Siavahda's Blog, page 13
February 2, 2025
Sunday Soupçons #36
soupçon/ˈsuːpsɒn,ˈsuːpsɒ̃/ noun
1. a very small quantity of something; a slight trace, as of a particular taste or flavor
Sunday Soupçons is where I scribble mini-reviews for books I don’t have the brainspace/eloquence/smarts to write about in depth – or if I just don’t have anything interesting to say beyond I LIKED IT AND YOU SHOULD READ IT TOO!
Giving up on writing proper reviews for these two. I did like them! But I don’t have anything smart to say about them.
But Not Too Bold by Hache Pueyo, H. Pueyo Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Bi/pansexual MC, F/F
Published on: 11th February 2025
Goodreads
The Shape of Water meets Mexican Gothic in this sapphic monster romance novella wrapped in gothic fantasy trappings
The old keeper of the keys is dead, and the creature who ate her is the volatile Lady of the Capricious House―Anatema, an enormous humanoid spider with a taste for laudanum and human brides.
Dália, the old keeper’s protégée, must take up her duties, locking and unlocking the little drawers in which Anatema keeps her memories. And if she can unravel the crime that led to her predecessor's death,
Dália might just be able to survive long enough to grow into her new role.
But there’s a gaping hole in Dália’s plan that she refuses to see: Anatema cannot resist a beautiful woman, and she eventually devours every single bride that crosses her path.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2025-02-02T11:11:00+00:00", "description": "Sapphic spider-monsters and dragon-riders!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/sunday-soupcons-36\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "But Not Too Bold", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hache Pueyo, H. Pueyo", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sia", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": 4, "bestRating": "5" }}Your mileage is going to vary a bit with this one. If the deepest you’ve ever delved into the realm of monsterfucking is, I don’t know, Twilight, then you’re likely to be a little icked out by parts of this delightfully oddball novella about a poorly socialised young woman falling for her spider-monster boss. On the other hand, if you’re familiar with the kind of self-pubbed queer SFF that gave us the Machine Mandate series, you’re likely to look over the rim of your glasses at this one, unimpressed. ‘Not too bold’, indeed!
Which is to say: Pueyo coyly goes close enough to the line to make the pearl-clutchers pearl-clutch, but does not actually give us sapphic spider-monster sex, presumably because trad publishing space is full of cowards. Pfft!
That aside, But Not Too Bold is – I’m going to call it pastel goth with teeth: kind of sweet and adorable, if you can get past the fact that the spider-monster boss eats her brides and sometimes her staff. The tone is weirdly cute; the bright pink cover is very appropriate, for all that our main character is vaguely investigating a murder while eating deep-fried tarantulas.
Pueyo has crafted a mythology around the Archaic Ones, ancient monsters with strange, magical abilities. The Lady of Capricious House, Anatema, is one such, an enormous spider-like creature who regularly marries human women, but always ends up eating them in a very Bluebeard-esque setup. Dália, raised from childhood to be the Lady’s next Keeper of the Keys, is more fascinated than afraid or horrified by Anatema’s monstrousness. SOMEONE was dumb enough to steal from the Lady, and Dália’s investigation reminded me of a young kid with a new game – it’s not taken terribly seriously, and felt like it was there to give the novella a framework, not because the story is actually about that.
It’s fun. It’s cosy horror! It’s as boundary-pushing as trad-pub generally gets. But the only thing likely to stay with me is how apt the title is – this book simply isn’t bold enough.
The Desert Talon (The Crowns of Ishia Book 2) by Karin Lowachee Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Indigenous-coded MLM MC
Published on: 11th February 2025
ISBN: 1837864039
Goodreads
The exciting sequel to the gunslinging, dragon-riding world of The Mountain Crown
Sephihalé ele Janan sits in a prison cell in the southern island of Mazemoor, dreaming of escape. After months in a provisional prison for fighting for the imperial Kattakans, Janan is sponsored by another refugee who was once a part of his scattered family. Yearning to build a life on his sister’s land with the dragons their people revere, the peace Janan seeks is threatened by a ruthless dragon baron who covets both Janan’s connection to the earth and the battle dragon to which he is covenanted.
The conflict may drive Janan to acts of violence he hoped to leave behind in the war, and bring more death to the land Janan now calls home.
THE DESERT TALON is a story of two groups of people who, despite a common ancestry, have diverged so far in their beliefs that there appears to be little mutual ground—and the conflict may well start to unravel the burgeoning hopes of a country, and a man, still recovering from the ravages of war.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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Lowachee remains great at making me feel INTENSE RAGE at fictional injustice – Janan’s treatment during and after prison made my blood boil. Janan himself…was much more constrained by his circumstances than Meka was in Mountain, with the result that I don’t think we really got to see his real self until near the end. Who he is for most of the book…is who he is under surveillance, when he’s trying to behave. Can’t take that as genuine.
Mostly, I did not feel smart enough for this book – I really didn’t understand Mazemoor’s magic (except that it was a metaphor for industrialisation, probably?), which a lot seemed to hinge on, and there seemed to be a lot of undercurrents I could barely perceive. Janan’s nephew, for example, is the first half-Ba’Suon we’ve seen, and I could tell that Lowachee was saying a lot with that, but I couldn’t figure out what. Meaningful stuff, I think, about belonging and family and who gets access to a culture, and how disconnected you can be from your heritage when raised outside of your homeland. (Of course, most Ba’Suon have had to leave their homeland now, but the nephew has never lived there at all.) And Meaningful Stuff about other topics, too. None of which I could properly parse – and I do think that was a me-problem.
There’s a big timeskip towards the end, where events are summarised for us, and that surprised me, because it involves…a pretty major change for Janan, and it still seems odd that we didn’t get to see that up close and personal. Where Mountain Crown felt like the perfect story for its length, I didn’t think the same of Desert Talon: with the timeskipped events especially, I think Janan’s story could have been a novel. And maybe should have been?
I’m not sure. I’m very ambivalent about this one…but also pretty sure that most of that is me, and my current headspace. I still recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the first book, and I still VERY MUCH want to read book three! But I will admit that I didn’t love it.
The post Sunday Soupçons #36 appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
Sunday Soupçons #35
soupçon/ˈsuːpsɒn,ˈsuːpsɒ̃/ noun
1. a very small quantity of something; a slight trace, as of a particular taste or flavor
Sunday Soupçons is where I scribble mini-reviews for books I don’t have the brainspace/eloquence/smarts to write about in depth – or if I just don’t have anything interesting to say beyond I LIKED IT AND YOU SHOULD READ IT TOO!
Giving up on writing proper reviews for these two. I did like them! But I don’t have anything smart to say about them.
But Not Too Bold by Hache Pueyo, H. Pueyo Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Bi/pansexual MC, F/F
Published on: 11th February 2025
Goodreads
The Shape of Water meets Mexican Gothic in this sapphic monster romance novella wrapped in gothic fantasy trappings
The old keeper of the keys is dead, and the creature who ate her is the volatile Lady of the Capricious House―Anatema, an enormous humanoid spider with a taste for laudanum and human brides.
Dália, the old keeper’s protégée, must take up her duties, locking and unlocking the little drawers in which Anatema keeps her memories. And if she can unravel the crime that led to her predecessor's death,
Dália might just be able to survive long enough to grow into her new role.
But there’s a gaping hole in Dália’s plan that she refuses to see: Anatema cannot resist a beautiful woman, and she eventually devours every single bride that crosses her path.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2025-02-02T11:11:00+00:00", "description": "Sapphic spider-monsters and dragon-riders!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/sunday-soupcons-35-2\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "But Not Too Bold", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hache Pueyo, H. Pueyo", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sia", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": 4, "bestRating": "5" }}Your mileage is going to vary a bit with this one. If the deepest you’ve ever delved into the realm of monsterfucking is, I don’t know, Twilight, then you’re likely to be a little icked out by parts of this delightfully oddball novella about a poorly socialised young woman falling for her spider-monster boss. On the other hand, if you’re familiar with the kind of self-pubbed queer SFF that gave us the Machine Mandate series, you’re likely to look over the rim of your glasses at this one, unimpressed. ‘Not too bold’, indeed!
Which is to say: Pueyo coyly goes close enough to the line to make the pearl-clutchers pearl-clutch, but does not actually give us sapphic spider-monster sex, presumably because trad publishing space is full of cowards. Pfft!
That aside, But Not Too Bold is – I’m going to call it pastel goth with teeth: kind of sweet and adorable, if you can get past the fact that the spider-monster boss eats her brides and sometimes her staff. The tone is weirdly cute; the bright pink cover is very appropriate, for all that our main character is vaguely investigating a murder while eating deep-fried tarantulas.
