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After seven semesters of realism, Victorian drudgery, Shakespearean sonnets, postmodernism in its many forms and exhaustive Faulknerian sentence structure, I find myself craving the sweet release of faraway fantasy worlds where anything is possible. As an avid reader, English major and escapist, I have dedicated myself to reading 25 books in 2025.
Beginning strong, an author that has been recommended to me for years now is Tom Robbins — a writer best known for his absolute mastery of descriptive language and humor. So I decided that I should finally pick up one of his books. I chose “Jitterbug Perfume,” a favorite of my mom’s besides having such a cool name, the novel published in 1984 easily stands the test of time, feeling as contemporary and fascinating as other books I have adored.
The timeline of “Jitterbug Perfume” was incredibly unique jumping between current-day Paris and New Orleans and eighth-century India and Bohemia, with themes and storylines spanning the massive swath. An ancient king will do anything to avoid death, goat-gods walk beside men, perfumers search far and wide for the perfect jasmine scent and the iconography of the vermillion beetroot pervades throughout.
This was a book that I could only read during the light of day — my nights are reserved for fantasy and romance as they are often easier to follow. “Jitterbug Perfume” is a spectacular showcase of Robbin’s adoration of language and unique plot development. I have highlighted more passages in this novel than any other I have read recently. While I thoroughly enjoyed this book, reading it was a labor of love and took me a while to get through. The weaving throughout time, dissecting connections between characters and their objectives was a wonderful yet time-consuming pastime.
Now to a set of novels I devoured within days — the fantastical and magical world of the “Shepherd King” series by Rachel Gillig, a duology wrought with adventure, romance, magical lore, trials, tribulations and wonderful character development. The first book, “One Dark Window,” is a quickly paced, first-person narrative about the relationship between the main character Elspeth and an ancient monster who lives in the crevices of her mind, watching the world through her eyes and giving its commentary on her every action. As the tale progresses, the raven-haired love interest is introduced and the magic system is fleshed out. I was instantly hooked on the fast-paced narration, immediacy of plot points and how the in-story history is intertwined with its present day.
The magic system in this book was fascinating and unlike any other fantasy books I have read magic is imbued into 12 different types of Providence Cards, velvet court cards embossed with a symbol of their unique power that can be utilized by its wielder. Of course, every use comes with a price.
Although there is lots of space in my heart for romance and “romantasy,” a genre on the rise with the popularity of “A Court of Thorns and Roses” and “Fourth Wing,” “One Dark Window” leans more towards being solidly fantasy with the love interest as a secondary plot (a very good one, though — I love the nature of their friendship and how their relationship progresses).
“Two Twisted Crowns,” the second book in the series, was also wonderful — at times a steep ask with such a successful first novel. It took another route by highlighting a variety of characters who are relevant but not centered in the first book and illuminating another love story. This book offered a whole new set of dramas and circumstances and an epic ending that ties up all the loose ends and left me completely satisfied with this mini-series.
The final book I would like to recommend is one I read at the end of last year. Do not sue me. I know it is not part of my 25 for 2025, however, it was so good that I consistently recommend it.
“The Poisonwood Bible” by Barbara Kingsolver follows a Southern Baptist missionary family of six to the Congo in 1959, where their overzealous pastor father aims to bring religion to the locals. The narration switches between the mother and her four daughters each with a fascinating take on their life in the Congo, expanding out at the last quarter of the book to their lives after their years of missionary work. Personal transformation and calamitous circumstances force the characters to confront their notions of the world, their religion and their relationships to one another.
This was another novel I could not put down, each of the narrators providing starkly different perspectives, mental and emotional processing systems and knowledge they gain from the Congo. The book seamlessly integrates real-world historical events, character tropes and tensions between evangelical ideas of good and evil and ancient practices of spirituality and knowledge of the land.
I adored each of these books for different reasons and I think there is something for everyone to love in one of these four I have recommended. If nothing else, they can provide a momentary escape from the monotony of academic reading (if my professors are reading this, this is not about your class, I promise).
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