Siavahda's Blog, page 105

The Road So Far: The First Half of 2019 in Books

In 2016, I managed to read 300 books. I’m pretty damn proud of that. But getting my first job – part-time that became full-time – plus various health issues and actually attempting to have some kind of social life – all slowed me down a lot. This year has been especially sucky in terms of reading; I’ve been slow, distracted, and found it hard to focus even on books I’ve been anticipating for years.

Not cool.

So far this year I have read 105 books – and a bunch of those are individual episodes of Tremontaine, the amazing Serial Box prequel to the Riverside series. I kind of feel like marking episodes is cheating, but…well. If it’s listed on Goodreads, it counts, right?

ANYWAY. Here are some of the year’s highlights so far!

The Mortal Sleep (Hollow Folk, #4) by Gregory Ashe
Representation: mlm, Gay Male, Bisexual Male, Mental Health
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

Months have passed since the events at Belshazzar’s Feast. Vie Eliot, reluctant psychic and self-appointed defender of the small Wyoming town called Vehpese, knows that trouble is coming, but for the time being, he wants to spend as many happy days as he can with his boyfriend.

Until one night, two men arrive and blow up a car. They threaten to do more damage unless Vie leaves town. Immediately.

That same night, a woman appears at Vie’s door, asking Vie to look for her missing children. The job seems simple: they have been taken by their estranged father. But in Vehpese, nothing is simple—especially not the disappearances of children.

As Vie searches for the children, he discovers that he is not the only one looking for them. Worse, Urho Rattling-Tent and Lady Buckhardt, a seemingly immortal pair of supernatural creatures who have plagued the area for centuries, have begun to assemble an army, and Vie and his friends are outmatched. As time begins to run out for the missing children, Vie draws closer to a final battle with Lady Buckhardt and Urho, a battle he knows he is not prepared to win.

Before he can conquer his physical demons, Vie must find answers about himself and his own past and what he has heard other supernaturals call the mortal sleep. Those answers might give him the knowledge he needs to defeat Urho and Lady Buckhardt—if the truth doesn’t break Vie first.

There’s nothing I can say about this series that hasn’t been said far more eloquently by Kathy over at Pages Below the Vaulted Sky. I’m grateful for these books not just because they take my breath away, but because Kathy and I bonded over them, and she is both ridiculously awesome and an amazing blogger (her belated best of 2018 post is a literal work of art). There have been many, many wonderful books in my life, but only one or two have made me new friends. So entirely aside from the fact that the Hollow Folk series is the best thing, these books actually changed my life in that way too – and thus started me down the path that led directly to me staring my own book blog.

So they’ve had a major impact on me, is what I’m saying here!

My brain fritziness meant it took me a while to finish book two, but I devoured book three and then spent the early part of this year on tenterhooks waiting for the last, final instalment in the series.

It ripped my heart out. I sobbed. I have teared up over books; I have shrieked out loud; I have ranted and raved; I have occasionally had to curl up in a blanket fort with ice-cream and pretend certain books never happened. But only three times in my life has a book actually broken me, and Mortal Sleep – book four of the Hollow Folk series, the finale – is the third of those.

So what are these books actually about? The short version: an abused, slightly-psychic teenager gets sent to live with his (also abusive) dad in the middle of nowhere. Over the course of the series he finds out that his powers are a lot more extensive than he ever thought, falls in love, fights to be a better, less fucked-up person, and pits himself against a collective of seriously evil people with superpowers of their own.

And that really doesn’t do any justice to the books at all – it makes them sound so generically YA, when they’re anything but. These books are raw and gorgeous and horrifying, and so real that the fourth wall breaks down and you’re basically living the story, not reading it. Every character, every emotion, every conversation – they’re all so real, down to the awkwardness and mistakes and fuck-ups the cast go through. These characters read like actual teenagers, and they’ll break your heart to pieces, and you still won’t be able to put the books down.

You need to read these, okay?

Mirage (Mirage, #1) by Somaiya Daud
Representation: PoC, Colonialism
Genres: Sci Fi
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

In a star system dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, eighteen-year-old Amani is a dreamer. She dreams of what life was like before the occupation; she dreams of writing poetry like the old-world poems she adores; she dreams of receiving a sign from Dihya that one day, she, too, will have adventure, and travel beyond her isolated moon.

But when adventure comes for Amani, it is not what she expects: she is kidnapped by the regime and taken in secret to the royal palace, where she discovers that she is nearly identical to the cruel half-Vathek Princess Maram. The princess is so hated by her conquered people that she requires a body double, someone to appear in public as Maram, ready to die in her place.

As Amani is forced into her new role, she can’t help but enjoy the palace’s beauty—and her time with the princess’ fiancé, Idris. But the glitter of the royal court belies a world of violence and fear. If Amani ever wishes to see her family again, she must play the princess to perfection...because one wrong move could lead to her death.

I was late to the party on this one, for which I’m kicking myself, but good gods was it incredible! Daud’s writing is lyrical and stunning, and the fact that even I (who never see twists coming) could predict every plot-point really doesn’t matter; not when the writing is such a joy to read and Amani (the main character and first-person narrator) is such an incredible protagonist. She’s so much softer than most of the YA heroines I’ve seen lately; not in the sense that she’s weak (anything but!) but…she’s just so full of compassion and love, in a way that never rings false. Her heartfelt devotion to her faith also really touched me – besides the fact that the religion Daud has created is just really interesting to me, main characters don’t tend to be religious very often. Not like this, anyway; I’ve seen more fanatical religious characters, whose faith is – it’s like steel, cold and rigid and unbreakable. But Amani is devoted, not fanatical, and I didn’t realise there was so much of a difference until it was on the page in front of me.

It almost goes without saying that this is is very much a story about colonialism and cultural identity. I don’t feel like I have much of a cultural identity myself (besides generic Whiteness) because we moved around the globe so much when I was growing up, so this is usually something I don’t connect to very well in books. But Daud conveys it incredibly well here; while I’ve always been happy to accept that cultural identity is a thing, Amani helped me actually get it for the first time. It’s a whole added layer of horror to Amani’s story, but also adds an incredible amount of depth, too, and is part of what makes Mirage stand out from the crowd.

I mean, I feel like this is a story we’ve seen dozens of times, but Daud makes it feel fresh and new and un-put-downable. I can’t wait for the sequel!

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke, Portia Rosenberg
Representation: Secondary PoC characters
Genres: Historical Fantasy
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

Two magicians shall appear in England. The first shall fear me; the second shall long to behold me...

The year is 1806. England is beleaguered by the long war with Napoleon, and centuries have passed since practical magicians faded into the nation's past. But scholars of this glorious history discover that one remains: the reclusive Mr Norrell whose displays of magic send a thrill through the country. Proceeding to London, he raises a beautiful woman from the dead and summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French.

Yet the cautious, fussy Norrell is challenged by the emergence of another magician: the brilliant novice Jonathan Strange. Young, handsome and daring, Strange is the very opposite of Norrell. So begins a dangerous battle between these two great men which overwhelms the one between England and France. And their own obsessions and secret dabblings with the dark arts are going to cause more trouble than they can imagine.

I read this for the first time over a decade ago, but I’d forgotten so much my reread felt like the first time cracking open the covers. This is a deliciously massive tome written with a subtle snarkiness that reminds me more of Good Omens than anything else, although the themes are very different! More than anything, this is one of my happy books, books that simply delight me; it took me months and months to read, but it quickly became the book I reached for whenever I felt down or upset. It’s not that it’s a fluff-story (though there’s nothing wrong with those!), but it draws you in and draws you along and it’s just fun? Even when it touches on things that are pretty horrible, there’s something about it that makes it so easy to read, and I loved all the twists and turns!

If by some odd chance you haven’t read this before, I really think you should give it a try. Don’t be intimidated by the length! Time goes faster when you’re having fun, and the same definitely applies to pages!

The Perfect Assassin (The Chronicles of Ghadid, #1) by K.A. Doore
Representation: PoC, Asexual Homoromantic lead
Genres: Secondary World Fantasy
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

A novice assassin is on the hunt for someone killing their own in K. A. Doore's The Perfect Assassin, a breakout high fantasy beginning the Chronicles of Ghadid series.

Divine justice is written in blood.

Or so Amastan has been taught. As a new assassin in the Basbowen family, he’s already having second thoughts about taking a life. A scarcity of contracts ends up being just what he needs.

Until, unexpectedly, Amastan finds the body of a very important drum chief. Until, impossibly, Basbowen’s finest start showing up dead, with their murderous jaan running wild in the dusty streets of Ghadid. Until, inevitably, Amastan is ordered to solve these murders, before the family gets blamed.

Every life has its price, but when the tables are turned, Amastan must find this perfect assassin or be their next target.

This is a book about an asexual, homoromantic assassin. I mean. Do you really need me to tell you anything else?!

In all seriousness though, Doore has crafted an incredibly believable world (fans of Glenda Larke’s Stormlord/Watergivers trilogy should definitely check in if you’re looking for another excellent water-revering desert setting) with a wonderful cast of characters – featuring, but not at all limited to, the badass cinnamon roll Amastan. And with the caveat that I don’t read books about assassins very often, the social function of Doore’s assassins was really interesting – I feel like even extreme pacifists are likely to, if not agree with, at least see where these particular assassins are coming from. Personally I’m strongly anti-death penalty, but I thought it worked well in this world and setting – it made sense and I was willing to go along with it. It helped enormously that this is nowhere near grimdark (I still haven’t made it through the third Night Angel book because urgh, I just Do Not Want that level of horrifying violence and general evil, okay?) Perfect Assassin is part murder-investigation, part coming-of-age, and part love story, which – I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve ever seen an asexual romance in a traditionally published work??? And it was wonderful??? As a panromantic ace, this book made me hug my e-reader. Representation matters, y’all.

