This ad is for the must-read cozy horror mystery of the season! The Executioners Three by New York Times bestselling author Susan Dennard has it all—a mystery filled with gruesome murders, tension-filled romance, and shocking revelations.
*The hardcover edition of The Executioners Three will include beautiful designed printed edges.*
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Rivalries, murders, and curses, oh my!
Return to 1999—aspiring teen sleuth Freddie Gellar must avoid pranks at the hands of her rival high school and distractions by the squad’s gorgeous leader in order to discover who’s behind the mysterious deaths in her small town, and how they’re linked to a gruesome centuries-old curse.
My local library has a reading program each year where they challenge you to read 50 books in 50 weeks - I've given myself the additional challenge of only using books with queer representation for the challenge. If you feel like joining my little queer book club, check out the recommendations below! (If it's not your thing, I'll be tagging these recommendation posts with UA Queer Book Club so you can filter the posts out if it's not something you're interested in!)
I'll be breaking these up into groups of 10 and posting a new "Round" of books with each 10 I finish for the challenge (I'm a little behind in posting these, so part 3 should be getting posted soon too!) If you choose to read any of these books, please feel free to let me know what you think!
Code: 🌶️- contains adult scenes/sexual content 🚩 - contains possible triggers, proceed with caution
Book #1: Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee
Representation: MLM gay relationship between the two leads, queer supporting characters
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I literally tore through this book, I read it in a day. It's genuinely super sweet and the plot is pretty compelling. Not everyone's cup of tea - if you're big on adventure you might want to skip this one, but if you like slice of life/rich people drama this is great.
Summary:
Dylan Tang wants to win a Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake-making competition for teen chefs—in memory of his mom, and to bring much-needed publicity to his aunt’s struggling Chinese takeout in Brooklyn.
Enter Theo Somers: charming, wealthy, with a smile that makes Dylan’s stomach do backflips. AKA a distraction. Their worlds are sun-and-moon apart, but Theo keeps showing up. He even convinces Dylan to be his fake date at a family wedding in the Hamptons.
In Theo’s glittering world of pomp, privilege, and crazy rich drama, their romance is supposed to be just pretend . . . but Dylan finds himself falling for Theo. For real. Then Theo’s relatives reveal their true colors—but with the mooncake contest looming, Dylan can’t risk being sidetracked by rich-people problems.
Can Dylan save his family’s business and follow his heart—or will he fail to do both?
Book #2: The Executioners Three by Susan Dennard 🚩
WARNINGS: Descriptions of suicide, gore, violence
Representation: WLW relationship with some of the secondary characters, the main relationship is hetero.
My Rating: ⭐⭐ - I personally struggled with this one - parts of the mystery were very compelling, but some parts felt a little melodramatic and certain points felt like they could have been completely cut without impacting the story at all. I was kind of forcing myself through by the end. Others might have a better time with it, but this book wasn't for me.
Summary: Freddie Gellar didn't mean to get half the rival high school arrested. She’d simply heard shrieks coming from the woods, so she’d called the cops like any good human would do. How was she supposed to know it was just kids partying?
Except the next day, a body is found. And while the local sheriff might call it suicide, Freddie's instincts tell her otherwise. So, like the aspiring sleuth (and true X-Files aficionado) she is, Freddie sets out to prove there's a murderer at large.
But her investigation is quickly disrupted by the rivalry between her school and the school of the partying teens she got arrested. For over twenty years, the two student bodies have had an ongoing prank war, and Freddie's failed attempt at Good Samaritanism has upped the ante. Worse, the clever―and gorgeous―leader of the rival prank squad has set his sights on Freddie.
As more pranks unfurl, more bodies also start piling up in the forest. But it's the supernatural warning signs around town, each plucked straight from an old forgotten poem called "The Executioners Three," that worry Freddie the most. She knows the poem and its blood curse can’t be real, but she's quickly running out of time to prove it.
Because the murderer―or executioners?―knows she's onto them now, and their next target just might be Freddie.
Book #3: No Charm Done by Tori Anne Martin
Representation: WLW relationship between the main characters (pretty sure other queer supporting characters but it's been a bit since I read this one)
My Rating: 3.5x⭐ - It's a fun read, but if you're looking for a book with a lingering message this isn't really the right pick. It's got some fun Halloween vibes and the characters are endearing, if a little repetitive at times. I don't think you'd regret reading it!
