Plus a TikTok-favorite author and her spicy new fantasy
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| Hi there! Today we’re catching up with a TikTok-favorite author to hear about her spicy new fantasy. For younger readers (and the young at heart), we’re picking out the best new Christmas picture books. Plus, the surprising nonfiction book at the top of all of this year’s best books list. |  | The Introduction |
| |  | | Scarlett St. Clair’s Feminine Witchcraft | The Book
In Queen of Myth and Monsters, readers pick up where they left off with vampire king Adrian and his former enemy and newly crowned queen Isolde. Together, they must navigate the deadly political situation in Revekka, even as threats from both inside and outside their kingdom threaten their love—and their lives.
The Author
Scarlett St. Clair is the author of steamy romantic fantasies, including the bestselling Hades x Persephone Saga. She chatted with us about her new book, the sequel to the enemies-to-lovers vampire epic King of Battle and Blood.
Without spoilers, can you tell us about Isolde's journey in Queen of Myth and Monsters?
Scarlett St. Clair: Isolde’s journey in Queen is about discovering what it means to be powerful. There is a duality to her power. Part of it has to do with her title and part of it has to do with magic. I think the beautiful part is that some of the magic in this world is magic all women have in our everyday life: intuition, the nurturing of life, and endurance in the face of continued trauma.
In your other series, you're retelling Greek myths, but Adrian and Isolde's story is new. How is the writing process different for you?
SSC:I do a lot of research either way, so there isn’t a huge difference. For Queen, I wanted to learn about the history of magic, so I read books about the history of witches and witchcraft and the rise of the patriarchy. All of this fed into the foundation of the novel being how a matriarchal society can be oppressed by instilling a fear of women within society. The third book will explore how women take back that power.
Queen of Myth and Monsters expands the world you introduced in King of Battle and Blood. What's your favorite new detail in this book?
SSC: There is a beautiful, feminine element to witchcraft in the book, and I love how it evolved and will continue to build in the third book. |  | | The Two Towers | | SSC: “The Lord of the Rings kickstarted my love of fantasy. Since LotR is pretty self-explanatory, I’ll just say that my favorite book of the trilogy is The Two Towers and one of my favorite things was all the worldbuilding Tolkien did: the family trees, the songs, the languages. I loved it.” | |
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|  | | I Know What You Did Last Summer | | SSC: “An author who influenced the mystery/thriller elements in my book was Lois Duncan. She’s responsible for classics like I Know What You Did Last Summer and Down a Long Dark Hall.“ | |
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| “Earth teems with sights and textures, sounds and vibrations, smells and tastes, electric and magnetic fields. But every animal can only tap into a small fraction of reality’s fullness. Each is enclosed within its own unique sensory bubble, perceiving but a tiny sliver of an immense world.” | |
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 | | An Immense World | | Science journalist Ed Yong explores animalian perception in this New York Times bestseller, which is on more best of the year lists than any other 2022 nonfiction read. | |
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 | The Stack |
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|  | | | New Holiday Books That Are Destined to Become Classics | | One of our favorite Christmas traditions is curling up under the tree with a beloved story. Each year brings new picture books to choose from, but only a few are destined to become classics we’ll revisit year after year. After all, not every book can be The Polar Express or How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Here are some worthy additions to the Christmas picture book canon: | |
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 | | Dasher | | Sponsored | | A reindeer escapes an unhappy life in the circus and meets a bearded man in a red suit in this origin story for Santa’s reindeer. | |
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| |  | | A Very Mercy Christmas | | Mercy Watson joins a friend in caroling in this charming story featuring Kate DiCamillo’s beloved character. | |
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| | | For even more soon-to-be classics, see our full list of new favorites. | |
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Critical Love
Science writer Ed Yong calls Sabrina Imbler’s essay collection “a miraculous, transcendental book,” and a glowing review in The Washington Post says that the book offers “both solace and hope.” | |
 | | How Far the Light Reaches | | | In a collection of intimate essays, a queer, mixed-race scientist braids elements of memoir with depictions of fascinating undersea creatures. | |
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