Pueyo has crafted a mythology around the Archaic Ones, ancient monsters with strange, magical abilities. The Lady of Capricious House, Anatema, is one such, an enormous spider-like creature who regularly marries human women, but always ends up eating them in a very Bluebeard-esque setup. Dália, raised from childhood to be the Lady’s next Keeper of the Keys, is more fascinated than afraid or horrified by Anatema’s monstrousness. SOMEONE was dumb enough to steal from the Lady, and Dália’s investigation reminded me of a young kid with a new game – it’s not taken terribly seriously, and felt like it was there to give the novella a framework, not because the story is actually about that.
It’s fun. It’s cosy horror! It’s as boundary-pushing as trad-pub generally gets. But the only thing likely to stay with me is how apt the title is – this book simply isn’t bold enough.
The Desert Talon (The Crowns of Ishia Book 2) by Karin Lowachee Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Indigenous-coded MLM MC
Published on: 11th February 2025
ISBN: 1837864039
Goodreads
The exciting sequel to the gunslinging, dragon-riding world of The Mountain Crown
Sephihalé ele Janan sits in a prison cell in the southern island of Mazemoor, dreaming of escape. After months in a provisional prison for fighting for the imperial Kattakans, Janan is sponsored by another refugee who was once a part of his scattered family. Yearning to build a life on his sister’s land with the dragons their people revere, the peace Janan seeks is threatened by a ruthless dragon baron who covets both Janan’s connection to the earth and the battle dragon to which he is covenanted.
The conflict may drive Janan to acts of violence he hoped to leave behind in the war, and bring more death to the land Janan now calls home.
THE DESERT TALON is a story of two groups of people who, despite a common ancestry, have diverged so far in their beliefs that there appears to be little mutual ground—and the conflict may well start to unravel the burgeoning hopes of a country, and a man, still recovering from the ravages of war.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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Lowachee remains great at making me feel INTENSE RAGE at fictional injustice – Janan’s treatment during and after prison made my blood boil. Janan himself…was much more constrained by his circumstances than Meka was in Mountain, with the result that I don’t think we really got to see his real self until near the end. Who he is for most of the book…is who he is under surveillance, when he’s trying to behave. Can’t take that as genuine.
Mostly, I did not feel smart enough for this book – I really didn’t understand Mazemoor’s magic (except that it was a metaphor for industrialisation, probably?), which a lot seemed to hinge on, and there seemed to be a lot of undercurrents I could barely perceive. Janan’s nephew, for example, is the first half-Ba’Suon we’ve seen, and I could tell that Lowachee was saying a lot with that, but I couldn’t figure out what. Meaningful stuff, I think, about belonging and family and who gets access to a culture, and how disconnected you can be from your heritage when raised outside of your homeland. (Of course, most Ba’Suon have had to leave their homeland now, but the nephew has never lived there at all.) And Meaningful Stuff about other topics, too. None of which I could properly parse – and I do think that was a me-problem.
There’s a big timeskip towards the end, where events are summarised for us, and that surprised me, because it involves…a pretty major change for Janan, and it still seems odd that we didn’t get to see that up close and personal. Where Mountain Crown felt like the perfect story for its length, I didn’t think the same of Desert Talon: with the timeskipped events especially, I think Janan’s story could have been a novel. And maybe should have been?
I’m not sure. I’m very ambivalent about this one…but also pretty sure that most of that is me, and my current headspace. I still recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the first book, and I still VERY MUCH want to read book three! But I will admit that I didn’t love it.
The post Sunday Soupçons #35 appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
January 31, 2025
In Short: January
January was rough. There were some very bright spots – I discovered the Foreigner series by CJ Cherryh and went Fully Autistic about it! – but there was fuckery with a surgery I was supposed to have (only found out on the operating table it was going to be general anaesthetic, which everyone admitted there was no medical reason for, and long story short the surgery didn’t happen) and there’s been Netgalley and Big River fuckery (details in the Misc section) that’s been upsetting and exhausting. To say nothing of all the…everything that is adjusting to a new house!
*falls over*
ARCs Received
These hit very differently knowing they might be the last Netgalley arcs I ever get! But if this IS a send-off, you’ve got to admit it’s a magnificent one! Awakened I legit had to jump through hoops for, but SO WORTH IT!
Read
It was not at all a bad reading month! I read 21 books; more than November, which was more than October! And some of these were wonderful: Point of Hearts, the forthcoming new installment in the Astreiant series, was a DELIGHT; I absolutely luxuriated in Patricia McKillip’s Ombria in Shadow and Bards of Bone Plain; Undercover by Tamsyn Muir BLEW MY DAMN MIND; and as mentioned, Foreigner kicked off a full-on hyperfixation (which the sequel Invader only intensified!!!)
Sweet Invention, a nonfiction history of dessert, proved to be a great bedtime read – knocked the hubby RIGHT out every night, although personally I didn’t find the writing dry (a common complaint in the reviews). I learned a lot of fascinating trivia!
Stand-out rereads included Point of Sighs (perfect timing before the Point of Hearts arc!), Beguilement (the Sharing Knife series remains unimpeachable); and Gilded Crown, which I hope to review this time!
I spent a big chunk of the month gathering Middle Grade fantasies to read, which will probably start showing up in my Read section going forward. At the moment I’m not planning to start reviewing MG; it’s for myself, after several awesome people suggested MG as a good place to find BIPOC authors doing cool things. We’ll see how it goes!
Reviewed
Foreigner is the only review I’m happy with this month; all the rest felt very lacklustre to me. I was working through so much brain-fog, and struggling so much to be excited, or just have any strong feelings at all, about anything I read. Which definitely comes through.
(The last three of these reviews go live in February.)
DNF-ed
After DNFing FIFTEEN books in December, I’m relieved to be back to a reasonable number this month! As I said in my DNF post, Outcast Mage and Death of the Author are not bad books; just not a good fit for me. (Furthermore is probably fine too, but I didn’t get far enough to tell.)
ARCs Outstanding
26! So I have PLENTY to get through even if I’m done with Netgalley.
Unmissable SFF Updates
As always, I had new books to add to the list this month! Some extremely exciting additions, and a bunch of covers to attach to their books. Check it out!
How did my predictions/anticipated reads for January go? I declared just two books Unmissable for this month, and–
one was a three-star read (Motheater)one I haven’t finished yet but am enjoying immensely (Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear)I’m not sure we can call this a month of terribly accurate predictions…!
MiscI…got auto-approval from Orbit on Netgalley?! WHAT?!
*
…But it might be worthless, because Netgalley has abruptly changed to using LCP on their files. Which, long story short, seems to mean I won’t be able to read Netgalley arcs any more. (Neither will anyone who uses an ereader that doesn’t belong to the Big River site.) I was pretty devastated about this yesterday (which is when it went live) but today I have perspective again. If there are arcs I really want in the future, I can reach out to the publishing contacts I have now; and ultimately, I don’t need arcs at all.
It might even be good for my mental health to not have them anymore. Anyone who pays attention to these monthly summaries can see I’m pretty addicted to requesting arcs, and the obligation to get them all reviewed is definitely stressful. So this might end up being for the best, for me, though I still feel awful for everyone else affected.
I have plenty of arcs to get through before I run out, but after that, I guess there will be much less focus on upcoming books here on the blog! Which isn’t the worst thing in the world, although I do wonder if it makes a difference to anyone currently following me. (Sound off in the comments if you have an opinion!)
*
…For one more reading-related blow, I learned that the Big River site is phasing out the ability to download-and-transfer-by-USB. Which means losing the ability to have a backup of your ebooks; if the Big River deletes your account or just one specific ebook (which they’ve done in the past) you lose access completely. Currently download-and-transfer is still working for older models like mine, but it’s been advised everyone go ahead and download all their ebooks now, before the ability vanishes. (And since they make you download your ebooks one by one, it’s going to take a while to get my whole 3000+ library…)
Needless to say I’ve cancelled the last of my Big River preorders. I’ve been moving more and more to buying via Kobo anyway, and I’m definitely not buying via BR if I might lose the download function (which I depend on for so many accessibility reasons I don’t want to get into).
I’m so damn tired.
Looking Forward
Many, many exciting releases next month! The Crimson Road is the newest novel in Slatter’s Sourdough universe; the trad-pub release of Swordheart; Pride & Prejudice with dragons from Tansy Rayner Roberts; the first of Burgis’ Queens of Villainy (the kind of series title that will always get my attention); Antlered King, the sequel to Gilded Crown; sapphic gothic vampires in Hungerstone; and two Middle Grades I have a covetous eye on, A World Worth Saving and Labyrinth of Souls (illustrated by one of my favourite artists!)
May we all have a FANTASTIC February!
The post In Short: January appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
January 30, 2025
January DNFs
Just four this month! Maybe that’s a good omen for 2025.
