Isaiah Roby's Blog: MI Book Reviews, page 60

The Vela

A relevant SciFi story by an amazing cast of authors with strong protagonists that took a bit to get rolling and never developed the way I expected it to.

In the fading light of a dying star, a soldier for hire searches for a missing refugee ship and uncovers a universe-shattering secret.
Orphan, refugee, and soldier-for-hire Asala Sikou doesn’t think too much about the end of civilization. Her system’s star is dying, and the only person she can afford to look out for is herself.
When a ship ca...

The Singing Hills Cycle 1 & 2

In the last week I read The Empress of Salt and Fortune and When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain in audio, and I adored these two story-within-a-story novellas about a nonbinary cleric who records all sorts of tales and history.

The books are described as lush and mesmerizing, having “the heart of an Atwood tale and the visuals of a classic Asian period drama”. Both of them focus on empires and the art of storytelling itself, as well as the anger and love of women.

A young royal from ...

Juliet Takes a Breath

Juliet Takes a Breath is an important and loving story about racism, queerness and coming-of-age, but unfortunately for me this graphic novel adaption fell short.

 Juliet Milagros Palante is leaving the Bronx and headed to Portland, Oregon. She just came out to her family and isnt sure if her mom will ever speak to her again.
But dont worry, Juliet has something kinda resembling a plan thatll help her figure out what it means to be Puerto Rican, lesbian and out.
See, shes going to intern with...

Big Girl, Small Town

Meet Majella ONeill, a heroine like no other, in this captivating Irish debut that has been called Milkman meets Derry Girls

Majella is happiest out of the spotlight, away from her neighbors stares and the gossips of the small town in Northern Ireland where she grew up just after the Troubles. She lives a quiet life caring for her alcoholic mother, working in the local chip shop, watching the regular customers come and go. She wears the same clothes each day (overalls, too small), has the...

Assimilation, Love and Other Human Oddities

The second book of this delightful SciFi romance introduces Rownt POV chapters and explored relationships between human and Rownt, as well as differences in cultures, even more.

Ondry and Liam have settled into a good life, but their trading is still tied up with humans, and humans are always messy. When political changes at the human base lead Ondry to attempt a difficult trade, the pair find themselves entangled in human affairs. Liam wants to help the people he left and the worlds being...

Here the Whole Time

What would you do if you had to spend the next 15 days with your lifelong crush?

Felipe gets it hes fat. Not chubby. Not big-boned. Fat. And he doesnt need anyone to remind him, which is, of course, what everyone does. Thats why hes been waiting for this moment ever since the school year began: school break. Finally, hell be able to spend some time far away from school and the classmates who tease him incessantly. His plans include catching up on his favorite TV shows, finishing his...

Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower

When the witch built the forty-flight tower, she made very sure to do the whole thing properly. Each flight contains a dreadful monster, ranging from a diamond-scaled dragon to a pack of slavering goblins. Should a prince battle his way to the top, he will be rewarded with a golden swordand the lovely Princess Floralinda.

But no prince has managed to conquer the first flight yet, let alone get to the fortieth.

In fact, the supply of fresh princes seems to have quite dried up.

And winter is...

His for Hanukkah

Most people like vacations. And Christmas. They both make Adam want to scream. And kick things. Anxious, lonely, Jewish, and in serious need of a Daddy, Adam finally loses it in the lobby of his favorite BDSM clubright in front of the guy hes been crushing on.

Tates been dreaming about Adam for a long time. Trying to pick him up for a scene seemed to scare him away, and he worries that Adam wasnt as accepting of his transgender status as hed hoped. But when the sobbing boy seeks comfort in...

The Taxidermist’s Lover

A modern Gothic tale of a woman obsessed with her lovers taxidermy creatures and haunted by her past.

Things were never quite the same after you started mixing up the species.

When Scarlett meets taxidermist Henry, a passionate love affair commences. One year later, on Christmas Day, Scarlett recalls the ebb and flow of their intense relationship and tries to unravel her obsession with Henrys taxidermy creatures and the influence of his rival, Felix. Both enchanted and entrapped by the...

Delicates

Following the events of the bestselling graphic novel, Sheets, Delicates brings Brenna Thummlers beloved characters, artwork, and charm back to life.

Marjorie Glatts life hasnt been the same ever since she discovered a group of ghosts hiding in her familys laundromat. Wendell, who died young and now must wander Earth as a ghost with nothing more than a sheet for a body, soon became one of Marjories only friends. But when Marjorie finally gets accepted by the popular kids at school, she begins...