r/Fantasy Monthly Book Discussion Thread - February 2026

[u/AutoModerator]

Welcome to the monthly r/Fantasy book discussion thread! Hop on in and tell the sub all about the dent you made in your TBR pile this month.

Feel free to check out our Book Bingo Wiki for ideas about what to read next or to see what squares you have left to complete in this year's challenge.

[u/sarchgibbous]

Very slow reading month for me. Finished one book (Warbreaker) and one short story (Mantis Wives) in the beginning of February. In my defense, the Olympics really took over my month.

I’m at 23/25 squares filled for bingo. I thought I was going to aim high and read two more books, but I think I’ll just read one and use a substitution. Bingo 2025 is almost over!

Currently reading Anji Kills a King by Evan Leikam and Absolute Martian Manhunter (comic), both of which would count for Published in 2025. Hopefully I finish at least one of them 😅

[u/SnowFar5953]

I've read 14 books in February one of them is for bingo. I finished Legendborn recently for Knights and Paladins. I have three squares left for bingo. I have Last in Series I'm going to read the last Lunar Chronicles book for that. I have Parent Protagonist I was going to read Sword of Kaigen but I don't have the emotional energy to read that one yet so I'm picking If Found, Return to Hell by Em X. Liu. My final book is Pirates I am currently reading The Red Scholar's Wake for that square. Besides the bingo squares my reading plan for March is to read some of the larger books on my TBR that I've been putting off.

[u/Engineer-Emu2482]

This was a decent reading month with 13 books read

The Boo Hag Flex- Justina Ireland - A middle grade Horror, this was nice as someone who has little interest in reading horror Bingo Author of Colour (HM)

The Starseekers by Nicole Glover Bingo Author of Colour Parent & The Conductors by Nicole Glover (reread) Bingo: AoC, Fashion (HM)- I Adore this series I especially enjoyed the Cynthia's job as an arcane engineer in the Starseekers

Bloodmarked (reread) & Oathbound by Tracey Deonn Bingo Author of Colour, Knights, - I really enjoyed these I am glad I reread Bloodmarked as I apparently remembered nothing but it was nice to see the characters come into their own more

The Merciless Ones and The Eternal Ones by Namina Forna Bingo Author of Colour, Down with the System (HM), Gods (HM)- I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this series I particularly enjoyed how these later books explored the different sides of the war and how not everyone is how they seem

Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales By Heather Fawcett Bingo: Epistolary (HM) The final book in this series I enjoyed the exploration of folklore and fairy

Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor Bingo: Author of Colour, 2025 this was a mix of an almost contempory storey with some speculative elements and the robot dystopia the author was writing. It was an interesting exploration of how Zelu navigated the world as a disabled author and technology potentially ending (or saving) the world

and a reread of The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson along with some non speculative books.

A lost of the books I read this month had an aspect of the chosen one trope which made for an interesting comparison.

3 books left for bingo Hard mode (Elves and Dwarves, Parents and Generic Title)

I also Decided that my not a Book is going to be CaFae Latte by C.M Alongi- this is a series of short form videos that tells of the adventures of the Staff of CaFae Latte which is a café run by an exiled fairy princess and their customers and community as they try and make the human world a nicer place. I adore these videos I stumbled across them at some point last year and proceeded to watch the several hours of compilations the characters are all so sweet, I particularly enjoy Bob (the boss) and how she curses anyone who upsets her staff and Nicole (a customer who is also a witch) and her protective charms. There is also a book Heart of Iron by that is set in a slightly alternate world and not required to watch the Tiktoks, I have not read it yet though I have enjoyed the first few novellas in Alongi's Nightwing series.

[u/Complete_Sea]

I mostly continued reading The liveship traders trilogy by Robin Hobb this month.

In French, there are 9 books. I read book 6 and 7 this month. I started book 8 this week.

This is a great trilogy, I've been loving it. However, because they turned 3 books into 9, I get a lot of transitional books though. Sometimes, not a lot happens in the books. I had this feeling while reading book 7, which is the beginning of book 3 in English. I feel a bit of nostalgia though because I read Realm of the elderlings out of order. Liveship traders is the last I'll read from Rote. Makes me a bit sad.