The Outcast Mage (The Shattered Lands, #1) by Annabel Campbell Genres: Adult, Fantasy, High Fantasy
Representation: Brown cast
Published on: 28th January 2025
ISBN: 0316580856
Goodreads
A mage bereft of her powers must find out if she is destined to save the world or destroy it in this glittering debut fantasy perfect for fans of Andrea Stewart, James Islington, and Samantha Shannon.
In the glass city of Amoria, magic is everything. And Naila, student at the city's legendary academy, is running out of time to prove she can control hers. If she fails, she'll be forced into exile, relegated to a life of persecution with the other magicless hollows. Or worse, be consumed by her own power.
When a tragic incident further threatens her place at the Academy, Naila is saved by Haelius Akana, the most powerful living mage. Finding Naila a kindred spirit, Haelius stakes his position at the Academy on teaching her to harness her abilities. But Haelius has many enemies, and they would love nothing more than to see Naila fail. Trapped in the deadly schemes of Amoria's elite, Naila must dig deep to discover the truth of her powers or watch the city she loves descend into civil war.
For there is violence brewing on the wind, and greater powers at work. Ones who could use her powers for good… or destroy everything she's ever known.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2025-01-30T17:12:03+00:00", "description": "The Outcast Mage; Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales; Death of the Author; Furthermore.", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/january-dnfs-4\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "The Outcast Mage (The Shattered Lands, #1)", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Annabel Campbell", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "0316580856" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sia", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": 3, "bestRating": "5" }}The writing is perfectly lovely, but Outcast Mage seems to be retreading very familiar ground – nothing about this felt very new; in fact, it strongly reminded me of the ‘classic’ fantasies that we saw a lot of in the early 2000s. Obviously, that’s something some readers are going to love about it! Especially because that familiarity comes with a mainly brown-skinned cast with many women, which is definitely not something the classics I’m talking about had a lot of! So this is going to be the best of both, for lots of fantasy fans; a very classical feel, but much more diversity.
I can’t pinpoint why, but seriously, the Black Magician Trilogy vibes are strong with this one.
We have a young mage woman who can’t use her magic; a very powerful mage who is a member of the ruling mage council; a foreign priest who is definitely a spy; a rapidly rising tide of fascism, with more and more mages deciding all their problems are the fault of non-mages; a city inside a giant bubble of violet glass… I found the fascism plotline very heavy-handed, to be honest, and moving faster than I thought believable; and I wasn’t all that interested when our mageling who can’t use magic comes under the wing of a nearly all-powerful sorcerer who wants to teach her. Too many mic-drop reveals were handed to us very casually, which stripped them of the impact they should have had, while a lot of other aspects seemed to be telegraphing Very Loudly where the story was going. Nothing about any of the characters stood out to me; I can’t remember any of their names now. Only the all-powerful sorcerer – I think they used the term ‘wizard’ for the most powerful kind of mage, actually – seemed like a distinct character, and even he felt quite bland.
But the prose is genuinely great; the writing flows along quick and clean, gleaming like clear water. I can see that many people are going to enjoy this a lot, and I don’t blame them. Alas, it’s just not holding my attention at all. But if you yearn for the days you discovered Trudi Canavan and the like, then this might be an excellent book for you.
Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor Genres: Adult, Speculative Fiction
Representation: Disabled Nigerian-American MC
ISBN: 1399622986
Goodreads
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The future of storytelling is here.
Life has thrown Zelu some curveballs over the years, but when she's suddenly dropped from her university job and her latest novel is rejected, all in the middle of her sister's wedding, her life is upended. Disabled, unemployed and from a nosy, high-achieving, judgmental family, she's not sure what comes next.
In her hotel room that night, she takes the risk that will define her life - she decides to write a book VERY unlike her others. A science fiction drama about androids and AI after the extinction of humanity. And everything changes.
What follows is a tale of love and loss, fame and infamy, of extraordinary events in one world, and another. And as Zelu's life evolves, the lines between fiction and reality begin to blur.
Because sometimes a story really does have the power to reshape the world.
This isn’t bad AT ALL: I just can’t stand Zelu’s family. The constant micro-aggressions are just too much for me, however much I adore Zelu herself. The writing is brisk and – I want to say personable and I don’t entirely know what I mean by that? But every character, even the most minor, is fully three-dimensional, vividly alive in a way that feels rare.
Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales (Emily Wilde, #3) by Heather Fawcett Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Representation: Minor Black character
PoV: 1st-person, past-tense
Published on: 11th February 2025
ISBN: 0593500237
Goodreads
The third installment in the heartwarming and enchanting Emily Wilde series, about a curmudgeonly scholar of folklore and the fae prince she loves.
Emily Wilde has spent her life studying faeries. A renowned dryadologist, she has documented hundreds of species of Folk in her Encyclopaedia of Faeries. Now she is about to embark on her most dangerous academic project studying the inner workings of a faerie realm—as its queen.
Along with her former academic rival—now fiancé—the dashing and mercurial Wendell Bambleby, Emily is immediately thrust into the deadly intrigues of Faerie as the two of them seize the throne of Wendell’s long-lost kingdom, which Emily finds a beautiful nightmare filled with scholarly treasures.
Emily has been obsessed with faerie stories her entire life, but at first she feels as ill-suited to Faerie as she did to the mortal How can an unassuming scholar such as herself pass for a queen? Yet there is little time to settle in, for Wendell’s murderous stepmother has placed a deadly curse upon the land before vanishing without a trace. It will take all of Wendell’s magic—and Emily’s knowledge of stories—to unravel the mystery before they lose everything they hold dear.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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But the main problem is how simple and convenient it all is. Why is Emily suddenly saying ‘I somehow knew’ all the time about random magical details she can’t possibly know? Why is every problem and conflict wrapped up neatly in ten minutes or less? Why bother introducing all these mini problems if you’re just going to magic-wand them away? Do you know how hard it is to stay interested when you do that? I’m not even choosing not to care about each new problem, you’re not giving me TIME to care before you’ve fixed it!
Being up close and personal to Fawcett’s Folk is…making it very clear that they’re quite dull, actually. At least the ice fae in book one felt alien and strange; Wendell’s court, despite allegedly being the Courtly Fae of, again, the scariest fae realm to ever fae, are just…humans playing dress-up. And not even interesting dress-up! At LEAST give me fae fashion, for crying out loud, and no, a cloak so soaked in blood it leaves a trail on the floor doesn’t cut it. Dresses made up of water and sunlight and envy! Necklaces studded with mortal dreams instead of jewels! Folk with fur or porcupine quills or wings instead of hair! There’s no strangeness, there’s no beauty, they’re not even scary or monstrous. And don’t get me started on the giant foxes they use instead of horses. HOW DO YOU MAKE GIANT FOXES BORING?
And listen. Listen. I love Emily. Emily is amazing. But chapters and chapters of her being ‘uneasy’ instead of excited and delighted and obsessively trying to Know Everything about the realm she finds herself in is a) disappointing b) exhausting and c) BORING.
I read to 45% and honestly, that was 35% too much. Genuinely made my eyelids heavy.
What’s with all the trilogy-finales disappointing me lately???
Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi Genres: Fantasy, MG
ISBN: B0191X35D0
Goodreads
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Once upon a time, a girl was born. It was rather uneventful.
Her parents were happy enough: the mother glad to be done carrying it; the father glad to be done with the mystery of it all. But then one day they realized that their baby, the one they’d named Alice, had no pigment at all. Her hair and skin were white as milk, her heart and bones as soft as silk. Her eyes alone had been spared a spot of color: only just clinging to the faintest shade of honey. It was the kind of child her world could not appreciate.
Ferenwood had been built on color. Bursts of it, swaths of it, depths and breadths of it. Its people were known to be the brightest — modeled after the planets, they’d said — and young Alice was deemed simply too dim, even though she knew she was not.
Once upon a time, a girl was forgot.
Twelve-year-old Alice Alexis Queensmeadow has only three things in the world that matter: Mother, who wouldn’t miss her; triplet brothers, who never knew her; and Father, who always loved her. The day Father disappears from Ferenwood he takes nothing but a ruler with him, so some said he’d gone to measure the sea. Others said the sky. The moon. Maybe he’d learned to fly and had forgotten how to come back down. But it’s been almost six years since then, and Alice is determined to find him. She loves her father even more than she loves adventure, and she’s about to embark on one to find the other. No matter the cost.
It’s a kind of fairytale, a story where magic is a must, adventure is inevitable, and friendship is found in the most unexpected places.
I enjoyed this author’s YA years back, so what with me starting to experiment with MG fantasy, this seemed like a good place to start!
