Bibliothecary 2023 Reading Challenge: Hard Mode - hosted by mishkabear

Title referenced in book
For example: "You win the Game of Thrones or you die." "You've been Bloodmarked." This is one you may not know until you read the book. You can't use the main character's name or a setting for this one.
All books added
The Battle Drum by Saara El-Arifi

The Battle Drum

The Ending Fire Trilogy #2

Saara El-Arifi

18 hours, 12 minutes • first pub 2023 (editions)

fiction fantasy lgbtqia+ adventurous mysterious medium-paced
We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

We Hunt the Flame

Sands of Arawiya #1

Hafsah Faizal

472 pages • first pub 2019 (editions)

fiction fantasy young adult adventurous mysterious medium-paced
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

Gabrielle Zevin

401 pages • first pub 2022 (editions)

fiction contemporary literary emotional reflective sad medium-paced
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino

If on a Winter's Night a Traveler

Italo Calvino

260 pages • first pub 1979 (editions)

fiction classics literary magical realism adventurous challenging reflective medium-paced
The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

The School for Good Mothers

Jessamine Chan

324 pages • first pub 2022 (editions)

fiction dystopian literary science fiction dark emotional sad medium-paced
Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri

Tokyo Ueno Station

Yu Miri

197 pages • first pub 2014 (editions)

fiction contemporary literary emotional reflective sad slow-paced
Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

Black Water Sister

Zen Cho

384 pages • first pub 2021 (editions)

fiction fantasy lgbtqia+ adventurous mysterious medium-paced
A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance

The Tithenai Chronicles #1

Foz Meadows

544 pages • first pub 2022 (editions)

fiction fantasy lgbtqia+ romance adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Ann Older

The Mimicking of Known Successes

Mossa & Pleiti #1

Malka Ann Older

169 pages • first pub 2023 (editions)

fiction lgbtqia+ mystery science fiction adventurous mysterious fast-paced
Silver in the Bone by Alexandra Bracken

Silver in the Bone

Silver in the Bone #1

Alexandra Bracken

474 pages • first pub 2023 (editions)

fiction fantasy romance young adult adventurous dark tense medium-paced