Siavahda's Blog, page 34
January 10, 2024
I Can’t Wait For…Roxy and Coco by Terese Svoboda
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 Roxy and Coco by Terese Svoboda!
Roxy and Coco: A Novel by Terese Svoboda Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy
Published on: 1st February 2024
Goodreads
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Roxy and Coco, sisters and glamorous harpies (mythical bird women), work to save the world by stopping child abuse, while also trying to evade capture. For readers of Neil Gaiman and Karen Russell.
Sisters Roxy and Coco are two glamorous harpies—mythical bird women—attempting to outrun extinction and fix the planet by preventing child abuse, one child at a time.
When Roxy is suddenly attracted to her human supervisor at a social work agency a hundred years too early, Coco is very suspicious. Luring Roxy with his scent, Tim is also on the payroll of a fake conservationist intent on her less-than-legal collection. Coco swoops in to vet Tim, but Interpol is hot on her trail for a series of curious homicides. (Surveillance has a very hard time convincing his boss of what he’s monitoring.) When the sisters find themselves trapped, Chris, a bipolar skateboarding truant, tries his best to rescue them but it’s Stewie, Coco’s colleague, who turns the story inside out. Roxy and Coco climaxes at a gala of egg fanciers who scramble to escape the harpies’ talons.
Action figure–worthy, for readers of Neil Gaiman and Karen Russell, this modern take on these fabled women touches on mental illness, racism, animal rights, and the rights of children.
This sounds extremely strange and kinda bonkers and I love it??? I’m always here for vigilantes against child abuse, and these ones are actual harpies?! That is so cool!
There’s so much going on in this blurb – Roxy is attracted to her supervisor? Does that mean the harpies aren’t vigilantes, exactly? That they work as part of a group? How else could she have a supervisor? Or can Roxy and Coco take human form, and have human day jobs on top of being vigilantes, and Roxy has a supervisor in that job? Perhaps???
(And – she’s experiencing attraction a hundred years too early? How long does it take for harpies to reach maturity? Ages, it sounds like!)
Does this fake conservationist have a collection of other beasties and beings from myth? Exactly what does Interpol think is going on here? And what are egg fanciers??? I’m almost afraid to find out the answer to that last one!
I love weird stories, and this one sounds both weird and awesome. Can’t wait!
The post I Can’t Wait For…Roxy and Coco by Terese Svoboda appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
January 9, 2024
10 Books I Am Rabid To Read In The First Half of 2024
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!
This week’s prompt is all about the books we’re most excited for in the first half of the year. You can of course check out my Unmissable SFF of 2024 list for pretty much every book I’m looking forward to, but these here are the ten I’m most grabby-hands for from January to June!
Me, being VERY EXCITED
The Principle of Moments (Order of Legends, #1) by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson Genres: Queer Protagonists, Science Fantasy
Representation: Queer Black MC, Black MC
Published on: 18th January 2024
Goodreads
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Unmissable for fans of the spacefaring found family of Becky Chambers, the alternate London of V. E. Schwab, and the virtuosic climate-craft of N. K. Jemisin.
A century-spanning space fantasy novel that will take you on a whirlwind adventure, from a Regency Era love affair between a time-traveller and the prince waiting for him in the past, to a rescue mission in the 60th century, where a girl desperately races against time as she searches for the sister the emperor stole.
6066: In Emperor Thracin’s brave new galaxy, humans are not citizens. Instead, they are indentured labourers, working to repay the debt they unwittingly incurred when they settled on Gahraan - a desert planet already owned by the emperor himself. Asha Akindele knows she’s just another voiceless cog working the assembly lines that fuel his vast imperial war machine. Her only rebellion: studying stolen aeronautics manuals in the dead of night. But then a cloaked stranger arrives to deliver an impossible message, and her life changes in an instant.
1812: Obi Amadi is done with time-travelling. Never mind the fact he doesn’t know how to cure himself of the temporal sickness he caught whilst anchoring his soul to Regency London, the one that unmakes him further with every jump. Or if the prince he loves will ever love him back. Or why his father disappeared. He is done. Until he hears about the ghost of a girl in the British Museum. A girl from another time.
When Obi’s path tangles with Asha’s and a prophecy awakens in the cold darkness of space, they must voyage through the stars, racing against time, tyranny, and the legacy of three heroes from an ancient religion who may be awakening, reincarnated in ways beyond comprehension.
I’ve said this many times, and I’m gonna say it again: I’ve been waiting for this book since 2020! Everything about it makes me go heart-eyes – the blurb, the hints and details Jikiemi-Pearson’s dropped on social media, snippets I’ve seen of early reviews (I haven’t properly read any early reviews, because I don’t want spoilers), and – DUN DUN! – the first few pages of my illumicrate special edition, which arrived a few days ago!!!
(Which is a very big deal indeed because I’m disabled and can’t hold paper books anymore without a lot of pain. BUT I DID IT AND I REGRET NOTHING.
AND ALSO THOSE FIRST PAGES WERE EPIC.
SO THERE.)
The Feast Makers (The Scapegracers #3) Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists Representation: Nonbinary lesbian MC, major bisexual Asian-American character, major Black queer character, major lesbian character
Published on: 26th March 2024
Goodreads
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The Craft for Gen The Feast Makers , indie bestselling author H. A. Clarke crafts an action-packed conclusion to the Scapegracers trilogy, as our beloved teen coven tackle college acceptances, queer romance, and a witch trial to remember for the ages.
After restoring their powers, Sideways just wants to get on with senior year. But the covens have convened for the trial of Madeline Kline. When this stubborn, independent witch begs the Scapegracers to save her from a cruel and unusual punishment, Sideways knows they have to get involved. It’s the right thing to do, even if Madeline did steal their soul and wear it for a time. Right?
Making an example out of Madeline seems, strangely, just as important to the most powerful covens as divvying up the Scapegracers amongst themselves. Sideways, Jing, Daisy, and Yates are reluctant to abandon what they’ve built together, but as the college acceptances (and rejections) roll in, the offer of a magical family beyond Sycamore Gorge becomes increasingly tempting.
Unfortunately, choosing a new coven will have to witchfinders are gathering in town, and some of these visitors make the Chantrys seem tame in comparison. Every witch—Scapegracer or not—is about to be in grave danger.
And on top of all that , Sideways thinks they just might be in love.
In H. A. Clarke’s signature raw and explosive style, The Feast Makers brings the indie-bestselling Scapegracers trilogy to a dynamic end as Sideways, Jing, Daisy, Yates, and Shiloh tackle college acceptances, queer romance, and the meaning of justice in an ever-challenging world.
The Scapegracers trilogy is almost literally my Everything, and I am not ready for this series to be over – but I also can’t wait for the next book. I don’t know WHAT Clarke’s going to do with it, except turn me into a supernova. I CANNOT WITH THE EVEN, OKAY???
My review of The Scapegracers
My review of The Scratch Daughters
The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: M/M
Published on: 26th March 2024
Goodreads
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“What if I told you that the feeling we call love is actually the feeling of metaphysical recognition, when your soul remembers someone from a previous life?”
In the year 4 BCE, an ambitious courtier is called upon to seduce the young emperor — but quickly discovers they are both ruled by blood, sex and intrigue.
In 1740, a lonely innkeeper agrees to help a mysterious visitor procure a rare medicine, only to unleash an otherworldly terror instead.
And in present-day Los Angeles, a college student meets a beautiful stranger and cannot shake the feeling they’ve met before.
Across these seemingly unrelated timelines woven together only by the twists and turns of fate, two men are reborn, lifetime after lifetime. Within the treacherous walls of an ancient palace and the boundless forests of the Asian wilderness to the heart-pounding cement floors of underground rave scenes, our lovers are inexplicably drawn to each other, constantly tested by the worlds around them.
As their many lives intertwine, they begin to realize the power of their undying love—a power that transcends time itself…but one that might consume them both.
An unpredictable roller coaster of a debut novel, The Emperor and the Endless Palace is a genre-bending romantic thriller that challenges everything we think we know about true love.
Um, queer reincarnation with THAT magical a cover??? You couldn’t pay me not to pounce on it!!!
US Cover
UK CoverSomeone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: F/F
Published on: 2nd April 2024
Goodreads
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Discover this creepy, charming monster-slaying fantasy romance—from the perspective of the monster—by Nebula Award-winning debut author John Wiswell
Shesheshen has made a mistake fatal to all monsters: she's fallen in love.
Shesheshen is a shapeshifter, who happily resides as an amorphous lump at the bottom of a ruined manor. When her rest is interrupted by hunters intent on murdering her, she constructs a body from the remains of past meals: a metal chain for a backbone, borrowed bones for limbs, and a bear trap as an extra mouth.
However, the hunters chase Shesheshen out of her home and off a cliff. Badly hurt, she’s found and nursed back to health by Homily, a warm-hearted human, who has mistaken Shesheshen as a fellow human. Homily is kind and nurturing and would make an excellent co-parent: an ideal place to lay Shesheshen’s eggs so their young could devour Homily from the inside out. But as they grow close, she realizes humans don’t think about love that way.
Shesheshen hates keeping her identity secret from Homily, but just as she’s about to confess, Homily reveals why she’s in the area: she’s hunting a shapeshifting monster that supposedly cursed her family. Has Shesheshen seen it anywhere?
Eating her girlfriend isn’t an option. Shesheshen didn’t curse anyone, but to give herself and Homily a chance at happiness, she has to figure out why Homily’s twisted family thinks she did. As the hunt for the monster becomes increasingly deadly, Shesheshen must unearth the truth quickly, or soon both of their lives will be at risk.
And the bigger challenge remains: surviving her toxic in-laws long enough to learn to build a life with, rather than in, the love of her life.
Listen, everything about this sounds like it was written for me, specifically, and also I have a MIGHTY NEED to see what kind of book could inspire two such drastically different covers!!! (Both of which I love.)