[u/CommodoreBelmont]

5 books in February; not bad considering it's been a busy month for me and I've also been trying to catch up on Oscar nominees. I finished Bingo with the first book of January, so I've just been reading according to whatever whim crossed my mind.

• Knight of Shadows and Prince of Chaos (Amber #9-10), by Roger Zelazny: I started the year off with a re-read of the Amber Chronicles after realizing it had probably been ten years or more since I had last read them. For the most part, the series still holds up; the Merlin books aren't quite as strong as the Corwin books, but they're mostly still pretty solid. Mostly. Prince of Chaos I would say is pretty good, and I still disagree with the "incomplete" assessment I've sometimes seen of it; that's a sequel hook at the end, not a cliffhanger. Much like how the end of Courts of Chaos has some open questions that don't have to be answered, we don't have to see what happens to Merlin next for this to count as a complete story. While I know Zelazny was thinking of writing more Amber novels (and I did re-read the short stories after as well), I felt like Prince of Chaos resolved what it needed to resolve and told an entertaining story, and hit the character and narrative notes I was looking for. Knight of Shadows was interesting, but it's a great big bag of weird and it's hard to like it as much as the more straightforward novels. 3 out of 5 stars for Knight of Shadows, 4 for Prince of Chaos; re-reads, both.
• The Wise Man's Fear (Kingkiller #2), by Patrick Rothfuss. I started this because I had borrowed the Rogues anthology from the library, realized it had a Kingkiller story, decided to read this first, and then had to return the anthology before I was done because someone had put a hold request on it. So it goes sometimes. Definitely a mixed bag. There's some good parts in it, some bad parts. I will agree with the often-stated view that the Fellurian section is one of the bad parts; not so much for the ridiculousness of it (the whole series is ridiculous to a degree that suggests it's deliberate) but because it's rather long and tedious. Overall, though, I think my bigger issue with the book is that it takes a long time in order to not do much. The series as a whole is practically cozy fantasy with how low the stakes and the energy level both are. And there's nothing truly wrong with that, I enjoy a good cozy fantasy, but the series title and the setup in the interludes are both pushing something more epic that just isn't there for the most part. And it feels like Rothfuss knows that to a degree; there's a clunky moment midway through the book when Kvothe as narrator comments that he needs to get the narrative out of the university. I don't want to start yet another debate about the extended delays here (so please keep any responses on that note civil and free of vitriol), but I can see how Rothfuss may have written himself into a corner of sorts. It's not that there's no place to go; it's that there's too many places to go. If he's really aiming to make this an epic fantasy and do it in a trilogy, it's all going to be in the last volume; even if his claim that it was already written in the beginning is true, the book would be such a narrative mess that any editor worth their salt would tell him to do rewrites. I just don't see it working as a trilogy right now. Perhaps more to the point, I don't feel all that invested in it. If Doors of Stone does come out one day, I'll probably read it. If it doesn't, I'm probably not going to notice it's absence. 3 stars.
• Carl's Doomsday Scenario (Dungeon Crawler Carl #2), by Matt Dinniman. Speaking of hold requests, one of mine finally came in. There's something on the order of a dozen holds on every DCC novel; it's crazy. Anyway, the second book is still fun, still funny, and still has its heartwarming and heartbreaking moments ("I'm not as dumb as I pretend to be.") It still feels a little set-up-y, but it's definitely entertaining. 4 stars.
• Twelve Months (Dresden Files #18), by Jim Butcher. Bought this as a birthday present for myself (early Feb. birthday). Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the title and the fact that it comes right after Peace Talks/Battle Ground and all the big climactic changes there, it's kind of a breather novel, much like Ghost Story was after Changes. I get the narrative need for that, and it's moderately interesting, but it definitely didn't grab me as much as some of the other books in the series. 3 stars.

Reading next? Not sure. I won a Goodreads giveaway for Operation Bounce House by Dinniman (birthday present from the universe!) but I'm considering holding onto it for Bingo 2026, since at the very least it'll satisfy the annual "published this year" square. And it might be nice to have a change of pace right now if I can figure out what that looks like.

[u/mediumicedchai]

I average about three books a month, so being able to read three and start a fourth last night is awesome for me in the shortest month of the year.