In an Absent Dream (Wayward Children, #4) by Seanan McGuire
Genres: Portal Fantasy
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

This fourth entry and prequel tells the story of Lundy, a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should.

When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she's found her paradise. Alas, everything costs at the goblin market, and when her time there is drawing to a close, she makes the kind of bargain that never plays out well.

The Wayward Children series keeps going strong (have you pre-ordered book 5 yet? No? WHY NOT?) and In an Absent Dream might actually have unseated Every Heart a Doorway as my favourite installment in the series. Set long before EHaD, IaAD is the story of Lundy, one of the teachers at Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children. Specifically, it’s the story of how she found her door and what she found behind it – the Goblin Market, which some of you folklore/fantasy buffs out there might recognise (although the Goblin Market originates from a poem by Christina Rossetti, the concept’s been borrowed and reimagined by many, many different books). The version presented in IaAD, though, is unquestionably my favourite iteration: beautiful and strange, it functions on strict rules that, rather than being suffocating, made my inner child tear up (in a good way).

You see, this Goblin Market is built on – and mercilessly enforces – fairness. Remember being a child (we’ll pretend none of us do it anymore) and crying about how something just wasn’t fair? The Goblin Market is the answer to that cry, and I think that might be one reason the book hit me so hard – it taps into very old hurts (or not so old – forget pretending, who doesn’t look at the world now and want to scream at how unfair so much of it is?) and…well, it doesn’t heal them, but it does show you a fantasy of how fairness could work, and I wanted it so bad. The beauty of it made me ache. I don’t know if my Door would take me to the Market, but I would be beyond delighted if it did.

Don’t even pretend you’re not looking for your Door too.



A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan, #1) by Arkady Martine
Representation: Queer Protagonists, PoC, Colonialism
Genres: Sci Fi
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives in the center of the multi-system Teixcalaanli Empire only to discover that her predecessor, the previous ambassador from their small but fiercely independent mining Station, has died. But no one will admit that his death wasn't an accident--or that Mahit might be next to die, during a time of political instability in the highest echelons of the imperial court.

Now, Mahit must discover who is behind the murder, rescue herself, and save her Station from Teixcalaan's unceasing expansion--all while navigating an alien culture that is all too seductive, engaging in intrigues of her own, and hiding a deadly technological secret--one that might spell the end of her Station and her way of life--or rescue it from annihilation.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

I finished this one just a few days ago, and need to write up a review for it! But it’s a big, intricate sci-fi tome with incredibly detailed worldbuilding and I adored every second of it. Reminded me of those epic fantasy-politics books, but with spaceships and neuro-technology instead of dragons and magic.

I suspect this is either a love it or DNF it book; I can definitely see how people not as interested in worldbuilding could get bored – Memory pulls no punches on that front. I was swooning with delight at the long dissections of Teixcalaanli poetry, but it’s really not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. It’s without question one of the best releases this year, though, no matter what the second half of 2019 has to offer us!

Darkling (Port Lewis Witches, #1) by Brooklyn Ray
Representation: Trans Male lead
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

Port Lewis, a coastal town perched on the Washington cliffs, is surrounded by dense woods, and is home to quaint coffee shops, a movie theater, a few bars, two churches, the local college, and witches, of course.

Ryder is a witch with two secrets—one about his blood and the other about his heart. Keeping the secrets hasn’t been a problem, until a tarot reading with his best friend, Liam Montgomery, who happens to be one of his secrets, starts a chain of events that can’t be undone.

Dark magic runs through Ryder’s veins. The cards have prophesized a magical catastrophe that could shake the foundation of Ryder’s life, and a vicious partnership with the one person he doesn’t want to risk.

Magic and secrets both come at a cost, and Ryder must figure out what he’s willing to pay to become who he truly is.

Word Count: 33200

CONTENT WARNINGS:

Blood-letting (consumption of blood)Explicit Sexual ContentDeath and Resurrection of an MCMild Gore (very mild)

Another recent read, and one I am so mad at myself for not getting to sooner! This series has been on my radar for ages – hells, I’ve had Darkling on my Kindle for at least six months – but somehow I never quite got to it. The recent release of the third book in the series, Predatory, brought it back on my radar, at a time when I was struggling to focus on longer, more complicated books. I thought a novella would be a good way to get me back into reading-mode.

That was unfair, because Darkling deserves so much more than that. Again, I need to write up a proper review, but this is an exquisitely written book about a trans witch falling in love while trying to balance his conflicting powers of elemental magic and necromancy. The author has been very insistent in calling this series erotica, and as someone who generally skips over sex scenes, I have to say that the ones written here are amazing??? Oh my gods??? This book sizzles, you guys. I don’t know how erotica is usually defined – I had the vague idea that it means a book is nothing but sex, or almost nothing but sex. Darkling isn’t like that, but the romantic/sexual plotline is at least equally important as the magical conflict, and it’s sexy as hell.

I think what most impresses me is how much Ray fits into this novella – and how perfect the pacing is. Darkling never feels rushed, nor over-full; it’s exactly as long as it needs to be. And like I said, the writing is just gorgeous. I’m eagerly awaiting the chance to start book two!

We Set the Dark on Fire (We Set the Dark on Fire, #1) by Tehlor Kay Mejia
Representation: Queer Protagonists (F/F), PoC, Classicism, Immigration
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Secondary World No Magic
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

At the Medio School for Girls, distinguished young women are trained for one of two roles in their polarized society. Depending on her specialization, a graduate will one day run a husband’s household or raise his children, but both are promised a life of comfort and luxury, far from the frequent political uprisings of the lower class. Daniela Vargas is the school’s top student, but her bright future depends upon no one discovering her darkest secret—that her pedigree is a lie. Her parents sacrificed everything to obtain forged identification papers so Dani could rise above her station. Now that her marriage to an important politico’s son is fast approaching, she must keep the truth hidden or be sent back to the fringes of society, where famine and poverty rule supreme.

On her graduation night, Dani seems to be in the clear, despite the surprises that unfold. But nothing prepares her for all the difficult choices she must make, especially when she is asked to spy for a resistance group desperately fighting to bring equality to Medio. Will Dani cling to the privilege her parents fought to win for her, or to give up everything she’s strived for in pursuit of a free Medio—and a chance at a forbidden love?

Here’s one I did actually review! It’s been hugely hyped, and it deserves every bit of it; it’s a fiercely feminist story with wonderful characters, ones who face and deal with illegal immigration, classism, and enraging levels of misogyny. As I said in my review, it’s very much a Book For 2019 – there’s no way to disconnect it from current events in the world, and I don’t think we’re supposed to. But even if it had been published in a year (and world) less concerned with border walls and refugees and women’s rights, it stands alone as an incredibly well-written book. It’s much more than an ‘issues book’, which I’m sure some people have accused it of being; it’s a damn good story that’ll have your heart in your throat, and I’m already craving the sequel.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS
(AKA, books I have started, haven’t finished yet, but know I love anyway)

The Ruin of Kings (The Godslayer Cycle, #1) by Jenn Lyons
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

There are the old stories. And then there’s what actually happens.

Kihrin is a bastard orphan who grew upon storybook tales of long-lost princes and grand quests. When he is claimed against his will as the long-lost son of a treasonous prince, Kihrin finds that being a long-lost prince isn't what the storybooks promised.

Far from living the dream, Kihrin finds himself practically a prisoner, at the mercy of his new family's power plays and ambitions. He also discovers that the storybooks have lied about a lot of other things things, too: dragons, demons, gods, prophecies, true love, and how the hero always wins.

Then again, maybe he’s not the hero, for Kihrin isn’t destined to save the empire.

He’s destined to destroy it . . .

Uniting the worldbuilding of a Brandon Sanderson with the storytelling verve of a Patrick Rothfuss, debut author Jenn Lyons delivers an entirely new and captivating fantasy epic. Prepare to meet the genre’s next star.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

As I keep saying, I’ve been struggling to focus properly on books for a while. Ruin of Kings is one of the books that has suffered because of this; I’ve been making my way through it very, very slowly. But in a way, that’s also a good thing, because RoK really needs – and deserves – to be savoured. There’s something about RoK that reminds me of Kushiel’s Dart – the intricacy, I think, and the scope of the worldbuilding. RoK is peppered with illuminating footnotes inserted by the fictitious chronicler, whose eyes you can almost see rolling as he comments upon beliefs or opinions expressed by the various characters – he’s a subtly snarky sod, and I love how these footnotes are used to create an unreliable narration, since they often contradict or correct things mentioned in the text; they’re informative, but they also make you wonder who on earth is telling the (objective) truth here. But I am a shallow, shallow person and will freely admit that it’s the dragons, not-elves, and disaster-bi!lead that really have me hooked.

LITERALLY EVERYTHING.

I’m enjoying this one so much!

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

A big-hearted romantic comedy in which First Son Alex falls in love with Prince Henry of Wales after an incident of international proportions forces them to pretend to be best friends...

First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations.

The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince. Alex is busy enough handling his mother’s bloodthirsty opponents and his own political ambitions without an uptight royal slowing him down. But beneath Henry’s Prince Charming veneer, there’s a soft-hearted eccentric with a dry sense of humor and more than one ghost haunting him.

As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. And Henry throws everything into question for Alex, an impulsive, charming guy who thought he knew everything: What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?

I don’t usually read contemporary fiction, but really, who could resist that premise? This is rapidly becoming my new Happy Book – one reason I’m going so slowly is that just a page or two is enough to have me grinning or outright giggling no matter how low my mood, so I really don’t want to finish it and lose that.

