Verdict: An intense, high-angst slow burn between a rising pro soccer player and the abused wife of a US senator, and a much-loved debut. Many readers couldn’t put it down; others found it overlong, the villains cartoonish and the abuse themes too much. Best for: Readers who want a long, emotional, angst-heavy love story and … Read more
Updated on October 9, 2026 Verdict: A genuinely original what-happens-after-the-fairy-tale premise with a furious, morally grey Black sapphic heir at its centre, let down by a slow, exposition-heavy first half and a cliffhanger ending. Best for: Readers who want dark political fantasy with a difficult protagonist, who can wait half a book for the plot … Read more
Is Escorting the Senator by Maggie Brown worth reading? Our review of the ice queen fake-relationship romance — the medium heat, the politics, and the small sample.
Verdict: A World Fantasy Award winner with some of the richest worldbuilding in modern epic fantasy and a genuinely charged sapphic slow burn, undercut by a first volume that is largely setup for the two that follow. Best for: Readers who want Indian-epic-grounded high fantasy with an anti-colonial spine and a maidservant-and-princess dynamic, and who … Read more