Space Oddity (Space Opera, #2) by Catherynne M. Valente Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Nonbinary MC
Published on: 7th May 2024
Goodreads
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Catherynne Valente could write anything she pleases and it would be in my Top Ten Most Wanted, okay? But as it happens, this is the sequel to the glitterpunk Space Opera, which I loved, and I’m just SO EXCITED to revisit these characters and the marvellously delightful bonkers-whimsy aliens Valente populated her universe with!!!
Road to Ruin (Magebike Courier, #1) by Hana Lee Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists, Science Fantasy
Representation: Queer MC
Published on: 14th May 2024
Goodreads
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An electrifying, gritty fantasy from debut author Hana Lee that takes a royal messenger on a high-speed chase across a climate-ravaged wasteland, featuring motorcycles, monsters, and magic.
Jin-Lu has the most dangerous job in the wasteland. She’s a magebike courier, one of the few who venture outside the domed cities on motorcycles powered by magic. Every day, she braves the wasteland’s dangers—deadly storms, roving marauders, and territorial beasts—to deliver her wares.
Her most valuable cargo? A prince’s love letters addressed to Yi-Nereen, a princess desperate to escape the clutches of her abusive family and soon-to-be husband. Jin, desperately in love with both her and the prince, can’t refuse Yi-Nereen’s plea for help. The two of them flee across the wastes, pursued by Yi-Nereen’s furious father, her scheming betrothed, and a bounty hunter with mysterious powers.
A storm to end all storms is brewing and dark secrets about the heritability of magic are coming to light. Jin’s heart has led her into peril before, but this time she may not find her way back.
I have been waiting with GREATLY PASSIONATE PATIENCE (patience because we do not pressure writers to hurry up on this blog, thank you, and anyway publishing is slow, nothing anyone can do about that) for this book since the pub deal was announced! CAN YOU BLAME ME??? NO, NO YOU CANNOT. Magic and motorbikes and deadly secrets and hopefully polyamory??? SIA NEEDS VERY BADLY!!!
The Misfit Caravan (The Tarot Sequence) by K.D. Edwards Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: mlm MC, bi/pansexual love interest, M/M, secondary asexual character, secondary Indigenous American characters
Published on: 21st May 2024
Goodreads
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Do we have a blurb? No. Do I care? Also no. I’ve adored every book in this series, and I know I’m going to love this one too. Plus, Misfit Caravan is the beginning of the second ‘trilogy arc’! Edwards has said that the planned 9 books are divided into three major plot-arcs, and it is VERY EXCITING to know we’re moving onto an even bigger playing field, story-wise!!! And honestly, even if we weren’t, I’d just be happy to be seeing these incredible characters again.
My review of The Last Sun
My review of The Hanged Man
My review of The Hourglass Throne
Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Brown cast, M/M, major nonbinary character
Published on: 13th June 2024
Goodreads
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Avra Helvaçi, former field agent of the Arasti Ministry of Intelligence, has accidentally stolen the single most expensive secret in the world―and the only place to flee with a secret that big is the open sea.
To find a buyer with deep enough pockets, Avra must ask for help from his on-again, off-again ex, the pirate Captain Teveri az-Haffar. They are far from happy to see him, but together, they hatch a plan: take the information to the isolated pirate republic of the Isles of Lost Souls, fence it, profit. The only things in their way? A calculating new Arasti ambassador to the Isles of Lost Souls who's got his eyes on Avra's every move; Brother Julian, a beautiful, mysterious new member of the crew with secrets of his own and a frankly inconvenient vow of celibacy; the fact that they're sailing straight into sea serpent breeding season and almost certain doom.
But if they can find a way to survive and sell the secret on the black market, they’ll all be as wealthy as kings―and, more importantly, they'll be legends.
Alexandra Rowland has already established themself as one of my favourite authors, so anything they write would be an auto-buy – but I’ve also gotten to read drafts of the earlier chapters on Rowland’s Patreon, and so I know that on top of its great premise (and seriously, isn’t that premise GREAT?) it’s also hysterically funny! There’s just nothing about this I don’t love.
Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi, Science Fantasy
Representation: M/M
Published on: 18th June 2024
Goodreads
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Rakesfall is a groundbreaking, standalone science fiction epic about two souls bound together from here until the ends of time, from the author of The Saint of Bright Doors
Some stories take more than one lifetime to tell. There are wrongs that echo through the ages, friendships that outpace the claws of death, loves that leave their mark on civilization, and promises that nothing can break. This is one such story.
Annelid and Leveret met after the war, but before the peace. They found each other in a torn-up nation, peering through propaganda to grasp a deeper truth. And in a demon-haunted wood, another act of violence linked them and propelled their souls on a journey throughout the ages. No world can hold them, no life can bind them, and they'll never leave each other behind. But their journey will not be easy. In every lifetime, oppressors narrow the walls of possibility, shaping reality to fit their own needs. And behind the walls of history, the witches of the red web swear that every throne will fall.
Tracing two souls through endless lifetimes, Rakesfall is a virtuosic exploration of what stories can be. As Annelid and Leveret reincarnate ever deeper into the future, they will chase the edge of human possibility, in a dark science fiction epic unlike anything you've read before.
After last year’s Saint of Bright Doors, I will read ANYTHING Chandrasekera writes! And this? This sounds AMAZING! Again, queer reincarnation, but so completely and wildly different from Emperor of the Endless Palace! And with how fantastically strange and unique Bright Doors was – and all the weirdness hinted at in the blurb – GAH! I can’t WAIT!
My review of Saint of Bright Doors
The Daughters' War (Blacktongue) by Christopher Buehlman Genres: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Sapphic MC
Published on: 25th June 2024
Goodreads
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A standalone novel following young warrior Galva dom Braga on her journey from untested academy swordswoman to feared and bloodied veteran knight, set during the war-torn, goblin-infested years just before The Blacktongue Thief.
The goblins have killed all of our horses and most of our men. They have enslaved our cities, burned our fields, and inflicted a waking nightmare on the known world. Yet humanity persists, fighting back with all we have against the their bottomless hunger for human lands and human flesh.
Now it's up to the daughters of Manreach to save what's left of the human kingdoms. They'll fight every weapon at hand, with fearsome gods at their backs and brutal monsters at their sides.
Galva - Galvicha to her three brothers, also under arms against the foe - has defied her family's wishes and joined the army's untested new unit, the Raven Knights, to serve at the side of women who, like her, have chosen the battlefield over the marriage bed. She and her sisters in arms march toward a once-beautiful city now overrun by the goblin horde, accompanied by scores of giant war corvids. Made with the darkest magics, these fearsome black birds may hold the key to stopping the goblins in their war to make cattle of mankind.
The road to victory is bloody and the stakes are high; the goblins are clever and merciless in their prosecution of this third war against us. The Raven Knights can take nothing for granted - not the bonds of family, nor the wisdom of their leaders, nor their own safety against the dangerous war birds at their side.
But some hopes are worth any risk.
This is a prequel to Blacktongue Thief, which I love so much, and it’s even about Galva, which – BEST DECISION EVER, MR BUEHLMAN SIR! Galva was incredible in Blacktongue and I don’t imagine a single one of us was anything but delighted to hear she’d be getting her own book. Plus, WAR CORVIDS, PLEASE AND THANK YOU!
So that’s my ten – what are yours???
The post 10 Books I Am Rabid To Read In The First Half of 2024 appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
January 8, 2024
Must-Have Monday #168
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.
SEVEN books this week!
(Books are listed in order of pub date, then Adult SFF, Adult Other, YA SFF, YA Other, MG SFF.)
Bioluminescence by Toni Duarte Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Bisexual MCs
Published on: 8th January 2024
Goodreads
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Plagued by anxiety, medic-in-training Georgie Wicks is teetering on the brink of emotional collapse. When her settlement's trade groups, including her father, vanish under mysterious circumstances, the future of her home hangs in the balance. Now, she must risk everything and venture beyond the walls into a dangerous, mutated version of a world she once knew.
Adam Kulyk is a quick-witted survivor with a lethal knack for sniping. His fierce determination to protect Oliver, the last bastion of peace in his life, fuels his relentless survival instinct. But beneath his cheerful facade, Adam grapples with addiction and past trauma that threatens to consume him entirely.
When their paths collide, Georgie discovers the deadly fungus that decimated humanity is not the only danger lurking in the shadows. With not only her home but the entire city on the line, the stakes are higher than she could've ever imagined
One is driven by the hope of saving humanity, the other is scarred by its cruelty and indifferent to its survival. Now, they must find strength in their differences to protect their loved ones and find a way through the looming darkness-or risk being devoured by it.
Fungal apocalypses do not sound fun! Well, not to live through, anyway. To read about? Perhaps! Adam especially sounds like an interesting character…
Mislaid in Parts Half-Known (Wayward Children, #9) by Seanan McGuire Genres: Fantasy, Portal Fantasy
Representation: Secondary queer and BIPOC characters
Published on: 9th January 2024
Goodreads
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Dinosaurs and portals, and a girl who can find both in the latest book in the Hugo and Nebula Award-Winning series.
Antsy is the latest student to pass through the doors at Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children.
When her fellow students realize that Antsy's talent for finding absolutely anything may extend to doors, she's forced to flee in the company of a small group of friends, looking for a way back to the Shop Where the Lost Things Go to be sure that Vineta and Hudson are keeping their promise.
Along the way, temptations are dangled, decisions are reinforced, and a departure to a world populated by dinosaurs brings untold dangers and one or two other surprises!
A story that reminds us that finding what you want doesn't always mean finding what you need.
NEW WAYWARD CHILDREN BOOK NEW WAYWARD CHILDREN BOOK NEW WAYWARD CHILDREN BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK!!! Do I really need to say anything else?