ALL THE DELIGHT!FEELS

It’s such fun without being annoyingly simplistic; there are all kinds of things Going On, but the core of it is very much this hilarious sweet feel-good love story. I want to twirl this book on the dancefloor, okay? Preferably in a super glittery dress!

The Lost Coast by Amy Rose Capetta
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

The spellbinding tale of six queer witches forging their own paths, shrouded in the mist, magic, and secrets of the ancient California redwoods.

Danny didn't know what she was looking for when she and her mother spread out a map of the United States and Danny put her finger down on Tempest, California. What she finds are the Grays: a group of friends who throw around terms like queer and witch like they're ordinary and everyday, though they feel like an earthquake to Danny. But Danny didn't just find the Grays. They cast a spell that calls her halfway across the country, because she has something they need: she can bring back Imogen, the most powerful of the Grays, missing since the summer night she wandered into the woods alone. But before Danny can find Imogen, she finds a dead boy with a redwood branch through his heart. Something is very wrong amid the trees and fog of the Lost Coast, and whatever it is, it can kill. Lush, eerie, and imaginative, Amy Rose Capetta's tale overflows with the perils and power of discovery -- and what it means to find your home, yourself, and your way forward.

QUEER WITCHES.

FROM THE SAME AUTHOR WHO GAVE US THE BRILLIANT DEATH.

I’M STARTING TO BELIEVE AMY ROSE CAPETTA CAN DO NO WRONG, HERE.

And by the way, I haven’t finished Lost Coast OR Brilliant Death yet. Why??? Because they’re both so gorgeous I keep getting overwhelmed by The Awesome and flailing myself off the sofa.

Yes, Yoda, I know. But it’s not my fault these books are so amazing!!!

I think that about wraps it up! How has YOUR year been going so far?

Must-Have Monday #4

Usually I feature a few different books on Mondays, but today I just want to talk about one: The Black Veins by Aisha Monet!

The Black Veins (Dead Magic #1) by Ashia Monet
Representation: Queer Protagonists, PoC
Published by Ashia Monet on 17th July 2019
Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Pages: 428
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

In a world where magic thrives in secret city corners, a group of magicians embark on a road trip—and it’s the "no-love-interest", found family adventure you’ve been searching for.

Sixteen-year-old Blythe is one of seven Guardians: magicians powerful enough to cause worldwide panic with a snap of their fingers. But Blythe spends her days pouring latte art at her family’s coffee shop, so why should she care about having apocalyptic abilities?

She’s given a reason when magician anarchists crash into said coffee shop and kidnap her family.

Heartbroken but determined, Blythe knows she can’t save them alone. A war is brewing between two magician governments and tensions are too high. So, she packs up her family’s bright yellow Volkswagen, puts on a playlist, and embarks on a road trip across the United States to enlist the help of six strangers whose abilities are unparalleled—the other Guardians.

I am SO EXCITED for this book, you guys, you have NO IDEA! Pre-order links just went up a few days ago – this is what I get for being off Twitter for a bit; I completely missed the announcement. Fail! But I’ve ordered it now, and of course I’m boosting it here! All the pre-order links can be found here at Monet’s Twitter; it’s going to be available on a bunch of different platforms, so hopefully everyone who wants one can nab a copy.

AND IF YOU DON’T WANT A COPY

THEN YOU’RE WRONG

I WON’T TELL YOU AGAIN

A Battle Cry For Our Times: We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

by Tehlor Kay Mejia
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Secondary World No Magic

We Set the Dark on Fire (We Set the Dark on Fire, #1) by Tehlor Kay Mejia
Representation: Queer Protagonists (f/f), PoC
on 26th February 2019
Genres: Secondary World No Magic
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

At the Medio School for Girls, distinguished young women are trained for one of two roles in their polarized society. Depending on her specialization, a graduate will one day run a husband’s household or raise his children, but both are promised a life of comfort and luxury, far from the frequent political uprisings of the lower class. Daniela Vargas is the school’s top student, but her bright future depends upon no one discovering her darkest secret—that her pedigree is a lie. Her parents sacrificed everything to obtain forged identification papers so Dani could rise above her station. Now that her marriage to an important politico’s son is fast approaching, she must keep the truth hidden or be sent back to the fringes of society, where famine and poverty rule supreme.

On her graduation night, Dani seems to be in the clear, despite the surprises that unfold. But nothing prepares her for all the difficult choices she must make, especially when she is asked to spy for a resistance group desperately fighting to bring equality to Medio. Will Dani cling to the privilege her parents fought to win for her, or to give up everything she’s strived for in pursuit of a free Medio—and a chance at a forbidden love?

This deserves every bit of the hype it’s received.

Despite the promise of f/f, this wasn’t actually a book I was originally especially excited about – I don’t usually have a lot of interest in dystopias, which was what this sounded like, and I guess the blurb struck me as sounding a little too…conventional YA? Not in topic, obviously, but without being able to put my finger on it, I thought this was going to have a sort of Sarah Maas writing style (which I loathe – sorry to those who enjoy her books!) with that conventional YA ‘voice’ – you know the kind; the books that are too simplistic to do justice to the themes they want to explore.

I have no idea where I got all that from – it seems a lot to infer from just a blurb! – but I’m happy to say I was completely wrong on every front!

Superficially, I guess this does follow a template we’ve seen before, more or less: impoverished or otherwise outsider character goes undercover, lives the life, and starts fighting back when they realise that their personal paradise is all lies/open only to a select few/founded upon the suffering of others, etc. But We Set the Dark on Fire, unlike other books I’ve read, doesn’t try to simplify the issues at hand or talk down to the reader. There are hard, messy questions our main character, Daniela, spends the whole book trying to work out – and she doesn’t magically discover a simple solution for any of them, never mind just one, which is entirely realistic because there are few simple answers in real life either.) Which is not to say this is a preachy book with a Moral, capital M, because it isn’t: We Set the Dark on Fire is an incredible story with flawless writing and amazing characters. But it’s also about class warfare and and freedom fighters and privilege (including ‘passing’ privilege, although in WStDoF it’s class-passing rather than white- or straight-passing that’s the biggest thing). It’s a really incisive look at femme gender roles, and particularly the personality-types women are often forced into (think of the Madonna/Whore dichotomy, the idea that women can Only Be One Thing). And then there’s the exploration of sexuality – and I don’t meant the fact that this is a wlw book (although it is! And I ship it!) I mean that Daniela literally discovers that she is a sexual being and has to grapple with that, after having been taught for so long that she ought to be sex-repulsed and never experience desire or arousal. In clumsier hands it could have been a clunky exaggeration-for-effect Think Piece meant to remind readers of how femme sexuality is policed in our world – and it does bring that to mind; how could it not? But it’s a part of the story; the social commentary is quiet and subtle and left for the reader to think about. This is a book that you need to muse over for days after you’ve finished it, because there is a lot to think about – in the best way.

The synopsis covers the story outline, so I’m not going to write much about the plot, but focus on other things instead. For example: in Daniela’s world, men have two wives; a Primera and a Secunda. The Primera is the husband’s intellectual partner and adviser, part left-hand-man and part ambassador/public face of the family, and the relationship between Primera and husband should be one of respect – although they are not equal partners; this is a painfully patriarchal society and the husband will always get the final say, and can override the Primera at any time. Each chapter beings with a short quote from the Primera’s handbook which Dani studied in school, deftly painting a more and more appalling picture of how these girls and women are meant to live, even when it’s sometimes framed as Primeras being intelligent and powerful. I wouldn’t say that’s just propaganda – Dani’s Primera mother-in-law, for example, is an almost militarist matriarch whose will checks her husband on several occasions; clearly Primeras can become people of influence (although I think it’s all meant to be behind closed doors – even the most trusted and valued Primera can’t dress-down her husband in public). Primeras are meant to be cool, logical, ruthless, and tactical, as well as intelligent (and I have not seen many dystopias that encouraged women of any kind to be smart), and honestly, if this had been a different world and story – if Primeras chose this themselves instead of having it imposed upon them; if they could wield power openly in their own right; if they weren’t forced to make themselves smaller so men could have the spotlight – then I would have really loved this concept.

(I mean, I did love it, but in a this-book-is-so-good way, not an I-want-to-be-a-Primera-when-I-grow-up! kind of way.)

Secundas are the opposite in every way; they should be emotional, warm, loving, dramatic, dazzling. Secundas run the family household and are the ones who have and raise the children – because they are the only ones meant to be having sex. A Primera and her husband having sex seems to be a pretty intense taboo in Dani’s world – Primeras shouldn’t experience any sexual desire at all. Where Secundas are hedonists, Primeras must be ascetics, avoiding flavourful food and even hot showers. Secundas wear bright and beautiful colors; Primeras wear business clothing in dark tones.

In this context, Dani’s developing sexuality is far more revolutionary than just the fact that she’s falling for another woman – that is forbidden (and it was wonderful to get a quick mention of the presence of queer couples and non-binary folks on the other side of The Wall, which I will be talking about later) but the most immediate scandal/sin is the fact that she’s experiencing sexual desire at all. Personally, I found this a much more interesting way of framing it – I’m pretty tired of Queer Struggles storylines, which have plenty of value in the right hands but which I just find depressing instead of escapist. But femmes getting to be unabashedly sexual creatures is not something we get to see often enough. Femme sexuality in general is something that we’re not supposed to talk about or acknowledge, even as femme bodies are constantly sexualised just for existing. Dani’s queerness is normalised by the narrative and in large part by herself as well; she doesn’t really experience much of an identity crisis when she realises she’s attracted to another woman – of course she’s concerned, but I don’t remember any mention of queerness being sinful, only forbidden, and there’s a huge difference between things that are ethically right or wrong, and things being illegal. Morality is not defined by the law; illegality =/= sinful by default. Instead Dani is worried about her identity as a Primera, particularly the possibility that if she embraces her sexuality, her entire life will come apart. But that would have been true even if she’d been attracted to another man. Being queer is not the major issue at play.

