We are officially half way through Disability Pride Month, and to celebrate I’m giving away one of my FAVORITE YA fantasies with own voices disability representation! When I saw my local indie had a copy of To a Darker Shore on display, I knew I had to snag it to for a giveaway for yall—and Leanne is the sweetest person ever and was kind enough to send me a signed bookplate, art print, and bookmark for you guys!

About the Book

To a Darker Shore is a Dantean-inspired journey through hell starring not one but TWO autistic main characters. It’s an interrogation of monstrosity, religion, and belonging.

When her best friend is sacrificed to the devil, she'll go to hell and back for him. Plain, poor, plus-size, and autistic, Alesta grew up trying to convince her beauty-obsessed kingdom that she's too useful to be sacrificed. Their god blessed their island Soladisa as a haven for his followers, but to keep the devil at bay, the church sends a child sacrifice to hell's entrance every season—often poor or plain girls just like Alesta. With a head full of ideas for inventions, Alesta knows her best shot at making it to adulthood is to design something impressive for the festival exhibition so she might win a spot in the university—acceptance could guarantee her safety.

But Alesta's flying machine demonstration goes awry, a failure that will surely mean death. What happens is worse: Her best friend and heir to the throne, Kyrian, takes the blame expecting leniency but ends up sacrificed in her place. To stop the sacrifices forever, Alesta plans to kill the monster that killed her friend. Prepared to save her kingdom or die trying, she travels to the depths of hell only to find Kyrian—alive, but monstrously transformed.

There is no escaping hell or their growing feelings for one another, and the deeper they descend into hell, the closer they come to uncovering a truth about the sacrifices that threatens to invoke the wrath of not only monsters but the gods as well.

The Giveaway

This giveaway is open to all members of my Bindery community, and it will run from July 16th through 11:59pm pacific on Sunday, July 19th.

To enter:

• Leave a comment on this post!

• Must have a US shipping address

• As always, Follower tier members get 1 entry, Inner Circle members get 5

I will announce the winner on Monday here on Bindery, so keep your eyes peeled for that!

I've got giveaways planned for the next couple of months--mostly contemporary romance, but I'm hoping to pick up some fantasy and books with disability rep for future giveaways as well! Best of luck to all who enter, and even if you don't win, I highly recommend picking up TADS!

Hello Cozy Family!!

I'm officially 'I-don't-even-know-how-long' into my training to run a 10k but it's going super well!!

What am I listening to?

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid on audiobook.

I'm loving it!!! This book will 10000% be taking over one of the top spots on my top 10 ranking when I've finished it. Just wow!! I have about 45 mins to go and I don't think I'm ready, but I also cannot wait to be emotionally destroyed or incredibly happy depending on the ending. I have been so motivated to go out each day just because I want to keep listening to the audiobook and put a rule in place that I can only listen to it whilst training. That rule is definitely working so far!!

Or, I should say, it was working... ahaha. At the start, I was going out and training more often because I just NEEDED to keep listening, but now I'm at the end, I've been procrastinating training because I don't want the audiobook to end. So it was working super well!! Until it wasn't.... oops I guess.

But I am still training and will (sadly) finish the audiobook on my next training session.

Physical update:

At the start of my training, I started to get shin splints. Not ideal at all. Especially as, when I spoke to my brother who runs a lot and has for years, he told me that I should stop running for a couple of weeks once shin splints start, otherwise if it gets worse it could have me out for months. He was speaking from experience and I remember him going through it before. So yeah, not ideal.

But I knew I couldn't just stop running or training for a few weeks, seeing as though I only had about 12-13 weeks total from the time I started training to the 10k race on 6th September. So, being the nerd I am, I did what I do best: I researched.

I found that compression socks can make a lot of difference with shin splints, especially the early onset of them, and so I immediately ordered some. And let me tell you... they are amazing!!!! I use them every time I go running now and almost immediately upon wearing them the first time, I went from shin splint pain to no pain at all! Just incredible! So I have been able to continue training and have done super well over the last week.

I have gone further and done more than I thought I could! I am so proud of myself!

Weather struggles update:

Because the UK is known for having overcast weather, rainy days, and only the occasional day that we see the sun, I really didn't even consider that the weather would have any impact on my training. Other than the occasional rainy day preventing me from going out on my runs.

Well.... that has not been the case!

