tree wolf image by chic2view on 123RF.com

It’s May again, and that means it’s one of my favourite times of the year on the blogger calendar – it’s time for Wyrd and Wonder!

This is an online feature, or event, started by bloggers Imyril, Lisa and Jorie back in 2018

a quest to celebrate the best fantasy books, movies, audiobooks, games, art and whatever else tickles our fancy

You can find out more on Imyril’s blog 

This year is a particularly special one, as Wyrd and Wonder is celebrating its fifth birthday! I personally can’t quite believe this feature has been running five years – that’s a lot of photo challenge entries…

As a fifth anniversary is represented with wood, the theme for this year reflects that and is FORESTS. It’s also important to mention that the hosting team have been rounded out to that special five with Ariana of The Book Nook and Annemieke of A Dance With Books joining in. 

So, how will we be taking part on the Hive?

• As ever, we’ll be taking part in the photo challenge on Instagram
• A read-along of The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay
• Fantastic Top Fives – every Monday we’ll be bringing you Fantastic Fantasy reads in Five Words
• Tough Travels – this month’s Tough Travel will coincide with Wyrd and Wonder’s Fantasy Landscape prompt
• Wyrd and Wonder Wednesdays – every Wednesday we’ll be taking a look back at some of our favourite photo challenge prompts and recommendations from the last five years of Wyrd and Wonder.

As ever with Wyrd and Wonder, we kick off the month with a look at our Wyrd and Wonder TBRs. Let us know in the comments what you’ll be reading, and if you’ll be adding any of these to your TBRs!

Beth

I’m very much looking forward to taking part in the read-along of The Summer Tree, as I’ve always wanted to read Guy Gavriel Kay, and this is the perfect excuse. With so many new authors releasing new books all the time, I struggle to find time to visit older works that I missed.

I’m actually super excited about a non-fiction book, which is absolutely a first for me. I’ll be dipping in and out of Amy Jeff’s Storyland, a collection of retellings of British mythology (so it wavers kind of closely to the fiction side of non-fic…).

Sticking very much to the theme, I’ll also be reading Mischief Acts by Zoe Gilbert. This is again a foray into British folklore, a retelling of the story of Herne the hunter.

Finally, I’ve requested an arc of Ledge by Stacey McEwan from Angry Robot, so if that arrives in time, it’ll be getting bumped up the TBR!

Nils

Like Beth I’m also really looking forward to the read-along of The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay, he’s an author I’ve always wanted to try too but when an author already has an extensive amount of books published I always struggle with where to start. So with Imyril hosting this readalong I’ve now got a great starting point.

I’ve also started reading The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne, which is the sequel to The Shadow of the Gods. This is actually perfect for Wyrd and Wonder’s theme this year as forests, woodlands and nature feature a lot in Gwynne’s setting. Also, Gwynne is one of my favourite fantasy authors so it’s always comforting reading his books.

I’m not sure how much time I’ll have to squeeze in any more books then those two as Gwynne’s book is a chonky one, however if I do have time I’d like to read either Nettle and Bone by T Kingfisher (a dark fairytale-esque story), The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen (a fantasy rom-com) or Ordinary Monsters by JM Miro (a historical fantasy). I guess it all depends on which I’m in the mood for! 

Julia

As always I am horrendous at actually planning and sticking to any sort of TBR… 

But for print I first want to finish Where Werewolves Fear to Tread by Alan Gordon. Then I shall finally read Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh, which has been on my shelf for ages! I am pretty sure I bought it in Bristol, pre-pandemic… So with the wood theme for Wyrd & Wonder that’s as good a reason to read it now as any.

Audiobooks are harder, as I usually finish at least one a week. I definitely want to get around to some I’ve had for ages. So I hope I’ll get through The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow and The Bitter Twins by Jen Williams. 

Rounded up with three books I recently bought: Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher, Of Blood and Fire by Ryan Cahill and Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments by T.L. Huchu.

And then I have some books on pre-order, which I want to read as soon as they finally make it over the border to Germany. No idea when they’ll finally make it here with international postage still being utter chaos, so that might change all my plans again…

Jonathan

It’s another busy reading month for me. I will be reading Walking on Cowrie Shells by Nana Nkweti, Dark Factory by Kathe Koja and The Outcast and The Rite by Helen de Guerry Simpson, all of which are due out this month and I am very excited about. In addition, I’ll be continuing to work my way through Kathleen Ann Goonan’s Nanotech Quartet with Mississippi Blues, the second book in the series.

I’m also hoping to get back to my project of working through Anna Kavan and Iris Murdoch’s works. Up next is Kavan’s A Scarcity of Love and Murdoch’s Flight From the Enchanter, both of which I’m very excited about. After a break away from two of my favourite authors it’ll be nice to return to their imagination and voice. 

I’m also hoping to make time for John Crowley’s and Nicola Griffith’s new books, as they’re both favourites of mine and I always get excited when they release new stuff. Crowley’s Flint and Mirror and Griffith’s Spear both sound excellent. And then there’s always room for surprises and unexpected findings or whims, but we’ll see. 

Scarlett

Oh, I would love to join in on The Summer Tree read-along! I have wanted to start a Guy Gavriel Kay novel for ages. I have several of his titles on my shelf because they’ve come so highly recommended. This is an opportunity I need to take advantage of. It will be so much fun!

So, I’m not gonna lie, after SPFBO, I read The Hunger of the Gods, which was AMAZING, but right after, my tank was pretty empty. I found myself puttering around with more audiobooks on my runs, but felt quite depleted and low key in actual reading. I am keeping only a loosely planned tbr at this time to go with the flow and my reading mood. What I have read that was very good was Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse and I may pick up Fevered Star in May. I’m very interested in reading The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah, Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher and The Ruin of Kings by Jenny Lyons that comes so highly recommended. My current audiobook shelf includes The Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik, The Starless Crown by James Rollins, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh and The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake among a few others. We will see where it takes me.