The end of an adventure is bittersweet: a welcome return home, but an acknowledgement that it’s over… for now. Wyrd and Wonder has run its course for another year, so let’s take one last look at what an epic quest it has been.

Before my last round-up of all your amazing content, I want to look you all deep in the eyes one last time and say THANK YOU. Wyrd and Wonder is an amazing month, because you make it magic!

There’s been at least 55 of us making as much noise as we can (there were 54 officially signed up, but I know a few more of you joined the party as we travelled!) and gosh we’ve made some noise: over 300 blog posts, 107 reviews, 84 instagram posts, 30 Litsy blurbs, and more tweets than I can possibly count (really, I’d only lose track). Special mentions go to Nikki the Bibliophibian who hit their epic target of reading 22 books for Wyrd and Wonder and to Annemieke for out-blogging us all with 20 posts across the month at A Dance with Books!

Thank you all so much for your time and your posts, your comments and tweets, your photos and your unbridled enthusiasm for all things fantasy. It has been a pleasure to share it with you… and we hope to see you again next year!

Reviews

• JOHN JOSEPH ADAMS (ed) – By Blood We Live | Space and Sorcery
• ISABELLE ADLER – Adrift | Jorie Loves A Story
• MORGAN L BUSSE – The Ravenwood Saga | Jorie Loves A Story
• GENEVIEVE COGMAN – The Mortal Word | Mervi’s Book Reviews
• SHEA EARNSHAW – The Wicked Deep | Deanna Reads
• MARY FAN – Stronger Than A Bronze Dragon | A Dance with Books
• NEIL GAIMAN & TERRY PRATCHETT – Good Omens | Deanna Reads
• JOHN GWYNNE – A Time of Blood | Space and Sorcery
• NIKKI HAVERSTOCK – Which Mage Moved The Cheese? | Mervi’s Book Reviews
• JULIE KAGAWA – Shadow of the Fox | My World of Books
• LEANNE LEEDS – Life on the Lion | Jorie Loves A Story
• LEANNE LEEDS – Unbearable Magic | Jorie Loves A Story
• PETER McCLEAN – Priest of Lies | Rockstarlit Book Asylum
• NAOMI NOVIK – Spinning Silver | I Have Thoughts On Books
• DEN PATRICK – Witchsign | A Dance with Books
• C T PHIPPS – Straight Outta Fangton | Way Too Fantasy
• SAM SYKES – Seven Blades in Black | Mousai Books
• JEN WILLIAMS – The Ninth Rain | A Dance with Books

…plus Mervi talked about Lois McMaster Bujold’s Penric’s Demon in response to the ‘fish out of water’ challenge prompt; Lynn highlighted Anna Smith Spark’s trilogy finale The House of Sacrifice for Can’t Wait Wednesday, while Lisa picked a book very dear to my heart – the new novel set in the world of Lady Trent, Turning Darkness into Light by Marie Brennan.

The Wyrd and Wonder Challenge

In this week’s Challenge:

• Beth has tackled the last set of prompts in her Blog Tag Challenge at Beth’s Bookish Thoughts
• Zezee blasted through the Challenge in two epic tag round-ups: Part I and Part II at Zezee with Books
• Paul Harrap showed his soft side with a nod to Tigana for a book that breaks his heart, while Nils Shukla banged the drum for Jordanna Brodsky’s The Wolf in the Whale as a glorious stand-alone

Check out #WyrdAndWonder on Instagram for near-daily Challenge responses!

Features

Timy at Rockstarlit Book Asylum interviewed SFPBO finalist Devin Madson. Mervih took time to pick 5 SFF BFFs for Top 5 Wednesday. Lisa ended the month with a Friday Favourite Five on the genre-busting charms of steampunk. Jess(ticulates) has found 3 potential new favourite fantasy authors. My co-host Lisa celebrated dragons (it’s not a Wyrd and Wonder week without a dragon or two!).

Just when you thought it was safe to venture back out, we’ve got one final ambush to mob your TBR. This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt (now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) asked for the best books published each year in the past decade, so you’re guaranteed the very best in fantasy recommendations:

• Brittany at Perfectly Tolerable
• Annemieke at A Dance with Books
• Me here at There’s Always Room For One More
• Zezee at Zezee with Books

Lynn now hosts the Friday Face-off (created by Books by Proxy) at Lynn’s Books, so we ended the month with a fantasy love-in from Tammy at Books, Bones & Buffy and Lynn herself.

Let’s close the month the way we started it: with a brilliant call from Kathy over at Pages Below The Vaulted Sky for more mental health representation in adult fantasy. Hear hear!

Read-alongs

The Ninth Rain

• Lisa at Dear Geek Place | Week One | Week Two | Week Three | Week Four
• Jason at Off the TBR | Week One | Week Two | Week Three | Week Four
• imyril at There’s Always Room For One More | Week One | Week Two | Week Three | Week Four
• Nikki the Bibliophibian | Week One | Week Two
• Sarah at Dragons and Zombies | Week One | Week Two
• Mayri at BookForager | Week One and Two | Week Three and Four
• Annemieke at A Dance with Books | Review

…and after a unanimous AYE to an innocent poll on Twitter, we will be continuing with a read-along for The Bitter Twins next month – keep an eye out here or on the @SFFReadalongs Goodreads group for all the details as they get confirmed over the next week or so. Expected start date: mid June.

Giveaways

Last chance!

• Tammy will give one of the many fantasy books she featured this month. Enter using the Rafflecopter (open to all Book Depository countries) by June 7th.
• Kathy has 10 copies of Gather the Fortunes by Bryan Camp to give away (open internationally)! Enter using Rafflecopter before mid-June

Looking back at the month

Of course I’m not the only one looking back at what an awesome May this has been. My co-host Lisa had a few words to say at Dear Geek Place. Lynn wrapped up at Lynn’s Books. Susy gave a shout out to some favourite moments at Susy’s Cozy World (aww <blush> thanks Susy!). Zezee looked back on the month in detail and nodded to some favourite Wyrd and Wonder moments at Zezee with Books.  Lisa recapped a truly epic amount of reading at Way Too Fantasy; Hannah shared reads and favourite posts at I Have Thoughts On Books and Anouk highlighted her favourites at Time for Tales and Tea. Tammy – always a lady after my own heart – proves there’s always room for one more with a Wyrd and Wonder Wrap giveaway at Books, Bones & Buffy.

…and watch out for my co-host Jorie’s closing thoughts later this week over at Jorie Loves a Story.

One last thing

If you’ve enjoyed our second year of Wyrd and Wonder, rest assured we will be back for more next May. Got some ideas for things you’d like to see or do? Get in touch, we love fellow conspirators and will happily help you hatch dragons plots.

If you fancy more adventures with like-minded folk in the meantime, we’ll be back for Spooktastic Reads – a mini-event for dark fantasy and fantastic horror that takes place during the last 13 days of October; and of course we’ll be firing up the engines to head back out to where it all started for SciFiMonth throughout November!