Romantasy Authors Alex Aster and Sable Sorensen Share Their Favorite Reads of the Year (and Dish on Their Own New Releases)

At the start of every month, I always try to plan out a few books I definitely want to read in the weeks ahead. Do I stick to that list? Maybe about half the time. But either way, I love taking a few days to check out what other people are reading and recommending to ensure I'm not missing out on any future favorites.

Recently, I had the chance to chat with best-selling romantasy authors, Alex Aster and Sable Sorensen (specifically Annie, who is a co-writer under this penname with friend, Eliza), and besides begging them for all the details they could share about their next releases, I also tapped them for some of the best books they've read recently themselves—all of which, of course, made it to my September TBR list.

And if you're anything like me, you might also want to plan for a re-read of both the Lightlark series by Aster and Dire Bound by Sorensen by queuing them up in your Spotify audiobooks playlist before the next installments are released (Grim and Oro is coming in late September, Crowtide in December and Fury Bound in May). But enough about my reading plans—ahead, find all the details on Aster and Sorensen's upcoming releases, must-read recommendations and more.

PureWow (LaBarbera): "First, what everyone wants to know—can you tell me about your next book being published or what you're currently working on?"

Aster: "My Grim and Oro book comes out next...It ended up being so much longer than we expected. We thought it was going to be two novellas but it ended up being kind of two full novels...That was really fun to write. My hope is that people who are team Grim might switch to team Oro or people who are team Oro might switch to team Grim...For Crowtide, what I can say is there's a huge twist right in the middle of the book that I promise no one is going to guess...It's something that really even surprised me...And I'm working on a secret project right now that's the longest book I've written yet."

Sorensen (Annie): "So, no surprise to anybody who has seen the cliffhanger at the end of Dire Bound, there is another book coming in the series. It picks up exactly where Dire Bound left off. As many of you may know, I'm a co-writer, my co-writer Eliza can't be here tonight...but she and I have been working really closely together on making sure that book two is everything it can possibly be. So we're very deep into finalizing the last draft of book two and that will come out in May of next year."

PureWow (LaBarbera): "Can you share with me any must-haves you just have to have on your desk for a full writing day? Any treats you have to have, music that has to be playing or anything else that would be fun for us to know?"

Aster: "I think anyone who follows me on social media will know that I drink way too much coffee...I actually make it half-caf so I can have more cups in a day...When I'm editing I like to get chocolate-covered almonds because it's a food that won't get all over my keyboard. If I'm listening to music, it's one song over and over. Every single book I've written has one song that I have listened to a thousand times when writing it. For example, for Lightlark it was "Champagne Problems" by Taylor Swift...Also for anyone who's familiar with the Lightlark series, it's a love triangle...and only three people know who she'll choose—me, my editor and someone from the movie side."

Sorensen (Annie): "I'm kind of funny. Eliza's someone who likes to be in her quiet space...I like to be out in the world when I write. So I have a couple of different cafes that I like near my house that I go to and I'll just drink way too much coffee and sit and often turn my WiFi off, because it's so easy to get distracted...I'll sit with coffee and a pastry and the more people bustling around me the better...There's so many people who are remote working near me or other writers, so it gets you into the vibe."

PureWow (LaBarbera): "If you can possibly narrow it down, what's your favorite thing about being an author?"

Aster: "I love doing what I love every single day. I've been writing books since I was 12 just in my room alone and no one was reading them for a really long time, so just the fact that I still get that same experience of sitting in front of a blank page and trying to fill it. It still feels just as magical as it did when I was a kid...that's what I love."

Sorensen (Annie): "One of my favorite things that I didn't know how much I would love until this year is talking to readers who have also fallen in love with these characters that are so deeply engrained in our heads at this point. Getting to hear when we had something in common that we love about the character, but also sometimes when the reader has a slightly different take on something or interpreted something a little differently, it's always really amazing...I think people come to books and it gives them what they need in that moment and I love hearing about people's experiences."

PureWow (LaBarbera): "What is your favorite book you've read recently? Or any audiobooks you're especially loving?"

Aster: "My friend Chloe Gong has a book called Coldwire coming out, it's a dystopian and I love the resurgence of the dystopian genre—it's so fun. She's such a talented writer so I really enjoyed that. I also really enjoyed Ali Hazelwood's releases this year, Deep End was so good and I can't wait for her other releases coming later this year...Also Abby Jimenez's Just for the Summer...She's a romance writer that I really admire.

I kind of rediscovered audiobooks recently because we were thinking about who was going to [voice] Grim and Oro...and I love it so much because I like to walk for an hour every day to try to get myself out of my writing cave, so I've been reading a lot via audiobook. I'm going to try to listen to some graphic audiobooks, [maybe one of Ali Hazelwood's next]."

Sorensen (Annie): "I recently read the romantasy [The Saint of Steel series] by T. Kingfisher. They are so, so amazing. I love that each one focuses on a different couple, so you get some resolution but then there's this epic, larger plot happening as well, so I'm dying for the next one. I also recently read The Will of the Many, which is not romantasy, it's a fantasy (although there is a little bit of romance in it!), and I just thought it was brilliant the way it incorporated elements from the Roman empire and how much the class system and hierarchy played into the magic system...It was maybe my favorite book I've read this year...I'm also excited [to read] the new R.F. Kuang (Katabasis) and...the sequel to Quicksilver, Brimstone.

This is a little out of left-field because it's not even fiction, but I've been listening to Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, which he narrates himself...It is just really funny and crazy and a crazy behind-the-scenes look at the restaurant industry. I think it's the book that really launched him into his stardom as a chef, so that's incredible. I also really love listening to audiobooks when the narrator has an accent. For example, I've listened to almost all of Liane Moriarty's books as audiobooks...because I just love the Australian narrators, so those are favorites as well."

PureWow (LaBarbera): "To wrap things up, is there anything else you want to share that readers might be especially interested in or that you're really excited about?"

Aster: "I'm really excited that Crowntide is in three points-of-view. It's in Isla, Oro and Grim's points-of-view...and it was so fun to write that because it's kind of nonstop action from page one until the middle and then the big twist happens that changes everything. So I'm just really excited to see readers' reactions."

Sorensen (Annie): "In the paperback and also in audio edition [of Dire Bound], there's an exclusive chapter from Stark's perspective, so that's something I'm really excited about it, and want to make sure fans know that there's an extra bonus thing to discover in [both of those] editions."

Well, between the upcoming releases from both Aster and Sorensen, plus the incredible recommendations from both, my TBR list is looking *full.* Like both authors, I'll be grabbing myself a coffee (or three) to get started on it this weekend (I've already taken Aster's advice and listened to Just for the Summer, which I thought was incredible, and plan to dive into The Will of the Many next), and if you're loving their recs as much as I am, you can shop them all below.