Silly, cozy sci-fi featuring moss
Books I COMPLETED
Once again, Tour de France coverage took up a lot of my free time in July. I kept wanting to immediately re-read The Chronicles of Osreth instead of reading anything new. But I persevered and made some progress on Hugo nominees…until I stalled out in the middle of The Incandescent.
I’ve included snippets from my reviews and additional thoughts.
Everybody’s Perfect (6/30/26) by Jo Walton (eARC)
Dreamy fantasy that takes place in a dreamy version of Venice. Each chapter is narrated by a different character, most of whom are non-human. There is no plot, but a story coalesces.
The Everlasting (2025) by Alix E. Harrow
Tricksy time travel story that explores how you can be affected by time loops.
Starting off, it reminded me of an excellent episode of Farscape and then turned into a reflection upon historiography.
Read this for the Hugo Awards, even though I had an eARC of it on my TBR since last year.
Moss’d in Space (7/7/26) by Rebecca Thorne (eARC)
Funny and snarky sci-fi story about sentient moss and spaceships. Told in alternating POVs of Moss and Torian, Moss’s favorite human. Cozy sci-fi with a side of romance and some critiques of imperialism and bad immigration policies. I really loved the flora-based designs.
Absolute Wonder Woman, vol. 1: The Last Amazon (2025) by Kelly Thompson, Hayden Sherman, and Mattia de Iulis
A new take on Wonder Woman. Instead of being raised on Themyscira by the Amazons, she was raised by Circe in Hell. It changes everything and nothing.
Absolute Batman Vol. 1: The Zoo (2025) by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta
I bounced off of the story and the artwork. Set in the same universe as Absolute Wonder Woman, but there is no overlap in characters or plot.
The Invisible Parade (2025) by Leigh Bardugo and John Picacio
Lyrical children’s story about grief and the Day of the Dead. Read this because it was nominated for a Hugo Award. Liked most of the artwork.
Sargassa (2024) by Sophie Burnham
Alt-history set in a world run by the Roman Empire. Lots of court intrigue. I figured out some of the plot twists early, so I was satisfied when I was right.
Books I’M currently reading
- The Incandescent (2025) by Emily Tesh
August TBR
Catching up on the Hugo nominations.
Backlist
Really, truly I want to read these Hugo and Eisner Award nominees:
- The West Passage (2024) by Jared Pechaček
- The River Has Roots (2025) by Amal el-Mohtar
- Absolute Martian Manhunter (2025) by Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez
Recent and Upcoming Releases That I Want to Read
- The Salt King (8/18/26) by Natasha Pulley
- I Punched an Alien and Now We’re in Couples Therapy (8/18/26) by Kimberly Lemming
- Portrait of a Witch Undone (8/25/26) by KS Shay
Already read:
- Trade of Blood (8/11/26) by Robert Jackson Bennett (eARC)