And I think Mejia is making a point about how we in the real world treat femme sexuality, how our society demands women either be sexless and frigid (especially if they want to ‘play with the big boys’) or objects for male desire. I mean, that’s exactly how Dani’s society is set up, to the point that it would be farcical if Mejia wasn’t so good a writer. And Dani’s claiming of her body and its pleasures is an inextricable part of her story-arc, a vital part of her rebellion against the status-quo and allying herself with the freedom fighters. It shouldn’t feel so revolutionary, in 2019, to have an on-page masturbation scene – and yet it is, and the fact that it is revolutionary – to her and the society she lives in, but also to us as readers – proves my point for me. While that scene would definitely still pack a punch even if the reader came from a completely enlightened and sex-positive culture – because it’s still a revolutionary act within the context of the story – it wouldn’t be as big of a deal if it didn’t stand out so starkly from the crowd.

And honestly, WStDoF has to be examined/thought about in relation to what’s happening in our world now. I was reading this while the USA’s asylum-seeker concentration camps was (and still is) dominating my newsfeed, and the harsh cut-off line between Dani and the rest of the upper classes, and the ‘others’ on the far side of the Wall – I mean. Doesn’t that sound kind of familiar? Like maybe we’ve heard someone go on and on about building a wall to keep out the dirty violent animals trying to destroy our way of life? While this is less of an issue where I’m living (in Nordic Europe, where it is still an issue, just not nearly as much of one as in the States), won’t a huge amount of this book’s readers be sickeningly familiar with the policing of women’s bodies, from what they wear and look like to their ability to access contraceptives and abortion? The USA in particular has gone off the deep end in a big way on these issues – for as long as I’ve been old enough to pay attention to the news, the horror stories that have come out of there are…well, horrifying. And there are no white people in this book; everyone is brown, and while the culture and religion are quite different, the WStDoF world clearly draws a fair bit of inspiration from Mexico. There’s no way not to conflate this story – which is at heart the story of an illegal immigrant who has risen to the heights of success in her new home – with the bitter immigration issues and the discussions around refugees and asylum seekers (and that, as much as I would like to claim otherwise, is not an issue the USA holds the patent to) we’ve all been having for the last too-many years. As I said, reading WStDoF a few months after release, just as the public really became aware of the American concentration camps…

It’s a very timeful book, is what I’m saying.

And look, this isn’t a book that lectures you. It isn’t. I’m saying very little about the plot and characters because those things have been discussed plenty by other reviewers. All I really need to tell you about them is: they’re awesome. I pre-ordered the sequel before I was halfway through WStDoF and I regret nothing. Mejia is telling a story, and it’s an incredible one with incredible characters.

It’s just that it also happens to be a story we need right now.

Storytellers > Wicked Faeries: The Girl with the Dragon Heart by Stephanie Burgis

The Girl with the Dragon Heart (Tales from the Chocolate Heart, #2) by Stephanie Burgis
Representation: PoC
Genres: Fantasy
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

Once upon a time, in a beautiful city famous for chocolate and protected by dragons, there was a girl so fearless that she dared to try to tell the greatest story of all: the truth.

Silke has always been good at spinning the truth and storytelling. So good that just years after arriving as a penniless orphan, she has found her way up to working for the most splendid chocolate makers in the city (oh, and becoming best friends with a dragon). Now her gift for weaving words has caught the eye of the royal family, who want to use her as a spy when the mysterious and dangerous fairy royal family announce they will visit the city. But Silke has her own dark, secret reasons for not trusting fairies ...

Can Silke find out the truth about the fairies while keeping her own secrets hidden? From the author of the magical The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart comes a second magical adventure perfect for fans of Cressida Cowell, Cornelia Funke and Peter Bunzl

The first book in this series, The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart, won me over with its premise – dragons! chocolate! found-families! – so that I pre-ordered it despite it being a Middle Grade book. That was not a mistake; Burgis writes the kind of MG that packs a punch for adults too, and DwaCH is now one of my all-time favourite books. 

So you can imagine how excited I was when I learned there was going to be a sequel!

I admit, I wince a little when I look at how long it took me to finish this – I started reading it in Sept 2018 and didn’t finish until June 2019! – but that is absolutely not the fault of the book, which I neglected shamefully. A combination of things slowed my reading down immensely, but it was all external stuff – work, winter holidays, that sort of thing. 

Because Girl With a Dragon Heart is WONDERFUL!

Mild spoilers for book #1 below!

Silver-tongued Silke was introduced in DwaCH as a brilliantly flamboyant, wickedly clever, and incredibly loyal and determined young girl who helped Aventurine find her Life’s Passion – and was instrumental in keeping the Chocolate Heart, the chocolatier’s that is the main setting for the first book, afloat when all hope seemed lost. Girl with the Dragon Heart is her story, set not very long after the events of book one, and if there’s slightly less chocolate involved this time around, it’s still a fantastic read.

Silke and her older brother are refugees who live on the city’s riverbank, along with many other poor and displaced people. Dieter, her brother, Does Not Approve of Silke galavanting about the city and being involved with the Chocolate Heart – chocolate, after all, is only for the rich, and getting above yourself only brings trouble. While Silke is frustrated and upset by Dieter’s constant critique, an older reader (and I suspect a lot of younger ones too) can see immediately that he is simply trying to take care of her the best he can – I think he’s actually fourteen years old, definitely not older than sixteen or so, and is Silke’s only guardian, their parents having been taken by faeries years ago on the family’s journey from ‘up North’ to their present home. Silke and Dieter aren’t very good at communicating with each other, though, and by this time their relationship is pretty strained, to say the least. So when the crown princess offers Silke a temporary job as an undercover lady-in-waiting to her younger sister, the princess Sophia, Silke jumps at the chance: she’s going to be the best secret agent ever, prove herself indispensable to the crown princess, and in so doing set herself and her brother up for life.

Of course, it’s not quite that simple. Is it ever?

The faeries are coming for a state visit, from their underground kingdom to Silke’s own city. This is much more than her chance to gain the security wealth and prestige could bring – it might be her only chance to ever find out what happened to her parents…and if there’s any way to get them back.

Silke was a delight as a narrator; I’m so glad Burgis is writing this series in first-person! Poor Silke; she was born to be a diplomat, but everyone around her is determined to make her life harder! She’s just brilliantly smart, and between her constant – schemes is a harsh word; her ideas never hurt anybody, but they’re always big and grand and audacious, and while I can understand why the various older characters around her don’t believe in her – she is only twelve or so, and Dieter, for example, is genuinely worried for her – Burgis perfectly conveys the frustration and hurt of being a child too brilliant for the grown-ups to keep up with. It’s a finely balanced thing, though; Silke is too optimistic and determined to wallow in her own doubts and emotional scars, and instead just throws herself thrice as hard into whatever mission she’s set for herself. I wouldn’t blame her for being ground down by the life she’s had, but she just blazes brighter to compensate. I hope her story gets into the hands of all the kids who could draw inspiration from her.

Because if bravery is acting despite being afraid – rather than not being afraid at all – then Silke is genuinely a heroine to look up to. Despite her terror of faeries, she doesn’t hesitate to face them down. Where Aventurine always charges in breathing fire, Silke charms and tricks and deftly manipulates those around her – and with Aventurine being beside Silke for a good chunk of this book, their difference in approach is stark. It’s lightly touched on by the text, but mostly just left for the reader to put together by themselves: the fact that of course Aventurine is afraid of nothing, and is bold and blunt and uncompromising because of it; she’s a DRAGON. Maybe she’ll eventually learn to be more careful in human form, but she’s grown up knowing that dragons are at the very top of the food-chain, and anything with sense ought to be scared of her, not the other way around. Silke, on the other hand, isn’t just human, but one who has grown up displaced, poor, parentless, and largely ostracized. (The way her dark skin was introduced in book one makes me think that the city’s inhabitants are white, and while race is never overtly discussed, I can’t imagine that’s made her situation any easier either). Of course she’s learned how to charm people and talk fast – those are the only tools she’s ever had, her only defences against the big wide world. Of course she’s more attuned to the tiny signals of facial expression, tone, and choice of words – she reads people so much better than Aventurine because she’s always had to. 

Those skills are exactly the ones she needs to deal with faeries, though. Even if Aventurine’s fire does eventually come in handy!

Silke is unquestionably the one who saves the day in the end, but the themes of friendship and family – and the forms those things can take – run just as strong as they do in DwaCH, if not even stronger. Silke’s adventures here are directly motivated by her love for her family – for her missing parents, and even the brother who doesn’t like her even if he does (probably) love her – but what I found interesting was that, once again, Burgis presents found- or made-families as being of just as much value as blood-relations. Silke’s relationship with Horst and Marina, the adults who own the Chocolate Heart and to whom Aventurine is apprenticed, is unquestionably familial, even if Silke herself doesn’t realise it at first – despite her own automatically pulling strings to get the Chocolate Heart the favour of the royal family. Silke acts without hesitation to help the people she cares about whenever she can; it’s something she doesn’t even think about, and I have to admit that made me choke up a bit – especially since she doesn’t expect the same treatment back. And although they don’t get a lot of page-time, Marina and Horst stand out as the only adults who believe in Silke’s abilities and general brilliance without question, even if Silke doesn’t realise it at first – she’s incredibly clever, but maybe has a little bit of a blind spot when it comes to people actually loving her like she loves them.

