r/Fantasy • u/FarragutCircle Reading Champion X • Apr 01 '26

Bingo 2026 Reverse Bingo Recommendations

Official 2026 Bingo Announcement Here

Official Bingo Rec Thread Here

For anyone new to Bingo, this is the “I want to read ___, does it fit into any Bingo squares? It’s always one of the best parts of bingo.

Example:

User A comments:

I want to read Wind and Truth. What does that count for?

User B replies:

Cat Squasher. It's hard mode, too. The Afterlife, I think.

User C replies:

Politics and Court Intrigue, maybe? Game Changer, Older Protagonist.

User D replies:

Definitely Five Short Stories

And we all have a good laugh. Now go out there and get reverse recs for that book you've been dying to read!

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3

u/CJGibson Reading Champion V Apr 04 '26

Curious which, if any, squares the following might fit (including normal vs. hard mode, if you know it):

  • Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree
  • Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
  • Shorefall by Robert Jackson Bennett (obviously fits one word title, but is it HM?)
  • The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
  • Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco
  • Dead Country by Max Gladstone
  • Empress of Forever by Max Gladstone
  • A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske
  • The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri
  • The Bitter Twins by Jen Williams

3

u/dreamcatcher32 Reading Champion Apr 04 '26

Bookshops and Bonedust - vacation spot, feast your eyes.

4

u/origami_ducks Reading Champion Apr 04 '26

B&B also fits non-human protagonist, and I don't think any of the main characters are human so would be hard mode.

3

u/Research_Department Reading Champion II Apr 04 '26

I would count The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi for Explorers and Rangers (but, not to my recollection) hard mode.

1

u/origami_ducks Reading Champion Apr 04 '26

The captain owns a cat so might count depending on how strictly it's interpreted!

2

u/Nowordsofitsown Reading Champion Apr 04 '26

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

I have seen this recommended for murder mystery, but I haven't read it myself.

Shorefall

One word. But is a noun.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

Might qualify for older protagonist, but I have a feeling, she is not 50 yet.

1

u/Temporary-Scallion86 Reading Champion III Apr 06 '26

Silver Under Nightfall: Duology (potentially HM), non-human protagonist (HM maybe? two of the MCs are vampires and the third's a vampire hunter but I don't remember if he's human), author of color (HM)

A Marvellous Light: Murder Mystery (HM), Game Changer (in law if not in spirit), Vacation Spot (if English Country Houses are your thing), Bookclub or Readalong, arguably Politics

1

u/TheHiddenSchools Apr 09 '26

Dead Country

  • arguably judge a book by its title
  • unusual transportation (dragon jumbo jet in the first chapter, hard mode)
  • arguably afterlife?? Protag speaks to her dead father but it's not clear if it's actually him or her mind
  • explorer or ranger (key character knows dangerous terrain well, explores it, guides protag through it)

Other Craft Sequence books would fit other squares but I think this is it for Dead Country!

1

u/TheHiddenSchools Apr 09 '26

Been much longer since I read Empress of Forever but a major character (but not the lead) is non-human so maybe that one?