underrated books thread, although by "underrated" i just mean "not talked about very much on my corner of the internet". here are some books !

1.) the midnight bargain - c. l. polk.
historical fantasy with a diverse cast & very unique worldbuilding! women chasing & achieving their dreams even when their world tells them it's impossible. i want ianthe lavan to become one of booktwt's darlings.

2.) killing november - adriana mather.

young adult contemporary, november adley gets sent to a fucked up boarding school and people start dying. a little silly but it has its moments!

3.) sorcery of thorns - margaret rogerson.

this cover is familiar on booktwt but i don't think very many people have actually read it? it's a great standalone but i selfishly want a sequel just to get more of this world & more of elisabeth and nathaniel.

4.) an unkindness of magicians - kat howard.

urban fantasy. all magic comes from the house of shadows, by torturing magicians sent there as a tithe by their house. sydney escaped, and now she participates in an age-old competition between houses for more power.

5.) an assassin's guide to love and treason - virginia boecker.

katherine disguises herself as a boy to play a part in twelfth night, to aid the rebels in their mission to kill the queen. but her co-star toby is one of the queen's spies, tasked with rooting out assassins

6.) the hazel wood - melissa albert.

[taps mic] calling all unconventional & bloody fairytale fans. it's a story about the power of stories that spring forth fully-formed, with laws of their own. even better, they are so unique & unfamiliar that they're completely unpredictable.

minor break in thread 2 say i'm genuinely obsessed with the fairytales in the hazel wood & the world of the hinterland. i would die there in 2 seconds but it would be worth it. i think this revitalized the "fucked up fairytale" genre & they are tonally so unique & indescribable

7.) uprooted - naomi novik.

what is there left to say about uprooted. agnieszka is such a rare type of protagonist in terms of her general... attitude... outlook? i'm in love w her. sarkan also. the visuals for this if it was a movie? insane. some elements of horror

8.) the last magician - lisa maxwell.

why is every urban fantasy in new york? i don't know. this is in 1902 new york, though, for a little spice. esta takes a job as a magician's assistant to steal A Very Important Book from him. oh no, he's hot! some time travel twists also

9.) the bear and the nightingale - katherine arden.

i found this on a library shelf in 2017 and became so obsessed i paid fines on it 2x over so i could have it longer. it's just so... evocative ? i'll be honest i haven't finished the series bc i didn't know it was a series

10.) proxy - alex london.

capitalism has destroyed society and everyone has debt genetically attatched to them. syd is one of those hopelessly in debt, & signed his rights away as a proxy in exchange for credit. he's gay and possibly the messiah, according to a desert rebel cult

11.) cruel beauty - rosamund hodge.

will a day pass that i don't think about the graveyard scene? this thread is making me realize how many villain romances i read in high school

12.) the coldest girl in coldtown - holly black.

tana's dad has to cut her vampire mom's head off with a shovel, and tana says: fuck that noise. but then she has to roadtrip with her infected ex boyfriend, & a centuries old, somewhat unhinged, mysterious vampire. he's very hot.

i'm pretty sure tana kills a vampire with a baseball bat at some point, and it was very formative for me. if she doesn't, then i made it up in my head because i wish she had. they have to wrap gavriel up in trash bags during the day.

13.) heist society - ally carter.

family of theives goes on a harrowing but ultimately heartwarming adventure to steal art, ethically. kat conveniently has a devoted friend who is the wealthiest person on earth, and head over heels in love with her, to finance this. i'm obsessed

14.) strange practice - vivian shaw.

sometimes a family is a 30something human doctor, two vampires of literary fame, and a demon accountant with bad lungs. greta is very important to me & yes, she does get a vampire boyfriend.

15.) the scorpion rules - erin bow.

there was an AI uprising, but now the world is at peace. greta is a hostage ensuring that peace. she also has a gf and a bf. what more could she want? well, freedom, maybe. the sequel emotionally destroyed me but i cant say why (major spoiler)

i thought about putting mistborn on here but i think that is only underrated outside of sf circles. but here's an honorary mention for mistborn and vin, the girl of my heart. elend reassured me that i do like men

16.) a wicked thing - rhiannon thomas.

sleeping beauty wakes up to a political prison. prince charming is fine, but like, there's rampant inequality in the kingdom and his family won't do anything about it? aurora sneaks out at night and meets a rebel society. there's dragons