Siavahda's Blog, page 53
December 16, 2022
An Utter Delight From Start to Finish: Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries: A Novel by Heather Fawcett Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Representation: Secondary F/F
PoV: First-person, past-tense
Published on: 10th January 2023
ISBN: B09VXFLR23
Goodreads
A curmudgeonly professor journeys to a small town in the far north to study faerie folklore and discovers dark fae magic, friendship, and love in the start of a heartwarming and enchanting new fantasy series.
Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world's first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party--or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people.
So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of Emily's research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.
But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones--the most elusive of all faeries--lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she'll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all--her own heart.
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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~listen, chopping wood is hard
~beware the music that plays at night
~pockets are literally magic
~no-nonsense professor catches Feelings, oh no
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries combines a couple of my favourite tropes – books-about-books (the encyclopedia our main character Emily is putting together) and scholars studying the supernatural – so when it popped up on Netgalley, I knew I definitely had to request it. And I ended up loving it even more than I thought I would!
EWEoF actually did not make a good first impression on me, though; I was surprised to discover that the book is narrated in first-person (which I usually don’t enjoy) via Emily’s journal entries, and the setting, though fictional, is a country that feels inspired by rural Iceland, with bits and pieces of other Arctic Circle countries woven in here and there. I have nothing particularly against Iceland, but the cold, rocky, insular place Emily has come to was pretty uninviting for me as a reader – I’m a bit too familiar with that kind of environment!
But it took less than a chapter for me to fall head-over-heels for the wonderful Emily, and I ended up SO GLAD that Fawcett decided to write in first-person – Emily’s voice was what tipped EWEoF from 4.5 to a full 5 stars from me!
I have become what I am because I wish to know the unknowable. To see what no mortal has seen, to–how does Lebel put it? To peel back the carpeting of the world and tumble into the stars.
I guess I can see that some readers might find Emily a bit unlikeable at first – she’s a very no-nonsense kind of person, socially awkward, much more interested in rational thinking than emotions. Although the term is never used, as someone on the spectrum, she very much read as autistic to me – which feels a bit like an Easter egg given the speculation that the myths about changelings refer to autistic people back before autism was recognised or understood; a kind of nod from Fawcett to readers with an interest in faerie lore. (Although there’s no suggestion that Emily is a changeling herself – I don’t mean to imply that she might secretly be a faerie!) Regardless, Emily is incredibly intelligent, quick-thinking, detail-orientated, passionate about her passions (the study of faeries), and refreshingly…honest? Blunt? Self-aware? The kind of character I love to read about, and the kind of person I’d dearly enjoy being friends with in real life!
But even if you don’t like Emily right away – if hers sounds like a personality type you’re not interested in – there’s also the fact that she’s often unintentionally hilarious; that she has a surprising number of secrets that gradually reveal themselves as the story goes on; and that she has a streak of…compassion doesn’t seem like quite the right word, but when the possibility of helping others appears, she always takes it (which in turn leads to several great plot developments). And of course, there’s the undeniably adorable romantic plotline, where we get to watch this ‘curmudgeonly professor’ develop Feelings which she very much Does Not Appreciate.
What’s not to love?
Emily is only one of the many things that makes EWEoF so damn great: most of the credit has to go to Fawcett’s writing, which is simply fantastic. Fawcett has nailed that trick of addictive prose, dancing at the exact, perfect midpoint between overcomplicated and too simple, too much detail and not enough, neither drowning us in description nor denying it to us when it’s needed. It’s neat and quick and addictive, the kind of writing you can relax into; the kind that pulls you along without asking you to work hard to keep up. It makes EWEoF fun, so that there’s always a streak of light-heartedness running through the book, even when events turn, ahem, somewhat grim.
I usually prefer prose that is nearly purple with intricacy and description, but Fawcett’s is easy-to-read, hard-to-put-down, and incredibly moreish. I have no complaints!
The worldbuilding was everything I wanted; Fawcett draws from the folklore of Western Europe to establish her Fae, but the whole point of Emily’s Encyclopedia is that the Fae are different in different places, and I loved getting glimpses of, and hearing trivia about, the various kinds of faerie Emily has encountered in the past. I especially liked Emily’s encyclopedic knowledge of stories – not just general knowledge about the Fae of a given place, but the tales in which they feature. More than once, her memory for these stories proves vital, and I thought Fawcett did a good job at a) making these stories feel exactly like the ‘real’ ones I’ve read and heard, and b) showcasing Emily’s knowledge without overwhelming the reader. (Although personally, I loved getting to read the handful Emily included in her journal!)
“One doesn’t need magic if one knows enough stories.”
Hearing about the various theories scholars in Emily’s world hold about what exactly the Fae are and what their realm is like was also really interesting (and sometimes very funny), but as with all her worldbuilding, Fawcett doesn’t drown us in intricate detail. We’re given just enough to understand and follow along, and while I’m not opposed to much heavier amounts of worldbuilding, this was the perfect approach for this particular book.
I’m really impressed with how well Fawcett balanced the different aspects of EWEoF; the ‘official’ plot, the romance, the various mysteries and secrets, the character development, the side-quests…none of them overwhelmed the rest; everything had exactly as much space as it needed. The pacing in particular is marvellous, moving just fast enough that it becomes extremely difficult to extricate yourself from the story – it just sweeps you along with it! – but not too quickly for the reader to enjoy and appreciate each new reveal or development. It’s not often I compliment a book on its pacing, but it’s easy to see how this same story could have gotten bogged down and been much slower, or skimmed along too quickly, in the hands of a lesser writer.