Unfortunately, the child abuse (including physical abuse) is played for laughs here, which is not something I can handle. I might not have been able to deal with it even if it had been taken seriously, but definitely not when it’s treated like a comedy sketch. What.
(When I looked into it, I learned how the ending goes with the abuser and FUCK THAT FOR A GAME OF SOLDIERS.)
The actual meat of the book seems lovely, what I saw of it, but I didn’t sign up for child abuse, wasn’t expecting it/braced for it, and the tone struck me wrong.
Fingers crossed I have more luck with my next MG!
And more luck with February in general, hopefully!
The post January DNFs appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
January 29, 2025
I Can’t Wait For…The Killing Spell by Shay Kauwe
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about but haven’t yet read. Most of the time they’re books that have yet to be released, but not always. It’s based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme, which was originally hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
This week my Can’t-Wait-For Book is The Killing Spell by Shay Kauwe!
The Killing Spell by Shay Kauwe Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Representation: Hawaiian MC
Published on: 11th November 2025
Goodreads
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In this spellbinding fantasy debut set in a future where language magic reigns, a young Hawaiian woman must solve a murder to clear her name.
Kea Petrova is dealing with more than her fair share of trouble.
At just twenty-five years old, she’s the youngest of five Hawaiian clan leaders living on the Homestead in outer Los Angeles. Nearly 200 years ago, when a catastrophic flood submerged the Hawaiian islands and unleashed magic into the world, these clans forged a treaty with the city, establishing a new Hawaiian homeland. But that treaty is about to expire.
Kea struggles to keep her small clan afloat, scraping together rent each month through odd jobs and selling her own crafted Hawaiian language spells. While her talent for language magic is her saving grace, she feels like a shadow of those who came before her. Just when she thinks things can’t get any more complicated, the murder of Angelo Reyes—LA’s most prominent Filipino activist—turns her world upside-down.
Angelo was killed by a death spell—something that, due to the properties of each school of language magic, can only exist in Hawaiian. With independent spellsmithing being technically illegal, Kea quickly becomes the prime suspect, known for her spellwork on the Homestead. To clear her name, she must unravel the mystery behind Angelo’s murder and confront LA’s most powerful (and dangerous) players, each wielding their own type of magic. The clock is ticking—can Kea save herself, her clan, and the Homestead before it’s too late?
HI YES I ADORE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS!
In ascending order: 200 years in the future! 200 years in a future with magic! What is that going to look like???
Hawaiian! We so rarely get Hawaiian ANYTHING in SFF (and what might a future!Hawaiian culture look like without Hawaii?)
And then obviously: LANGUAGE MAGIC LANGUAGE MAGIC LANGUAGE MAGIC!!!
Spells that can only exist in certain languages is SUCH A COOL IDEA, and what is spellsmithing, and do spells reflect anything about the language they’re in or is it random what magic exists with what language???
I DON’T KNOW BUT I’M INCREDIBLY EXCITED TO FIND OUT!
The post I Can’t Wait For…The Killing Spell by Shay Kauwe appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
January 27, 2025
Must-Have Monday #221
Must-Have Monday is a feature highlighting which of the coming week’s new releases I’m excited for. It is not meant to be a comprehensive list of all books being published that week; only those I’m interested in out of those I’m aware of! The focus is diverse SFF, but other genres sneak in occasionally too.
TEN books this week!
(Books are listed in order of pub date, then Adult SFF, Adult Other, YA SFF, YA Other, MG SFF.)
In the Name of Honor (Vows & Valor #1) by Courtney Collins, Clarke Collins Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Representation: queernorm world
Published on: 27th January 2025
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What would you risk to save someone you loved from a fate worse than death?
A half-elven princess, grieving the loss of one father and fearing for the other.
A loyal guardsman, torn between his oath to the king and her safety.
And a creature so bent on revenge, he’ll make the world kneel to hurt them all.
Of all the messages Dimitar’s carried, he now delivers the worst of vile Corrupted creatures have returned and murdered the king’s best friend. The king leaves to seek retribution, and gives Dimitar an order he doesn’t guard the princess, Kaleela. When Corruptors then kidnap her father, she insists on rescuing him. Dimitar must break his vow to keep her safe in the kingdom, and together infiltrate the enemy’s lair… unless the Corrupted capture Kaleela first.
Fans of epic fantasy with romance will fall into this character-driven world and thrilling new adventure, where a rescue mission turns into a chase, and only the princess or the king can be saved.
This one appeared on my radar very abruptly, but I’ve been hearing good things and am tentatively willing to try it!
At the Fount of Creation (Guardians of the Gods, #2) by Tobi Ogundiran Genres: Adult, Fantasy, High Fantasy
Representation: West African-coded cast and setting
Published on: 28th January 2025
Goodreads
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The fate of the Orisha will be decided in the concluding volume of the Guardian of the Gods duology, inspired by Yoruba mythology.
Perfect for fans of N. K. Jemisin, Suyi Davies Okungbowa, Daughters of Nri, and Godkiller.
For four hundred years, the world's remaining Orisha have fought to survive the rapaciousness of the soul-stealing Godkillers and the charismatic words of the singular, mysterious figure who leads them, known as the Teacher. Now they seek to kill the one person whose existence defies their very mandate.
Now that Ashâke carries within herself the spirits of the surviving Orisha, she is on the hunt for allies who can help her defeat the encroaching army of Godkillers. But their influence is everywhere, and no one is immune―not even Ashâke. If she is to succeed, Ashâke will need to answer the question the Godkillers pose―are the Orisha even worth saving?
The sequel to In the Shadow of the Fall is here! If you’ve been waiting until the duology is finished to start it, you have no more excuses now!
Landlocked In Foreign Skin: A Sapphic Sci-Fi Novella by Drew Huff Genres: Adult, Horror, Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Nonbinary sapphic MC
Published on: 28th January 2025
Goodreads
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"LANDLOCKED IN FOREIGN SKIN is a blend of far-future science and ancient folkloric religion...sharp and quirky."
-- Ai Jiang, Stoker and Nebula award-winning author of Linghun and I Am AI
How far would you go to reclaim your stolen body?
The Fisherman would do anything.
Anything to return to their natural, monstrous state in the alien oceans of Europa. But they've been kidnapped, trapped on a human ship, forced into human form--very pathetic--and dragged into a mad human princess's plot to find an eldritch god. A princess that also seems...very interested in sharing a bed. Strange. All of this is strange.
The Fisherman can't fathom why anyone would want to be human.
Small wonder. The Fisherman's been ripped from their underwater home under Europa's ice, and stripped of their skin--the nebulous outer layer that enables them to shapeshift for survival. Imprisoned on a ship that's hunting for a mad undersea god, they must help the crew find it if they want to retrieve their skin and return home.
Dame Isobel, a cruel princess, owns the ship, desperate to find the god in the hopes that it will heal her mortally-injured girlfriend. The Fisherman is stuck in a female human form and pulled into a toxic romantic relationship with Dame Isobel-- in a world where being LGBT is punishable by death. In the midst of this insanity, it's quite clear to the Fisherman: Humanity is confusing, inefficient, and messy.
When Isobel reveals that she will never let the Fisherman go, even if they find the mad god, the Fisherman knows:
It's time to get violent.
Landlocked In Foreign A Sapphic Sci-Fi Novella has mature content and some violence, as well as profanity. Reader discretion is advised.
I am obsessed with this premise and I’m not sorry.
A Tyranny of Queens (Manifold Worlds #2) by Foz Meadows Genres: Adult, Fantasy, High Fantasy, Portal Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Sapphic MC, F/F, QBIPOC cast, queernorm world
Published on: 28th January 2025
Goodreads
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Saffron Coulter is back on Earth, but even so, nothing is easy. Struggling with the victimising expectations of her friends and family and threatened with a stay in psychiatric care, Saffron has to make a choice: to forget about Kena and fit back into the life she's outgrown, or pit herself against everything she's ever known and everyone she loves.
Meanwhile in Kena, Gwen is increasingly troubled by Leoden's absence and his plans for the captive worldwalkers, while Yena, still in Veksh, must confront the deposed Kadeja. What is their endgame? Who can they trust? And what happens when Leoden returns?
A reissue – corrected of errors in the first edition – of one of my favourite books! This is book two of an incredible high-portal-fantasy, with amazing worldbuilding, great magic, epic relationships, queerness everywhere, and so much intrigue! If you haven’t read this series, NOW IS AN EXCELLENT TIME TO GIVE IT A GO!
The Teeth of Dawn (The Five Penalties, 3) by Marina Lostetter Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
Representation: Brown bi/pansexual MC, bisexual love interest, secondary nonbinary character, queernorm world
Published on: 28th January 2025
Goodreads
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The Teeth of Dawn concludes the riveting and mind-ripping epic fantasy trilogy from acclaimed author Marina Lostetter, where a rebellion struggles to tear the mask off the illusions and enchantments of a society shrouded in layers of mystery.