Well, maybe a couple of things: first off, this is not a good book to start with, if you’re not already familiar with the series; secondly, this is not a dinosaur book. From what McGuire’s said about it, we’re only going to get a glimpse of dinosaurs, they won’t be featured. So don’t dive into Mislaid in Parts Half-Known expecting The Land Before Time, okay?
I’m very worried about people judging this book unfairly, being disappointed by it and blaming it for that disappointment, all because the marketing department was stupid enough to set up false expectations with that cover.
Personally, I can’t wait to see how this one goes. Eee!
The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Magical Realism
Representation: Desi MC
Published on: 9th January 2024
Goodreads
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Rebecca meets Fatima Farheen Mirza in this sweeping, gorgeously atmospheric novel about a ruined mansion by the sea, the djinn that haunts it, and a curious girl who unearths the tragedy that happened there a hundred years previous
Akbar Manzil was once a grand estate off the coast of South Africa. Now, nearly a century since it was built, it stands in an isolated boardinghouse for misfits, seeking to forget their pasts and disappear into the mansions dark corridors.
Until Sana. She and her father are the latest of Akbar Manzil’s long list of tenants, seeking a new home after suffering painful loss. Unlike the others, who choose not to look too closely at the mansion’s unsettling qualities—the strange assortment of bones in the overgrown garden, the mysterious figure seen to move sometimes at night—she is curious and questioning and finds herself irresistibly drawn to the history of the mansion. To the eerie and forgotten East Wing, home to a clutter of broken and abandoned objects—and to the locked door at its end, unopened for decades.
Behind the door is a bedroom frozen in time, with faded photographs of a couple in love and a worn diary that whispers of a dark the long-forgotten story of a young woman named Meena, the original owner’s second wife, who died there tragically a hundred years ago. Watching Sana from the room’s shadows is a grieving djinn, an invisible spirit who once loved Meena and has haunted the mansion since her mysterious death. Obsessed with Meena’s story, and unaware of the creature that follows her, Sana digs into the past like fingers into a wound, awakening the memories of the house itself—and dredging up old and terrible secrets that will change the lives of everyone living and dead at Akbar Manzil.
Sublime, heart-wrenching, and lyrically stunning, The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years is a haunting, a love story, and a mystery, all twined beautifully into one young girl’s search for belonging.
I’m a little unclear on whether this’ll be historical fantasy or more magical realism – I’m hoping for the former, but the early reviews have been very contradictory. Fingers crossed!
The Witch of Tophet County: A Comedy of Horrors by J. H. Schiller Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy
Published on: 9th January 2024
Goodreads
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The last witch on Earth takes on interdimensional invaders, tentacled overlords, and local politics in this fun, funny, and fast-paced urban fantasy series.
The witch of Tophet County has three primary Kentucky bourbon, Amish romance novels . . . and protecting her true identity from the chthonic monsters who rule humanity with an iron tentacle.
Despite her best efforts to get fired, the witch is trapped in a draconian, century-long contract that condemns her to work for the Archons of the Nether Realms in the banal misery of county government. But when she accidentally pleases her many-armed overlords, the Dread Lord of Human Resources curses her with an unwanted promotion. And it involves meetings.
As she enters a new bureaucratic hellscape, the witch is assigned to lead a task force investigating recent attacks on senior Archons. Fortunately, her boss has offered her a if she solves the case, they’ll knock fifteen years off her sentence. And if that doesn’t work out, well, she just might have to find a way to help take down the tentaclarchy—or else be doomed to permanent civil servitude . . .
Filled with quick-witted banter, hilariously relatable office politics, and fantastically original characters, The Witch of Tophet County is Lovecraft meets Parks and Recreation—an explosive start to a new series guaranteed to have you glued to your seat until the very last page.
The first volume of the hit horror fantasy series—with more than 100,000 views on Royal Road—now available on Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible!
“[The Witch of Tophet County] explores zany situations with a large cast of strange characters, effectively playing off the concept of an office in a fantasy realm.” —Kirkus Reviews
It’s always a good sign when there’s a raccoon on the cover! This sounds like a lot of fun – I mean, anything that uses the term ‘tentaclarchy’ is something I definitely have to read!
The Ladies Rewrite the Rules by Suzanne Allain Published on: 9th January 2024
Goodreads
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From the author of Mr. Malcolm's List comes a delightful romantic comedy set in Regency England about a widow who takes high society by storm.
Diana Boyle, a wealthy young widow, has no desire to ever marry again. Particularly not to someone who merely wants her for her fortune.
So when she discovers that she’s listed in a directory of rich, single women she is furious, and rightly so. She confronts Maxwell Dean, the man who published the Bachelor’s Directory, and is horrified to find he is far more attractive than his actions have led her to expect.
However, Diana is unmoved by Max’s explanation that he authored the list to assist younger sons like himself who cannot afford to marry unless it’s to a woman of means.
She gathers the ladies in the directory together to inform them of its existence, so they may circumvent fortune hunters’ efforts to trick them into marriage. Though outraged, the women decide to embrace their unique position of power and reverse the usual gender roles by making the men dance to their tune. And together… the ladies rewrite the rules.
I mostly stick to SFF, but I sometimes enjoy Romance novels, especially ones that are a bit nontraditional – which this one might be? I definitely love the idea of swapping gender roles, especially in a historical setting! Very intrigued to see what that ends up looking like in this story!
Somewhere in the Deep by Tanvi Berwah Genres: Fantasy
Representation: South Asian-coded setting and cast
Published on: 9th January 2024
Goodreads
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Seventeen-year-old Krescent Dune is buried under the weight of her dead parents’ debt and the ruinous legacy they left behind. The only way she can earn enough money to escape her unforgiving island is by battling monstrous creatures in an underground fighting pit. After a fight goes terribly wrong, she’s banned from the pits. Now hopeless, she is offered a deal: in exchange for the erasure of her debts, she must join and protect a hunting party for a rescue mission deep within the mining caves beneath the island.
Krescent is determined to keep her head down and fulfill her role as the dutiful bodyguard, even though she is trapped underground with her childhood enemy and a company of people who would gladly kill her if they knew who her parents were. As they come across creatures she believed only existed in legends, it becomes clear they are in far more danger than she could have imagined. But someone doesn’t want her to make it out alive. And she’ll have to figure out who before she’s left alone… in the dark.
From the author of Monsters Born and Made comes an action-packed South Asian inspired fantasy that will have your heart racing at every turn.
More tentacles! Probably scarier ones; Somewhere In the Deep looks like it’s going to be more serious in tone than Witch of Tophet County. But it is, allegedly, not outright Horror, so I’ll probably be checking it out!
Tadek and the Princess (Mahisti Dynasty #1.5) by Alexandra Rowland Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Brown cast, pansexual MC
Published on: 12th January 2024
Goodreads
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From the author of the critically-acclaimed fantasy novel A TASTE OF GOLD AND IRON comes a sequel/spinoff novella about loyalty and grief:
Long before Tadek Hasira ever made it to the Gold Court to serve as one of the royal family’s elite bodyguards and servants, he was nothing more than a grubby street urchin in the poorest district of the capital city—that is, until her Highness, the Crown Princess Mihrişah, held out her hand in kindness, lifted him out of his circumstances, and gave him a future to dream of.
But that was twenty years ago, and tragedy befell the palace only a few years into Tadek’s training. Ever since, Tadek held his unwavering love and loyalty to his princess in silence. No one knows what she was to him, and he is prepared to carry that secret for the rest of his life...
Unless someone—the right person—happens to find him standing vigil at her portrait.
I CAN’T BELIEVE WE’RE GETTING A NEW WAYWARD CHILDREN BOOK AND A PREQUEL/SEQUEL TO A TASTE OF GOLD AND IRON IN THE SAME WEEK!!! I feel very, very spoiled and I’m very okay with that!
Will you be reading any of these? Let me know!
The post Must-Have Monday #168 appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
January 7, 2024
Sunday Soupçons #27
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!
A fantasy conspiracy and a hopepunk cli-fi!
Cursebreakers by Madeleine Nakamura Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: MLM MC with bipolar disorder
PoV: First-person, present-tense
ISBN: B0C9S8ZL1J
Goodreads
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Adrien Desfourneaux, professor of magic, must survive his own failing mental health and a tenuous partnership with a dangerous ally in order to save the city of Astrum from a spreading curse.
Adrien Desfourneaux, professor of magic and disgraced ex-physician, has discovered a conspiracy. Someone is inflicting magical comas on the inhabitants of the massive city of Astrum, and no one knows how or why. Caught between a faction of scheming magical academics and an explosive schism in the ranks of Astrum’s power-hungry military, Adrien is swallowed by the growing chaos. Alongside Gennady, an unruly, damaged young soldier, and Malise, a brilliant healer and Adrien’s best friend, Adrien searches for a way to stop the spreading curse before the city implodes. He must survive his own bipolar disorder, his self-destructive tendencies, and his entanglement with the man who doesn’t love him back.
Cursebreakers is a book I admire more than I enjoyed; I think it’s objectively a really good book, something pretty special, but I didn’t actually have fun reading it. I think there’s a decent chance that was more a problem with me than with the book, though – it’s not clear to me.
Nakamura has created a deeply flawed character in Adrien – and well he knows it. But I didn’t find Adrien whiny; he definitely has issues with self-loathing, and has no patience or compassion for himself, and usually that’s a major turn-off for me – but here the effect was to make me want to wrap him up in a big warm hug. He gives himself no leeway, no sympathy, no kindness, and so Nakamura drew those feelings out of me instead, making me feel sympathetic and protective of him.
