Welcome to our Ten Book Challenge where our favorite authors share some of their most beloved and memorable reads—from the books with their favorite covers and best opening lines, to the reads they gift and the bookstores they frequent. This is a peek into your favorite authors’ perfect bowl of literary comfort food. We hope you discover something delicious! 

This dark bewitching YA novel by S. Isabelle is ideal to curl up with this summer—but that doesn’t mean readers are escaping any heat. Based at a Florida coven academy, The Witchery follows four witches—Logan, the newest witch, has just arrived at the academy in Haelsford, and is taken under the wing of the Red Three: Jailah, fighting her thirst for power; deathwitch Iris, trying to break the town’s curse; and greenwitch Thalia, running from a haunting past and her religious family.  It’s Haunting Season, and the witchy girls are preparing to protect the town of Haelsford from the seasonal onslaught of bloodthirsty wolves. But this means humans and witches must work together, despite a bloody history and barely there truce. But when two boys cross paths with the witches to ask for protection via sacrifice, students start turning up dead, and Iris, Thalia, Logan and Jailah will have to harness their power and stop the Wolves, at costs greater than they can imagine.

Told in a six-person POV, The Witchery a thrilling, delicious read that fans of The Craft and Vampire Academy.

The Book I……

I last bought/am currently readingBlade Breaker by Victoria Aveyard. Can’t wait for the conclusion to the trilogy!

I recommend to everyone:  Pride by Ibi Zoboi. Pretty sure I’ve mentioned this book in all of my interviews, I just love it so much. Also, The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang.

That was my favorite to read last year, and whyThe Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson, which is now an all-time favorite. It’s the perfect mix of compelling characters, a high-stakes plot, and lovely, vivid writing.

Whose an author I would love to have lunch with:  Jason Reynolds. He’s such a fantastic writer, and then I’d also get to brag to all of my library teens.

That made me realize language had power:  Toni Morrison’s Beloved. It was the first Black-authored book I’d been assigned in school, and it just completely changed my relationship with reading and writing.

I’d like to see adapted to the screen: Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas. I need to see Yads, Julian, and Maritza onscreen one day.

That made me laugh out loud—or cry—while reading it: Meaty by Samantha Irby, and People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry.

That has the most gorgeous cover:  Judy I Lin’s A Magic Steeped in Poison still makes my jaw drop, and I’ve seen that gorgeous cover a million times. I also adore the cover for Maya Prasad’s Drizzle, Dreams, and Lovestruck Things, a hilarious and sweet YA book out in the fall. And can I mention mine? The covers for The Witchery are so damn cool, and I’m really lucky. Shoutout to Thea Harvey and Hillary D. Wilson!

With the best opening line:  I love the opening line from Madeline Miller’s Circe. “When I was born, the name for what I was did not exist.”

Bookstore that I frequent/is my favorite: Books & Books in Coral Gables, FL!

Bonus: I love being asked about new writers that I’m excited about. I cannot wait to get my hands on Bethany Baptiste’s The Poisons We Drink, Linda Cheng’s Gorgeous Gruesome Faces, Aislinn Brophy’s How to Succeed in Witchcraft, and Vanessa Montalban’s A Tall Dark Trouble.

Don’t miss our exclusive interview with author S.Isabelle on creating friendship-focused fantasy, magical schools for teens, and how she gets inspired.