Pile by the Bed reviews The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty a Middle Eastern inspired, magic infused pirate tale in the tradition of Sinbad

Pile by the Bed reviews Weyward by Emilia Hart, a debut that deals with a famliy of witches which has plenty to say about reclaiming power in the face of abuse.

Pile by the Bed reviews The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell, another of her effective gothic horror stories, this one set in the nineteenth century London theatre scene.

Pile by the Bed reviews Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo – dark urban fantasy follow up to 2019’s Yale-set Ninth House.

Pile by the Bed reviews Bad Cree by Jessica Johns an Indigenous horror story that explores issues of resilience in the face of the impacts of colonisation, exploitation and cultural loss.

Pile by the Bed’s Top 5 fantasy books for 2022 are Babel, The Stardust Thief, Book of Night, Siren Queen and Jade Legacy – with five honourable mentions.

Pile by the Bed reviews Babel by RF Kuang a historical fantasy that takes on notions of Empire and colonialism through a unique linguisitc magic system.

Pile by the Bed reviews The Trees by Percival Everett, a genre-mash satrire that explores the very real and painful history of lynchings in the United States that was shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize.

Pile by the Bed reviews Blitz by Daniel O’Malley, a stand-alone third book in his Checquy Files series which started with 2012’s The Rook

Pile by the Bed reviews The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean a resonant modern fanatasy in conversation with the tropes of classic fantasy and fairy tales.

Pile by the Bed reviews Ordinary Monsters (The Talents #1) by JM Miro – a tense Victorian-era fantasy involving children with powers and an existential threat to the world.

Pile by the Bed reviews The Martyr, the second book in Anthony Ryan’s Covenant of Steel trilogy which provides a propulsive set up for the final volume.

Pile by the Bed reviews The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah – debut and first of The Sandsea Trilogy set in a fantasy world based on Middle Eastern mythology. Recommended

Pile by the Bed reviews Siren Queen by Nghi Vo, a historical fantasy set in the golden age of Hollywood with a queer, Asian-American perspective.

Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends Book of Night by Holly Black, the first foray by the successful YA author into fantasy for more mature readers.

Pile by the Bed reviews Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda, a debut novel that uses the concept of vampirism in the context of a millennial coming of age story.

Pile by the Bed reviews Here Goes Nothing by Steve Toltz – a black comedy tackling the afterlife and a range of current social issues.

Pile by the Bed reviews The LAst Adventure of Constance Verity by A Lee Martinez the first in a trilogy of tongue-in-cheek fantasy/ science fiction adventure stories currently being made into a film with Awkwafina in the lead role.

Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends One Foot in the Fade, the third book in Luke Arnold’s fantasy meets hard boiled gumshoe Fetch Philips series.

Pile by the Bed reviews Amongst Our Weapons the ninth novel in Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series.