I thought the difficulties of his condition – bipolar disorder, renamed akrasia in his world – came through loud and clear in a way that didn’t make this an Issues Book. Instead the focus is on the conspiracy, and the complicated (and thus very interesting) relationship that develops between Adrien and Gennady. If you’re looking for a romance, this isn’t it, but neither is it something as simple as typical friendship, and I thought that was great – I feel like I don’t see many strong platonic bonds between male characters very often, and never a dynamic this difficult to put a name to! It’s not romantic, it’s not mentor/mentee, it’s not even comrades-in-arms – I don’t know what to call it, but that was what made it fascinating: that it’s complicated and unusual enough that I can’t stick a label on it.
Things moved quickly, but they felt slow, and I never had a very clear grasp of what Adrien’s would looked like or exactly how it worked – it wasn’t until nearly the end of the book that we learn this land is ruled by twin empresses, if I remember correctly. I was never very sure of how things fit together. But that’s offset quite a bit by how narrow the book’s focus is: by zooming in so tightly on Adrien, it…almost doesn’t matter that the big picture is so blurry? Because the big picture is pretty irrelevant; Cursebreakers is so character-driven that we don’t really need more than Adrien’s immediate surroundings for the show to go on.
Like I said: I didn’t love it. But I think it’s objectively pretty good, and definitely interesting, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for future works by Nakamura!
The Lost Cause by Cory Doctorow Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Queer MC, QBIPOC secondary cast
PoV: First-person, past-tense
ISBN: B0BQ69W3VG
Goodreads
It’s thirty years from now. We’re making progress, mitigating climate change, slowly but surely. But what about all the angry old people who can’t let go?
For young Americans a generation from now, climate change isn't controversial. It's just an overwhelming fact of life. And so are the great efforts to contain and mitigate it. Entire cities are being moved inland from the rising seas. Vast clean-energy projects are springing up everywhere. Disaster relief, the mitigation of floods and superstorms, has become a skill for which tens of millions of people are trained every year. The effort is global. It employs everyone who wants to work. Even when national politics oscillates back to right-wing leaders, the momentum is too great; these vast programs cannot be stopped in their tracks.
But there are still those Americans, mostly elderly, who cling to their red baseball caps, their grievances, their huge vehicles, their anger. To their "alternative" news sources that reassure them that their resentment is right and pure and that "climate change" is just a giant scam.
And they're your grandfather, your uncle, your great-aunt. And they're not going anywhere. And they’re armed to the teeth.
The Lost Cause What do we do about people who cling to the belief that their own children are the enemy? When, in fact, they're often the elders that we love?
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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Which makes me part of the problem, I guess: a significant part of Lost Cause is a desperate plea for people to start acting, to stop sticking their heads in the sand and face what’s coming. But this is Doctorow, which means it’s less moralising and a lot more practical, giving examples via fiction of what humanity is going to have to deal with and exploring how to deal with those things. I can see some readers being miffed that this is, in a lot of ways, kind of a case study rather than a novel – but personally I think it does great as a novel. This is a compulsive, fast-paced story that just happens to also be something of an instruction manual for surviving the future, particularly for middle-class white people who haven’t been seriously affected by climate change yet, who can go days or weeks without thinking about it at all. It’s a wake-up call to the reality of the situation, and an incisive manifesto on how not only is giving up not an option, there’s no reason to be hopeless; there’s so much that can be done, if we just get moving and do it.
Here’s a thing about the law: there aren’t enough cops to enforce the law if people don’t believe in it.
I do think the blurb/tagline are misleading though: this really isn’t a novel of ‘reconciliation’ between the MAGA types and the rest of us. If anything, the conclusion Lost Cause comes to is that we just have to go on despite, around, and if necessary through them.
Despite all the Big Scary Topics, I’d call this a good read – I enjoyed it, it gave me plenty to think about (which I like), and it made me hopeful; besides which, it’s Doctorow, so the writing is super readable and the characters are all so real they feel like they’re about to walk off the page. I’d definitely recommend it for people scared of how big and unstoppable climate change feels – it was a relief to see someone say ‘this is how we get through it’ in a practical and approachable, easy-to-understand way. And I imagine a lot of others will feel the same!
What have you been reading this week?
The post Sunday Soupçons #27 appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
January 3, 2024
I Can’t Wait For…Mislaid In Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire
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 Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire!
Mislaid in Parts Half-Known (Wayward Children, #9) by Seanan McGuire Genres: Fantasy, Portal Fantasy
Published on: 9th January 2024
Goodreads
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Dinosaurs and portals, and a girl who can find both in the latest book in the Hugo and Nebula Award-Winning series.
Antsy is the latest student to pass through the doors at Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children.
When her fellow students realize that Antsy's talent for finding absolutely anything may extend to doors, she's forced to flee in the company of a small group of friends, looking for a way back to the Shop Where the Lost Things Go to be sure that Vineta and Hudson are keeping their promise.
Along the way, temptations are dangled, decisions are reinforced, and a departure to a world populated by dinosaurs brings untold dangers and one or two other surprises!
A story that reminds us that finding what you want doesn't always mean finding what you need.
Just in case time’s gotten away from you, or you managed to miss hearing about it amidst, you know, Life, the Universe, and Everything – I’m here to remind you that we’re getting a new Wayward Children book next week!
It sounds like Mislaid follows on pretty directly from the events in the previous instalment, Lost In the Moment and Found – which isn’t always the case in this series; the publication order and internal chronological order are pretty different! But I’m not at all displeased to being seeing more of Antsy; I thought Lost was one of the best books in the series so far, I really like Antsy as a character, and like her, I’m anxious to make sure that Vineta and Hudson are keeping their promise!
RE the cover, McGuire did mention on social media that dinosaurs aren’t actually a big part of the story, so try to manage your expectations on that front – it sounds more like the characters will glimpse dinosaurs on the way to some other world, rather than their being featured. (So perhaps we’ll see Stephanie, however briefly? Since she was the one with the dinosaur Door, which took her back in Drowned Girls.)
But that is very okay with me – yes, I won’t deny it, dinos are cool, but I’m MUCH more interested in how Antsy’s ability to (maybe) find Doors is going to affect…well, everything. Could she potentially get everyone in the school back to the worlds they call home? Even if she can’t, if people think she can, things are going to get vicious – there are a lot of kids desperate to find their Doors again, who would definitely be willing to cross a lot of lines to force Antsy to help them.
What if she can send them home, but the Doors spit them back out again because it wasn’t time for them to return? What if those worlds don’t want them back? I’m willing to bet the blame for that would fall on Antsy, again putting her in a pretty dangerous position.
And that’s all supposing she has any control over which Doors she finds – the fact that it sounds (from what McGuire’s said elsewhere, less from the blurb) like the cast will be passing through a few different worlds could mean that she’s dropping off friends where they want to go…or it could mean that she finds Doors at random, with no idea or control over where they lead; hence the need to go through many to try and reach her destination.
CAN YOU TELL I’VE BEEN SPENDING A LOT OF TIME THINKING ABOUT THIS BOOK?
Who do you think will be joining her on her adventure/quest? Kade, Christopher, Sumi and Cora are some of my favourite characters and they usually feature, so I’m hoping to see them all again, but I’d love it if we got to spend more time with Regan and Marian too! And I feel like the odds are good for that, with the way Drowned Girls ended. (If you don’t remember who Marian is, [View post to see spoiler])
Whoever it is, we’ll find out next week!!!
The post I Can’t Wait For…Mislaid In Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
January 1, 2024
Must-Have Monday #167
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.
2024 kicks off with FOUR books this week!
(Books are listed in order of pub date, then Adult SFF, Adult Other, YA SFF, YA Other, MG SFF.)
Blades & Ballet: Enemy of the Wind by Nathan R Maher, Emrys Dailey Genres: Fantasy
Representation: Brown MC
Published on: 2nd February 2024
Goodreads
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"The narghoulim comes! Snickity-snack-with jaws of steel and claws a'clack! Gnash-Gnaw- Bite-Thraw! Here it comes over the mountains, child. Here it comes over the mountains. The narghoulim comes! The narghoulim comes! Tumble down, scamper past. Find your love-enfold and clasp. Drippity-drop, the waterclock stops. There we go over the mountain, child. There we end over the mountains." - Finni nursery rhyme.
Vera's life was filled with a loving family, supportive friends and neighbors who cared for each other. All of that ended when a narghoulim devoured them, or as the finni say, "Taken over the mountain." Hunted by the revenant god, the only place safe for them is the city of Adalace, home of the chevalières - ballet-knights with the power to slay the titanic monsters. But after another close call from their ravenous pursuer, Vera refuses to settle for just survival, instead they enrolled in the Regal Ballet Academy to train in both dance and combat. With help from their friends, dedication, and a whole lot of luck, Vera must breach the Glass to claim their divine power before their sixteenth birthday or else all is lost. It's a race against time with a special prize for winning - the opportunity for vengeance!
"Blades & Ballet - Enemy of the Wind" is a dark fantasy novel with characters rich in diversity. It is a coming-of-age tale set in a unique world inspired by romantic ballets, filled with found family, the strength of friendship, and of finding one's place in the world.
The blurb’s a little confusing, but magic and ballet are a great combination, and I’m always intrigued by stories with non-human protagonists!
A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Published on: 2nd January 2024
Goodreads
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In this romantic fantasy of manners from New York Times bestselling author Allison Saft, a magical dressmaker commissioned for a royal wedding finds herself embroiled in scandal when a gossip columnist draws attention to her undeniable chemistry with the groom.
Niamh Ó Conchobhair has never let herself long for more. The magic in her blood that lets her stitch emotions and memories into fabric is the same magic that will eventually kill her. Determined to spend the little time she has left guaranteeing a better life for her family, Niamh jumps at the chance to design the wardrobe for a royal wedding in the neighboring kingdom of Avaland.
But Avaland is far from the fairytale that she imagined. While young nobles attend candlelit balls and elegant garden parties, unrest brews amid the working class. The groom himself, Kit Carmine, is prickly, abrasive, and begrudgingly being dragged to the altar as a political pawn. But when Niamh and Kit grow closer, an unlikely friendship blossoms into something more—until an anonymous gossip columnist starts buzzing about their chemistry, promising to leave them alone only if Niamh helps to uncover the royal family’s secrets. The rot at the heart of Avaland runs deep, but exposing it could risk a future she never let herself dream of, and a love she never thought possible.