Ultimately, Girl with a Dragon Heart is another story of a young girl saving the day even when the grown-ups can’t. I know I would love to be able to send this series back in time to my younger self – these are very definitely books that are desperately needed by a certain kind of kid, and heck, some adults too. If anything, as much as I enjoyed the chocolate magic of book one, Girl with a Dragon Heart might be even easier for MG readers to relate to. Most of us (alas!) can’t turn into fire-breathing dragons like Aventurine; but I think there are a lot of readers who can and will see themselves in Silke and the obstacles she’s faced, and the ways in which she overcomes them. Making this not just a wonderful and heart-warming story, but also a powerfully necessary – and inspiring – one.

I think it goes without saying that I can’t wait to pounce on the next book, set to focus on Princess Sophia. Bring on The Princess who Flew with Dragons!

We interrupt your scrolling to bring you flailing!Sia

WAIT WHAT

WHAT
WHAT
WHAT

PYR LINKED TO MY BABY BLOG???

EXCUSE ME WHILE I IMPERSONATE A GLITTERY HEADLESS CHICKEN FOR JUST A SEC

OR A KERMIT, I GUESS
THAT WORKS TOO
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Ahem.

Okay, for real, I’m good now. Totally.

We will now return to our regular scheduled programming.

Books On My Summer 2019 TBR

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Check out upcoming Top Ten themes on Jana’s blog!

While my TBR includes a few new releases, I need to spend most of my time catching up with books I haven’t had time to sit down and finish yet; books I’ve been looking forward to for years, some of them, but for a variety of reasons I haven’t been getting a lot of reading done recently. (…Maybe not the best time to set up a book blog, huh? Oops.)

The full list of books I need to catch up with comes in at just under 100 (gulp) so I’m just going to list a few of them here – along with one coming out in the next few months I’m really excited for!

Mornnovin (The Way of the Falling Star Book 1) by Alyssa Marie Bethancourt
on 9th April 2019
Genres: Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists, Secondary World Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

Loralíenasa Raia is the last surviving member of an elven family that has existed since the dawn of recorded time, and the weight of that responsibility has shaped her entire life. Her people stand upon the brink of extinction after a brutal war with humanity drove them into hiding.

When an ancient avenging force threatens to destroy all of Asrellion, Loralíenasa must decide whether to risk her own people’s survival in order to stop what seems like an inevitable apocalypse for the very humans who once sought to purify the world of her kind. As if saving humans isn’t bad enough, she must also contend with being forced to accept their help when it seems she might not be able to do it on her own.

In a tale of pride, prejudice, and powerful magic, the ghosts of the bloody past give battle to a future where peace might prevail if hearts are allowed to change. And as Loralíenasa has always been told by her elders, elves are incapable of change.

I backed this book on Kickstarter – something I don’t usually do; while I’m a total Kickstarter addict, most book-campaigns don’t think to include the first chapter as a sample, or something, so you don’t have much idea what you’re getting into. (How often have we all been let down by an amazing-sounding blurb?) But Bethancourt was clearly as into worldbuilding as I am, and her book really did sound amazing, and throughout the campaign she was posting character sheets and little mini-essays about parts of her world, and what the hell, right? It’s not a huge risk.

I only got a few pages into my copy when it arrived – not because it’s bad, but because I got distracted. I really loved what I read though, and I’m really excited to get back to it and read it properly!

The Ruin of Kings (A Chorus of Dragons, #1) by Jenn Lyons
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

There are the old stories. And then there’s what actually happens.

Kihrin is a bastard orphan who grew up on storybook tales of long-lost princes and grand quests. When he is claimed against his will as the long-lost son of a treasonous prince, Kihrin finds that being a long-lost prince isn't what the storybooks promised.

Far from living the dream, Kihrin finds himself practically a prisoner, at the mercy of his new family's power plays and ambitions. He also discovers that the storybooks have lied about a lot of other things things, too: dragons, demons, gods, prophecies, true love, and how the hero always wins.

Then again, maybe he’s not the hero, for Kihrin isn’t destined to save the empire.

He’s destined to destroy it . . .

Uniting the worldbuilding of a Brandon Sanderson with the storytelling verve of a Patrick Rothfuss, debut author Jenn Lyons delivers an entirely new and captivating fantasy epic. Prepare to meet the genre’s next star.

I’m not sure where or when I discovered Ruin of Kings, but I had it pre-ordered and pounced on it when it downloaded to my Kindle. And was not disappointed! It’s big and epic and real, darker than I would have been comfortable with as a teenager, but now it just – it’s not there for shock value, it’s meant to make you uncomfortable, and it serves as a beautiful contrast to all the really gorgeous parts of the story. The worldbuilding is just so cool, and there! are! dragons!!! For all that dragons are considered a fantasy staple… I actually don’t see them around that often. And the ones here are proper dragons.

Also, disaster!bisexual main character. And footnotes! Less comedic than Good Omens’ footnotes, but still really interesting, not least because they throw into doubt the story being narrated. Someone is either lying or mistaken as they tell the story to the reader, but I have yet to figure out who. You think you know unreliable narrators? Call me when you’ve got an immortal cannibal shapeshifter telling the story using the memories of people she ate, a literally soulless thief with every reason to lie, and the transcriber with his acerbic commentary calling them both liars and idiots every other page.

It’s awesome.

As for why I haven’t finished this one: well, actually, this time it is the author’s fault: this book is too good. I get overwhelmed by books I really love and can only handle reading a few pages at a time, else I have a Delight Meltdown. Thus: I can only get through this one very slowly. But! That’s not so bad, because the sequel is out in Autumn, and if I time it right I’ll finish book one just as book two comes out!

You really don’t. I AM THE SMARTEST.

That’s the plan, anyway.

Out of Salem by Hal Schrieve
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

When genderqueer fourteen-year-old Z Chilworth wakes from death after a car crash that killed their parents and sisters, they have to adjust quickly to their new status as a zombie. Always a talented witch, Z can now barely perform magic and is rapidly decaying. Faced with rejection from their remaining family members and old friends, Z moves in with Mrs. Dunnigan, an elderly witch, and befriends Aysel, a loud would-be-goth classmate who is, like Z, a loner. As Z struggles to find a way to repair the broken magical seal holding their body together, Aysel fears that her classmates will discover her status as an unregistered werewolf. When a local psychiatrist is murdered in an apparent werewolf attack, the town of Salem, Oregon, becomes even more hostile to monsters, and Z and Aysel are driven together in an attempt to survive a place where most people wish that neither of them existed.

This books is literally everything I have ever wanted out of urban fantasy, and I want to carve out a week of my holidays to devote to it. Look at that summary! Do I really need to explain??? And I can tell you, from what I have read of this so far, that it’s a lot more social justice-focused than that blurb makes it sound.

Queer Magic: Lgbt+ Spirituality and Culture from Around the World by Tomás Prower
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

Queer Magic and Mysticism in History and Today

Queer Magic provides nourishment for LGBT+ souls and their allies who are interested in learning about the significant presence and influence of queer folks throughout history. Explore fascinating insights into queer relationships and spiritual practices from different regions of the world. Learn about deities, heroes, and historical figures who embody the power of the queer spirit. Discover inspiring contributions from contemporary LGBT+ Pagans, Catholics, Buddhists, Muslims, and others as they share personal stories of their experiences as well as spells, prayers, and meditations from their own practices. With practical suggestions and enlightening perspectives, this book is a unique resource for LGBT+ spiritual seekers who want to experience the sustaining energy and strength of the worldwide queer community.

Praise:

"Queer Magic asks us to unlearn what we've thought about the global past and instead substitutes an inclusive, more accurate world history, where queer identities are plenty."--ForeWord Reviews

"Tom�s Prower takes us on a global journey, a quest to find queer magick across the world. Our stories are not confined to any one place, time, or religion, and this book is truly a diverse guide to understanding our often lost and forgotten myth and history. Certain to inspire LGBTQ+ magickal practitioners for years to come!"--Christopher Penczak, Gay Witchcraft

"In his latest work, Queer Magic, Tom�s Prower takes us on a journey that spans both time and continents to examine the myths, magic, and spiritual lives of those who exist outside the culturally sanctioned heterosexual binary. Surprisingly detailed, Prower examines not only the practices of pre-modern native cultures, but also the effects of Christian colonialism and its devastating and history-robbing effects upon them. He demonstrates how those cultures' near-universal acceptance of queer sexual expression has been usurped, and he shines a light on how those traditions have found ways to survive--and even thrive--in spite of being the victims of revisionist history. With interesting bits of history and lore (I may never think of Dracula quite the same way again) combined with practical exercises to help us view sexual expression and gender outside of our common modern restrictions, this book should be considered essential reading for all LGBT+ practitioners of magic and spirituality. Highly recommended."--Storm Faerywolf, author of Betwixt and Between

"More often than not, people whose sexual identities, gender identities, social roles, affectional preferences, relationship styles, and so on are in the minority and tend to be erased or misrepresented in our culture. Queer Magic is a journey around the world and through the centuries to uncover some of these hidden stories. This book is not only history and mythology, it also contains vignettes, experiences, and practices from modern people from diverse backgrounds. One book cannot address everyone and everything, but Queer Magic is a heartfelt effort that will encourage you to continue the work of discovering these treasures of the spirit."--Ivo Dominguez Jr., author of The Keys to Perception

I don’t read non-fiction often, but – I’m a queer witchling. You’d better believe I pounced on this book when I found it! And I really love what I’ve read of it so far. Now I just need to finish it.

Sworn to the Night (The Wisdom's Grave Trilogy #1) by Craig Schaefer
on 2nd January 2018
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

Marie Reinhart is an NYPD detective on the trail of a serial killer. When she sleeps, though, she dreams of other lives; she dreams of being a knight, in strange wars and strange worlds. On the other side of the city, Nessa Roth is a college professor trapped in a loveless marriage, an unwilling prop in a political dynasty. She's also a fledgling witch, weaving poppets and tiny spells behind closed doors.

