I want stories that mix and match elements (e.g., fantasy & sci-fi, horror & mystery, etc). For me, voice and prose are most important. 

I want dark, twisty, and macabre, but make it fun. I will devour whimsy (e.g., Wednesday, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and anything that can be compared to Tim Burton). I want folk, supernatural, fantasy, and gothic horror, but I lean more toward atmospheric works than gore.  

Fairytale-inspired fantasy that doesn’t necessarily have to be a classic retelling. I’m a huge fan of stories that give a fairytale-inspired voice (e.g., Assistant to the Villain, Medievally Blonde, This Will Be Fun). I am a sucker for humor. While I love stories that integrate elements from lesser-known mythologies, legends, and folklores, I do love a classic fairytale-inspired story that employs a clever and fresh narrative to the classic tale – especially if it has a nightmarish take.  

Romantasy that reads like your favorite fan fiction. Contemporary fantasy where magic merges seamlessly with the real world. Epic fantasy, cozy fantasy, romantic fantasy (not to be mistaken for Romantasy) …I want it all.  

While I am not great for religious texts, I always look for stories rooted in Jewish history and culture. 

I’m looking for thorny relationships, betrayals that will cause heart palpations, an ensemble cast, weird and dark humor, unredeemable villains, generational curses, folk magic, revolutions, purple prose, literary, clever characters, queer-normative worlds, political and court intrigue, genre-savvy, shifting alliances, multigenerational sagas, snappy dialogue, sweeping romance, mystery, steamy, accessible, atmospheric.  

This list is not exhaustive. 

If you can comp any of these titles, I’d love to see it:  

Adult: Serpent and the Wings of Night, House of the Beast, Metal From Heaven, Mexican Gothic, Scorched Skies, In The Veins of the Drowning, What Lies Beyond the Veil, The Gryphon King, the Library of Hellebore, Ninth House, The Hacienda, The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy, Behooved, The Undoing of Violet Claybourne, Heavenbreaker, Blood of the Old Kings, The Prince Without Sorrow, The Raven Scholar, The Sunblessed Prince, Gothikana, Sorcery and Small Magics, The Maiden and Her Monster 

Young Adult: Blood at the Root, Immortal Consequences, Lakesedge, Heir, Dream by the Shadows, Don’t Let the Forst In, To Kill a Shadow, What Big Teeth, Dead Girls Don’t Dream, A Guide to the Dark, The Nighthunt, The Witchery, Bad Like Us, There’s No Way I’d Die First, Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch, The Coven Tendency, Better Left Buried, A Treachery of Swans, Fright Krewe, Godly Heathens, Howe to Survive a Slasher, The Gilded Ones, Last of the Talons, Serpent & Dove, The Rose Bargain 

Middle-Grade: Bee Bakshi and the Gingerbread Sisters, Liars Society, The Secret Dead Club, Shadowhall Academy, Dreamslinger, The Labyrinth of Souls, Accidental Demons, The School for Wicked Witches, Ferns School for Wayward Fae