Transporting readers to a Regency England-inspired fantasy world, A Fragile Enchantment is a sweeping romance threaded with intrigue, unforgettable characters, and a love story for the ages.
This didn’t work for me, but mostly for very personal reasons unlikely to affect most readers. I think most people who are drawn to this blurb will love it!
Eye of a Little God by A.J. Steiger Genres: Horror, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Queer MC
Published on: 2nd January 2024
Goodreads
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The Painted Man is here. I feel him in the darkness. He says, "If you let me in, I'll make the pain stop." God help me, I want to let him.
After losing his delivery job - the last thing binding him to an empty life - Eddie Luther, veteran and drifter, drives into the snowy woods with a bottle of sleeping pills. But instead of eternal silence, Eddie hears a whisper inside his damaged ear.
Help me.
He follows the call and finds a cryptic journal filled with loneliness and longing, a journal whose words seem written for him alone. Guided by the clues in its pages, he embarks on a journey into a shadowy world beneath the small town of Devil's Fork, Nebraska - a world where girls become cats, televisions whisper prophecies, and only those cast out of society can see and use magic . . .
Or maybe Eddie's sanity is slipping. All he knows for sure is that he's falling in love with someone he's never seen, someone who may be more than human - and who will change everything he thinks he knows about the world and his place in it.
‘What happens when your inner demon wants out?’ is an awesome tagline, and I’m intrigued by the sound of Devil’s Fork. And – falling in love with someone you’ve never seen? Magic that only works for outcasts? Yeah, I need to check this out!
Sky's End (Above the Black, #1) by Marc J Gregson Genres: Fantasy
Published on: 2nd January 2024
Goodreads
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Plummet into a kill-or-be-killed competition where a scrappy underdog hell-bent on revenge must claw his way to the top in this thrilling YA fantasy debut
Exiled to live as a Low, sixteen-year-old Conrad refuses to become heir to his murderous uncle. But Meritocracy is a harsh and unforgiving rule on the floating island of Holmstead, and when his ailing mother is killed by monstrous gorgantauns, Conrad cuts a deal to save the only family he has left. To rescue his sister from his uncle's clutches, Conrad must enter the Selection of the Twelve Trades.
Hunter, the deadliest of all the Trades, gains a fresh recruit with Conrad. Now he must endure vigorous training, manipulative peers, and the Gauntlet—a brutal final test that yields riches and status to whichever skyship crew kills the most gorgantauns. Forced to serve in the lowest of stations and unseen by all, Conrad overhears whispers of rebellion in the dark. Conrad had never known anything existed below the toxic black clouds of the Skylands . . . until now.
Grab your copy of Book One of the Above the Black trilogy today! This action-packed series is reminiscent of Attack on Titan and The Hunger Games—a great pick for fans of Pierce Brown, Scott Westerfeld, and Veronica Roth.
I’ve been hearing lots of great things about this one, and if you’re looking for something action-packed – with sky-serpents! – then this might do it for you!
You can read the first 8 chapters for free here!
Will you be reading any of these? Let me know!
The post Must-Have Monday #167 appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
December 31, 2023
In Short: December
This month, the hubby had (minor) surgery and my right arm just…freaked out. (Fibromyalgia? Terrible posture? Who the fuck knows? Could be both!) So I wasn’t able to write much at all. Luckily, fibro = autoimmune disorder = no family nonsense over the holidays, which is always a relief. I refused to let the hubby get me Yule gifts this year, what with being laid off, but I had plenty of boxes to open anyway – I SUCK at opening packages, so I had allllllll the Kickstarter things and special editions I’d ordered (some from last year, even!) to enjoy. And luckily I prepare EARLY for Yule, so the hubby’s gifts were bought long before we were laid off.
Now: ONTO THE BOOKS!
ARCs Received
I was super excited for all of these, bar The Stars Too Fondly, which I hadn’t heard of before I spotted it on Netgalley. But I’m excited for it now! Alas, Voyage of the Damned proved a disappointment, but Exordia is excellent so far, and I’ll be hugely surprised if I don’t enjoy the others too!
Read
24 books read this month – more than November! I’ve steadily been reading more and more, which is hugely reassuring, after the struggle I was having a few months back.
Knock Knock, Open Wide was eerie and awful and really great horror; Paladin’s Faith made me full in love with the Saint of Steel series all over again; Blackheart Ghosts went nowhere I was expecting, and I loved every second of it! The Darkness Before Them and Dark Heir were both great surprises, albeit incredibly different; and a reread of The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home was the perfect way to finish off the year.
To the best of my knowledge, only one of this month’s authors were BIPOC. Bloody awful.
Reviewed
Well, just two reviews is pretty abysmal. But with everything I had going on this month, I’ll give myself a pass.
DNF-ed
I wrote about these yesterday, but the tl;dr version is Crown of Starlight and Voyage of the Damned are both objectively dreadful, and Jinn-Bot and Orphia & Eurydicius did not work for me.
ARCs Outstanding
US Cover
I’m behind, but I feel a lot less stressed about it than I did. I’m determined to catch up, though, and I feel like I’ll be able to. It doesn’t seem impossible!
I’m conflicted about reading my arc of The Poisons We Drink, though, because the author mentioned – while making the very valid point that BIPOC reviewers ought to get priority when it comes to BlPOC-authored works – that the draft that was turned into the arc really wasn’t ready for readers. In which case, how can I judge it? I might wait to read and review the published version in March, instead. Not sure what to do – more thinking on it is required.
MiscAs usual, I threw every queer Adult SFF release I know about at KA Doore for the list she makes every year (here is 2023’s, with links to the earlier ones). I have far too much fun doing that.
In much, much weirder news – WERE NONE OF YOU GOING TO TELL ME I’M A FREAKING WIKIPEDIA REFERENCE?!
In the Pastiche, homages and sequels section of the Wiki page on William Hope Hodgson’s The Night Land, I’M FUCKING QUOTED.
I AM A REFERENCE ON WIKIPEDIA.
WHAT. WHAT. WHAT.
This was not a thing I had on my bucket list, and I am massively confuzzled – but also really, hilariously delighted. WHAT EVEN???
Then I managed to put together alllllllll the lists to wrap up the year – my Best SFF of 2023, for the first time accompanied by a list of my Favourite Backlist Reads (also SFF, obviously).
And what I’m most proud of – Unmissable SFF of 2024! Aka, a guide to all the SFF I consider must-haves for the coming year! I’ll add more to it as new books are announced/I learn about them, but I’m pretty damn proud of it.
Looking ForwardI can’t wait for any of these – new Wayward Children book! The science fantasy I’ve been waiting for since 2020!! A sequel to A Taste of Gold and Iron!!! I predict a seriously great reading month!
And that’s a wrap. Happy New Year, everyone – may 2024 be wonderful for all of us!
The post In Short: December appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
December 30, 2023
December DNFs
One fewer DNFs than last month! That’s progress, right?
The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport by Samit Basu Genres: Sci Fi
Representation: Brown cast
ISBN: B0BQGGLR6V
Goodreads
Shantiport was supposed to be a gateway to the stars. But the city is sinking, and its colonist rulers aren’t helping anyone but themselves.
Lina, a daughter of failed revolutionaries, has no desire to escape Shantiport. She loves her city and would do anything to save its people. This is, in fact, the plan for her life, made before she was even born.
Her brother, Bador, is a small monkey bot with a big attitude and bigger ambitions. He wants a chance to leave this dead-end planet and explore the universe on his own terms. But that would mean abandoning the family he loves―even if they do take him for granted.
When Shantiport's resident tech billionaire coerces Lina into retrieving a powerful artifact rumored to be able to reshape reality, forces from before their time begin coalescing around the siblings. And when you throw in a piece of sentient, off-world tech with the ability to grant three wishes into the mix… None of the city's powers will know what hit them.
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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I made it to 56% – because it is very readable; Basu’s prose is nice and easy, and Shantiport, the setting, feels wildly alive. But there was so much telling-not-showing, and when the ‘Jinn’ does come into play, I was disappointed – not by the Jinn itself, precisely, so much as how Lina and Basu’s mother used it so carelessly while purporting to be an expert on political revolutions. The (looong) conversation where she explains all the reasons they can’t wish for Very Good Things – like ending poverty, etc – basically comes down to ‘these kinds of changes have to happen slowly and organically’. But like – no??? They don’t??? Not when you literally have three wishes with virtually no limits??? At that point, you ARE allowed to wish for things like world peace. (Just make sure to put in a lot of caveats, so you don’t end up with a Je Souhaite situation.)
And then the mother’s wish goes horribly wrong, because of course it does, and it all felt so – if you’d stopped to think for three seconds you could see how the wish was going to go wrong, but no, she knows best, to the point that she won’t allow the others to make wishes to better the world. Maddening, and arrogant, and then there’s the pity-party afterwards, and there just wasn’t anything keeping me invested in the characters and their story.
I think this could be very fun for the right reader, but alas, I am not that reader.
Crown of Starlight by Cait Corrain Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Queer MC, genderfluid love interest
ISBN: 0593598547
Goodreads
Greek mythology takes to the stars in this steamy, sci-fi reimagining of the tale of Ariadne and Dionysus—the first book in a snarky, queer, lushly romantic duology set in a galaxy of monstrous mortals, bloodthirsty gods, and love fierce enough to shatter the cosmos.
Raised amongst monsters, Ariadne Tholos, Crown Princess of the interstellar Cretan Empire, fears nothing more than becoming one herself. But trapped within the labyrinth of imperial politics and the puritanical restrictions of her father, King-Emperor Minos—and his totalitarian regime of militarized death cultists—she might not have another option. When the chance arises to take her fate into her own hands, Ariadne seizes it, only to find herself on the run—injured, alone, and in desperate need of a miracle.