When Marie's case draws her into Nessa's path, sparks fly. What comes next is more than a furtive whirlwind affair; it's the first pebbles of an avalanche. Nessa and Marie are the victims of a curse that has pursued them across countless lifetimes; a doom designed to trap them in a twisted living fairy tale, with their romance fated to end in misery and death.

They aren't going out without a fight. As they race to uncover the truth, forces are in motion across the country. In Las Vegas, a professional thief is sent on a deadly heist. In a Detroit back alley, witches gather under the guidance of a mysterious woman in red. Just outside New York, an abandoned zoo becomes the hunting-ground for servants of a savage and alien king. The occult underground is taking sides and forming lines of battle. Time is running out, and Nessa and Marie have one chance to save themselves, break the curse, and demand justice.

This time, they're writing their own ending.

I’ve gotten myself into an interesting predicament with this one, because I picked it up not knowing that it was the third (?) trilogy set in a shared universe reminiscent of Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere series – there are multiple different dimensions/worlds involved, but there seems to be one overarching story that eventually comes together in – you guessed it – Sworn to the Night. I only discovered this once I was about a third of the way through the book (which is utterly marvellous, by the way). Schafer insists that all the respective trilogies stand alone and you don’t have to read them all…but I’m a completest and can’t stand not getting the references or having the full picture.

The problem is that the first trilogy is set in a Medieval-esque world and I keep bouncing off the first few chapters, but I need to get those books read before I can get back to my wonderfully queer, fantastical Sworn to the Night.

Sigh.

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

A big-hearted romantic comedy in which First Son Alex falls in love with Prince Henry of Wales after an incident of international proportions forces them to pretend to be best friends...

First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations.

The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince. Alex is busy enough handling his mother’s bloodthirsty opponents and his own political ambitions without an uptight royal slowing him down. But beneath Henry’s Prince Charming veneer, there’s a soft-hearted eccentric with a dry sense of humor and more than one ghost haunting him.

As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. And Henry throws everything into question for Alex, an impulsive, charming guy who thought he knew everything: What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?

If you pay any attention to the book-blogosphere at all, you’ve almost certainly heard of this book. With good reason! I’m only two chapters in and it’s lovely. I haven’t read contemporary fiction in ages and ages, but I mean – with that premise, of course I was going to pick this one up. And it’s actually been really good at soothing my mind when I’m all manic, so I can calm down enough to read. It’s very much a curl-up-all-snug book.

At least so far. There might be more drama to come. Guess I’ll see!

The Lost Coast by Amy Rose Capetta
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

The spellbinding tale of six queer witches forging their own paths, shrouded in the mist, magic, and secrets of the ancient California redwoods.

Danny didn't know what she was looking for when she and her mother spread out a map of the United States and Danny put her finger down on Tempest, California. What she finds are the Grays: a group of friends who throw around terms like queer and witch like they're ordinary and everyday, though they feel like an earthquake to Danny. But Danny didn't just find the Grays. They cast a spell that calls her halfway across the country, because she has something they need: she can bring back Imogen, the most powerful of the Grays, missing since the summer night she wandered into the woods alone. But before Danny can find Imogen, she finds a dead boy with a redwood branch through his heart. Something is very wrong amid the trees and fog of the Lost Coast, and whatever it is, it can kill. Lush, eerie, and imaginative, Amy Rose Capetta's tale overflows with the perils and power of discovery — and what it means to find your home, yourself, and your way forward.

Queer witches. QUEER WITCHES. That’s literally all you need to make me come running. And when it’s by the same author as The Brilliant Death???

Kushiel's Dart (Phèdre's Trilogy, #1) by Jacqueline Carey
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

The land of Terre d'Ange is a place of unsurpassing beauty and grace. It is said that angels found the land and saw it was good... and the ensuing race that rose from the seed of angels and men live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt.

Phèdre nó Delaunay is a young woman who was born with a scarlet mote in her left eye. Sold into indentured servitude as a child, her bond is purchased by Anafiel Delaunay, a nobleman with very a special mission... and the first one to recognize who and what she is: one pricked by Kushiel's Dart, chosen to forever experience pain and pleasure as one.

Phèdre is trained equally in the courtly arts and the talents of the bedchamber, but, above all, the ability to observe, remember, and analyze. Almost as talented a spy as she is courtesan, Phèdre stumbles upon a plot that threatens the very foundations of her homeland. Treachery sets her on her path; love and honor goad her further. And in the doing, it will take her to the edge of despair... and beyond. Hateful friend, loving enemy, beloved assassin; they can all wear the same glittering mask in this world, and Phèdre will get but one chance to save all that she holds dear.

Set in a world of cunning poets, deadly courtiers, heroic traitors, and a truly Machiavellian villainess, this is a novel of grandeur, luxuriance, sacrifice, betrayal, and deeply laid conspiracies. Not since Dune has there been an epic on the scale of Kushiel's Dart-a massive tale about the violent death of an old age, and the birth of a new.

Kushiel’s Dart is one of the most important books in my life (along with the rest of the Kushiel’s Universe series). It found me when I was a teenager all messed up over my sexuality – long story short, I was fighting in court to have my Roman Catholic mother’s custody of me rescinded, and my developing interest in sex was her main justification for beating the crap out of me. And I hadn’t even figured out I was queer yet. The irony, huh?

And then comes along this big, beautiful, sex-positive epic fantasy that just…completely deconstructed all the shame before it really had a chance to mess me up. And proved that women could and did write fantasy, way before I ever learned there were people who thought they couldn’t. The D’Angeline tenet – Love as thou wilt – was the speck of stardust around which the pearl of grown-up!Sia developed. I wouldn’t be me without this book.

And I kinda like me, you know?

I haven’t yet blogged about what I called book-witchery in my About page, but my mission to reread the Kushiel series is a part of that, and I hope to be writing about it soon!

Blood and Iron (Promethean Age, #1) by Elizabeth Bear
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

She is known as Seeker. Spellbound by the Faerie Queen, she has abducted human children for her mistress's pleasure for what seems like an eternity, unable to free herself from servitude and reclaim her own humanity. Seeker's latest prey is a Merlin. Named after the legendary wizard of Camelot, Merlins are not simply those who wield magic--they are magic. Now, with the Prometheus Club's agents and rivals from Faerie both vying for the favor of this being of limitless magic to tip the balance of power, Seeker must persuade the Merlin to join her cause-or else risk losing something even more precious and more important to her than the fate of humankind..

Elizabeth Bear’s Promethean Age series is one of the most subversive fantasies I’ve ever read, and I love them all. For FAR TOO LONG the fourth book, Hell and Earth, has been out of print; but Gollancz is re-releasing the entire series in ebook form this summer. Thus, another series re-read is due! Along with…

The Red-Stained Wings (Lotus Kingdoms, #2) by Elizabeth Bear
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

Hugo Award-winning author Elizabeth Bear returns the epic fantasy world of the Lotus Kingdoms with The Red-Stained Wings, the sequel to The Stone in the Skull, taking the Gage into desertlands under a deadly sky to answer the riddle of the Stone in the Skull.

The Gage and the Dead Man brought a message from the greatest wizard of Messaline to the ruling queen of Sarathai, one of the Lotus Kingdoms. But the message was a riddle, and the Lotus Kingdoms are at war.

Elizabeth Bear created her secondary world of the Eternal Sky in her highly praised novel The Range of Ghosts and its sequels. She continued it the first book of the Lotus Kingdoms, The Stone in the Skull.

Bear’s Eternal Sky trilogy is one of my all-time faves – think traditional Epic Fantasy, but set in fantasy-Asia and really not that traditional at all – and the Lotus Kingdoms series is set in the same world, with characters who are just as amazing as the cast of the previous trilogy. You don’t need to have read Eternal Skies to read Lotus Kingdoms, but it helps you grasp the worldbuilding, I think.

Anyway, I loved book one, and I’ve just started Red-Stained Wings, and I am VERY EXCITED!

The Fever King (Feverwake, #1) by Victoria Lee
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

In the former United States, sixteen-year-old Noam Álvaro wakes up in a hospital bed, the sole survivor of the viral magic that killed his family and made him a technopath. His ability to control technology attracts the attention of the minister of defense and thrusts him into the magical elite of the nation of Carolinia.

The son of undocumented immigrants, Noam has spent his life fighting for the rights of refugees fleeing magical outbreaks—refugees Carolinia routinely deports with vicious efficiency. Sensing a way to make change, Noam accepts the minister’s offer to teach him the science behind his magic, secretly planning to use it against the government. But then he meets the minister’s son—cruel, dangerous, and achingly beautiful—and the way forward becomes less clear.

Caught between his purpose and his heart, Noam must decide who he can trust and how far he’s willing to go in pursuit of the greater good.

This is yet another wonderful book that fell by the wayside when life got hectic. Bah. I already have the sequel pre-ordered, despite only getting about a quarter of the way through Fever King. It’s that good.

Spin the Dawn (The Blood of Stars, #1) by Elizabeth Lim
on 9th July 2019
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

Project Runway meets Mulan in this sweeping YA fantasy about a young girl who poses as a boy to compete for the role of imperial tailor and embarks on an impossible journey to sew three magic dresses, from the sun, the moon, and the stars.

Maia Tamarin dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the land, but as a girl, the best she can hope for is to marry well. When a royal messenger summons her ailing father, once a tailor of renown, to court, Maia poses as a boy and takes his place. She knows her life is forfeit if her secret is discovered, but she'll take that risk to achieve her dream and save her family from ruin. There's just one catch: Maia is one of twelve tailors vying for the job.

