One week until Wyrd & Wonder* 2022 begins! I’ve shared some of my favorite Top 5s fantasy reads these past few weeks as I’ve counted down to May 1. This week, I’m sharing my Wyrd & Wonder TBR.

*Not sure what Wyrd & Wonder is? Check out this post first.

I was going to do a Top 5 Fantasy Books with the 5 Wyrd & Wonder Mascots. Each year, Wyrd & Wonder has a new mascot⁠—wolf, raven, pegasus, phoenix, and dragon. I started looking for books with each of these critters.

Wolves, super easy. I read a ton of urban fantasy/paranormal and werewolves are common. (Hello Patricia Briggs’s world of Mercy Thompson.) Plus, wolves feature in every Red Riding Hood adaptation and many other fantasy stories. Dragons are also not that difficult. Outside the obv choice of George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series, there’s Margaret Weis and Tracey Hickman’s Dragonlance series. And of course, HP covers the phoenix. But I struggled with raven and pegasus. I found books that had these critters but none I had read.

So I scrapped that idea and decided to talk about my TBR, which I’ve had planned for a month. In fact, I posted this TBR tease photo on my Instagram at the beginning of April.

These books, with one exception, have been sitting on my TBR bookcase for some time now. Some for longer than I want to admit. The one exception, the last one listed below, is because it was recently gifted to me in a swap. So this is a win-win for me. I read books for Wyrd & Wonder and I get closer to meeting my TBR challenge. And each of these books meets either this year’s 5th anniversary theme⁠ (wood) or the mascot (wolf). So without further ado . . .

My TBR for Wyrd & Wonder 2022

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

Set in a world inspired by ancient Arabia, We Hunt the Flame finds Zafira, the Hunter, who’s disguised herself as a man, braving a cursed forest to feed her people. Forest = wood. Prompt satisfied.

This is book 1 of a duology. Unfortunately, I do not own Book 2, We Free the Stars and I am was on a book buying ban . . . but I blew that at the beginning of April when I went to San Fran. I’m still trying to stay strong on my book buying ban. I’m trying to convince myself that the San Fran book buying spree was a special situation. We’ll see how long this actually lasts. So book 2 is pending . . . in the cart, but I haven’t checked out.

Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstances by Ruth Emmie Lang

Raised by wolves. Enough said. Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstances totally meets the prompt.

Bonus, this is a stand alone book! Huzzah for single serves.

The Summer Dragon by Todd Lockwood

The summer dragon appears to Maia and her brother in the woods one day. Dragons in woods. It doesn’t get more epic than that. Prompt fulfilled.

As a quick side note, this was a total blame-it-on Emerald City Comic Con. A few years ago when I attended the ECCC in-person (remember those days?), Lockwood had a booth. He’s primarily known for his art and if you’ve read any of R.A. Salvatore’s books or played D&D, then you’ve seen Lockwood’s art. So his booth was mostly his art but he also had his debut book, The Summer Dragon, which of course, also has his art. I couldn’t resist. Plus he drew a little drawing in it for me when he signed it.

The downside: this was supposed to be a series or at least a duology. Book 1 was published in 2016, but no Book 2 has been announced.

The Shadow in the Glass by J.J.A. Harwood

The Shadow in the Glass is a dark Cinderella retelling with a twist. Right now, I have no idea why I pulled it. But it’s in the pile, so let’s go with the assumption that I had some reason. Prompt uncertain.

A Universe of Wishes, edited by Dhonielle Clayton

One of two short story anthologies on my list, A Universe of Wishes is a collaboration with We Need Diverse Books and features own-voice authors. One of the stories, Dream and Dare by Nic Stone, has a monster in the woods. Prompt met.

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

The title, The Hazel Wood, says it all. It’s all about the Hazel Wood. Prompt complete.

Lakesedge by Lyndall Clipstone

A haunted estate, a monster, and a cursed lake. So where’s the wood in Lakesedge? Well, the protagonist, Violeta, is found in the woods. Alright, I admit this may be a stretch but I pulled all these from my existing TBR bookcase and I am trying to get my current TBR bookcase to under 20, so cut me some slack. Prompt tangentially achieved.

Among the Beasts and Briars by Ashley Poston

Among the Beasts and Briars has a Lady who ruled the forest. Woods appear to play a major part in this story. Prompt satisfied.

Unnatural Creatures by Neil Gaiman

A list just isn’t complete with a Gaiman book. Okay, okay, I must admit that Unnatural Creatures isn’t really a Gaiman book. This anthology includes 16 short stories selected by Gaiman (including one of his own). Two of the stories feature werewolves, one features a beast in a forest, and one features a talking tree. Prompt win!

What books do you have on your May TBR? Share your recommendations in the comments below.

A couple of notes on this post:

• Wyrd & Wonder image credit: tree wolf image by chic2view on 123RF.com
• The book links are affiliate links to Bookshop.org where I receive a teeny commission if you click on the link and then purchase something. Read more about affiliate links here.