After barely surviving their encounter with the Savior, who has shaped the rules and realities of Arkensyre for generations, Krona and the other members of the growing rebellion see only one chance of overcoming his free and enlist the ancient gods he caged to augment his own power.
But it’s one thing to believe in gods. It is quite another to meet them.
And it’s not only the Savior who wants to hold fast to the illusions that govern all the lives in the valley, the Grand Maquis, his agencies and the elites of Arkensyre will do anything they can to snuff out change.
To remake the world, first you must break it.
The Five Penalties
The Helm of Midnight
The Cage of Dark Hours
The Teeth of Dawn
I didn’t enjoy my first attempt at this, but I really do want to try it again! Which should tell you something important, albeit hard to articulate.
On the Wings of la Noche by Vanessa L. Torres Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists, YA
Representation: Bi/pansexual Latina MC
Published on: 28th January 2025
Goodreads
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Noche is a Lechuza by night, an ethereal jet-black owl who guides the dead to the after. Except now, Noche cannot bring herself to escort her dead girlfriend, whose soul is fading the harder Noche holds on—an aching romance about first and second loves and finding the strength to let go.
Death waits for Estrella (Noche) Villanueva. In her human form, she is a lonely science girl grieving the tragic accidental drowning of her girlfriend, Dante Fuentes. At night, she is a Lechuza who visits her dead girlfriend at the lake, desperate for more time with her. The longer Dante’s soul roams the earth, the more likely it is that she will fade into the unknown, lost forever, but Noche cannot let go . . .
That’s when a new kid comes to town, Jax, another science nerd like Noche. They connect in a way she can’t ignore, seemingly pulled together by an invisible thread. For the first time, Noche begins to imagine a life without Dante. As Noche’s heart begins to beat for two people, her guilt flares. Then, she finds herself at risk of losing both Jax and Dante, and Noche is forced to question her purpose as a lechuza and everything she has ever believed in.
I fear this will not end in poly – not with a ghost involved, le sigh! But still, I’m fascinated by the Lechuza, that’s not a myth I’ve heard of before!
The Scorpion Queen by Mina Fears Genres: Fantasy, High Fantasy, YA
Representation: Malian cast
Published on: 28th January 2025
Goodreads
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Uprooted meets Children of Blood and Bone in this dark fantasy inspired by a Malian fairy tale about a princess whose suitors are challenged to gruesome trials.
Deep within the imperial palace at Timbuktu, Amie has suffered a devastating loss. Once the daughter of a prosperous salt merchant Amie’s life was cruelly overturned in a matter of months. At sixteen, Amie now finds herself disinherited, framed for a scandalous crime, and forced to serve Princess Mariama of Mali. Her father, Emperor Sulyeman, has created a series of impossible trials for his daughter's suitors. When they fail, he publicly boils them alive, littering Mariama’s path to marriage with ninety-nine corpses.
At first, Amie’s life at court is drudgery—the chores are difficult, the servants despise her, and Princess Mariama is prone to mood swings—but the more she learns about the princess's circumstances, the closer the two girls become. Amie and her intended, Kader, plan to escape Timbuktu and make a new life far away from the shadow of death that has fallen upon the emperor’s court, but she finds herself increasingly drawn to the princess in ways she doesn’t understand.
When a mysterious discovery forces her hand, she must choose between fleeing with the boy she loves or helping the princess to end the trials forever. Amie will need to draw on all of her strength and courage to make the perilous journey through the desert to seek the aid of an exiled god in a final, desperate attempt to take charge of her own destiny.
Maybe THIS one will give us poly??? Fingers crossed!
Ice Apprentices by Jacob North Genres: Fantasy, MG, Queer Protagonists
Representation: trans neurodivergent MC
Published on: 28th January 2025
Goodreads
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A frozen world, mighty monsters and spellbinding magic. Journey to the very edge of the world in this BREATHTAKING fantasy trilogy.
Perfect for fans of Skandar and Philip Pullman . . .
“The Ice Apprentices is an extraordinary fantasy debut. The world-building is stunning, the pacing perfect, the characters immediately relatable. Oswin is endlessly curious, hilariously funny and wonderfully kind - he became my new favourite hero within a few sentences. North is such an exciting new talent in middle grade.” A.F. Steadman, author of the Skandar series
Tundra is the last settlement in a world of ice. Oswin Fields is its only stray – a foundling, rescued from the Endless Expanse. So, when he's summoned to the school for ice apprentices, he sets out to prove his worth.
But all isn’t as it seems in this enchanted place. When the beasts begin to strike, Oswin has to risk everything he holds dear. Can he look deep within himself to find the strength to prove that he belongs?
Trying to dip my toe into Middle Grade recently – and my sources insisted that Ice Apprentices was one to watch out for! I’ve seen lots of praise for the magic system in this, especially!
The Secrets of Underhill by Kali Wallace Genres: Fantasy, MG
Published on: 28th January 2025
Goodreads
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An 11-year-old arborist's apprentice fights to save an ancient grove of magical trees that hold the key to her community’s survival.
This immersive fantasy adventure combines vivid world-building with timely themes of environmentalism is perfect for middle grade readers of Kelly Barnhill and Jessica Townsend.
Nick Sixsmith has spent her whole life on the road. The daughter of a traveling arborist, she and her mother move from town to town, caring for the ironwood groves the communities rely upon. When a dangerous blight takes hold of these magical trees, they must journey to the city of Mistwood—her mother’s hometown—for answers.
Nick can’t wait to explore the prosperous city of Mistwood and all it has to the bustling markets and workshops, neighborhoods built under a roaring waterfall, and the vast ancestral grove of ironwood trees. But dark secrets simmer beneath the surface as people start to disappear, and tensions rise in the city.
As the mystery grows, Nick and her new friends must follow the trail where it leads underground, to a strange, enchanting world called Underhill. Only then, among the roots of ancestral grove, will Nick find a way to save her new home and the ironwood trees.
Riveting and atmospheric, readers will be immersed until the final page.
I’m here for anyone out to save trees, okay? Especially magical trees!
The Orb of Cairado by Katherine Addison Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Published on: 31st January 2025
Goodreads
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Set in the world of Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award nominee The Goblin Emperor, The Orb of Cairado offers an unlikely hero in historian Ulcetha Zhorvena.
Five years ago, Ulcetha was studying at the University of Cairado, working his way toward becoming a scholar first-class in the Department of History. Then a prize artifact disappeared and Ulcetha, deftly framed, was kicked out. Now he works for a crooked importer, using his knowledge of elven history to write provenances for the fake artifacts Salathgarad sells.
When the airship Wisdom of Choharo explodes, killing the emperor and three of his four sons, it takes with it Ulcetha's best friend, Mara Lilana. But Mara leaves behind a puzzle--the one thing Ulcetha can't resist. And the puzzle leads Ulcetha back to the Department of History...and maybe the chance to clear his name.
Before the finale of the Cemeteries of Amalo trilogy in a few months, we’re getting a new novella in the Goblin Emperor setting! We are being SPOILED! The hardcover edition is limited, but the ebook is available for those of us who can’t afford it! Find it here on release day, or in the usual places!
Will you be reading any of these? Did I miss any releases you think I should know about? Let me know!
The post Must-Have Monday #221 appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
January 25, 2025
Sci-Fi of Manners With the Highest of Stakes: Foreigner by C.J. Cherryh
Foreigner (Foreigner, #1) by C.J. Cherryh Genres: Adult, Sci Fi
PoV: Third-person, past-tense
ISBN: 1101554746
Goodreads
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THE SPACE OPERA CLASSIC: Discover “one of the best long-running science fiction series in existence” (Publishers Weekly)!
A sole human diplomat navigates a world inhabited by hostile, intelligent aliens—and learns the consequences of first contact.
It had been nearly 5 centuries since the starship Phoenix, lost in space and desperately searching for the nearest G5 star, had encountered the planet of the atevi. On this alien world, law was kept by the use of registered assassination; alliances were defined by individual loyalties, not geographical borders; and war became inevitable once humans and one faction of atevi established a working relationship. It was a war that humans had no chance of winning on this planet so many light-years from home.
Now, nearly 200 years after that conflict, humanity has traded its advanced technology for peace and an island refuge that no atevi will ever visit. But then the sole human allowed into atevi society is marked for an assassin’s bullet. The work of an isolated lunatic? The interests of a particular faction? Or the consequence of one human’s fondness for a species which has 14 words for betrayal and not a single word for love?
~13/10 worldbuilding, A++, I am heart-eyes
~assassination is legal here
~am i being abducted or protected
~(bit of both)
~dON’t DRiNk tHe tEA, mORoN!