Backstabbing and lies run rampant as the tailors compete in challenges to prove their artistry and skill. Maia's task is further complicated when she draws the attention of the court magician, Edan, whose piercing eyes seem to see straight through her disguise.

And nothing could have prepared her for the final challenge: to sew three magic gowns for the emperor's reluctant bride-to-be, from the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of stars. With this impossible task before her, she embarks on a journey to the far reaches of the kingdom, seeking the sun, the moon, and the stars, and finding more than she ever could have imagined.

And finally, a book that hasn’t been released yet! This one had my attention when all we had was the pitch, and I’m completely in love with the full synopsis now we have it!

Also, a Tran Nguyen cover?! Someone in the publishing team really believes in this book. I’m not going to lie; that cover would definitely have been enough to get me to buy this one even if I hadn’t already been interested.

That’s what book covers are for, right? MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

That’s it from me! What’s everyone else looking forward to this summer?

Must-Have Monday the Third!

As someone too fond of both alliteration and scouring publisher’s catalogs, Monday is the day I list some of the upcoming books I’m most looking forward to!

Here are a few I’ve been eyeing especially longingly this last little while.

Reverie by Ryan La Sala
Representation: Queer Protagonists
on 7th January 2020
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

Inception meets The Magicians, except with better wigs and a maniacal drag queen sorceress attempting to unravel the reality of Connecticut (yes, the state) and replace it with something…well something better than Connecticut.

Ryan La Sala’s debut fantasy is an #OwnVoices story following Kane Montgomery, a gay teenager piecing his life back together after an attack robs him of his memories. As Kane searches for who he was, he uncovers a war for the creative rights to reality itself, each battle played out in an imagined world turned real: a reverie.

Reveries are worlds born from a person’s private fantasies, and once they manifest they can only be unraveled by bringing their conflicts to resolution. Reveries have rules and plots, magic and monsters, and one wrong step could twist the entire thing into a lethal, labyrinthine nightmare. Unraveling them is dangerous work, but it’s what Kane and The Others do.

Or did, until one of The Others purged Kane of his memories. But now Kane is back, and solving the mystery of his betrayal is the only way to unite his team and defeat reality’s latest threat: Poesy, a sorceress bent on harvesting the reveries for their pure, imaginative power.

But what use might a drag queen sorceress have with a menagerie of stolen reveries? And should Kane, a boy with no love for a team that betrayed him, fight to stop her, or defect to aid her?

Reverie is about the seduction of escaping inwards, about the worlds we hide within ourselves, and the danger of dreams that come true.

I have fibromyalgia, which is especially bad in my hands – which makes it impossible for me to hold physical books for any real length of time. So ebooks are my lifeline to the stories I need like air.

This is relevant because I’ve checked for an ebook pre-order link for Reverie every day for months now. Alas! It has yet to appear. But if you’re good with hardcovers, I strongly urge you to go order one for yourself. I mean, have you read that synopsis?! SIA NEEDS!

A Phoenix First Must Burn: Sixteen Stories of Black Girl Magic, Resistance, and Hope Representation: PoC, Queer Protagonists
Genres: Fantasy
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

A collectively written multi-story narrative by bestselling and award-winning authors that chronicles the Black experience--past, present, and future--through science and magic!

In 2018, sixteen unique, distinctive voices on the cutting edge of young adult fiction embarked on a challenge: together, to depict the past, present, parallel, and future of the Black female and gender nonconforming (GNC) experience. Their goal was to weave worlds where Black women are centered, and the result is a stunning collaboration filled with stories of love and betrayal, folktales and magic, from retellings of legends to explorations of yet-to-be invented technologies. In fantasy and science fiction, these sixteen acclaimed authors introduce us to unforgettable characters like Solange, who sheds her skin nightly to transform into a ball of fire and fly above her Caribbean island, or Abigail Crow, a girl armed only with her smarts and her .38 who must defend her New Mexico homestead from marauders, or Mae Mitchell, a Brooklyn-born, space-bound alien interrogator. Witches and scientists, sisters and lovers, priestesses and rebels: the heroines of A Phoenix First Must Burn are on fire, and they shine brightly. You won't soon forget their stories.

Let’s be honest, there is not one of you who wouldn’t buy Phoenix just for that cover.

The fact that it’s literally #BlackGirlMagic, queer, and (from the sound of it) hopepunk is just the icing on the cake, really.

Ashlords by Scott Reintgen
on 21st January 2020
Genres: Secondary World Fantasy, Fantasy
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

Red Rising meets The Scorpio Races in this epic fantasy following three phoenix horse riders--skilled at alchemy--who must compete at The Races--the modern spectacle that has replaced warfare within their empire.

Every year since the Ashlords were gifted phoenix horses by their gods, they've raced them. First into battle, then on great hunts, and finally for the pure sport of seeing who rode the fastest. Centuries of blood and fire carved their competition into a more modern spectacle: The Races.

Over the course of a multi-day event, elite riders from clashing cultures vie to be crowned champion. But the modern version of the sport requires more than good riding. Competitors must be skilled at creating and controlling phoenix horses made of ash and alchemy, which are summoned back to life each sunrise with uniquely crafted powers to cover impossible distances and challenges before bursting into flames at sunset. But good alchemy only matters if a rider knows how to defend their phoenix horse at night. Murder is outlawed, but breaking bones and poisoning ashes? That's all legal and encouraged.

In this year's Races, eleven riders will compete, but three of them have more to lose than the rest--a champion's daughter, a scholarship entrant, and a revolutionary's son. Who will attain their own dream of glory? Or will they all flame out in defeat?

Phoenix horses. You had me at PHOENIX HORSES!

Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore
on 14th January 2020
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

Summer, 1518. A strange sickness sweeps through Strasbourg: women dance in the streets, some until they fall down dead. As rumors of witchcraft spread, suspicion turns toward Lavinia and her family, and Lavinia may have to do the unimaginable to save herself and everyone she loves.

Five centuries later, a pair of red shoes seal to Rosella Oliva’s feet, making her dance uncontrollably. They draw her toward a boy who knows the dancing fever’s history better than anyone: Emil, whose family was blamed for the fever five hundred years ago. But there’s more to what happened in 1518 than even Emil knows, and discovering the truth may decide whether Rosella survives the red shoes.

With McLemore's signature lush prose, Dark and Deepest Red pairs the forbidding magic of a fairy tale with a modern story of passion and betrayal.

I literally don’t even care, if it has Anna-Marie McLemore’s name on it, I’m buying it. Every one of her books has been better than the last, and I am very sure that Dark and Deepest Red won’t be the one to break that streak.

Come Tumbling Down (Wayward Children, #5) by Seanan McGuire
on 7th January 2020
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

The fifth installment in Seanan McGuire's award-winning, bestselling Wayward Children series, Come Tumbling Down picks up the threads left dangling by Every Heart a Doorway and Down Among the Sticks and Bones

When Jack left Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children she was carrying the body of her deliciously deranged sister—whom she had recently murdered in a fit of righteous justice—back to their home on the Moors.

But death in their adopted world isn't always as permanent as it is here, and when Jack is herself carried back into the school, it becomes clear that something has happened to her. Something terrible. Something of which only the maddest of scientists could conceive. Something only her friends are equipped to help her overcome.

Eleanor West's "No Quests" rule is about to be broken.

Again.

I’ve been feeling a little lost lately, and what is the Wayward Children series about if not finding your true and perfect home? I admit I’m not overly interested in Jack and Jill’s story, or especially interested in meeting them again, but every book in this series has found a place in my heart, and I’m not giving up on them now.

What releases are you guys looking forward to?

Must-Have Monday the Second!

As someone too fond of both alliteration and scouring publisher’s catalogs, Monday is the day I list some of the upcoming books I’m most looking forward to!

Here are a few I’ve been eyeing especially longingly this last little while.

Reverie by Ryan La Sala
Representation: Queer Protagonists
on 7th January 2020
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

Inception meets The Magicians, except with better wigs and a maniacal drag queen sorceress attempting to unravel the reality of Connecticut (yes, the state) and replace it with something…well something better than Connecticut.

Ryan La Sala’s debut fantasy is an #OwnVoices story following Kane Montgomery, a gay teenager piecing his life back together after an attack robs him of his memories. As Kane searches for who he was, he uncovers a war for the creative rights to reality itself, each battle played out in an imagined world turned real: a reverie.

Reveries are worlds born from a person’s private fantasies, and once they manifest they can only be unraveled by bringing their conflicts to resolution. Reveries have rules and plots, magic and monsters, and one wrong step could twist the entire thing into a lethal, labyrinthine nightmare. Unraveling them is dangerous work, but it’s what Kane and The Others do.

Or did, until one of The Others purged Kane of his memories. But now Kane is back, and solving the mystery of his betrayal is the only way to unite his team and defeat reality’s latest threat: Poesy, a sorceress bent on harvesting the reveries for their pure, imaginative power.

But what use might a drag queen sorceress have with a menagerie of stolen reveries? And should Kane, a boy with no love for a team that betrayed him, fight to stop her, or defect to aid her?

Reverie is about the seduction of escaping inwards, about the worlds we hide within ourselves, and the danger of dreams that come true.

I have fibromyalgia, which is especially bad in my hands – which makes it impossible for me to hold physical books for any real length of time. So ebooks are my lifeline to the stories I need like air.

This is relevant because I’ve checked for an ebook pre-order link for Reverie every day for months now. Alas! It has yet to appear. But if you’re good with hardcovers, I strongly urge you to go order one for yourself. I mean, have you read that synopsis?! SIA NEEDS!

