Sally Bend's Blog, page 7

Stacking the Shelves & The Sunday Post

Stacking The Shelves (Reading Reality) and The Sunday Post (Caffeinated Reviewer) are both blog memes about sharing the books we’re adding to the shelves and sharing news of the week ahead.

New Purchases

A trio of purchases this week, including:

The new edition of The Innkeeper’s Song by Peter S. Beagle – the tale of three women of legendary skill on a quest to save the world’s most powerful wizard, and the innkeeper’s assistant whose heartbreak will bear witness.The Dark Legend by Phoebe Ravencraft – A fallen comrade. Sinister sorcery. Can a sapphic secret agent team up with a beautiful elf to save the realm?Boundless by Miranda Sapphire – an arranged marriage between the only son of an Elf King and a huge, monstrous barbarian princess.For Review

A handful of review titles this week, including:

A Rare Find by Joanna Lowell

When an aspiring archaeologist teams up with her childhood enemy for a treasure hunt, they find it impossible to bury their growing feelings, in a charming queer historical romance from the author of A Shore Thing.

The Bone Raiders by Jackson Ford

The start of a no-holds-barred, action-packed fantasy series from the always irreverent Jackson Ford where a group of charmingly-named Bone Raiders harness the power of gigantic, fire-breathing lizards to defend their homeland from an invading enemy.

Blood and Embers by Jordan Michelle

A nonbinary butch/femme relationship with tropes such as fake fiancée, enemies-to-lovers, and found friends along the way

Among the Burning Flowers by Samantha Shannon

With the awakening of fire-breathing dragons, Among the Burning Flowers sees the first sparks of danger that threaten to consume the world in The Priory of the Orange Tree.

Currently Reading

This week is hard, because I really want to dive into Shannon’s new book, but I have ARCs with release dates looming, so I’m just starting Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by Victoria Schwab; I have a series to catch up with, so I’m reading the next 4 episodes of The Dominion and the Sugilite by B.J. Frazier; and because I’ve been craving a chonky epic fantasy mass market paperback, I’m reading Acacia by David Anthony Durham.

Weekend Freebies – Women in Love & Women in Control

Well, if it’s another weekend, then it must be time to bend our hearts and minds around preparing for the week ahead, and how better to do that than with some Weekend Freebies!

Every weekend I search through the free titles on Amazon, looking for those that might interest visitors to the ruins. Even if you don’t have a Kindle, you can still download the titles through one of Amazon’s free reading applications.

Please do be sure to check the price before downloading anything, as most freebies are limited time offers, and some are specific to certain regions.

Enjoy!

Exploring Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity with Lee Mandelo

Title: Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity
Author: Lee Mandelo (editor)
Publication Date: May 27, 2025 by Erewhon Books
Genres: Sci-fi, Fantasy
Representation: LGBTQIA+

Before I get into my review, I’d like you to take a look at the two covers for this book. The first (on the left) is the one that accompanied the advance review copy. The second (on the right) is the one that seems destined to accompany the final published book.

Can you see what’s missing? Joy and Survival. In a book described as revolutionary and visionary, one that promises to explore the vast potentialities of our queer and trans futures, one that celebrates itself as moving and hopeful, that omission of joy and survival is significant. Had I gone into it without that expectation, been prepared to stoke my anger and my sorrow in light of current affairs, I may have appreciated Amplitudes more on an intellectual level… but when I went into it fixated on joy and hope, the emotional letdown was hard to overcome.

Of the 22 stories chosen by Lee Mandelo, there are only 7 that stood out for me, and they are all lacking in joy and hope.

The Orgasm Doula by Colin Dean does have a romantic twist that gives it a sliver of hope, but it’s about a world where the number of orgasms allotted to you may (or may not) be limited, and the final twist slams the door on what could have been hope. Well-written and interesting, yes, but it suggested this was not going to be the collection I was hoping for.MoonWife by Sarah Gailey is another well-written, interesting story by an author I’ve enjoyed before, dealing with digital seances, identity theft, death, and grieving… and well, still no joy.There Used to Be Peace by Margaret Killjoy is where it became impossible to deny the thematic direction of the collection, with a story of a civil war between knights and fascists that felt underwhelming, like too small a slice of the narrative. Fettle & Sunder by Ramez Yoakeim takes that theme one step further, one step darker, doubling down on the themes of fascism and violence that only space station billionaires can escape. Yeah, hits way too close to home. They Whom We Remember by Sunny Moraine presents a future I would describe as joyous and hopeful, one where gender is completely fluid, able to be altered and expressed on a whim, but the author turns it into something cynical and tragic by exploring it through the eyes of one person with a desire to permanently fix themselves to a single gender.  When The Devil Comes From Babylon by Mars Deane is another of those stories that I would have loved in a dystopian collection… a weird, almost magical (post) apocalyptic story of belief and transformation… but it suffers under the bludgeoning weight of religious cult-like intolerance that demands suicide over transition.  pocket futures in the present past by Katharine Duckett  is a weird, trippy story about time, parallel times, time travel, and paradoxes, one that was fun to read and follow the back-and-forth of cause-and-effect, but it’s almost afraid to commit to making a positive impact.