Enter Dionysus—the exiled god of wine, madness, and revelry. He needs a Cretan royal to join his cult in order to end his banishment and return home to Olympus. Their meeting is the opportunity he’s been waiting for, but there’s just one problem: the Cretans are heretics, and Ariadne is no exception.
With a vengeful Minos closing in, Ariadne strikes a bargain. She’ll marry Dionysus and “join” his cult. In exchange, he’ll hide her away in the only corner of the galaxy beyond Minos’s reach: Olympus itself. But while Ariadne can handle the deadly politicking of the Olympians, a life of repression has left her unprepared for how powerfully Dionysus’s uninhibited debauchery will call to her darkest desires, and make her question parts of her identity she’s kept locked away her entire life.
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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Lots of early readers have since DNFed and/or one-starred Crown of Starlight based on Corrain’s awful behaviour, but I am here to assure you that even if Corrain were a pinnacle of virtue, this book is still dreadful. Writing in first-person was a terrible choice, because the 21yo MC reads like the most dramatic kind of 16yo, complete with over-use of italics because everything. is so. dramatic. You can all but hear her rolling her eyes at absolutely everything. Nothing about her appealed as a character; she’s ridiculously bland, with no interests or goals of her own, and no personality except for vaguely questioning The Way Things Are. (Which is something I can’t stand: WHY are you questioning it, when you were raised inside this system? What makes you different? What influences were you exposed to that made you realise things could/should be otherwise? A rebellious tutor, banned books, what??? But no, no explanation.)
The worldbuilding was boring and full of holes – and for the record, having your MC ruminate on/acknowledge the contradictions and holes in your worldbuilding? Doesn’t fix them, or undo the fact that you’re just bad at building worlds and cultures. Where does the purity culture (particularly for women) come from? Why are all these futuristic space empires named after parts of ancient Greece? If your dad despises you and wants to kill you, why can’t he, when your younger sister would clearly make an heir more to his taste? He’s worried about bad PR – but he managed to turn his entire empire against the gods because he has the best PR people ever, so??? He could just make your death look like an accident, anyway, if he didn’t want people thinking he had a hand in it!
None of it makes sense, and it’s not even interesting. Take out the spaceships, and you could easily forget Crown of Starlight is some kind of scifi; there’s no cultural or technological quirks to make you feel that this is the far-future, or at least a different, unique universe/galaxy from our own. It’s generic as fuck, a smudgy sketch that hasn’t been filled in and painted.
I have no idea why this was getting the hype it was, and I don’t think we’re missing anything by having its publication cancelled.
Voyage of the Damned by Frances White Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: mlm MC
Published on: 18th January 2024
ISBN: 1405956607
Goodreads
For a thousand years, Concordia has been able to maintain peace between its provinces, protected by a wall known as the Bandage. To mark this incredible feat, the emperor's ship embarks upon a twelve-day voyage to the Goddess's mountain.
Aboard are the heirs of the twelve provinces of Concordia, each graced with a unique and secret magical ability known as a Blessing.
Except one: Ganymedes Piscero - class clown, slacker, and all-round disappointment.
When a beloved heir is murdered, everyone is a suspect. Stuck at sea and surrounded by powerful people without a Blessing to protect him, odds of survival are slim.
But as the bodies pile higher, Ganymedes must become the hero he was not born to be. Can he unmask the killer and their Blessing before this bloody crusade reaches the shores of Concordia? Or will the empire as he knows it fall?
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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Is this really Adult??? Because it reads like (not great) YA, with embarrassingly simplistic worldbuilding dropped on us in brick-like info-dumps – and plenty of that worldbuilding makes no sense or contradicts itself, just in the first two chapters.
The empire (and why, why did you name your emperor Eugenios??? I cannot help misreading it as Emperor Eugenics, every time!) is divided into 12 provinces. Each is named for a specific animal, the people there all have the same magical hair colour (like green or blue or purple) and fit a single stereotype, and each province has one industry with which they contribute to the empire.
This is not the level of worldbuilding I expect from Adult SFF. Not even close.
It gets worse: each province is ruled by the Blessed, effectively a noble family blessed with a magical power by the Goddess. But the Blessing only goes to one child in a generation – it’s hereditary, in that it follows the bloodline, but it can manifest in any child of the bloodline, so the eldest in the family won’t necessarily be the one Blessed. And the one with the Blessing is the heir, of course.
Emperor Eugenics was smart enough to just have one kid, guaranteeing that she would inherit the imperial Blessing. Do other Blessed do this? No, they have multiple children. Perhaps to increase the chances of producing a really good heir for the Blessing to select? No, because incompetent or outright bad Blessed are known to happen, in which case a regent will rule for them. How that fits with the idea that only Blessed can rule and/or Blessings indicate that an heir is worthy, I don’t understand.
Oh, and it’s Very Super Bad for Blessed to have illegitimate children, because what if one of them inherits the Blessing??? A thousand years ago, an illegitimate Blessed tried to kill the Emperor! So illegitimate Blessed are bad!
…Except one of the 12 heirs on this cruise is illegitimate. But they made an exception for him! Because he runs the empire’s armies. Despite only being 14. No regent despite his age, and no worries that the Evil Illegitimate Kid has total control of the military.
OKAY THEN.
Did I mention that when the Blessing manifests in a kid, their Blessed parent loses the power??? And that when the Blessings have manifested in all 12 of the latest generation – even if one of the heirs is SIX YEARS OLD – the parents step down and their kids are now in charge???
Picture me tearing my hair out, please.
The prose itself is very, very basic, and it doesn’t help that Ganymedes is not nearly as funny or charming as White thinks he is – he’s just annoying. Though he has good reason to try and ostracise the rest of the Blessed, it’s his internal monologue – not the actions/behaviour he feels he has to engage in – that make him read as kind of a dick. The frat boy vibes were pretty strong here. There’s absolutely nothing engaging about his narration – this is definitely one of the times when a story should have been in third-person rather than first- – and I could feel my eyelids getting heavier as I read, bored out of my damn skull by all of it.
MASSIVE fail.
Orphia and Eurydicius by Elyse John Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Bisexual genderqueer/gender-nonconforming MCs
ISBN: 1460715578
Goodreads
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A stunning, enthralling story about unconventional love, the power of creativity and the courage of women who struggle to make their voices heard - for fans of Jennifer Saint, Madeline Miller and Pat Barker.
Their love transcends every boundary. Can it cheat death?
Orphia dreams of something more than the warrior crafts she's been forced to learn. Hidden away on a far-flung island, her blood sings with poetry and her words can move flowers to bloom and forests to grow ... but her father, the sun god Apollo, has forbidden her this art.
A chance meeting with a young shield-maker, Eurydicius, gives her the courage to use her voice. After wielding all her gifts to defeat one final champion, Orphia draws the scrutiny of the gods. Performing her poetry, she wins the protection of the goddesses of the arts: the powerful Muses, who welcome her to their sanctuary on Mount Parnassus. Orphia learns to hone her talents, crafting words of magic infused with history, love and tragedy.
When Eurydicius joins her, Orphia struggles with her desire for fame and her budding love. As her bond with the gentle shield-maker grows, she joins the Argonauts on their quest for the Golden Fleece. Facing dragons, sirens and ruthless warriors on the voyage, Orphia earns unparalleled fame, but she longs to return to Eurydicius.
Yet she has a darker journey to make - one which will see her fight for her love with all the power of her poetry.
PRAISE
'Orphia and Eurydicius spins a bewitching tale of courage, love, and defiance, giving voice and agency to the women in Greek tales who are so often defined by the men they are associated with. Orphia's poetry may bring the gods to tears; John's words have the same effect on us mere mortals. Tragic and triumphant, a must-read!' Andrea Stewart, author of The Bone Shard Daughter
My reading experience with this book has been like trying to swim through molasses – sweet, but an exhausting struggle. The prose is beautiful, but the book feels incredibly preachy, with a very strong ‘women good, men bad’ theme – not all-encompassing; Eurydicius, a submissive, gentle/effeminate/feminine man, is lovely. But the other male characters are varying levels of asshole, while all the women are perfect, albeit oppressed. This is most obvious with the book’s treatment of Hera; while I’m tired of seeing Hera depicted as a bitter harpy, neither do I love seeing her revered as an uncomplicatedly loving Queen of Heaven, soft and gentle and mothering, in contrast to her brutish, misogynistic husband. Like, don’t get me wrong: I think Zeus is a dick. But Hera cursed his rape victims and helped kick off the Trojan War because she wasn’t judged as beautiful as the literal goddess of beauty: she’s not a perfect fluffy angel. And – we see Aphrodite in honest to gods chains, held by her husband. The misogyny is just – so heavy-handed that it almost becomes a parody.
Orphia and Eurydicius also taps heavily into the whole Mother Earth goddess thing, with major Sacred Feminine vibes, and that kind of thing just gives me major ick these days – it’s too often transphobic, unintentionally or not, and the repeated insistence here that women = good/men = bad felt like it was going in that direction. Despite the fact that this book purports to be an exploration of genderqueerness, or gender-nonconformity, it still feels very tied into biology.
And to be honest, I’m not sure Orphia is a particularly ground-breaking or impressive character to a modern reader. She’s a woman who doesn’t want to be treated as a possession, an object, who wants to be famous and heroic. Okay…? That would definitely make her an oddity in ancient Greece (well, no, it probably wouldn’t, but the fact that she gets to act on it would) but it’s not that interesting from where I’m standing. I guess the fact that she’s sexually dominant is a bit more LE GASP, but again, I just want to shrug and ask – yeah? So? It doesn’t feel shocking or groundbreaking – we’re not even talking BDSM or D/s levels of dominance; it’s more that Orphia is comfortable with her sexuality and in asking for what she wants.
