Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’ve got two more new releases for your perusal and a couple of books with fantastic veterinarians as characters in them. It’s been winter part two in Colorado, which is actually pretty normal — this is why no one puts their plants outside until Memorial Day. I also tried a great new recipe, instant pot moong dal, and I definitely recommend it as a tasty meal for a cold, technically spring day! Have a great weekend, space pirates, stay safe, and I’ll see you on Tuesday!
Looking for fascinating stories, informed takes, useful advice, and more from experts in the world of books and reading? Sign up for Book Riot’s newest newsletter, The Deep Dive, to get exclusive content delivered to your inbox. Subscribe and choose your membership level today at bookriot.substack.com.
Let’s make the world a better place, together. Here’s somewhere to start: NDN Collective and Jane’s Due Process.
Bookish Goods
Goblin Dice Bag by MyFunkyCamelot
One of the book recommendations below got me on a goblin kick, and these dice bags are too cute! You can even ask the artist to customize the facial expression a bit! $42
New Releases
Once There Was by Kiyash Monsef
Marjan’s father told her many fantastic fables when she was a little girl, ones about extraordinary, magical beasts. But now Marjan is an adult, and the sudden death of her father leaves her trying to balance schoolwork, friendships, and keeping his veterinary practice afloat. Then she receives a visitor who tells her that her father’s stories were true — he traveled the world to care for magical beasts, and now she needs to take over that part of his practice as well.
Ink Stains and Ill-Fated Lies by Kellie Doherty
The Sunglade is a place of burning sunlight and monsters, populated by the worshippers of the evil sun goddess Ponuriah. Yet Adaris Kavari, a wandering scriber burdened by disgrace, gets herself captured by Ponuriah’s worshippers and is tasked by them with recording their side of the story. Adaris is determined to free herself and her fellow prisoners, and bring back this story she has learned, which might be the key to her personal salvation and stopping a coming war.
For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
With Once There Was in the new releases, I wanted to recommend a couple more “magical veterinarian” books, since I do so love them!
Super Extra Grande by Yoss, translated by David Frye
Latin Americans are the pioneers of faster-than-light travel, and Dr. Jan Amos Sangan Dongo is one of their number out among the stars. But he’s not a human doctor — no, his specialty is as a xenoveterinarian, treating the strangest alien animals humanity has discovered. When a gigantic creature swallows two ambassadors and the incident threatens to set off a war between the seven intelligent species of the galaxy, Dr. Sangan may be humanity’s only hope.
Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher
The goblins have been at war for ages, after being pushed out of their lands and finding nowhere else to go. When Sergeant Nessilka leads her platoon in an ill-fated charge against a wizard, they find themselves magically teleported miles behind enemy lines. Then elven veterinarian Sings-to-Trees spots one of their injured number and lugs him home for healing and finds he’s volunteered to help the goblins get home again…hopefully in one piece.
See you, space pirates. If you’d like to know more about my secret plans to dominate the seas and skies, you can catch me over at my personal site.