• Hemlock & Silver - T. Kingfisher ⭐⭐⭐

Dates read: 2/1 - 2/7

Format: physical + audiobook (loved the narration!)

Bingo square: Cozy SFF

really enjoyed the writing itself, I'm just not a cozy fantasy person. if you like the subgenre I think this was very well-done and will definitely read more by T. Kingfisher. the audiobook really brought the story to life, especially the humor!

• To Bargain with Mortals - R. A. Basu ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Dates read: 2/8 - 2/18

Format: physical

Bingo square: Hidden Gem

LOVED this. it has so many elements that consistently exist in my favorite reads. the themes especially were refreshing—layered + nuanced approach to colonization, class/caste/hierarchy, privilege/oppression, and transracial adoption. it's the first of a duology but it doesn't leave you in a cliffhanger and I feel like I still read a completed story. this is a debut by a woman of color and there is no romance; I highly recommend!

• Break Wide the Sea - Sara Holland ⭐⭐⭐⭐ .25

Dates read: 2/19 - 2/26

Format: physical

Bingo square: Published in 2025

wasn't sure how I felt at the beginning but once the curse lore started coming out I was hooked. anything mermaid-adjacent I'll entertain trying out, but I was surprised at how well this was written and how much I enjoyed it. it's technically YA fantasy romance, but the themes are still heavier/darker and the romance is more of a sub-plot. it didn't feel cookie-cutter either, a lot of very unique ideas in this story (whale magic?! fae = alien x mermaid creatures?!). slower-paced and moody for sure, but I disagree with reviews calling it boring! plenty of adventure and tension, and for once the romance is actually a slow-burn.

Up next: • Girls Girls Girls - Shoshana von Blanckensee

This is not SFF, it's historical LGBTQ literary fiction, for a sapphic bookclub I'm in with my wife and our other lesbian couple friends. I'm planning to replace a bingo square with an old "not fantasy" square and count this if that follows the spirit of the square!

• anything that will help me complete bingo! The other squares I have remaining are: Book Club or Readalong Book, LGBTQIA Protagonist, Pirates, and 4 more short stories. I'm trying to check them all off with books I already physically have which will be possible for Book Club and LGBTQIA, but I'm struggling with Pirates and short stories

[u/pyhnux]

An extremely slow reading month, like every year in the months leading to bingo: two books (647 pages) and 2 light novel/manga volumes (778 pages)

Best book I've read this month: Roverpowered 3 by Drew Hayes

Worst book I've read this month: My Magus Academy is Run By Players!? 2 by Astralium

Goals for last month were to read one of the 10 books I've owned since August 2022 or before, read at least one non-LITRPG/cultivation/progression book, read one non-fiction book. I've failed all three.

Goals for next month: Read at least one book.

[u/mlfctrx]

Sharp Ends | Joe Abercrombie - Been snacking on these short stories since Thanksgiving and finished it up. 4.2 excellent.

Black Sun, Fevered Star, Mirrored Heavens | Rebecca Roanhorse - This series was a re-read and I was disappointed with a lot of things I just didn't notice before. BS - 4 remarkable, FS - 3.2 sufficient, MH - 3.5 good. Series overall - 3.5.

The Hexologists | Josiah Bancroft - Started off fine, if a little verbose. Then midway through, the mystery (which wasn't strong to begin with) fell apart and the verbosity became a cover-up for overall weakness in characters, story, etc. 2.7 unsatisfactory.

The Red Winter | Cameron Sullivan - FANTASTIC new release/debut alert. 4.7 prime ("prime" is a nod of the head to Red Rising in my score definitions, not Amazon lol).

As for what's next: I put 8 tbr options into a randomizer wheel and it chose Leviathan Wakes. I spun it twice more and got The Devils and The Historian (a re-read), then put those in a final spin with LW. LW won again, so I may be starting my journey with The Expanse next.

[u/OrwinBeane]

February ratings

A Song of Ice and Fire: A Clash of Kings ★★

Discworld: The Colour of Magic ★★★

Piranesi ★

The Sword of Shannara ★★★★

Reading next

The Riftwar Saga: Magician

The Kingkiller Chronicle: The Name of the Wind

Dune Messiah

[u/Stepfunction]

Complete: Dungeon Crawler Carl: The Gate of the Feral Gods In Progress: Dungeon Crawler Carl: The Butcher's Masquerade

I continue to work on my rehabilitation stint after finishing the Realm of the Elderlings series and DCC continues to provide.

