Three Books I'm Reading Now, 11/17/25 Edition

The Books I'm Reading Now

I'm reading Iida Turpeinin's upcoming historical fiction novel Beasts of the Sea; I'm listening to Jen Hatmaker's memoir Awake; and I'm listening to my newly discovered favorite fantasy author T. Kingfisher's novel Hemlock & Silver.

What are you reading, bookworms?

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01 Beasts of the Sea by Iida Turpeinin

Turpeinin's novel Beasts of the Sea spans three centuries, through continents and across oceans.

In 1741, Georg Wilhelm Steller journeys with Captain Bering’s Great Northern Expedition, searching for a sea route from Asia to America. Along the way, they discover a giant, gentle creature they name Steller's sea cow.

In 1859, the governor of the Russian territory of Alaska sets his men the task of recovering the skeleton of a creature not seen for a hundred years in a tragic example of human-induced extinction.

In 1952, a museum scholar aims to form the recovered bones into a refurbished skeleton to educate and inspire the public.

I received a prepublication version of this title, scheduled for publication November 18, courtesy of NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company.

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02 Awake: A Memoir by Jen Hatmaker

Jen Hatmaker, married before she could legally have a drink, dedicated to her family, her religion, and her community, found her world turned upside down when she discovered in 2020 that her husband was having an affair.

Having inspired women for years as a leader in authenticity and a proponent of healthy relationships, Hatmaker found herself clinically depressed and feeling like an imposter, with everything she had counted on shaken to its core.

Hatmaker recounts her rock bottom, her reliance on family and friends, her discovery of her own strength, and the midlife renaissance she experienced after all she knew imploded.

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03 Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher

In Hemlock & Silver, Anja is a healer focused on poisons, and to determine antidotes and treatments, she must regularly ingest deadly substances.

But when the king personally arrives at her workshop, desperate for help with his sole surviving daughter, who he suspects is being poisoned, Anja must not only navigate the ins and outs of royal customs, adjust her practical wardrobe, and leave her personal research behind to travel to the king's distant palace. She must also face a likely reality in which she cannot save the princess and is ultimately held responsible for her death. But she'll bring her adder along in case she needs its venom...and she's also going to need someone to find a medium-sized rooster.

I am allllll in on Kingfisher's novels. Everyone who recommended this author's work to me was correct, and I have no one to blame but myself for the delay in diving in.

Kingfisher imagines richly imagined fantasy worlds, and within them slots fantastically imperfect and wondrous main protagonists whose thoughts, dialogue, motivations, and actions have me completely hooked. Romantic undercurrents are wonderful, and there is No Swooning or Ridiculousness. This is my fantasy sweet spot.

T. Kingfisher is also the author of many other novels. You can find my Bossy review of A Sorceress Comes to Call here.