Quick note: I usually bold book titles and don’t mark series names, but because the book title and series name are the same here, in this review I bold Foreigner when I’m talking about the book, and italicise Foreigner when I’m talking about the series!
FRIENDS, I AM HOOKED.
Cherryh’s prose is so freaking addictive, I cannot even. I read this first book in less than 12 hours, staying up until 4am to finish it (and went on to finish book two not 24 hours later, despite an extra 100 of pagecount) and regret ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
And I cannot put my finger on what it is about Cherryh’s writing that I like so much, because it’s not my usual style – it’s not what I’d call plain, but it’s definitely not laden down with description either (I was actually unimpressed, at first, with how minimal are the visual descriptions). I would call it direct, except that we spend a(n absolutely delicious) great deal of time on introspection, on the main character almost obsessively analysing his own thoughts and feelings and trying to infer the thoughts and feelings of those around him (both of which, analysing himself and analysing the aliens around him, are vital parts of his job description and extremely relevant to literally everything).
The worldbuilding, though. THE FREAKING WORLDBUILDING!
Like the prose, I was initially disappointed with the worldbuilding: the atevi are very human-like, as you can see from the illustration on the book cover; they live in houses like ours, built castles like we did, their art is very like ours (tapestries, banners, painted tiles). We quickly learn that assassination is a legal, socially acceptable thing in their culture – but other than that, it’s not immediately obvious that the atevi are Not Human.
This is part of Cherryh’s genius.
Because it guides the reader into the same trap that our main character Bren – and all the humans in this setting – fall into constantly, and must forever be on guard against: assuming, reflexively assuming, that the atevi are, fundamentally, Not That Different.
And they really, REALLY are.
The (short) parts one and two of Foreigner cover how humans ended up on the atevi’s planet, and what the initial First Contact looked like. Honestly, these bits hardly matter – one of the reasons it took me so long to read Foreigner was that I kept bouncing off the (to me) very dull part one, which is scary and depressing space travel and thus doesn’t interest me at all.
But part three is the main chunk of the novel, and INFINITELY more interesting: we follow Bren, who is the current paidhi – a role somewhere between a translator and an ambassador between humans and atevi. He lives full-time at the atevi ‘court’ nearest the human settlement (there is only one: humans are vastly the minority on this planet) and sees no other humans at all for most of the year, as the all-important Treaty insists there only be one human allowed out of the human settlement at a time. One of the most important aspects of his job is feeding pre-arranged bits of human technology and science to the atevi, small pieces at a time; humanity wants to get back into space travel, and the long-term goal has been to guide the atevi to a technological point where they can help make that happen. But – in a move that is honestly surprisingly ethical, all things considered! – humans are doing this very gradually, understanding that they have to give atevi civilisation time to adjust to each new piece of tech or science. It would do much more harm than good to give them everything at once, after all. By the time the main novel opens, it’s been 200 years since humans showed up, and the atevi now have television, forensics, and airplanes, though the latter are still pretty new.
Plot-wise: someone attempts to assassinate Bren for no apparent reason, and the ‘king’ whisks him deeper into the continent than humans have ever been allowed, purportedly for his own safety. Where he meets the ‘king’s’ extremely impressive grandmother (I love her, I would drink her tea, she can step on me any time she likes and I will thank her for it), gets a crash-course in traditional/rural atevi life and culture, and finds himself in the middle of a (small-ish) civil war.
It’s not an especially fast-paced book at first, and I think that’s wise: the reader needs a little time to adjust to the setting, especially the (minimal) atevi terminology and the…way-of-being of the atevi characters. Bren spends a fair chunk of the book not knowing what’s going on, being deliberately kept in the dark and cut off from a) his species and b) any information about what’s happening outside. This is frustrating for the reader, but it’s a legit frustration – it’s Bren’s frustration! Bren is not given any way to be an active participant in this part of the story, which is one reason it’s wonderful that he has a rich inner life that Cherryh puts on full display for us, but it would be hugely unfair to claim Bren is a passive character. He’s ‘passive’ only because there is nothing he can do, not because he is a passive sort of person. (This becomes much clearer in book two, where circumstances give him much more room to manoeuvre.)
And yet, even this drifty what’s-happening??? part of the book never bored me – even if, by this point, I was still disappointed in how not-alien the atevi seemed, and how Cherryh refused to visually describe either the ancestral fortress Bren gets stashed in or the alien horse-analogues. (The latter have tusks, and four legs; that’s about all I know to picture.) Even at the time, though, I wryly appreciated how economical Cherryh was being; in not going into tons of visual detail about the horse-analogues, for example, she was massively cutting down on work for herself, including the kind of research required to invent a believable alien quadruped that could fill the historical role horses did and do in our world. Extremely smart, even if I craved worldbuilding details.
The layers and layers of political intrigue started to become clearer after the introduction of the not-horses – which is not an accident: the herd dynamics of the not-horses are a deliberate object-lesson for the reader in very important biological facts about the evolution of life on this planet, facts which also apply to the atevi.
This was about when I started to realise exactly how much of a genius Cherryh is.
The plot plots: there is plenty of it, it is twisty and tense and the stakes are SO HIGH, I cannot imagine anyone who wants plot will be disappointed with it. (THE GODS-DAMNED LETTER.) I was glued to the pages, okay? I stayed up until 4am, frantic to know how it all turned out. FRANTIC. There is plenty of plot, it’s amazing, good luck resisting the (FRANTIC) need for the next book once you’re done with this one.
What I want to talk about is the worldbuilding. Which I have spent three days happily info-dumping on my partner as I read books one and two; we have literally discussed some bits of it for HOURS at a time. I could go for WEEKS about the worldbuilding. I’m going to try not to, because I think you’ll enjoy discovering it for yourself, but let’s go over one of the big pieces: namely, atevi don’t have friends.
Let that sink in for a minute.
Then ponder the sheer genius of creating an alien species that is so human-like…even looks human…but doesn’t have one of the most fundamental, vital aspects of humanity. One of the, crucially, invisible parts.
Imagine the sheer fucking chaos that would result in humans – who have such a strong urge to make friends we even do it with other species, see every pet ever – interacting with a species that looks so human, but does not, cannot, ‘like’ other sentients in the way we do.
Because we would absolutely assume that they do. Even once we knew, we would find it impossible to remember, impossible to believe, deep down, viscerally. Impossible for us not to like them, not to form attachments to them, to consider this person or that person a friend.
Most of us have probably experienced – or at least can imagine – liking someone who didn’t like us back.
That is not the same as liking someone who not only doesn’t like us back, but cannot comprehend the CONCEPT of liking.
But, over all, decent folk, like the old couple with the grandkids, impulses that didn’t add up to love, but they felt something profound that humans couldn’t feel, either. Something maybe he’d come closer to than any paidhi before him had come—
This is central to the novel; I imagine it’s going to be central to the series. It’s something Bren has to wrestle with constantly, remind himself of constantly – and it doesn’t come across as repetitive because I needed the reminder too. I, too, thought this character or that one was becoming friends with Bren. I too thought they were motivated by their relationships to others they cared about. I too thought Bren could win them over by being polite and likeable and all the rest of it. Which meant that I – even more than Bren, far more than Bren – was shocked when that wasn’t the case; when an atevi character behaved in a way that felt like a betrayal, or callous, or cruel. But they were not any of those things. And because I – automatically, reflexively – assumed all the things we do, as humans, assume; because I reflexively interpreted atevi behaviour through a human lens, even with all those reminders...
It powerfully drives home a) how fundamental this is to humans, and b) how very, very alien the atevi are. And c) how dangerous this misconception is. It’s easy to believe that this has gotten humans into trouble before; it’s easy to see how, it’s easy to see why, because Cherryh takes you through it. We’re not just reading about it, and we’re certainly not just being told it: we’re literally experiencing it for ourselves.
GENIUS.
SHEER. GENIUS.
And to be clear: this affects everything we see of atevi culture. Which I don’t want to get into, because again, I think you’ll enjoy more discovering it for yourself when you read this book (you must read this book). I just want to assure you that Cherryh has not just introduced an idea – sentients that don’t experience friendship – and not followed through, not traced all the ripple effects this would obviously create, not considered what a civilisation of this would look like. All the aspects of atevi culture we’ve seen so far (as of book two) have this baked into them; there has been no moment where I’ve frowned and thought ‘but what about…?’ In this way, Cherryh reminds me of Lois McMaster Bujold, with her Vorkosigan series: both introduce a few superficially simple concepts and then show us how enormous and widespread the ramifications are.