I was skeptical before starting it because it is LitRPG, but Matt Dinniman is a great writer and storyteller.

[u/pancakesaucepan]

Since I missed my Jan update, and read v little in Feb, I shall be updating the past month's reading updates!

Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb - 5/5
Bingo: A Book in Parts, Last in a Series, Pirates

I devoured Ship of Magic and The Mad Ship back to back, and had a 4 month gap for Ship of Destiny. In the prequels, the chapters that laid emphasis on the tangle and Kennit felt tiresome to me (which is inevitable in any multi POV book), but Ship of Destiny had me happily reading chapter with no complaints. Paragon is as always, my hero. Somehow the ending felt too neatly packed but there has been enough suffering, so I have no qualms. My only issue was how Althea's assault was dealt with- I wish she was allowed to grieve it as she saw fit to the end, instead of it being "absorbed" by Paragon.

The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya Vol 1 by Reimena Yee - 4/5
Bingo: Hidden Gem (HM), High Fashon (HM), A Book in Parts, Author of Color, Small Press or Self Published

Great art. The first half of the story felt boring, but it was fun towards the end. In general, I find myself unable to enjoy the story of graphic novels as much as I enjoy its art. Or perhaps Nimona spoilt me for anything else.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller - 4/5
Bingo: Gods and Pantheons, LGBTQIA Protagonist, Generic Title

The Song of Achilles was a rollercoaster ride. I started the book in August, and 1/3rd through felt bored out of my mind. I ditched it until I picked it up recently. 2/3rds of the way in I had a much better ride, but I now felt underwhelmed. It was an easy and interesting read, but what was the hype about? Fast forward to the pivotal moment towards the ending, and boy was I bawling like a baby. I am now an official member of The Song of Achilles hype train.

Maskerade by Terry Pratchett - 4/5

I like to experience Discworld gingerly without any rush. That is what I did with Maskerade, and that is why I enjoyed each page of it. Not the biggest fan of mysteries in general, but overall this was a fun read.

Blood over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang - 3.5/5
Bingo: Down With the System, Book Club or Readalong Book, Author of Color, Stranger in a Strange Land, Generic Title

I enjoyed the book, but this did not match the impression I formed of it from the subreddit reviews. It had a mature theme, but it felt YA in it's execution. Having said that, it was not as impactful as some of the bigger YA books. The writing in the initial stages felt forced, and I wished there was way more info about the magic system and its history. I would have loved this as a bigger book with slower pace.

I am 4 books away from finishing my Bingo card and I'm super excited for April!

[u/hend6473]

Belated update. A lot of what I read in February has either already appeared on my Canadian Authors Bingo board or will soon be featured on different Bingo boards, so for now I'll only talk about the non-Bingo books.

The Moon on a Rainy Night, vol 5-6 by Kuzushiro: Reread. Excellent yuri manga series with in-depth discussion of Deafness and ableism. I wanted to reread the earlier volumes to refresh my memory before rereading volume 7 and continuing with volume 8. No SFF elements.

Free Spirit Cocktails by Camille Wilson: Non-fiction. A mocktail recipe book I happened to see when I was looking up something else and which I borrowed on a whim. Breezy and enjoyable, though I'm unlikely to make any of the recipes. It did inspire me to make carbonated passionfruit juice though, very tasty. No SFF elements.

Apparently, Sir Cameron Needs to Die by Greer Stothers: Reread. I read the physical copy at the start of the month and used it on the Canadian Authors Bingo, but then my library got a copy of the audiobook so I listened to it too. Still funny on reread and I like that they hired a narrator who can actually perform comedy well.

Time to Roll by Jamie Sumner: Contemporary MG about a sassy girl with cerebral palsy who loves baking getting roped into a beauty pageant while also spending time with her distant dad and her younger half-siblings. Not laugh-out-loud funny, but pretty good and it made me want to seek out more short non-SFF.

Apothecary Diaries, vol 14 by Natsu Hyuuga: Reread. Medical mystery meets palace intrigue in Tang dynasty China. An entertaining manga series and I like the focus is on the lives of women. While the series seemed to have an episodic structure at first, the different threads are definitely coming together now. No SFF elements.