Summary: Welcome to Thornhaven, a quaint coastal town where witches hide in plain sight.
Lily Allerton is descended from Thornhaven’s most illustrious magical family. When her tarot cards tell her that acquiring a boyfriend is essential for a successful senior year, she decides to do whatever it takes to bag the cute new boy at school—including overcoming her total lack of interest in him. Determined to make her parents proud, appear “normal” (the fact that she’s never liked a boy is a closely guarded secret), and stay on top of the popular-kid food chain, future valedictorian Lily makes sure that nothing stands in the way of her goals. But Chrysanthemum Quinn might.
When Chrys moved to town three years ago, she had high hopes that she’d no longer be the outcast with weird powers—hopes that Lily quickly dashed by ostracizing her from the other witches at school. She was too poor, too grunge, and too sarcastic for Lily’s tastes, with a major resting witch face. Nothing like a proper Thornhaven witch. Since then, she and Lily have despised each other and competed relentlessly. Chrys is going to beat Lily for valedictorian—and if Lily wants the new boy, then Chrys is going to win him first.
But when Lily’s and Chrys’ attempts to hex each other create a curse that threatens the town, they’ll have to put aside their animosity to stop it… and reckon with some deeply buried emotions. Because breaking the curse will take more than magic—it’ll take acknowledging that it’s not the boy either of them wants.
Book #4: The Gilded Crown by Marianne Gordon (potential 🚩?)
WARNINGS: power imbalances, body disfiguration, death, death of a queer person, religious trauma/people using religion as an excuse to do terrible things
Representation: WLW tension/relationship between the main characters, queer supporting characters.
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I did genuinely enjoy this book, it's got a really interesting take on death and poses an interesting question - how far would you go to not lose a loved one? That said, the relationship(?) between the main character and love interest/antagonist is Pretty Toxic and has a fair bit of manipulation/power imbalance. I think this is part of a series, so the ending sets it up well for that, but it may not be the standard happily ever after that you may expect. If you're not one for political intrigue, you might skip this one. (Also, if you listen to the audiobook, the narrator does some very fun voices and accents for the characters!)
Summary: The first time Hellevir visited Death, she was ten years old…
Since she was a little girl, Hellevir has been able to raise the dead. Every creature can be saved for a price, a price demanded by the shrouded figure who rules the afterlife, who takes a little more from Hellevir with each soul she resurrects.
Such a gift can rarely remain a secret. When Princess Sullivain, sole heir to the kingdom’s throne, is assassinated, the Queen summons Hellevir to demand she bring her granddaughter back to life. But once is not enough; the killers might strike again. The Princess’s death would cause a civil war, so the Queen commands that Hellevir remain by her side.
But Sullivain is no easy woman to be bound to, even as Hellevir begins to fall in love with her. With the threat of war looming, Hellevir must trade more and more of herself to keep the Princess alive.
But Death will always take what he is owed.
Book #5: Everything She Does is Magic by Bridget Morrissey
Representation: WLW relationship between the main characters (may have queer supporting characters - my brain kind of blurs this one and No Charm Done 😅)
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Another fun read - I got through this one pretty quickly and I didn't have much against it. The characters were cute, the personalities were distinct, it had a fun plot. I think my biggest fault was that it's yet another book where miscommunication is one of the only conflicts and that can get a little obnoxious from an audience perspective, especially with characters having extreme reactions to it.
Summary: Darcy Keller, resident ray of sunshine and town spirit princess, loves every moment of Fableview’s fall festivities. But she’s also really ready to leave for college next year, even though her parents expect her to stay and take over their Halloween empire.
Enter brooding new girl Anya Doyle, a real-life witch and almost a full member of her coven. In order to be initiated, she has to choose a mortal ally to act as her “protector.” But having moved around so much, Anya is completely friendless. So she does what any self-respecting teenage almost-witch would—she lies and tells her coven her secret crush, Darcy, is willing to do the job.
The solution? Work together, of course. The girls agree to help each other out, attending everything from a costume parade to a pumpkin patch party to an apple bobbing contest together. But with Anya’s magical powers and Darcy’s future independence on the line, the last thing they need is the added complication of pesky feelings . . .
