Second paragraph of third chapter:

He was on a street corner when he stopped, hand abrupt and white- knuckled on the wet metal of a lamppost, and took a few deep breaths with his eyes closed.

Another one from last year’s Best Editor Hugo packets (edited by winner Ruoxi Chen). A story of gay magicians in a very slightly parallel late Edwardian England. I actually thought the pacing was a bit off here, with the middle half set around the protagonist’s visit to his love interest’s family mansion, and then an abrupt jump forward in time before we get to the final section. But an unusual magic system, lushly described. You can get it here.

This was the top unread sf book in my pile. Next up is The Outcast, by Louise Cooper.