Our Rogue Fates by Sarah Glenn Marsh
I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH. The longing, the YEARNING, so so so good. Reading about messy queer characters in a queer-normative world is so satisfying. I feel seen, I feel like it’s okay if I don’t have everything figured out because maybe that’s normal. Maybe we grow and find answers as we go. Mal, in particular, was my favorite character. I connected so much with the way he just wanted to be accepted for who he was. Truly, though, all of the characters weaseled their way into my heart, and I can’t wait to spend more time with them in future books. Alys! Alys, with her mushrooms, deserves only good things. Griff rounds out the main trio, and he was so fun to read, just a sweetheart who knows what he wants and takes exactly that as soon as the opportunity presents itself. The world-building is very contained in this story, with glimpses into the wider world that have me itching for more. We got a slice-of-life adventure that was the perfect way to introduce both the characters and the world. Tastes of more to come, peeks at higher stakes in the future. The romance is at the forefront here, but the larger conflicts going on in the background make this feel like just one quest that will lead to many more, and that is exactly what I want from this sort of fantasy book. I can’t wait for Our Rogue Fates to release so I can push it into the hands of every romantic fantasy reader I know. Fans of Dragon Age? Check this book out. Fans of wandering quests like The Hobbit? This is the book for you. Looking for more queer love stories in fantasy? Marsh has delivered a book just for us, and it feels like coming home.
Our Rogue Fates by Sarah Glenn Marsh, (List Price: $19.99, Alcove Press, 9798892424301, April 2026)
Reviewed by Katie, A Novel Romance LLC in Louisville, Kentucky
Our Rogue Fates by Sarah Glenn Marsh Read More »
Julia Langbein says that the inspiration for her new novel, Dear Monica Lewinsky, came to her during a visit to the house where she grew up: “I had to go clear out my old childhood bedroom, and I found a diary from 1998 in which I had been disparaging of Monica Lewinsky in a way that was just very casual and normal for people at that time…It was this moment of compunction — we all recognize we had it wrong — but the writer in me was like, You’re picking up on some idea of Monica Lewinsky as a kind of saint whose public life completely fits with the stories of the early martyrs.” 
I know a lot of fairy tales.
Like I cut my teeth on them. I grew up reading lots of fairy tale collections, and I realized I could only with difficulty think of fairytales where women were friends, where women talk to each other, and where they weren’t antagonists to each other in some way. I know they’re there, but the fact that I could reach for 10 stories of women waiting for rescue or women waiting to be chosen or women seeking husbands or, you know, that sort of thing instead of a story of women setting out together to have adventures—which is really what I wanted to tell my 7 year old niece who is asking me for a fairy tale— It was very disturbing to me, and I just remember in that moment thinking I’m just going to make something up. I’m gonna make something up because I really want her to know that there is room in fairytales for girls to be friends.
I hope I don’t give too much away, but I was quite inspired by Witness, with Harrison Ford amongst the Amish. I was really interested in this idea of a gangster amongst peacemakers, which is really what Witness is. I find that really fascinating. I became interested in Celtic Christianity because it was very revolutionary at the time in ways that we slightly forget. This was a world of utter warlordism, a very, very violent world and it was pagan. All of that was predicated on the idea that it was good to be strong and kill people. If gods were with you, that’s what would happen. If gods weren’t with you, you’d be weak. The idea of a religion that was founded on the idea that you might want to be weak, or you might want to be humble, was completely insane to these people. I mean, they looked at it and just went, “You’re mad! What are you talking about?”
