Monday Moods is a weekly bookish meme created and hosted by Unwrapping Words (aka, me!). The premise is simple: every week, there’s a new ‘mood’, ranging from tropes to genres or actual moods (happy, sad, etc). On a Monday, feel free to post about books on your TBR, books you’d recommend, or a mix – whatever you like – that fits the ‘mood’ prompt. And of course, you can use your own if you’re not fussed on a particular one!
If you’re not aware, ‘second world’ refers to worlds in fantasy that aren’t our own – they’re not dystopian versions of our current world like Panem in The Hunger Games, or other planets while our own ticks on. These are places like Middle-earth, with their own languages, religion, and countries, independent of our own world. So, for this week’s Monday Moods, here are five books set in separate worlds currently on my TBR.
This Week, I’m in the Mood For…
Second Worlds
We Free the Stars
Hafsah Faizal
Genre: Fantasy
Age: Young Adult
Format: ebook
Published: January 19th, 2021
I Want to Read This Because I read the first book in Sands of Arawiya (We Hunt the Flame) and really loved it. I’m hoping I can find a space for book 2 on my reading challenges for this year, as I’m keen to see how the story continues and ends!
1001 Nights with the Lycan King
Ruby K.
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Age: Adult
Format: ebook
Published: February 20th, 2025
I Want to Read This Because I really like the sound of this! I love when authors blend fantasy romance with fairy tales, and there are so many different directions they can go. I think I’ll definitely find this interesting, and it’s got quite a high average rating.
West of Wicked
Nikki St. Crowe
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Age: Adult
Format: ebook
Expected Publication: April 14th, 2026
I Want to Read This Because I love retellings and reimaginings, and this one sounds really different and interesting, focusing on Dorothy Gale where the “villain gets the girl…and the girl gets the power.” I’m interested to see how this one turns out!
Golden Curse
M. Lynn
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Age: Young Adult
Format: ebook
Published: October 2nd, 2018
I Want to Read This Because it’s another retelling, sort of – it’s inspired by Rapunzel, with a young woman who returns due to a curse on her family line and a tournament where the winner earns a place at the prince’s side. Sounds pretty fun!
A Wish So Deadly
Marilize Loxton
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Age: Young Adult
Format: ebook
Expected Publication: March 12th, 2026
I Want to Read This Because it sounds fun! I adore that cover and the tagline, and I do enjoy enemies-to-lovers. It’s also another magical tournament book – I feel like we’re hitting a bit of a trend with these in general, but I feel like even in the older books on my TBR (see Golden Curse, above) tournaments are cropping up a lot, so maybe 2026 will be my own personal ‘year of the magical tournaments’.
As always, if you’ve read any of these and have thoughts to share, I’d love to hear them. And if you have recommendations based on the above, throw them my way.
Unwrapping Words 