Fantasy Cafe is dedicated to reviewing and discussing speculative fiction books of all kinds—fantasy, science fiction, and their various subgenres, including both adult and young adult speculative fiction books. The name came from the fact that I can often be found reading a book and drinking a latte—or writing about a book here and drinking a latte. When the site first began in a different location in 2007, I mainly read epic fantasy, but my reading horizons have broadened since then and I’ve found myself reading a wider variety of speculative fiction books.

April Series: Women in SF&F Month

Since 2012, Fantasy Cafe has hosted an annual April event focused on women in science fiction and fantasy that has featured guest posts from authors and bloggers throughout the month. As of 2022, this annual series has featured around 200 guest pieces, including but not limited to guest posts by Charlie Jane Anders, Lois McMaster Bujold, Chloe Gong, Alix E. Harrow, N. K. Jemisin, R. F. Kuang, Nalini Singh, Patricia A. McKillip, Tasha Suri, and Helene Wecker. The last few years of essays can be found here: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019. During April 2013, Renay from Lady Business began a project accepting submissions for favorite speculative fiction books by women, and we’ve put together a list of over 2,700 books recommended during these events (with how many times each was recommended!).

Book Reviews & Other Features

The 400+ books I’ve reviewed can be found on the review index, ordered by title or author. Here are a few samples of reviews that I found especially fun and memorable to write (which means these are all positive reviews with ratings of 8–10):

• The Changeling Sea by Patricia A. McKillip
• The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng by K. S. Villoso
• Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
• Mirage by Somaiya Daud
• The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
• The Unbound Empire by Melissa Caruso
• Warchild by Karin Lowachee

In addition to reviewing books, I try to cover books I’m excited about in The Leaning Pile of Books feature, and I also make favorite books of the year posts and annual lists of anticipated books. On occasion, I have interviews with authors, guest posts, or cover reveals.

To contact me, send me an email at kristen AT fantasybookcafe dot com. If you are contacting me about reviewing a book, please read my review policy first (this also includes information on guest post and interview requests).