Secrets at Midnight (Psy-Changeling #12.5) by Nalini Singh ★★★★★

I do not read books looking to cry but sometimes great authors, like Nalini Singh, just sneak one by me. 

The Litany of Earth (The Innsmouth Legacy #0.5) by Ruthanna Emrys ★★★★★

This is the best mythos story I have ever read. Ms. Emrys, you have made me a believer! I must now read everything the gods have bid you write.

Read it for yourself: 

https://www.tor.com/2014/05/14/the-litany-of-earth-ruthanna-emrys/

Hunter of the Tide (The Kraken #3) by Tiffany Roberts ★★★★☆

I read this as a sultry part of Merfolk May.

There are sexually aggressive women and then there are kraken women. Once Rhea decides on Randall she will beat the crap out of anyone who gets in her way.

Red as Blood and White as Bone by Theodora Goss ★★★★★

“Fairy tales are another kind of Bible, for those who know how to read them.” 

A Dead Jinn in Cairo by P. Djèlí Clark ★★★★★

My first thought upon finishing this story in 2016 was: This must be made into a book immediately!  Since then the Dead Djinn Universe has expanded and I need to catch up, lol!

The Night Cyclist by Stephen Graham Jones ★★★★☆

“He surely needed even more blood to rebuild himself, but he needed worse to ride.

I understood. With every part of myself, I understood.” 

For some, cycling is a life long passion.

For some, it can last even longer.

Deceased Estate: The Brackenford Cycle 1.5 ★★★★☆

“Hands up all those in favor of running away while Trev bravely sacrifices himself to distract the monster?” said Oscar. 

I have read this twice and it’s still a fun time with Trev, Oscar, and Agatha!

Into the Gray by Margaret Killjoy ★★★★☆

"We’re not the same," she told me. "It’s not possible for us to lead the same life." 

Beautiful trans thief falls madly in love with a mermaid, a hungry mermaid. With a love Laria understands is obsession, they lead evil men to die in the Waking Waters. 

The Willows by Algernon Blackwood ★★★☆☆

One day, not so long ago, two stoners went camping and smoked one bowl too many.  They forgot that in the wilderness what seems idyllic during the day...

...will look differently at night.

Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin

“Six billion people working toward a goal together is much more effective than a few dozen scrabbling for themselves.”