We have been in a heatwave. Like one of the worst heatwaves the UK has ever experienced, with record highs in heat and humidity!! And just as one heatwave ended, another started!! We have barely had a couple of days of low humidity and basically no days of rain. And it's been WEEKS!!

I started getting up at 5am to go for my runs so I could avoid as much of the heat as possible. One day I was so tired from work the day before, I went for a run at 8am instead of 5am, and wow I barely survived! Those 3 hours difference in the morning made all the difference with heat.

I did invest in a runners vest jacket thing that holds water in essentially the breast pockets (honestly not sure what these jacket things are called lol, sorry). It has been a life saver! Taking water filled with electrolytes with me on my runs has made all the difference in this crazy weather!

Wrap up:

So, it's been a wild few weeks with horrid weather and narrowly avoiding shin splints, but despite it all I am loving training. Loving it so much more than I expected to. The Atmosphere audiobook is definitely partially to blame for how much I'm enjoying my training sessions! I have a list of audiobooks lined up to choose from after I finish Atmosphere, but I have no clue what I'll choose yet. I'm going to put up a poll this weekend so you all can help me decide.

Thank you for spending time with me today, Cozy Family!

Until next time,

Charlotte xxx

The sky is on fire, shit is in our produce, and the country seems to be going down the toilet, but you know what's not? My hopes and dreams, lol.

So, an update! We have a new LOGO courtesy of Tim, our wonderful designer.

This means that new stickers and new bookmarks are coming!

We are going to be looking into doing pop-ups in the new year, so please keep an eye on our Instagram (which I will be utilizing more, I promise).

Our website will (fingers crossed) be back up and running by the end of October! I will be placing orders for new stock with the publishers so we can host our own shipping and such. We will not be hosting remainder/used stock at this time unless it's carefully curated. With shifting to a niche focus on horror, I have to be more selective about what we will be carrying.

I have secured our business EIN which was much easier than expected, lol. So that's done!

We will be trying to attend the ABA Winter Institute, so keep me in your thoughts as I try to plan that!

Thank you all for reading my lil newsletters. Two Stories is going to happen, I promise, and it's with your support that it can!

Till next time!

-Ryn

Hello Cozy Family!!

Back in 2023, I posted what turned out to be a rather controversial list of books that I thought should be studied on the school curriculum to help inspire and create readers from an earlier age. Here’s my updated list of recommendations. 

I will post a deep dive into each age group and the books I’ve chosen in separate posts (to come soon). I have used the English (UK) classification of school groups, as that is what I am familiar with, and then added the age ranges in brackets so everyone, wherever you may be based in the world, will be able to understand and apply to your own school age group classification systems. 

So without further ado, here is a list of what I think should be on schools' English Literature curriculums:

Primary School (8 - 10 years old)

• Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

• A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll

• Best Friends Forever by Lisa Williamson

I would also recommend a graphic novel at this age too, though I am still searching for what I think my ultimate recommendation for one would be. So stay tuned for that update, hopefully soon. Please share any recs you may have!!

Lower Secondary School (11 - 13 years old)

• Narnia (The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe) by C S Lewis

• The Hobbit by J R R Tolkien

• A Good Girls Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson

• A Language of Dragons by S F Williamson

Upper Secondary School (14 - 15 years old) 

• The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

• Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

• Herc by Phoenica Rogerson

• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

A-Level / College (16 - 18 years old)

• Morgan Is My Name by Sophie Keetch

• The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

• The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow

• Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Until next time,

Charlotte xx

Science fiction doesn't have to be filled with pages of physics, complicated technology, or scientifically accurate space travel. Sometimes, the future is simply the backdrop, and the real story is about the people living in it.

That's what soft sci-fi does so well. Rather than asking, Could this happen?, these books ask, What would happen to us if it did?

These books are emotional, philosophical, political, and deeply character-driven, which is why they're often my recommendation for readers who think they "don't like science fiction."

What Makes a Book Soft Sci-Fi?

Soft sci-fi uses speculative technology or futuristic settings to explore human experiences. Instead of focusing on scientific realism, these stories ask questions about identity, relationships, morality, society, and what it means to be human.

The science supports the story, not the other way around.

The Core Themes of Soft Sci-Fi

1. Humanity in Extraordinary Circumstances

At its heart, soft sci-fi is about people.

The futuristic setting simply creates new ways to examine timeless questions about identity, love, grief, family, morality, and belonging.

Whether the story takes place on another planet or centuries in the future, the emotional journey is what stays with you.