Book #6: The Wolf and His King by Finn Longman 🌶️
Representation: (eventual) MLM relationship between the main characters, bisexual main character
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - OH MY GODDDD read this book, it is soooo good and I still can't stop thinking about it even 2 months later. It's a retelling of the original werewolf myth from France and it has such an interesting way of blending the "monster's" mind with the man's - very poetic, but not actual poetry. One thing I noticed as I was reading that I've been unable to stop thinking about - the only person with a name is the one who views himself as a monster. What do you think that says about him? (Bonus points, the physical copy of the book is freaking stunning - sprayed edges + gorgeous cover under the dust jacket)
Summary: The wolf-sickness strikes always without warning, stealing Bisclavret’s body and confusing his mind. Since boyhood, he hasn’t dared leave his isolated holdings—not to beg the return of his father’s lost estate, not to seek brotherhood among the court, not even to win the knighthood he yearns for. But when a new king ascends, Bisclavret must deliver his kiss of fealty or answer for the failure.
Half an exile himself, the young king is intrigued by this uneasy, rough-hewn nobleman. Bisclavret seems a perfect knight: bold, strong, and merciful. But he keeps his secrets close, and the king’s longings are not for counsel alone. As his fascination grows, the barriers between them multiply, until one day Bisclavret vanishes beyond reach. Battling desperation and grief, the king stands alone to face the greatest threats to his kingdom, with only duty to his people between him and ruin—duty, and the steadfast loyalty of the strangest wolf . . .
Book #7: Love at Second Sight by FT Lukens🚩
WARNINGS: (these are pretty mild but wanted to warn anyway) some violence, references to gore
Representation: MLM relationship between the main characters, other queer supporting characters, (implied) autistic representation
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Interesting premise! There were parts where a character would have what felt like an irrational reaction and I would have to remind myself that they were teenagers, but that aside the plot was unique, the relationship was cute (kind of took a back seat to the mystery except for when they were on a time crunch 🤦♂️) and overall a pretty fun read
Summary: Fifteen-year-old Cam Reynolds wants to spend his sophomore year flying under the radar. That shouldn’t be too hard, considering he’s a human going to school with kids who have paranormal powers, like his best friend and witch, Al, and his longtime werewolf crush, Mateo.
Then Cam has a psychic glimpse of the future in front of most of the student body, seeing a gruesomely murdered teen girl from the point of view of the killer. When Cam comes to, he knows two things: someone he goes to school with is a future murderer, and his life is about to change. No longer a mere human but a clairvoyant, one of the rarest of supernatural beings, Cam finds himself at the center of attention for the first time.
As the most powerful supernatural factions in the city court Cam and his gift, he’ll have to work with his friends, both old and new, to figure out who he can trust and who might be a werewolf in sheep’s clothing. Because the clock is ticking, and Cam and his friends must identify the girl in the vision, find her potential killer, and prevent the murder from happening. Or the next murder Cam sees might be his own.
Book #8: Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove 🚩
WARNINGS: Definitely violence/gore, a little existentialism
Representation: Queer relationship between two spaceship AIs, WLW relationship between two passengers, nonbinary/gendernonconforming characters
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Y'know what? I originally picked this book up as a joke and I'm actually obsessed with it. There is a HIGH likelihood that you will never find a book like this again. The audiobook does an incredible job with the ship AIs' voices, but I did end up having to switch back to the physical copy for a few of the other characters' perspectives due to personal preference. HIGHLY recommend giving this a shot if you're a fan of sci-fi or quirky literature.
Summary: Demeter just wants to do her job: shuttling humans between Earth and Alpha Centauri. Unfortunately, her passengers keep dying—and not from equipment failures, as her AI medical system, Steward, would have her believe. These are paranormal murders, and they began when one nasty, ancient vampire decided to board Demeter and kill all her humans.
To keep from getting decommissioned, Demeter must join forces with her own team of monsters: A werewolf. An engineer built from the dead. A pharaoh with otherworldly powers. A vampire with a grudge. A fleet of cheerful spider drones. Together, this motley crew will face down the ultimate evil—Dracula.