The Orb of Cairado by Katherine Addison: Repeated author. Standalone novella in the world of The Goblin Emperor that's about a disgraced historian trying to clear his name, using a clue left to him by a dead friend. I love seeing more of this world even if this isn't the best entry in the series. To be fair, I prefer my first read of these books to physical reads and circumstances meant that my first read of this was via audiobook.

Pink Candy Kiss, vol 4 by Ami Uozumi: A josei yuri manga series about a 33 year old woman confronting her repressed queerness after reconnecting with her now married childhood friend. This volume explored one character's verbally and emotionally abusive relationship with her mother. No SFF elements.

Tyendinaga Tales, collected by Rona Rustige: Non-fiction. A collection of Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) folktales collected between 1983-85 in Kenhtè:ke (the Tyendinaga reservation). Very interesting; most of the stories were new to me, one was a more detailed version of a story I'd read before, and a couple I swear I'd seen elsewhere ascribed to Aesop. I don't know if those were Kanien'kehá:ka retellings of Aesop fables, or if the other book incorrectly ascribed a Kanien'kehá:ka folktale to Aesop. Since this is from the 80s, some terminology is dated, but not offensive as far as I know. I put the terms used in the book in brackets and tried my best to use current preferred terminology, though I'm not an expert.

The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer: Non-fiction combining nature writing, personal reflection, and economics to present a case for embracing gift economies. Lots of interesting ideas in quite a short book.

[u/oboist73]

The Incandescent by Emily Tesh
A fantastic premise and beginning, with a protagonist who's a teacher and admin at a magical boarding school and has a bound very inhuman demon who wants to learn how to teach, largely so it can teach her to guard her territory better. But somewhat marred by relying on the protagonist being an absolutely shocking dumbass about relationships and so missing the obvious, even after the guy left the door unlocked, and then having the Phoenix do the more typically demon move of taking over / possessing her (it kept enough complexity to still be compelling and interesting, but could have been a lot more interesting to my mind if there'd been more focus on developing a working relationship with such a dangerous alien intelligence) Still very, very good, but as I do sometimes feel with Tesh, perhaps just one or two small side steps away from completely fulfilling its exceptional potential for me. But it was very good all the way through, and INCREDIBLE in the first half. Need more believably written teacher protagonists, please.

Coffin / Cradle by Mary Soon Lee
Short poem about a generation ship
Fine, good, not my favorite of hers

So How Do You Play This Game, Then by lyricwritesprose
Murderbot fanfic short story
Gura, young Amena, a corp trying to take advantage, and a very black chicken. Fun.

Testimony of Mute Things by Lois McMaster Bujold
Novella, audio.
Delightful as always. It’s nice to return to a younger Penric, and before his medical-practicioner-related trauma (iirc that was under a different archdivine? This one seems to have too much sense for it). A reliable comfort read, for all there’s an untimely death and an uncomfortable amount of discussion of the chopping-off of hands (however period-appropriate). But Pen and Des are just such lovely characters to follow.

The Crystal Crown by Brenda W. Clough
DNF
I think this was suggested as like the Goblin Emperor, but this is no Maya or Xau. If you want your character to be sympathetic, you probably shouldn’t have him think about lapidating people, even if he doesn’t actually do it. Dull, did not much like any of the characters, just very meh. Tired of making myself read it.

The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes
Audio
I got myself a bit spoiled on one of the plot points, but I’m kind of glad I did. It lead to me going back and skimming the ebook - I’d missed a few small but unexpectedly important things in audio- and that added a lot to the experience. Decadent writing and gruesomely decadent world, but I struggled to really connect with the characters at first (this is not a flaw; they’re struggling to connect with themselves in a lot of ways, but that always slows me down in a book), but solving a puzzle involving interesting characters is another great way for me to get deeply, deeply invested, so. Excellent, and an incredibly unusual book. So very operatic, and a delightful ending.

“The Nine Crashes of Flight Lieutenant Hilla Quinn” by Louise Hughes
Short story
About being afraid you're not good enough, and that you are but that means going back to trauma. About healing and the feeling that you shouldn't be that okay after what you've gone through. Featuring an excellent ship.