2. Society, Politics, and Power

Many soft sci-fi novels use imagined futures to explore the world we're living in today.

They ask questions like:

• Who deserves power?

• What happens when technology outpaces ethics?

• How much freedom are we willing to sacrifice for security?

• What makes someone human?

The science is there to challenge the way you think.

3. Relationships Come First

While hard sci-fi often spends time explaining how a world works, soft sci-fi spends that time developing the people living inside it.

• Friendships.

• Found family.

• Romance.

• Rivalries.

• Moral dilemmas.

If you're someone who needs to emotionally connect with characters before you care about the plot, this genre is probably going to work for you.

4. Big Ideas Without the Homework

One of the biggest misconceptions about science fiction is that you need to understand science to enjoy it. You don't.

Soft sci-fi is usually much more interested in the consequences of technology than the mechanics behind it. That's what makes it such an approachable entry point into the genre.

📖 If You Usually Read Other Genres...

Soft sci-fi is one of my favorite science fiction subgenres to recommend because it meets readers where they already are. Instead of asking you to memorize scientific concepts, these books focus on characters, relationships, philosophy, politics, and the emotional impact of new technology.

If you've ever thought science fiction "wasn't for you," this is probably where I'd tell you to start.

⚔️ Fantasy Readers

Start with: Red Rising by Pierce Brown

If you love epic worlds, political intrigue, unforgettable characters, and impossible odds, Red Rising is an easy transition into science fiction. It has all the emotional highs of fantasy, just with planets instead of kingdoms.

❤️ Literary Fiction Readers

Start with: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

This is science fiction at its quietest and most devastating. The speculative premise is subtle, but it raises profound questions about memory, mortality, and what it truly means to be human.

👨‍👩‍👧 Found Family Readers

Start with: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

If your favorite part of a story is watching characters become a family, this one is for you. It's warm, hopeful, character-driven, and one of the coziest science fiction novels you'll ever read.

📚 Beginner Pick

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

If you've always been curious about science fiction but aren't sure where to start, this is one of my favorite gateway books.

Why it works:

• incredibly fast-paced and addictive

• easy-to-understand science fiction concepts

• a high-stakes treasure hunt that keeps the pages turning

• nostalgic pop culture references woven throughout

• balances action, humor, and heart

It's the kind of book that's easy to pick up and even harder to put down.

📚 Advanced Pick

Dune by Frank Herbert

Once you're comfortable with the genre, Dune is one of the most rewarding science fiction novels you'll ever read.

Why it works:

• masterclass in political intrigue and worldbuilding

• explores religion, ecology, power, and destiny

• richly layered cultures and histories that reward close reading

• complex characters whose choices shape entire civilizations

• one of the most influential science fiction novels ever written

This isn't a book you rush through...it's one you sink into. The deeper you go, the more you'll discover, and it's easy to see why it continues to inspire science fiction decades after it was first published.

Let's Talk

What's your favorite kind of science fiction?

• 🚀 Character-driven stories that explore humanity?

• ⚙️ Or science-heavy stories where the technology is the star?

"The dead collect in low places."

GENRE: Sporror
RATING: 4/5
FORMAT: eBook ARC

Review:
If there's a Sporror book, I have to have it and The Midnight Muse was a fun clash of Mushroomcore with Metal Horror and a focus on who we are.

The Midnight Muse starts with a search of well, a muse, by the lead singer (Brynn) who eventually vanishes. Her band continues to exist and the story takes place a year after she vanishes. We follow along with the band members and see all of their lives unfolding. We see how and what motivates them and really, we see how far some of them would go to get what they want.

My favourite parts are that The Midnight Muse is set in an isolated forest/wood area and how on the edge this has us as we are reading it. There are the sporror part, which I loved and there is the exploration of who we are as humans and what is worth giving up some part of us to get what we want.

This is a great sporror book to read, one that leaves you wondering if everything that you are reading has really happened or not!

I was provided a free advance reader copy and I’m sharing my honest thoughts.

"...the one thing that makes me smile now, laugh even, is the notion that the Spaniards conquered us. Oh, they say, it only took five hundred men to conquer the Mexica, as if their thousands of Indigenous allies had been as useful as clouds of dust. It only took a year, they say. And I laugh, even now, I laugh at their bold-faced stupidity. For it was not those men who conquered us."

GENRE: Historical Fiction
RATING: 5/5
FORMAT: eBook Arc

Overall Impression: Easily became one of my favourite Historical Fiction & reads!