Thinking of the stories again, reflecting on how they impacted me, that same anger and sorrow I was looking to escape when I picked this collection up washes over me anew. I’ve really had quite enough of stories about trans people suffering, being the targets of hatred and violence, and having to fight just to survive.

Perhaps I’m just on a different wavelength, but if you’ll forgive me mixing metaphors, Amplitudes left me feeling drained when I was hoping for a joyous shock to the system.

Rating: 1/2

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Finding the Light in Written on the Dark by Guy Gavriel Kay

Title: Written on the Dark
Author: Guy Gavriel Kay
Publication Date: May 27, 2025
Genres: Fantasy
Representation: Nonbinary, Bisexual

Written on the Dark is another stunning historical fantasy from the masterful pen of Guy Gavriel Kay, who this time turns to medieval France for inspiration.

In many ways, this is a story about stories – about who tells them, how they tell them, and how we interact with them. As the old saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but so is history. We get history told by those who were there and those who weren’t, but those who insist on being remembered and those who are content to be forgotten. All of this is wrapped up in the story of a poet (Thierry Villar) who even steps outside the narrative at times to offer brief asides to the reader, some adding color to what’s passed, and some foreshadowing what’s to come.

While much of this is precisely what you’d expect of Kay – history, drama, politics, and storytelling – there are two elements that stood out for me. The first is the women of the tale, probably my favorite in anything Kay has ever written. Silvy and Marina, their lives intertwined with that of Thierry, are wonderfully written characters, and the crossing of their affections is a quiet, subtle, but wonderful moment. Jeannette was an interesting character (as much as I chafed a bit against the introduction of a Joan of Arc figure), and Alaina, for the very little that we see of her, is just magical. The second is the character of Gauvard Cole, easily my favorite creation of Kay’s since Fionavar. Described as having an “element of uncertainty” and “a name wrapped in mystery,” who isn’t “exclusively male or female” but “changeable,” it’s not clear whether they’re transgender, nonbinary, or intersex, but I loved them and their role in the story.

Narratively, it’s a bit of an odd story, skipping between characters, places, and plotlines, with those asides I mentioned earlier, but it all works . . . all comes together . . . all accentuates the story or the history or perhaps both.

Rating: 1/2

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Stacking the Shelves & The Sunday Post

Stacking The Shelves (Reading Reality) and The Sunday Post (Caffeinated Reviewer) are both blog memes about sharing the books we’re adding to the shelves and sharing news of the week ahead.

New Purchases

A few new purchases this week, including Arkangel, the latest Sigma Force novel, by James Rollins; Paladin’s Grace, the first Saint of Steel novel, by T. Kingfisher; and Demon Gate, a whimsical FLR monstergirl story, by Snek Guy.

For Review

Sadly, still waiting on my last batch of requests, so nothing new on the review front this week.

Currently Reading

A fresh batch of reads this week, including Amplitudes edited by Lee Mandelo, Six Wild Crowns by Holly Race, and A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows.

Weekend Freebies – Femdom Feminization Futanari

Well, if it’s another weekend, then it must be time to bend our hearts and minds around preparing for the week ahead, and how better to do that than with some Weekend Freebies!

Every weekend I search through the free titles on Amazon, looking for those that might interest visitors to the ruins. Even if you don’t have a Kindle, you can still download the titles through one of Amazon’s free reading applications.

Please do be sure to check the price before downloading anything, as most freebies are limited time offers, and some are specific to certain regions.

Enjoy!

Another Review Round-Up

I’ve been in something of a reading rut lately, with a mix of okay, meh, and good-grief reads, none of which I want to dwell on at length . . . so here we are.

Title: The Death Relic 
Author: Chris Kuzneski
Publication Date: August 6, 2013 by Berkley Books
Genres: Fiction | Thriller
Representation: None

Okay, so the blurb promised Aztec and Mayan civilizations, legends of a deadly artifact known as “the Death Relic,” missing archaeologists, and one of the darkest mysteries of the New World. It sounded like fun, a popcorn treasure hunting adventure, and honestly, my expectations were pretty low.

But now low enough.

I chose to DNF this at Chapter 38, a little more than 40% of the way through, when we were still stuck talking about the missing professor, still bickering about relationship issues, and still bantering about race with the black guy who you really know is black because he reminds you every few pages that he’s black. We literally just left the hotel, where we finally saw some artifacts, but we still haven’t even talked about the treasure. The only redeeming quality of the book has been the villain, who served as our conduit to an info dump as a tour guide details the history of the Aztec people. 2 stars for the history and the tour guide, who I quite liked.

