## it’s a midyear best list!! here are my favorite books that i’ve read in 2025 so far.

it’s a midyear best list!! here are my favorite books that i’ve read in 2025 so far.

📚 books mentioned:
- The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
- Me...Show more

### some horror books I adore written by Indigenous authors!

📚 books mentioned:
- Taaqtumi: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories
- The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
- Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
- The Unfinished by Cheryl Isaacs

👗💄:
- shirt is from Anthropologie, rented from Nuuly
- eyeshadow is Sickly Sweet Palette from Blend Bunny Cosmetics
- eyeliner is Vegan Longwear Eyeliner (Lilac) from Pacifica Beauty
- mascara is from Badi Lash from Kulfi
- lip combo is Matte Fix Lip Pencil (Midnight Seduction) from about-face and ShineOn Plumping Lip Jelly (Act Natural) from Tower28

thank you to Saga Press and Heartdrum / HarperCollins for the gifted copies!

### some fantasy books i adore written by Black authors!

📚 books mentioned:
- Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko
- The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter
- We Are the Origin by C.M. Lockhart
- Somadina by Akwaeke Emezi
- The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

👗💄:
- shirt is from Out of Print (gifted)
- eyeshadow is The Spring Symphony Palette from Dandy Lion Cosmetics
- eye shimmer is from Ourbella (Solar Rush)
- eyeliner is Creme Gel Liner (Amethyst Hour) from Colourpop
- mascara is from Wonderskin
- lip combo is Staining Lip Liner (Platonic) from Kulfi Beauty and Bisou Jelly (Aïssa) from Violette FR

thank you to Written in Melanin Publishing/Ingram Spark and Get Underlined for the gifted copies!

### your friend really, really needs to read these books …

📚 books mentioned:
- Our Sister’s Keeper by Jasmine Holmes
- Her Body and Other Parties: Stories by Carmen Maria Machado
- Delicate Condition by Danielle Valentine
- Girls Who Play Dead by Joelle Wellington
- Canon by Paige Lewis
- You Should Have Been Nicer to My Mom by Vincent Tirado
- Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz
- The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
- Open Throat by Henry Hoke
- Singer Distance by Ethan Chatagnier
- Until the Clock Strikes Midnight by Alechia Dow
- Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
- Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino
- The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter
- Fury by Shirley Marr

👗💄:
- shirt is from Hill House Home
- eyeshadow is The Lord of the Rings Middle Earth Palette from Glamlite and In A Trance from Colourpop
- eyeliner is Vegan Longwear Eyeliner (Ocean) from Pacifica Beauty
- shimmer is a single (Enchanted) from Adriana Nichole Cosmetics
- mascara is Clean Volume from Merit
- lip combo is Suede Matte Lip Liner (Moonwalk) from NYX Cosmetics and Wonder Blading Top Gloss (Holographic) from Wonderskin

thank you to Bindery Books, Sourcebooks Landmark, Simon Teen, Viking Books, William Morrow, Tordotcom, and Tin House for the gifted copies!

### here are some mind reader queer book recs for pride!

📚 books mentioned:
- Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
- Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White
- Fawn’s Blood by Hal Schrieve
- The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson
- Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
- Station Six by S.J. Klapecki
- An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
- The Maiden and Her Monster by Maddie Martinez
- Somadina by Akwaeke Emezi
- Dauntless by Elisa A. Bonnin
- On Sundays She Picked Flowers by Yah-Yah Scholfield
- This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
- In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
- The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez
- Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino
- Blood Orange by Yaffa As
- Bless the Blood: A Cancer Memoir by Walela Nehanda
- Death’s Country by R.M. Romero
- Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart: And Other Stories by GennaRose Nethercott
- Transmogrify!: 14 Fantastical Tales of Trans Magic: An LGBTQ+ Young Adult Fantasy Anthology of Unforgettable Adventures edited by g. haron davis
- Love After the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction edit by Joshua Whitehead