Review:
What a book! I loved everything about The Other Moctezuma Girls, from the historical aspect of it, to the characters and the story telling/writing style. It is descriptive and so emotionally powerful that it breaks your heart a little in the best of ways.

We follow Isabel's POV mainly but we get journal entries from her mother, Tecuichpoch and follow the journey of her life and how everything came to be. It genuinely was such a captivating story that broke my heart, reading about how everyone was harmed with colonialism. It also dives into how colonialism can happen with the help of people living in the area and we get to read about why people make the decisions they do.

I also loved reading about Catina, who is deaf after getting sick (coming from someone who is deaf too) and how they developed a way to communicate with her. All the characters in this book were written so well that you couldnt help feel an emotional connection to them or dislike them. We get to explore the family dynamic and watch Isabel find her footing and who she is in the world as someone who doesn't appear "ladylike".

I am so excited to read more from the author and to continue reading books set in the same time period. I was provided a free advance reader copy and I’m sharing my honest thoughts.

"I tried not to think about my body most of the time, or even about being in a body. I'd often thought I would have preferred not to have one at all if I'd had the choice. To be able to just exist, floating around the world, quietly, observing, never being perceived."

GENRE: Psychological Horror with Scottish Folklore
RATING: 3.5/5
FORMAT: eBook & physical ARC

Overall Impression: Overall, I did like Home Sick as the writing was atmospherical and descriptive while the story left me wanting to know more. I think I just went into it expecting something different and it's definitely because I didnt realise it was heavily a psychological Horror. I'm not a huge thriller reader but I will say that the book felt more of a mesh between Psychological Thriller with some horror and folklore in it. We also have a little bit of an unreliable narrator, which was very fitting for the story too, but I dont usually read a lot of Psychological Horror OR books with unreliable narrators so this was an interesting experience for me in wondering what the point of the book was (and getting the answers in the end, which tied everything up to make it a good read).

Review:
I picked up Home Sick as it was folk horror with a cottage setting (cottagecore), which I love in most genres. After reading this, I can definitely say it had some folklore and it definitely played a role in the story but to me, Home Sick is definitely much more heavier on the Psychological Horror/Thriller than the Folk Horror.

All in all, the story was very atmospherical in the first half, which I loved and it gave us that whole Cottagecore vibes and added to the folklore aspect of it. The author does descriptions really well, whether it's nature based on of the cottage. We also get to know Tamsin and there's a lot of conflicting feelings about who she is and we, as the readers, feel that with her. You go back and forth with Tamsin, wondering if she is a good person, what the violent incident was at work and why did she need to escape to a remote cottage. You almost get to feel what she is feeling, her fear, paranoia, anger and have to question why she's feeling this way.

At the core of it, Home Sick is about not fitting in anywhere and the effect of it on Tamsin after a whole life time of trying to fit in and it never working out. The book takes you on a Tamsin's journey to discovering who she is, why she is the way she is and most importantly, maybe learning to accept herself. I think in the first half of the story, I did wonder if Tamsin was Autistic and reading the reviews, I can see that I wasn't the only one who picked up on this.

The horror elements were quite fun to read. It was scary in the way that is very realistic kind of scary, where our fears and insecurities come to life, with a little of folklore to help it. I think I would have loved a deeper dive into the folklore aspect as I am a huge fan of adding folklore in horror and learning more about it. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy both psychological horror and thriller generally as it might be a great book to expand into folk horror as a sub-genre as well. It's also a good book for people who want a mesh of both thriller and horror, as there are some external horrors in here but Home Sick is mainly about Tamsin and her internal fears with it manifesting externally.

I was provided a free advance reader copy and I’m sharing my honest thoughts.

Vampires will forever be relevant, because let's be honest...they do live forever. If you are a huge Vampire fan, you'll VANT to sink your teeth into these five books releasing this year.

What other topics would you like some recs/release info on? Drop some suggestions in the comments!

Milkteeth by Caitlin Starling-- October 20th

The only thing more terrifying than a brood's hunger . . . is its mothers.

Beatrice is a broodmother: a vampire responsible for nursing newly made fledglings through the first years of their unlife. She nests in an abandoned, isolated warren of office space beneath her patron's skyscraper, where she raises her fledglings—two difficult, hungry children of the night.

But when she takes on a third, the balance ruptures. Her hunger swells beyond control. Her body alters, betraying its purpose, transforming her into something even more monstrous.

