I'm looking for recommendations of more recent Portuguese female authors, like from the last 3 or 4 years. I saw that Leya has an interesting collection but I'm not sure if it's actually worth it. Has anyone read any of them?
Are you specifically looking for recent Portuguese authors or are you open to recommendations in general? Because honestly, Leya has some cool collections, but I can't really talk about the specific books in that series on contemporary writers without having actually read them, you know?
What I'd suggest is checking out reviews on Skoob or even Goodreads, because you'll find people who actually read them and leave useful comments. The advantage is seeing what other people thought of the writing, the pacing, whether it's actually worth the money. There are also literature bloggers who cover Portuguese releases pretty heavily, and honestly those reviews are more reliable than someone just saying "oh, that book is good" without going into details.
If you want something safer, maybe it's worth looking into shortlists or Portuguese literature awards from recent years - that usually points to works that really made an impact. Then you already know you're picking something that at least got noticed.
Leya has some really interesting collections, but I think the thing is less about whether the publisher is good or not and more about you actually knowing what the authors' style is like before you go out buying. I tried grabbing some books from them without really knowing what they were about, thought they looked nice visually and all that, but when I actually read them I found out they didn't match what I expected. The edition quality is good yeah, but good print quality doesn't guarantee you're gonna enjoy the story, you know.
What I do now is look at review blogs, because that way you see what people thought and you can get tips on which authors might fit your style. There are some YouTube channels and reading communities that focus specifically on Portuguese authors, so you can see excerpts, hear opinions from people who've already read them. If Leya has a collection, it's pretty safe to say they kind of curated the books, so the odds of it being quality are higher, but that doesn't mean it's what you want to read this exact week, get it. Do some research on the specific authors before you invest.
The thing with publisher collections is that a lot of times the books come grouped by theme or format rather than by actual quality. Before you spend money on an entire Leya collection, the best move would really be to look up specific reviews for each title, because one author can be excellent and another not so much, even if they're in the same pack.
If you're looking for more recent Portuguese writers, I'd recommend checking out Goodreads or Portuguese book blogs - you'll find people who actually read and test these books before you guys spend money on them. A lot of times you can get free samples or even borrow from the library before you buy. Leya isn't bad, but it's like anything else: the publisher is just the delivery service, what matters is whether the story actually grabs you.
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