Book #9: Di Curious by Erin Branch 🌶️🚩
WARNINGS: Past toxic relationships, men feeling entitled to a woman's time/romantic attention
Representation: Sapphic relationship between main characters, nonbinary main character, other queer supporting characters
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ - I really wanted to like this book more than I did. Some of the writing/dialogue was really clunky and awkward to read, the sex scenes were pretty lackluster, and I kind of struggled to care about June & Nova's relationship due to some pretty petty drama. The ending was fun and some of the characters' personalities were really interesting, but overall wasn't one of my favorites I've read thus far. I think this may have been one of the author's first books - I would be curious to check out another of their books and see how it compares.
Summary: June lives the glamorous lifestyle of a mid-level Dungeons and Dragons influencer: broke in her parents' basement. Although June's internet-famous avatar has her life together, June is a people-pleasing mess on the inside. When she needs a D&D group for a lucrative opportunity, her celebrity group disinvites her, and she has to lean on her old friends.
But Nova, June’s former BFF, gives her the cold shoulder while flirting with her character during their game sessions. June is determined to figure out why. Turns out getting closer to Nova is awakening new, confusing feelings in June, feelings she tried to ignore years ago and can't anymore.
Book #10: Brigands and Breadknives by Travis Baldree
Representation: Queer supporting characters, WLW relationship in secondary characters (Viv & Tandree are the cutest and I love them)
My Rating: 4.5x⭐- Y'all know I love the Legends & Lattes series and this one being Fern-centric is amazing - I love her humor and the supporting characters are phenomenal. Zyll is chaos incarnate, Astrix is the much needed voice of reason (mostly) and Bucket is an incredible name for a horse. It's a lower stakes fantasy novel, so don't go in expecting world ending battles, but if you're invested in the characters and open to some crude humor, you'll have a great time. (0.5 stars deducted because I was hoping for more Potroast than was present)
Summary: Fern has weathered the stillness and storms of a bookseller’s life for decades, but now, in the face of crippling ennui, transplants herself to the city of Thune to hang out her shingle beside a long-absent friend’s coffee shop. What could be a better pairing? Surely a charming renovation montage will cure what ails her!
If only things were so simple…
It turns out that fixing your life isn’t a one-time prospect, nor as easy as a change of scenery and a lick of paint.
A drunken and desperate night sees the rattkin waking far from home in the company of a legendary warrior, an imprisoned chaos-goblin with a fondness for silverware, and an absolutely thumping hangover.
As together they fend off a rogue’s gallery of ne’er-do-wells trying to claim the bounty the goblin represents, Fern might find the courage to step off the beaten path in order to find her true self.
do you still want to or plan on finishing The Executioners Three at some point? i really enjoyed it and would love to read the rest if you plan on finishing it :)
Yes!! I actually just revised it pretty thoroughly about two weeks ago, to help tighten the mystery and plant clues a little more clearly -- and I mapped out an ending. ;)
I'm hoping good things will come out of that, though I'm not sure if I'll ever finish it online for free. My hope (to be totally honest) is to sell it and get paid to finish it. With baby, we are finding our finances look a bit differently than they used to! An income is good.
That said, thank you for asking about it!! It was so fun to dig it out and work on it again. I still love Freddie and Theo so much. 😭
Okay I am only on Chapter 12 of The Executioners Three but oh man I am already so in love with it
If you don’t know, it’s by Susan Dennard and can be found on Wattpad for free. And honestly I went into it knowing only 3 things: the author, it’s got a Stranger Things vibe, and it takes place in 1999.
The actual tweet that piqued my interest:
What I have gotten so far:
Creepy cool poem about the Executioners Three. Great chilly start
Eerie prologue
But then
We get our main gal, Freddie Gellar and oh man
She and her BFF Divya play an RPG called Witchlands. Like yes, Susan, you self-promote cause you deserve it.
Freddie is just hilarious and awesome and wants to be sheriff some day
There are SO MANY 90S REFERENCES. You’ve got your NSYNC vs BACKSTREET BOYS and Nokia phoned everywhere!
Prank wars with rival high school
Main guy from there? Theo Porter
He and Freddie are sworn enemies from the start but holy shit you KNOW they are endgame omg the way Susan writes them. I’ve never shipped ppl so quickly before.
Its so Romeo + Juliet and lol it’s referenced
Also dead bodies and other creepy things of course and the threat of the Executioners killing everyone but you know, pranks and enemies-to-lovers romance!!
But ugh its just. AMAZING.
I can’t stop reading it
Even though I have like 5 other books going already