Rating:

Title: Captive Prince
Author:  C. S. Pacat
Publication Date: April 7, 2015 by Berkley
Genres: Fantasy | Romance
Representation: Gay/Bisexual

I first attempted to read this a few years ago, back when I was still dealing with undiagnosed anxiety, and likely was not in the best headspace or mood to enjoy it. All I remembered of it was being sickened by the nonconsensual sex, cruel torture, and disturbing glimpses of child exploitation.

It has such a good reputation, though, and I wanted an edgier sort of M/M fantasy romance, so I decided to give it a second shot. So, how did it go? Well, it’s still full of nonconsensual sex (the gladiator ‘triumph’ sticks in my head); and Damen does get whipped, beaten, and flayed far more than even I, with my fetish for BDSM kinks, is comfortable with; and it’s still deplorable what happens to Nicaise. In fact, the first half of the book is pretty much exclusively a masochistic fantasy of sexual slavery and sexual violence, far more explicit than anything you’d find in John Norman’s Gor novels, and lacks the philosophy (problematic as it is) of those books. There’s neither commentary, justification, or apology for the violence, just a sort of underlying suggestion that it’s okay since they’re men.

There is something of a political plot in the second half that was interesting enough, but what I had come for – the enemies-to-lovers romance – falls utterly flat. There’s a hint of respect building there as we journey from fiery loathing to cold hatred, but that’s it. What’s more, in the context of the society, against the backdrop of what the Prince inflicts on Damen, I found myself actually relieved that the ‘romance’ never went anywhere because the idea of validating that abuse is the most sickening part of the book.

Rating:

Title: Daughter of Tides
Author: Kit Rocha
Publication Date: May 6, 2025 by Montlake
Genres: Fantasy | Romance
Representation: Bisexual throuple

This wasn’t a horrible read, it just wasn’t a very good one. The pacing is very uneven, with a chaotic opening where we’re dumped into a lot of names and facts (apparently it makes much more sense if you’ve read her other series, which the blurb does not mention), a middle that is so slow as to feel stalled, and then an ending that is frantic and fierce, but all sex and no plot.

The poly/throuple aspect was fun, and I was glad to see it explored, but everything felt instalove sudden and rushed, with nothing to build a relationship, just the fact of relationships we were expected to accept and follow through. Again, maybe there’s history to these characters, I don’t know, but I felt like much was missing.

Rating:

Weekend Freebies – Femdom & Kink

Well, if it’s another weekend, then it must be time to bend our hearts and minds around preparing for the week ahead, and how better to do that than with some Weekend Freebies!

Every weekend I search through the free titles on Amazon, looking for those that might interest visitors to the ruins. Even if you don’t have a Kindle, you can still download the titles through one of Amazon’s free reading applications.

Please do be sure to check the price before downloading anything, as most freebies are limited time offers, and some are specific to certain regions.

Enjoy!

Stacking the Shelves & The Sunday Post

Stacking The Shelves (Reading Reality) and The Sunday Post (Caffeinated Reviewer) are both blog memes about sharing the books we’re adding to the shelves and sharing news of the week ahead.

New Purchases

A small stack of new books this week, starting with Bold Strokes by Jane Boon (her follow-up to the empowering, edgy, and erotic Edge Play); Solomon’s Seal by Skyla Dawn Cameron (her first Livi Talbot, treasure hunter, book); A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows (queer love story full of Byzantine politics and lush sexual energy); and The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang (a heart-pounding romantasy, full of shocking twists, morally shifty characters, and erotic thrills).

For Review

Just the one new review title this week, but it sounds like a ton of fun. Blood and Treasure by Ryan Pote brings together the destruction of the International Space Station, the discovery of an ancient scroll, a treasure hunter, and the sole survivor of a killing spree conducted 254 miles up in the sky.

Currently Reading

As for what I’m reading, on the Kindle I’ve paused (but not abandoned) Heir of Strahd by Delilah S. Dawson in favor of Written on the Dark by Guy Gavriel Kay, while I’m still reading The Death Relic by Chris Kuzneski in paperback.

Weekend Freebies – Femdom & Kink

Well, if it’s another weekend, then it must be time to bend our hearts and minds around preparing for the week ahead, and how better to do that than with some Weekend Freebies!

Every weekend I search through the free titles on Amazon, looking for those that might interest visitors to the ruins. Even if you don’t have a Kindle, you can still download the titles through one of Amazon’s free reading applications.

Please do be sure to check the price before downloading anything, as most freebies are limited time offers, and some are specific to certain regions.

Enjoy!