Welcome back, everyone! This is our last Get Rec’d of the year! I want to thank everyone for continually joining me on this little experiment. I love reading about where all of you find recommendations from outside of the...
Welcome back, everyone! This is our last Get Rec’d of the year! I want to thank everyone for continually joining me on this little experiment. I love reading about where all of you find recommendations from outside of the site. I also love when you have your own recs to pass along. As a note, you’re always welcome to email us with books to put on our radar or are worth a rec. We’d be happy to feature some!
Happy holidays and see you in the new year!
Don’t forget to tell us about some of your favorite book recommendations you’ve found recently or even this year!
A Crochet World of Creepy Creatures and Cryptids
Knowing how much I love cryptids, one of my crafting friends sent this my way. Unfortunately, I’m not too far into my crocheting journey so this is a little out of skill level. I’ve bookmarked it for the future though!
Create the Monster Menagerie of Your Dreams
Who says creepy can’t be cute? With this impressive amigurumi collection you can unlock a whole new world of creatures and cryptids in all their scaryadorable glory. From classic cryptids like Cthulhu, Nessie and Mothman to paranormal paragons like Zombies, Werewolves and Nosferatu himself, there’s no end to the delightful terrors you can create.
These 40 unique patterns capture each creature’s quirks like the majesty of dragons’ wings, Medusa’s snake hair and the horror of Slender Man’s tentacles. While you’re creating, you can follow helpful tips on making your own colored eyes and pattern customization for color and sizing. Whether you’re looking to add some spooky new additions to your own plushie collection or are hoping to surprise the horror fan in your life, there’s a loveable monster in here for everyone.
Kidnapped by the Krampus
I follow a lot of nail polish collectors and swatchers on instagram and one in particular (Nicoleloves_nails) also runs a read-a-long. I just had to share what the latest pick was and yes, I am curious to grab it for myself.
Tis the season for spice…and a little Krampus magic!
Is Krampus real?
TWYLA
That’s the question burning in my investigative journalist mind as I sneak into Krampus World to learn the truth about the eccentric CEO who always wears the monstrous holiday costume. I’m definitely making the naughty list for this.
After sharing a drink with the mysterious and quiet CEO, the last thing I expect is waking up with no clothes in the most beautiful winter castle. This horned heartthrob billionaire kidnapped me!
Despite the language barrier, I soon learn that his punishments are hot enough to melt the North Pole. And there are far worse things than being treated like a Christmas princess in a Yuletide-themed castle.
As I unwrap the layers of this hooved and horned enigma, I suspect the monster may be as real as Rudolph’s red nose! And I might be falling for him faster than Santa coming down the chimney.
Well…. Monster romance is trending after all!
KRAMPUS
Don’t show them your tongue.
Don’t growl.
Don’t urge them to check your body for some nonexistent zipper.
Don’t wag your tail.
Don’t show them how well you dance in hooves.
After a century of failures to find true love, Twyla is my last chance to break the curse before the clock runs out. I will do whatever it takes to keep my little star, my light in the darkness. It turns out this naughty girl may love my monstrous punishments and the magic of my realm.
It’s not long before Twyla tangles around my heart more than twinkle lights. But can she believe a monster is her happily ever after? Will she save me from my icy fate?
Or am I doomed to be the demon of Yuletide with a frozen heart forever?
From bestselling author Emily Shore comes a romantasy that will give you all those Hallmark feels with a sack full of spicy surprises. A Christmas kidnapping never felt so dark and enchanting—or so cozy. Get ready for a rollercoaster sleigh ride that’ll have you believing in holiday miracles and a mischievous monster you’ll be dying to get under the mistletoe!
Magic Has No Borders
I will forever sing the praises of anthologies for getting some reading done on a tired brain. This is a fantasy and science fiction collection with South Asian mythology and folklore from some amazing YA authors.
From chudails and peris to jinn and goddesses, this lush collection of South Asian folklore, legends, and epics reimagines stories of old for a modern audience.
This fantasy and science fiction teen anthology edited by Samira Ahmed and Sona Charaipotra contains a wide range of stories from fourteen bestselling, award-winning, and emerging writers from the South Asian diaspora that will surprise, delight, and move you. So read on, for after all, magic has no borders.
A pair of star-crossed lovers search for a way back to one another against all odds . . .
A girl fights for her life against a malignant, generations-old evil . . .
A peri seeks to reclaim her lost powers . . .
A warrior rebels against her foretold destiny . . .
With stories by:
Sabaa Tahir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Ember in the Ashes series and winner of the National Book Award and Printz Award for All My Rage Sayantani DasGupta, New York Times bestselling author of the Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond series Preeti Chhibber, author of Spider-Man’s Social Dilemma Sona Charaipotra, author of Symptoms of a Heartbreak and How Maya Got Fierce and coauthor of The Rumor Game and Tiny Pretty Things, now a Netflix original series. Tanaz Bhathena, award-winning author of Hunted by the Sky and Of Light and Shadow Sangu Mandanna, bestselling author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches and the Celestial Trilogy Olivia Chadha, author of Rise of the Red Hand Nafiza Azad, author of William C. Morris Award nominee The Candle and the Flame Tracey Baptiste, New York Times bestselling author of the Jumbies series and Minecraft: The Crash Naz Kutub, author of The Loophole Nikita Gill, bestselling author of Wild Embers and Fierce Fairytales Swati Teerdhala, author of the Tiger at Midnight trilogy Shreya Ila Anasuya, New Voices selection Tahir Abrar, New Voices selectionMost Delicious Poison
I love a niche non-fiction, especially when it comes to dangerous plants and fungi!
An evolutionary biologist tells the story of nature’s toxins and why we are attracted—and addicted—to them, in this “magisterial, fascinating, and gripping tour de force” (Neil Shubin).
A deadly secret lurks within our spice racks, medicine cabinets, backyard gardens, and private stashes.
Scratch beneath the surface of a coffee bean, a red pepper flake, a poppy seed, a mold spore, a foxglove leaf, a magic-mushroom cap, a marijuana bud, or an apple seed, and we find a bevy of strange chemicals. We use these to greet our days (caffeine), titillate our tongues (capsaicin), recover from surgery (opioids), cure infections (penicillin), mend our hearts (digoxin), bend our minds (psilocybin), calm our nerves (CBD), and even kill our enemies (cyanide). But why do plants and fungi produce such chemicals? And how did we come to use and abuse some of them?
Based on cutting-edge science in the fields of evolution, chemistry, and neuroscience, Most Delicious Poison reveals:
The origins of toxins produced by plants, mushrooms, microbes, and even some animals The mechanisms that animals evolved to overcome them How a co-evolutionary arms race made its way into the human experience And much moreThis perpetual chemical war not only drove the diversification of life on Earth, but also is intimately tied to our own successes and failures. You will never look at a houseplant, mushroom, fruit, vegetable, or even the past five hundred years of human history the same way again.