A Phoenix First Must Burn: Sixteen Stories of Black Girl Magic, Resistance, and Hope Representation: PoC, Queer Protagonists
Genres: Fantasy
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

A collectively written multi-story narrative by bestselling and award-winning authors that chronicles the Black experience--past, present, and future--through science and magic!

In 2018, sixteen unique, distinctive voices on the cutting edge of young adult fiction embarked on a challenge: together, to depict the past, present, parallel, and future of the Black female and gender nonconforming (GNC) experience. Their goal was to weave worlds where Black women are centered, and the result is a stunning collaboration filled with stories of love and betrayal, folktales and magic, from retellings of legends to explorations of yet-to-be invented technologies. In fantasy and science fiction, these sixteen acclaimed authors introduce us to unforgettable characters like Solange, who sheds her skin nightly to transform into a ball of fire and fly above her Caribbean island, or Abigail Crow, a girl armed only with her smarts and her .38 who must defend her New Mexico homestead from marauders, or Mae Mitchell, a Brooklyn-born, space-bound alien interrogator. Witches and scientists, sisters and lovers, priestesses and rebels: the heroines of A Phoenix First Must Burn are on fire, and they shine brightly. You won't soon forget their stories.

Let’s be honest, there is not one of you who wouldn’t buy Phoenix just for that cover.

The fact that it’s literally #BlackGirlMagic, queer, and (from the sound of it) hopepunk is just the icing on the cake, really.

Ashlords by Scott Reintgen
on 21st January 2020
Genres: Secondary World Fantasy, Fantasy
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

Red Rising meets The Scorpio Races in this epic fantasy following three phoenix horse riders--skilled at alchemy--who must compete at The Races--the modern spectacle that has replaced warfare within their empire.

Every year since the Ashlords were gifted phoenix horses by their gods, they've raced them. First into battle, then on great hunts, and finally for the pure sport of seeing who rode the fastest. Centuries of blood and fire carved their competition into a more modern spectacle: The Races.

Over the course of a multi-day event, elite riders from clashing cultures vie to be crowned champion. But the modern version of the sport requires more than good riding. Competitors must be skilled at creating and controlling phoenix horses made of ash and alchemy, which are summoned back to life each sunrise with uniquely crafted powers to cover impossible distances and challenges before bursting into flames at sunset. But good alchemy only matters if a rider knows how to defend their phoenix horse at night. Murder is outlawed, but breaking bones and poisoning ashes? That's all legal and encouraged.

In this year's Races, eleven riders will compete, but three of them have more to lose than the rest--a champion's daughter, a scholarship entrant, and a revolutionary's son. Who will attain their own dream of glory? Or will they all flame out in defeat?

Phoenix horses. You had me at PHOENIX HORSES!

Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore
on 14th January 2020
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

Summer, 1518. A strange sickness sweeps through Strasbourg: women dance in the streets, some until they fall down dead. As rumors of witchcraft spread, suspicion turns toward Lavinia and her family, and Lavinia may have to do the unimaginable to save herself and everyone she loves.

Five centuries later, a pair of red shoes seal to Rosella Oliva’s feet, making her dance uncontrollably. They draw her toward a boy who knows the dancing fever’s history better than anyone: Emil, whose family was blamed for the fever five hundred years ago. But there’s more to what happened in 1518 than even Emil knows, and discovering the truth may decide whether Rosella survives the red shoes.

With McLemore's signature lush prose, Dark and Deepest Red pairs the forbidding magic of a fairy tale with a modern story of passion and betrayal.

I literally don’t even care, if it has Anna-Marie McLemore’s name on it, I’m buying it. Every one of her books has been better than the last, and I am very sure that Dark and Deepest Red won’t be the one to break that streak.

Come Tumbling Down (Wayward Children, #5) by Seanan McGuire
on 7th January 2020
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

The fifth installment in Seanan McGuire's award-winning, bestselling Wayward Children series, Come Tumbling Down picks up the threads left dangling by Every Heart a Doorway and Down Among the Sticks and Bones

When Jack left Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children she was carrying the body of her deliciously deranged sister—whom she had recently murdered in a fit of righteous justice—back to their home on the Moors.

But death in their adopted world isn't always as permanent as it is here, and when Jack is herself carried back into the school, it becomes clear that something has happened to her. Something terrible. Something of which only the maddest of scientists could conceive. Something only her friends are equipped to help her overcome.

Eleanor West's "No Quests" rule is about to be broken.

Again.

I’ve been feeling a little lost lately, and what is the Wayward Children series about if not finding your true and perfect home? I admit I’m not overly interested in Jack and Jill’s story, or especially interested in meeting them again, but every book in this series has found a place in my heart, and I’m not giving up on them now.

What releases are you guys looking forward to?

Too Much Tarnish to Shine: Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh

Representation: Queer Protagonists (Gay)
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Queer Protagonists

I suspect most people who pick this up are going to enjoy it immensely, but although it was one of my most anticipated reads of the year…this one’s just not for me.

Minor spoilers below. 

The major thing for me is that this is what I’ve seen called a HFN ending – a happy-for-now ending instead of a happy-ever-after one. In particular, it’s a HFN ending with an implicit very unhappy ending to follow sometime after the books is over. Unless there’s a sequel which resolves the issue – and to be honest I’m not sure I want a sequel – one member of a couple being immortal, and the other one not? The mortal is eventually going to die and leave the immortal one alone. So having your characters walk off-screen holding hands feels like a slap in the face; the immediate threat has been resolved, but the story isn’t over – despite the fact that the way it was written does make me think no sequel is intended.

Unhappy endings, I get (although I dislike them). Happy endings, I get. Unhappy endings that pose as happy ones? For some reason I find those deeply upsetting. I can’t see how to put the ‘why’ of it into words, though, so I’m just going to hope that you can make sense of that. 

Although the opening was wonderful, and Silver and Tobias’ first meeting was utterly delightful (‘now that’s just slander’ will be making me laugh for a while!) I was not at all convinced by their almost-romance. The revelation that comes when Tobias meets Silver’s mother suddenly reframes all of Silver’s behaviour in a very different light, and I’m not sure if I was supposed to find it cute or funny or what – but instead it just felt manipulative, needless and awful. It also makes absolutely no sense to me why Silver chose to behave in the way he did; the only vaguely believable motive I can come up with is that he enjoys messing with people, or else that he was…constantly and consistently lying? For his own enjoyment, or for no reason at all? I have no idea. But it certainly didn’t make me see him in a good light, and that wouldn’t be so much of an issue if I thought the writer had intended for me to feel that way. Instead, it just feels like weak writing.

I wonder if this might have done better as a novel rather than a novella; defeating the Big Bad, for example, seemed much, much simpler than I would have expected, and his actual defeat seemed to happen so easily. It feels rushed, as does the fateful year (or half-year? I only read this about an hour ago and I’m already losing details, that’s how an impression it made on me) when Tobias is on his own. Being able to spread the story out across more pages and add a lot more details might have made this into something really special; it might just not have had the room it needed in a novella to tell the story properly. 

Either way, I suspect I won’t be looking up this author again.

Secretive Selkies and Lyrical Prose; Nine Years of Silver by Parker Foye

Nine Years of Silver (Love Has Claws #1) by Parker Foye
Representation: Queer Protagonists
on 16th April 2019
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Buy on Amazon, The Book Depository
Goodreads

Briar Augustin, a bounty hunter, returns to his hometown on the trail of a killer. There he becomes once more entangled with his first love, Quinn Lawrence, who is as integral to Briar's hunt as he is to the mythology of Lastings. Can Briar find his bounty and return to the city, resisting the call of the sea? Or will he be drawn back into Lastings' secrets—and the arms of Quinn Lawrence?

Lastings: Where some things can only be mined out.

* * *

Nine Years of Silver is the first story from Love Has Claws, a speculative fiction trilogy linked by the town of Lastings. It is not necessary to read the series in order.

Content Warnings: mentions of abusive childhood; bloody violence; off-screen murder; drowning (real/dream); claustrophobic scenes.

This beautiful novella is without question going onto both my favourites and best-of-2019 shelves – and Parker Foye has won a permanent place on my list of auto-buy authors. I cannot wait for the rest of the Love Has Claws stories!

Nine Years of Silver ought to be too short to fit all the eerie, lyrical wonder into it that it does – and yet it fits just right, the pacing flawless and every word carefully and perfectly placed, not a single one wasted in an act of economic poetry that makes for an incredibly potent whole. Nine is a joy to read, Foye’s turns of phrase and poignant description marrying beauty to bluntness in a way that flawlessly evokes the little seaside town – village? – of Lastings, a place of rock and salt and sand whose magic is just waiting for you to stop looking for it like a tourist and really see it.

Superficially, Nine is a story about a lawman on the trail of a criminal and closing in; there’s a very slight Wild West flavour to it, especially as the Rangers seem quite reminiscent of the Pinkertons. It’s a trope we’ve seen before – Ranger Briar is back in his hometown looking for a killer and ends up reconnecting with a past love – and yet nothing about it feels stale; Briar’s first act upon reaching Lastings is to politely seek conference with the local genderqueer witch, and the story never lets up on its sense of wild, elemental magic from there on out – something only strengthened by Foye’s repeated use of oceanic imagery, to great effect. Tiny details imply a much larger world with skilful worldbuilding; there’s no need for infodumps when all is woven into the narrative so smoothly, and I dare you not to fall in love with these characters, because they are wonderful.

I picked this up on a spur-of-the-moment whim, and I’m so glad I did. I cannot recommend it strongly enough; it’s interesting, beautiful, and deceptively simple enough to draw you in and hold you even when you feel too frazzled to concentrate on reading anything at all. I have no doubt whatsoever that I’ll be rereading it often.

Bring on the next in the series!