(If you enjoy space opera and you’ve not read the Vorkosigan books, you are missing out and I must insist you go read those too. If you have read them, then you understand how high a compliment it is that I’m comparing Cherryh to Bujold, the Foreigner series to the Vorkosigan books. The difference is – bearing in mind I’m only two books into the Foreigner series – that Foreigner is much more intensely, and maybe more densely, about political intrigue. (Vorkosigan also has plenty of intrigue, but there’s also a lot of non-intrigue scheming and pew-pew action, which I’ve not seen in the Foreigner books yet.))
The efficiency of the worldbuilding is genuinely striking – not just that Cherryh has decided to introduce a few key concepts (and doing them really well) instead of going all byzantine, but also in her manner of writing it. I, a worldbuilding freak, am happy with a gazillion invented terms and the like, but most readers are not, find that sort of thing intimidating and difficult to follow (fair, on both counts). And so Cherryh hasn’t done that – most atevi terms have been rendered into human (English, for us readers); it’s easier to remember that an atevi ‘association’ means…what it means, rather than memorising whatever the atevi word for it is; instead of introducing us to the atevi pronoun, we’re told it’s the same for men and women, but allowed to read a book full of ‘he’ and ‘she’ as we’re used to. (As a nonbinary reader intensely interested in queer and gender-y worldbuilding, I do hope we learn the pronoun eventually.) And yet, we are never left in any doubt that we’re in a sci fi, alien setting; when talking in atevi, it’s polite to use the other person’s title in pretty much every sentence, so in every conversation we get the atevi versions of ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am’ or ‘lord’ – a constant reminder that this isn’t our world; constantly anchoring us in this one, the world of Foreigner.
This, and many other little details, are just…such a brilliant way to get worldbuilding across – to create a setting that feels organic and realistic and alien – to convey all of that to the reader – while remaining accessible and easy to read. That’s not nothing, that’s HUGE! It is hard to do that! It’s one reason the heavy-worldbuilding stories I love are kinda niche: they’re hard or unappealing for most readers! Cherryh’s managed to fulfil the cravings for readers on both sides of the divide: if you want brilliant, detailed worldbuilding, here it is! But if you want prose that isn’t dense and heavy, if you want to be able to grasp the world and its alien-ness easily – here that is also!
I’m so freaking impressed, and I feel like I should be taking notes, as a wannabe-SFF-storyteller. No wonder this series is so beloved! They should be teaching Foreigner in writing classes!!!
Behold, a flailing SiaGah!
I went straight from Foreigner into Invader, book two, and finished that in a single sitting, and I have book three waiting for me on my ereader as I type. I am OBSESSED, folx, and it has been a WHILE since anything had me by the dopamine receptors like this! I am RELIEVED AND EXCITED that there are currently twenty-two books in this series – I’m going to have a hard time reading anything else, honestly, even with some seriously incredibly books waiting for me elsewhere. Might have to make a rule about how many Foreigner instalments I can read in a month. Or how many other books I have to read in-between Foreigner volumes.
(Am I a bit annoyed at myself for falling this hard for a series about a cishet white dude? I mean, a little bit, but Foreigner is written by a woman, which is how I’ll justify it if anyone asks wtf this series is doing being featured on a blog for diverse SFF, kay?)
Foreigner has a start that didn’t agree with me, but if it doesn’t agree with you either, I urge you to push through it – or just skip it and go straight to part three! – because, MY GODS. This is PHENOMENAL. I am kicking myself for taking so long to get to these books!
…On the other hand, discovering Foreigner in 2025 does mean that there are now twenty-two of these books to enjoy.
Which surely means this is the perfect time to start.
The post Sci-Fi of Manners With the Highest of Stakes: Foreigner by C.J. Cherryh appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
January 24, 2025
Cover Reveal + Excerpt: The Only Song Worth Singing by Randee Dawn
Randee Dawn is an author I’ve been keeping an eye on for a while, and I am DELIGHTED to help reveal the cover for her upcoming fantasy that mixes modern music with Irish mythology: The Only Song Worth Singing!
Cover art by Dany V. S!
About the author
Childhood friends Patrick, Ciaran, and Malachi would’ve been happy to play music for coins on the streets of Dublin, but when their sound – a blend of traditional tunes and rock styling – lands them a record deal, they also get their first tour of America. As they gather fans, however, they also get the attention of three sídhe, fairies straight out of Irish tradition who play by their own rules.
Mal finds himself beleaguered by a prankster whose malicious tricks make him think he’s losing his mind, while Ciaran falls hard for a hanger-on whose primal sexuality saps the life from him. Patrick can save them – if he’s willing to trust the superstitions he learned during a painful childhood he thought he’d left behind long ago.
But the only thing that matters more than music to Patrick? His friends.
Randee Dawn is a Brooklyn-based author and journalist who writes speculative fiction at night and entertainment and lifestyle stories during the day for publications like the New York Times, NBCNews.com, Variety, The Los Angeles Times, and Emmy Magazine. Her debut novel, Tune in Tomorrow, was published by Solaris. Publishers Weekly said of Tune in Tomorrow: “Dawn balances over-the-top drama and comedy with genuine intrigue to create a fun story with plenty of heart.” Lightspeed praised it as “an excellent read if you’re looking for something to make you smile… well worth your time.”
Find Randee at
Her website
Bluesky
Twitter
Threads
Instagram
TikTok
Read on for an excerpt from the novel!
ExcerptCiaran finished off the first of what he expected would be several beers that day when Patrick joined him at the makeshift bar, bass slung across his back like a quiver of arrows.
“Mal’s piano,” he said. “Seen it lately?”
“Why, what’s it gonna do?” Ciaran wagged bushy eyebrows, smile thin. He’d felt itchy and distracted since they’d walked into the studio.
“It’s all black keys.”
“So?” Ciaran chuckled. “Got somethin’ against black keys?”
“They burned him. Playing it.”
Ciaran made a braying sound, topped off the bottle and set it aside. “Good one. I’ll sort this out.” He aimed himself toward the makeshift soundstage where Mal was gingerly rubbing cream onto his hands – but midway there his chest constricted and his head lit up with a fiery buzzing. For a moment, he wondered if he was having a heart attack, and grabbed at his shirt, stopping hard.
Patrick slammed into his back. “Hey.”
Ciaran glanced to one side and the moment he did so the pain vanished, as if it had been designed to simply get his attention.
Here.
And there she was, the gamine from Store 24, leaning against a wall on a far side of the room. She had her hands tucked behind her back as if hiding something, and her gaze fell on him like a physical blow. He was instantly wrapped in a powerful, urgent desire. Ciaran’s lips burned faintly, a searing sensation that dropped lower and lower. He altered course and blazed toward the woman – Sheerie, she’d said – as if a cord has been yanked. He wondered if he’d be able to stop moving once he reached her, or if he might just go clean through the wall. But his feet knew when he’d arrived, and he locked in place before her.
“You.” His voice was a raspy whisper.
Gradually she lifted those eyes to him, a slow smile revealing perfect, rounded teeth. She was exactly as he’d dreamed of the night before, a tiny wisp of loveliness he couldn’t have ignored if he’d been dying. Next to her, he was nothing but a hairy lump.
“‘Tis me,” she said in a teasing, lilting tone. “Now, you aren’t going to faint again, are you?”
The beer in his gut solidified. “Never did.” He took a breath. “You – vanished.”
“That happens, from time to time.” She slid her eyes to one side as if giving the matter consideration. “But I always come back.”
The room felt too small. The ceiling was resting on his head. Ciaran’s clothes were leaden and his temperature had risen ten degrees. The buzzing between his ears had turned into a dull roar like the one he carried off the stage after a show. Images of what he wanted to do with her filled his imagination; images of what she would do with him felt even more potent. They were so strong he was willing to make them real in front of God and everyone else in this room.
“I’ve been watching you,” she drawled. “You interest me.”
The Only Song Worth Singing releases April 8th!
The post Cover Reveal + Excerpt: The Only Song Worth Singing by Randee Dawn appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
January 22, 2025
I Can’t Wait For…A World Worth Saving by Kyle Lukoff
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about but haven’t yet read. Most of the time they’re books that have yet to be released, but not always. It’s based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme, which was originally hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
This week my Can’t-Wait-For Book is A World Worth Saving by Kyle Lukoff!
A World Worth Saving by Kyle Lukoff Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, MG, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Trans Jewish MC
Published on: 4th February 2025
Goodreads
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A groundbreaking, action-packed, and ultimately uplifting adventure that intertwines elements of Jewish mythology with an unflinching examination of the impacts of transphobia, from Newbery Honor-winner Kyle Lukoff
“Kyle Lukoff has given us something rare and beautiful — a novel that combines wondrous fantasy, searing real-world relevance, and a frank empathetic understanding of the adolescent experience that hits so viscerally I can only compare it to the way my generation experienced Judy Blume. The way Lukoff combines these elements in a page-turning adventure is nothing short of magic!” –Rick Riordan, author of Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Covid lockdown is over, but A’s world feels smaller than ever. Coming out as trans didn’t exactly go well, and most days, he barely leaves his bedroom, let alone the house. But the low point of A’s life isn’t online school, missing his bar mitzvah, or the fact that his parents monitor his phone like hawks—it’s the weekly Save Our Sons and Daughters meetings his parents all but drag him to.