Desperate to master herself once more, Beatrice courts a mortal OBGYN who might be able to unravel the secrets of her unnatural anatomy. But soon their connection threatens the secrecy of her vampiric coven as well as the safety and development of her dependent nurslings… and in a world governed by secrecy, even the smallest revelation could prove fatal.

The Brides by Charloette Cross-- July 7th

1884. When Mafalda journeys to Budapest to care for her grieving aunt, her secret love, Lucy, hurries from London to comfort her, with chaperone and lady's maid in tow.

But lady's maid Alice, blessed and cursed with the Sight, is tormented by terrifying visions. When chaperone Eliza falls prey to a disturbing wasting illness, the women hope to seek the healing waters of Transylvania. At a nobleman's invitation, they set out for Castle Dracula.

In the depths of the forest, miles from civilization, their host reveals his true intentions; a monstrous ambition which will tear the women apart.

And not all of them will survive.

The Red Sacrament by Sara Hinkley--July 7th

Paris, 1869. The Théâtre Saint-Siméon is the place to be, if you can get in. The black slips of paper that guarantee entry are rare and highly desired, and given only to certain persons. The actors on stage are magnetic and ageless, performing only at midnight and never seen during the day…

Arnault and his clan of vampires have survived for as long as they have by observing a rigid set of rules. At night, they perform on stage at the Théâtre Saint-Siméon, picking off just enough people in the audience to survive. But they understand the city, and how to live in it without being noticed. 

Their peace is shattered first with a visit from Béatrice, a witch who forms a strange connection to Arnault; then with the arrival of Victor de Rouvray and his sister Françoise, vampires from a very different world. And, as Arnault grows closer and closer to the beautiful, enigmatic Victor, he risks becoming distracted from the constant bickering of his immortal friends, from the daily running of the theatre, and worse, from the premonitions of blood, death and starvation that he receives at night. 

For a terrible change is on the horizon, revolt and revolution are brewing in the streets and soon, the city, and Arnault will never be the same again.

Blood Rising by Markus Redmond--August 25th

Kwadzo Okoro never believed the bloody legend of Ramanga was real. Now, he stands as the leader of a new Ramanga Tribe, one that sieged the Barrow plantation in a storm of righteous carnage, liberating its formerly enslaved Africans. Reclaimed as the Crimson Plantation, it is now also home to the wronged Natives who fearlessly aligned with the Ramangans.

But Kwadzo knows that freedom is not secure. Bartholomew and Constance Crabtree, the most influential slaveholders in the region since the demise of Big Jim Barrow, are galvanizing the Lakeside community to strike back—violently. The threat they pose, however, pales in comparison to the insidious menace of Penelope Knudsen. Her white-hot hatred, now fueled by Ramangan blood, and an ability to survive the sunlight—a power Kwadzo doesn’t have—threatens to upend Kwadzo’s advancement of Ramangan might throughout the colonies to free his people.

But the gravest threat comes from within: Rafazi. His blood fathered the rebellion, but he will not take orders from his own creation. And when Rafazi makes a deadly deal with the Crabtrees, Kwadzo is forced into a battle with his maker that he may not survive, while the everlasting freedom of every enslaved person in the colonies hangs in the balance.

In Carolina and beyond, a reckoning is coming that will change the colonies forever.

Mothersucker by Kim Bohyun--September 1st

When a man’s body is discovered in a park outside of Seoul, Detective Noh Jin-seon is called to the scene, but she soon discovers this case is unlike anything she's seen before. The man, who had been accused of stalking and harassing his ex-girlfriend, was killed with startling force, set on fire, and drained of blood. There are no footprints, no murder weapon, and no leads. Weeks later, another man is discovered murdered in the same way.

What follows is a chorus of characters grappling with the emergence of a serial killer. Among them are women haunted by past abuse who become collectively plagued by visceral dreams of vengeance; a female-led police force tasked with solving the perplexing murders; men who fear their own judgement day will come; and, at the center, Geum-hong, a mother reeling from the loss of her only daughter, brutally murdered by her ex-boyfriend. Her daughter is gone and the trial has passed, but her rage remains, simmering and threatening to consume her...

A brisk, lacerating exploration of power, privilege, and the pursuit of justice—and a foray into the dark underbelly of gender-based violence in Korea—Mothersucker reveals just how far a woman will go to avenge the ones she loves.