Axelrod and artist Rye Hickman!

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WE BURNED SO BRIGHT is strangely serene for a book about death, mental health, and the end of the world. TJ Klune’s love letter to those of us trying our best to make connections and muddle through life won’t be for everyone, but I think it will hit just right for some of us…

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YOU’VE AWOKEN HER by Ann Dávila Cardinal is a fun, punchy YA horror with fantastic voice and a wonderful cast of characters. A five star read!

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Books don’t make me cry very often, but this one did. Oh, Suzanne Collins, you break my heart!

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New Murderbot Diaries book! My fave SecUnit is back in another delightfully action-packed novella with the best internal dialogue in town. I love Murderbot so much as a character it’s not funny, and PLATFORM DECAY is a wonderful addition to the series. Thank you Martha Wells for feeding my addiction!

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The book of queer fairytales I needed as a child! In TALES FROM BEYOND THE RAINBOW Pete Jordi Wood collects stories from around the world, tweaking the telling to give LGBTQIA+ kids the joy and magic they deserve.

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YOU’VE AWOKEN HER by Ann Dávila Cardinal is a fun, punchy YA horror with fantastic voice and a wonderful cast of characters. A five star read!

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I loved, LOVED, Loved SUNWARD by William Alexander. If found family, robot kids, and space adventures in a queernorm galactic society sound like your jam, grab this today! (Also a good book for all you Murderbot fans looking for similar stuff to read…)

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Everything about NINE GOBLINS by T. Kingfisher is delightful. Sergeant Nessilka is my new BFF. And Sings-to-Trees is now my forever elf. But I’ll pass on the goblin tea!

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If you’re looking for fairytale vibes, amazing magic lore, and an absolutely delightful main character, UPROOTED by Naomi Novik has it all and more. Amazing!

(Seriously. Go read it! A story where platonic friendship love is more important than romantic love; roots and community are treated as the messy, complicated, but treasured things they are; and staying true to yourself is the real message.)

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AND THE RIVER DRAGS HER DOWN by Jihyun Yun and TWIN TIDES by Hien Nguyen are a deliciously dark pair of books about sisters and drowning, for your watery delight. And look at those gorgeous sprayed edges!

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Another delightful tale from David Ferraro! SOUL OF A GENTLEMAN WITCH is a sweet (and stabby) magical romp through an alt version of England, with a great cast of characters and my new fave fictional cat. Now all I need is a Freya/Lexi sequel!

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UNFIT FOR ORBIT is delightful! Joyful and chaotic, which is just what you want in a Gotham City Sirens story. And such gorgeous artwork!

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I somehow missed that the new Dresden Files book was out. Luckily I spotted it on my library’s shelf! This one’s very different from Jim Butcher’s usual fare - more introspective, focused on grief and healing. This is a time of rebuilding and recentering for Harry and Co, before promised trouble arrives in the next book, and these quiet moments were both necessary and beautiful. Butcher definitely takes us to new emotional depths with this one!

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I’ve been meaning to read Naomi Novik’s work for aaages so THE SUMMER WAR was a great intro. This novella has amazing sibling dynamics and a five star take on problematic fantasy oaths.

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A feral, hungry, yet surprisingly delicate book, HAZELTHORN by CG Drews is for those of us who loved The Secret Garden as a child then grew up and thought ‘hmm, needs more blood!’