I loved the passages where Orphia was performing poetry; John’s gorgeous, descriptive prose really got to shine there, especially since she took the smart route of describing the poems and songs rather than trying to write them. (Mostly – the poem Orphia writes and performs to prove she’s ready to leave the Muses was actually written out for us, which I think was a mistake, because it didn’t stand out as anything very special. Between Carol Ann Duffey and what I shall collectively call Tumblr Poetry, I’ve seen much, much better poems about Greek myths.) And I would have liked to get to the point where Orphia has to rescue Eurydicius from the Underworld – I’m willing to bet that would have been beautifully done, too.
But at the 52% mark – and it taking me from May till now to get that far! – I just have to give up. The prose is stunning, but I don’t care about the story, and reading it feels like work, not enjoyable.
I may come back to it at some point – I really loved The Councillor by the same author, which was what made me so excited for this book in the first place, and makes me feel like I ought to give Orphia and Eurydicius another chance. But it’s not working for me right now. I jumped through hoops to get the Australian edition; maybe when it comes out in the US next year I’ll try again. An extra half-star for the prose, but for now, it’s a DNF.
May next year bring us more 6-star reads and fewer DNFs!
The post December DNFs appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
December 29, 2023
My Favourite SFF Backlist Reads of 2023!
I always feel like my best-of-the-year lists need to be accompanied by a list of best books read that weren’t published this year. But I never have the spoons to put two best of the year posts together.
The solution? Start this post in June and update it as the year goes along!
Not counting rereads, HERE WE GO: the very best books I read this year that were published pre-2023!
The Sphere of the Winds (The Floating Islands #2) by Rachel Neumeier Genres: Fantasy
Representation: Brown cast
Published on: 5th February 2021
ISBN: B08W28DW3Q
Goodreads
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The Long awaited sequel to The Floating Islands
The Floating Islands are under siege.
Trei, Araenè, and their friends saved the Floating Islands once, thwarting the Toulonn Empire’s attempt at conquest. But the Toulonnese haven’t given up, and the same trick certainly won’t work a second time … especially when the Islands unexpectedly lose their special connection to dragon magic.
Then it turns out that Toulonn is not the only, or the worst, enemy the Floating Islands face. As peril grows, Trei, with his connection to Toulonn, and Araenè, with her an unusual style of magic, will need all their strength and resolve if they are to find a way to safeguard the Islands once more.
Somehow I COMPLETELY MISSED the fact that Neumeier wrote a sequel to her amazing The Floating Islands – YEARS AGO. How did I not know?! I have no idea, but the point is that I finally read it, and it is amazing. I thought Floating Islands was meant as a standalone, and imo it works as a standalone, but Neumeier took all these tiny pieces from that book – and one VERY BIG THING – and spun them out into this gorgeous, heart-in-your-throat story with very high stakes…which does absolutely nothing you’d expect. I was so impressed with the very non-traditional ending, the way Neumeier (as she so often does) discarded the-way-things-always-go and did her own thing instead. I will not turn down any more books set in this world, but Sphere of Winds is a perfect conclusion to the series if Neumeier stops here, and I am so happy I finally read it.
Kirith Kirin by Jim Grimsley Genres: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: M/M
Published on: 1st May 2000
ISBN: 9780983251606
Goodreads
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In Aeryn, where science has never developed but where magic is quite powerful, a usurper know as the Blue Queen, aided by a very powerful, very old wizard, has ravaged the land. A boy is called out of his own life on a farm to enter a legendary forest and learn magic in order to help Kirith Kirin reclaim his rightful throne to maintain the balance of order. Jessex grows strong in his magical studies and fighting skills discovering his crucial role in the battle against the evil that overshadows his land.
This is the first of three novels by Grimsley that deal with the world of Aeryn.
Kirith Kirin is a book I’ve been vaguely aware of since I was a teen, but bounced off the first few times I tried. Luckily, my book-bestie mentioned she loved it, causing me to pick it up again – and this time, I could not put it down. Which is odd, because even if you asked me to describe it, nothing about my description of it would appeal to me. AND YET. Something about the voice, and the delicious density of the prose, were exactly what I apparently wanted at that particular moment. It was a hugely escapist read for me, which, again, makes no sense. I can’t explain it. I can only tell you that I adored it, and will definitely be tracking down more of Grimsley’s books!
These Imperfect Reflections: Short Stories by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Various queer and neurodivergent MCs
Published on: 30th August 2022
ISBN: B09W2YQZV4
Goodreads
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What's the price of revolution backed by artificial intelligence? Can you change the past to free ghosts trapped in endless loops? Do fairy tales always end the same way?
Follow a battle poet on aer quest to save a kingdom; witness the last documentary about alien whales; and travel with the Wolf who is prophesied to eat the sun as they look for alternatives to their fate.
From living trains to space stations populated with monsters, these eleven fantasy and science fiction stories from Merc Fenn Wolfmoor will take you on otherworldly adventures that are tethered to the heart.
Wolfmoor won me over for life with The Wolf Among the Wild Hunt, a novella so beautiful it stole my breath right out of my throat (even as it was also so horrifying it gave me nightmares!) So when I realised that Wolfmoor was publishing collections of their short stories, OBVIOUSLY I pounced – and this particular collection, These Imperfect Reflections, blew me away. They’re all themed around resistance and hopepunk, and they’re all queer as fuck, but it’s the incredible imagination poured into each one, and the exquisite prose they’re written in, that earned this book an instant spot on my favourites shelf. Book-mages! AIs leading the rebellion against a dystopia! A girl with bells sewn to her toes taking on Beauty & the Beast! Stealing a space-prison! I don’t understand how Wolfmoor isn’t a household name yet, honestly.
So You Want to be a Robot by A. Merc Rustad, Merc Fenn Wolfmoor Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Various queer MCs
Published on: 1st May 2017
ISBN: B071NLYKKS
Goodreads
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Step one: forget the convention and disregard the binary. Gender? Sexuality? Old words unsuited for new consciousness. The twenty-one stories in this book challenge the imagination as only acclaimed author A. Merc Rustad can. Pages of robots and AIs constructing lives and exploring "humanity"; wasted worlds with monstrous cityhearts; assassins and the perils of enchanted labyrinths; and always the raw truths of love, loss, and devotion.
Step two: read these science-fiction and fantasy tales as if they are the only stories you will discover on your bookshelf this day.
Step three: dare to feel.
Another Wolfmoor collection, albeit published under another name! If Wolf Among the Wild Hunt took my breath away, then So You Want to Be a Robot stole my heart. Again, Wolfmoor’s prose is just magical, as if every story is a spell, from the first (This Is Not a Wardrobe Door, which is for everyone who ever threw The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at the wall for the cruelty of its ending) to the last (How to Become a Robot in 12 Easy Steps, wherein the MC falls in love with the robot who sells them coffee, which – valid). Again, there’s plenty of queerness; again, the sheer creativity of Wolfmoor’s imagination is just delightfully astonishing. A prehistoric menagerie! Rescuing the monsters under the bed! A stranger tattooed with maps! This is a book I want to push into everybody’s hands, honestly, and I know I’ll be rereading it year after year, and only treasuring it more as time goes on.
A Restless Truth (Last Binding #2) by Freya Marske Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Published on: 1st November 2022
ISBN: B09NHJLQXP
Goodreads
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Magic! Murder! Shipboard romance! The second entry in Freya Marske's beloved The Last Binding trilogy, the queer historical fantasy series that began with A Marvellous Light
The most interesting things in Maud Blyth's life have happened to her brother Robin, but she's ready to join any cause, especially if it involves magical secrets that may threaten the whole of the British Isles. Bound for New York on the R.M.S. Lyric, she's ready for an adventure.
What she actually finds is a dead body, a disrespectful parrot, and a beautiful stranger in Violet Debenham, who is everything—a magician, an actress, a scandal—Maud has been trained to fear and has learned to desire. Surrounded by the open sea and a ship full of loathsome, aristocratic suspects, they must solve a murder and untangle a conspiracy that began generations before them.
A Restless Truth took me by surprise; I picked it up when looking for an easy read, because I was struggling to focus on anything but missed reading. What I got was a MASSIVE book hangover, because this book filled me up with so much glittery, electric delight that it was a while before I could read anything else. Marske’s sophomore novel is just plain FUN; giggly, over-the-top, and somehow joyful even when The Bad Guys Are At It Again. It’s not often that a book puts this big a smile on my face, and for that alone, I had to include Restless Truth on this list!
Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman Genres: Horror
Representation: Secondary mlm character
Published on: 2nd October 2012
ISBN: B008EXK672
Goodreads
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And Lucifer said: “Let us rise against Him now in all our numbers, and pull the walls of heaven down…”
The year is 1348. Thomas, a disgraced knight, has found a young girl alone in a dead Norman village. An orphan of the Black Death, and an almost unnerving picture of innocence, she tells Thomas that plague is only part of a larger cataclysm—that the fallen angels under Lucifer are rising in a second war on heaven, and that the world of men has fallen behind the lines of conflict.
Is it delirium or is it faith? She believes she has seen the angels of God. She believes the righteous dead speak to her in dreams. And now she has convinced the faithless Thomas to shepherd her across a depraved landscape to Avignon. There, she tells Thomas, she will fulfill her mission: to confront the evil that has devastated the earth, and to restore to this betrayed, murderous knight the nobility and hope of salvation he long abandoned.
As hell unleashes its wrath, and as the true nature of the girl is revealed, Thomas will find himself on a macabre battleground of angels and demons, saints, and the risen dead, and in the midst of a desperate struggle for nothing less than the soul of man.