At SOSAD, A and his friends Sal and Yarrow sit by while their parents deadname them and wring their hands over a nonexistent “transgender craze.” After all, sitting in suffocating silence has to be better than getting sent away for “advanced treatment,” never to be heard from again.
When Yarrow vanishes after a particularly confrontational meeting, A discovers that SOSAD doesn’t just feel soul-sucking . . . it’s run by an actual demon who feeds off the pain and misery of kids like him. And it’s not just SOSAD—the entire world is beset by demons dining on what seems like an endless buffet of pain and bigotry.
But how is one trans kid who hasn’t even chosen a name supposed to save his friend, let alone the world? And is a world that seems hellbent on rejecting him even worth saving at all?
I fell down the rabbit-hole of Middle Grade SFF a few days ago, and now have a long list of books to try and upcoming releases to keep an eye out for. One of the latter I’m most excited about is A World Worth Saving, which has been praised to the skies everywhere I look!
I’m particularly interested in that bit at the end of the blurb – ‘is a world that seems hellbent on rejecting him even worth saving at all?’ I’m presuming the answer will be Yes, but I very much want to know how Lukoff will justify that Yes in a way that rings true, and convincing, for young trans readers.
(No pressure, or anything!)
What book/s are you looking forward to this week?
The post I Can’t Wait For…A World Worth Saving by Kyle Lukoff appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
January 20, 2025
Must-Have Monday #220
Must-Have Monday is a feature highlighting which of the coming week’s new releases I’m excited for. It is not meant to be a comprehensive list of all books being published that week; only those I’m interested in out of those I’m aware of! The focus is diverse SFF, but other genres sneak in occasionally too.
FIVE books this week!
(Books are listed in order of pub date, then Adult SFF, Adult Other, YA SFF, YA Other, MG SFF.)
The Wind on Her Tongue: A Novel (Daughter of Three Waters Trilogy Book 2) by Anita Kopacz Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Representation: Afro-Cuban MC
Published on: 21st January 2025
Goodreads
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In this lyrical and stirring companion to the “spellbinding” (Harper’s Bazaar) Shallow Waters, Oya—the Yoruban deity of the weather—is brought to life during 1870s America. Perfect for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Black Sun.
Born in Cuba after her mother Yemaya’s adventures in the New World, Oya has inherited otherworldly powers from her Yoruba Orisha lineage. While Yemaya is known for her healing abilities, Oya’s influence over the storm proves to be destructive, posing a threat to her mother and the island’s safety.
Sent to New Orleans to study under Marie Laveau, the Queen of Voodoo, Oya begins a journey across the still young America, encountering a myriad of historical figures, including Mary Ellen Pleasant, Jesse James, Lew Hing, and more.
As Oya navigates the landscapes of racism, colorism, and classism, she grapples with her own identity and powers, striving to find her place in a fraught and complex society. A moving, vivid exploration of resilience, heritage, and the enduring spirit of a young woman coming into her own, The Wind on Her Tongue transports you to a world where magic and reality intertwine.
I have not read the first book in this series yet, but this is definitely a reminder that I need to get on that!
Those Fatal Flowers by Shannon Ives Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Sapphic MC
Published on: 21st January 2025
Goodreads
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I remain extremely wary of Greek myth retellings…but this isn’t a retelling! So maybe it’ll be as ridiculously awesome as it sounds???
Motheater by Linda H. Codega Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Black bisexual MC, sapphic MC, F/F, minor gay character
Published on: 21st January 2025
Goodreads
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In this nuanced queer fantasy set amid the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia, the last witch of the Ridge must choose sides in a clash between industry and nature.
After her best friend dies in a coal mine, Benethea “Bennie” Mattox sacrifices her job, her relationship, and her reputation to uncover what’s killing miners on Kire Mountain. When she finds a half-drowned white woman in a dirty mine slough, Bennie takes her in because it’s right—but also because she hopes this odd, magnetic stranger can lead her to the proof she needs.
Instead, she brings more questions. The woman called Motheater can’t remember her true name, or how she ended up inside the mountain. She knows only that she’s a witch of Appalachia, bound to tor and holler, possum and snake, with power in her hands and Scripture on her tongue. But the mystery of her fate, her doomed quest to keep industry off Kire Mountain, and the promises she bent and broke have followed her a century and half into the future. And now, the choices Motheater and Bennie make together could change the face of the town itself.
I didn’t enjoy this one – you can read my review here – but lots of other people did, so maybe you will too?
Trans/Rad/Fem by Talia Bhatt Genres: Adult, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Trans
Published on: 24th January 2025
Goodreads
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Can a synthesis of trans liberation and feminism be easily arrived at? This collection asserts that, as a matter of fact, we possessed the answer to that question decades ago.
Second-Wave feminism is, today, nearly synonymous with ‘transphobia’. Any mention of this era or the movement of ‘radical feminism’ conjures images of feminists allying with right-wingers and the authoritarian state, providing legal justification for outlawing gender-affirming care and spreading deeply evil caricatures of trans women to rationalize their exclusion as feminist subjects. In the ensuing struggle to reconcile trans rights with feminism, the specter of the trans-exclusionary radical feminist has often reared its head in opposition. One may be tempted to conclude that the Second Wave, as a whole, has done irreparable harm to feminist, queer and trans politics, and must be discarded entirely.
But is that truly the case?
Radical feminism also is responsible for repudiating bioessentialistic notions of gender with theories that place it as a firmly social phenomenon. It gave us the language to describe patriarchy as a regime of mandatory heterosexual existence and dared to dream of a post-gender existence long before anyone spoke the phrase “breaking the binary”. Modern transfeminism owes much to radical feminist theory, and despite all propaganda to the contrary, the two schools of thought may be far more allied than believed.
This series of essays aims to reconstruct and reintroduce the radical feminist framework that its misbegotten inheritors seem determined to forget and in doing so boldly makes the claim that transfeminism, far from being antagonistic to radical feminism, is in fact its direct descendant. It shows how a comprehensive social theory of transsexual oppression flows almost naturally from radical feminist precepts and dares to declare that a materialist, radical transfeminism is the way forward to seize the foundations of patriarchy at the root.
I preordered Bhatt’s nonfic collection minutes after finishing her incredible essay (article?) on hijra, because this is very clearly someone who knows things I need to know about things I care about. Which is a terribly clunky way of putting it, but you probably know what I mean!
Artifice & Access: A disability in fantasy anthology by Ella T Holmes, Adie Hart, Tam Ayers, Natalie Kelda, Ashley Sheesley, Elior Haley, Harper Kinsley, Rascal Hartley, Lynne Sargent, Kara Siert Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Representation: Disbaled MCs
Published on: 25th January 2025
Goodreads
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It’s long been known that disability representation is lacking in the fantasy genre landscape, so in this anthology, fourteen writers from around the globe come together to bring you wonderful fantasy stories centering disabled and chronically ill characters.
Teeming with magic, otherworldly creatures, discoveries and journeys, every story is as thrilling and fascinating as it is passionate and meaningful. Worlds are discovered, lives are changed, swords are drawn.
Disabled and chronically ill characters go questing, fighting dragons, healing, and enacting strange magics. Familiar fairy tales are reimagined and new fairytales are forged, with each story shattering stereotypes and challenging traditional narratives. Come see yourself reflected—or discover something new.
Stories
One Cream, Five Sugars by Harper Kinsley
A Witch's Tale by Rascal Hartley
Use Your Words by Zira MacFarlane
The Changeling of Brushby by Natalie Kelda
To Make Her Eat by M. Stevenson
Hope, Be It Never So Faint by Ashley N. Y. Sheesley
A Night For Mischief by Elior Haley
Lessons in Botany by Casper E. Falls
Stroke of Midnight, Shoes of Glass by Adie Hart
In Another World, I Twist The Knife by Rory G
The Knife That Makes The Cut by Lynne Sargent
Angharad ferch Truniaw by Tam Ayers
The Girl & The Gum-riddle by Ella T Holmes
City of the Sun by Kara Siert
!!! I am so excited for a collection full of different examples of disability in fantasy!!! We see it so rarely, and now a whole bunch of stories at once!!! EEE!!!
Will you be reading any of these? Did I miss any releases you think I should know about? Let me know!
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