After falling head over heads for Buehlman’s Blacktongue Thief a few years ago, I naturally wanted to read everything else he’d written too. But Between Two Fires is another book that required several attempts from me – I don’t consider myself much of a Horror reader, and BTF does not hold back on the awfulness, despair, and ick. But after a certain point, I couldn’t put it down anymore; despite being vastly different from Blacktongue in almost every way, it’s just as compelling. There’s a lot of nightmare-fuel here, but it’s wonderfully written??? I really don’t know how to describe it.
Also, talk about a Biblically accurate take on God – you have to laugh or you’ll cry.
Shades of Grey (Shades of Grey, #1) by Jasper Fforde Genres: Sci Fi
Published on: 29th December 2009
ISBN: B002UXRF6M
Goodreads
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Hundreds of years in the future, the world is an alarmingly different place. Life is lived according to The Rulebook and social hierarchy is determined by your perception of colour.
Eddie Russett is an above-average Red who dreams of moving up the ladder. Until he is sent to the Outer Fringes where he meets Jane - a lowly Grey with an uncontrollable temper and a desire to see him killed.
For Eddie, it's love at first sight. But his infatuation will lead him to discover that all is not as it seems in a world where everything that looks black and white is really shades of grey...
Hi, this book is completely and utterly bonkers.
But in an enormously fun and thought-provoking way. It’s not a random mess, even if I do strongly believe an acid trip had some part in the inspiration for Shades of Gray. What starts out as bewildering (but delightful) whimsy grows both more bizarre (humans are born with barcodes on their fingernails now?!) and more suspicious (why does the library have no books?) as the pages turn. Underneath the ridiculousness of a society with a spoon shortage and snail-racing are great mysteries – and great conspiracies. So much comes down to Fforde’s incredibly readable prose, which carries you along so swiftly via the unintentionally hilarious and very endearing narration of the main character; and there’s also the worldbuilding, which, as previously stated, is BONKERS, but also gives the strong impression that it all fits together and makes sense – it’s just not clear how to the reader yet.
But we’re getting the sequel next year, so hopefully we’ll learn more about that shortly!
Greenwode (The Wode, #1) by J. Tullos Hennig Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: M/M
Published on: 28th October 2014
ISBN: 1632164388
Goodreads
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Book One of The Wode
The Hooded One. The one to breathe the dark and light and dusk between....
When an old druid foresees this harbinger of chaos, he also glimpses its future. A peasant from Loxley will wear the Hood and, with his sister, command a last, desperate bastion of Old Religion against New. Yet a devout nobleman's son could well be their destruction—Gamelyn Boundys, whom Rob and Marion have befriended. Such acquaintance challenges both duty and destiny. The old druid warns that Rob and Gamelyn will be cast as sworn enemies, locked in timeless and symbolic struggle for the greenwode's Maiden.
Instead, a defiant Rob dares his Horned God to reinterpret the ancient rites, allow Rob to take Gamelyn as lover instead of rival. But in the eyes of Gamelyn’s Church, sodomy is unthinkable... and the old pagan magics are an evil that must be vanquished.
Another rec from my book-bestie, Greenwode became an instant favourite pretty much immediately – long before I reached the end of the book, I knew this one was a keeper. Loosely inspired by Robin Hood, Hennig has created an intricate portrait of an England torn between the French nobility with their Christianity, and the native paganism practised in secret by the people they rule over. Hennig’s prose is gorgeous, rich and lush, but – beside the romance, which I ship passionately – my favourite thing about this book might be how Hennig, via Rob, challenges the heteronormative Lord and Lady set-up familiar to modern Wiccans. Not that the paganism here is Wicca, but it does feature a Lord and Lady, and as the Lord’s scion/chosen, Rob fights to craft a new story out of his people’s traditions. As a nonbinary pagan, that meant a lot to me – and besides, the ‘new story’ is a stunning one.
And my gods, the FEELS. Hennig had me dancing to her tune, going from awe to giggles to rage to panic to delight and back again over and over and over. I felt like I was living the story, not reading it. This is a book to get happily, deliriously lost in, and being close to the end of the next book, I can confirm that the sequel is every bit as wonderful.
Cold Magic (Spiritwalker, #1) by Kate Elliott Genres: Fantasy
Representation: Brown MC
Published on: 1st January 2010
ISBN: B003JTHYB2
Goodreads
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It is the dawn of a new age... The Industrial Revolution has begun, factories are springing up across the country, and new technologies are transforming in the cities. But the old ways do not die easy.
“I was not a bard or a djeli or an historian or a scribe and I was certainly not a sage, but that didn't mean I wasn't curious…”
Young Cat Barahal thinks she understands the world she lives in and her place in it, but in fact she is merely poised, unaware, on the brink of shattering events. Drawn into a labyrinth of politics involving blood, betrayal and old feuds, she will be forced to make an unexpected and perilous journey in order to discover the truth, not just about her own family but about an ancient secret lying at the heart of her world.
Cat and her cousin Bee are part of this revolution. Young women at college, learning of the science that will shape their future and ignorant of the magics that rule their families. But all of that will change when the Cold Mages come for Cat. New dangers lurk around every corner and hidden threats menace her every move. If blood can't be trusted, who can you trust?
From one of the genre's finest writers comes a bold new epic fantasy in which science and magic are locked in a deadly struggle.
According to Goodreads, I read this back in 2015 and didn’t enjoy it that much – but I have absolutely no memory of that. (Which is why I’m not discounting this under the reread rule.) Reading it this year felt like encountering it for the first time – and folx, I adored it. This is Elliot at her best, with gorgeously rich worldbuilding, plenty of intrigue, and an incredible heroine surrounded by a fabulous cast of secondary characters. The truth behind all the mysteries is revealed bit by bit – but for every clue we’re given, more questions are raised, in what I thought was a very accomplished balance; it could have been frustrating, but between Elliott’s lovely prose and the sheer awesomeness of Cat, I was just happy to luxuriate in the story. I can’t wait to dive into the sequel!
A Matter of Oaths by Helen S. Wright Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Brown cast, M/M
Published on: 1st October 1988
ISBN: 1448216966
Goodreads
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'A compelling, mind-bending future that's finally come home to the present' – Becky Chambers, author of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
When Commander Rallya of the patrol ship Bhattya hires Rafe as their new Web officer, she knows she is taking a risk. As an oath breaker, Rafe has suffered the ultimate punishment – identity wipe – but luckily for him, there's no one else around qualified for the job. Shunned by his previous shipmates, Rafe is ready to keep his head down and do his job, but his competence quickly earns him respect, admiration, and, in one particular case, love.
It's difficult to maintain the glow of acceptance however, when his past is chasing him across the galaxy in the shape of an assassin, intent on dealing once and for all with Rafe, whatever the cost.
Originally published in 1988, A Matter of Oaths is a space opera with heart, intergalactic intrigue and epic space battle.
With a new introduction by Becky Chambers, author of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet.
'Fast paced and inventive ... it held my attention to the end' – C. J. Cherryh
I can’t believe it took me so long to read this – and that it’s not all over my circles! Matter of Oaths has everything I ask for from sci fi – incredibly compelling prose; a diverse future (why do so many sci fi authors write futures that are all white and cishet??? oh wait, nevermind); a cast of brilliant multi-faceted characters I can’t get enough of; and mindblowingly cool, original sci fi concepts. Wright has created a universe where space ships are piloted by being hooked up to human nervous systems: how cool is THAT? The ships become their bodies! But it takes more than one person to ‘fly’ a ship, which makes for a really fascinating intimacy between pilots, aka ‘Webbers’, who are connected to each other while connected to their ship. AND THE POLITICS – ohhhhhhhh, I could talk about this book for hours, but honestly, the best thing I can possibly tell you is to GO READ IT YOURSELF! I promise you won’t regret it!
And that is the last of my Best Of lists for 2023! What did you think? Have you read any of these? What were your favourite backlist reads this year???
The post My Favourite SFF Backlist Reads of 2023! appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
December 20, 2023
I Can’t Wait For…Tadek and the Princess by Alexandra Rowland
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 Tadek and the Princess by Alexandra Rowland!
Tadek and the Princess by Alexandra Rowland Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Published on: 12th January 2024
Goodreads
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From the author of the critically-acclaimed fantasy novel A TASTE OF GOLD AND IRON comes a sequel/spinoff novella about loyalty and grief:
Long before Tadek Hasira ever made it to the Gold Court to serve as one of the royal family’s elite bodyguards and servants, he was nothing more than a grubby street urchin in the poorest district of the capital city—that is, until her Highness, the Crown Princess Mihrişah, held out her hand in kindness, lifted him out of his circumstances, and gave him a future to dream of.
But that was twenty years ago, and tragedy befell the palace only a few years into Tadek’s training. Ever since, Tadek held his unwavering love and loyalty to his princess in silence. No one knows what she was to him, and he is prepared to carry that secret for the rest of his life...
Unless someone—the right person—happens to find him standing vigil at her portrait.
A TASTE OF GOLD AND IRON IS GETTING A SEQUEL!!!
You remember A Taste of Gold and Iron, right? That indulgent delicious prince/bodyguard fantasy with the politics and the anxiety and the hair-washing??? I loved it – it went on my Best of 2022 list! – and you can bet the entire Discord FLIPPED OUT when Rowland announced we were getting a follow-up novella!!!
Tadek and the Princess will be a prequel, too – prequel and sequel in alternating chapters. We’ll get to see how exactly Tadek – one of everyone’s favourite characters from the novel – became one of the khaya, and hopefully we’ll also get a glimpse of how Kadou and Evemer are doing after the events of A Taste of Gold and Iron!!!
We don’t even have to wait long – it’s out in January! And available for preorder in all the usual places. You can even get a signed copy here!
You’d better believe I’ve already ordered mine, and now I have a wonderful excuse to reread A Taste of Gold and Iron over the holidays!
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
The post I Can’t Wait For…Tadek and the Princess by Alexandra Rowland appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