Look, I think it says all that needs saying that I was SO RELIEVED to discover this is the start of a series (when I received my copy, it had a different description that led me to believe it was a standalone) because I am not at all ready to say goodbye to Emily, Wendell, and Shadow! I absolutely loved EWEoF – every single thing about it, or did you not notice that this review contains no critiques whatsoever? – and can’t wait to see what kind of adventures await them in future books!
Seriously, this is one book you should go into 2023 ready to pounce on!
The post An Utter Delight From Start to Finish: Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
December 14, 2022
I Can’t Wait For…The Twice-Drowned Saint by C.S.E. Cooney
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about but haven’t yet read. Most of the time they’re books that have yet to be released, but not always. It’s based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme, which was originally hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
This week my Can’t-Wait-For Book is The Twice-Drowned Saint by C.S.E. Cooney!
The Twice-Drowned Saint by C.S.E. Cooney Genres: Fantasy
Published on: 7th February 2023
Goodreads
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"World Fantasy Award winner Cooney imagines angels as Lovecraftian monsters . . . Plenty of charm!"
—Publishers Weekly
"Many have spoken about how angels can be both terrifying yet beautiful, but few have successfully captured the idea well-until The Twice-Drowned Saint, at least. A sumptuous, saw-toothed read, it is a jewel box of a novel, glittering with a thousand details and a bright longing we're all familiar with, this want for a place better than we're in now."
—Cassandra Khaw, Bram Stoker and World Fantasy award-nominated author of Nothing but Blackened Teeth
World Fantasy Award winner C. S. E. Cooney takes readers on a journey of wonder, terror, and joy in this mind-bending, heartfelt novel. Contained inside impassable walls of ice, the city of Gelethel endures under the rule of fourteen angels, who provide for all their subject's needs and mete out grisly punishments for blasphemous infractions, with escape attempts one of the worst possible sins.
"Our narrator is Ishtu Q'Aleth (Ish for short), the new owner of Gelethel's only cinema (having taken over from her father). More importantly, she's also the secret saint of Alizar the Eleven-Eyed, Seventh Angel of Gelethel, and one of the fourteen angels who holds dominion over the city. As Ish explains it, at the age of eight she turned down Alizar's offer to be his saint, but, in a moment that speaks to the novel's charm, the young girl and the all-knowing angel agreed to continue their relationship in secret after bonding over their shared love of cinema. Near thirty years later Ish is desperate to get her sick parents out of the city, a near-impossible task given Gelethel is surrounded by an impenetrable blue serac. But Ish's situation grows even more complicated when a new arrival to the city, a girl named Betony, appears as Alizar's true saint. There's so much to adore about the The Twice-Drowned Saint ... [a] sublime short novel."
—Locus
"With The Twice-Drowned Saint, C. S. E. Cooney once again crafts dazzling feats of imagination grounded in human frailties and plunges her audience inside head-first. Her boldly unique characters live in a fever dream of balletic, graceful description that will make you gasp, even as they find their own escape through the seemingly-mundane world of movies. Like nothing else you've ever read, or will ever read."
—Randee Dawn, author of Tune in Tomorrow
"Fabulous Gelethel is a city of godless angels who intoxicate themselves on human death, but within its icy walls a hidden saint and a dissident angel are hatching a plan. This story left me wrecked and rebuilt: it's a truly glorious tale of family bonds, forgiveness, sacrifice, courage ... and how gods are born. Written with Cooney's signature soaring prose, humor, and imagination, this tale shines a light on cruelties both fantastical and familiar. It honors sorrow and embraces joy-I will treasure it always"
—Francesca Forrest, author of The Inconvenient God
"The way Cooney does world building, she makes the world absolutely gigantic, and then she focuses the lens onto these intimate moments in people's lives . . . My clumsy words don't do justice to The Twice Drowned Saint. Just read it. It is a sunrise, where all things are beautiful and possible, and it is blood on the ground surrounded by those who lap it up, hungering for more. This is one of the best pieces of fiction I've read this year."
—Little Red Reviewer
Cover art, cover design and interior black and white illustrations by Lasse Paldanius.
It goes without saying at this point that if CSE Cooney writes it, I will read it. It’s a natural law. Like gravity. What goes up must come down; Sia reads CSE Cooney.
(Did I set up the Goodreads page for this book? Yes, yes I did. What on earth are Goodreads Librarian powers for if not making sure your most-anticipated reads are on Goodreads for other readers to find???)
Cooney originally won me over with her amazing take on the Fae (see Desdemona and the Deep and/or Dark Breakers, the latter reviewed by me here), then sealed the deal with necromancers (Saint Death’s Daughter, reviewed here). Now we get to see her take on angels! As I’ve occasionally mentioned, I’m an armchair angelologist and love digging into angelic lore, and from the cover alone I’m confident that this isn’t going to be a book about fluffy human-looking creatures with feathery wings (which bore me to tears) but STRANGE AND EERIE UNHUMAN BEINGS BEYOND MORTAL COMPREHENSION!
I mean…look at that cover. Just look at it. LOOKING AT IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY. It’s utterly strange and utterly gorgeous and packed full of beautiful little details, and I hope the artist is immensely proud of themselves!
From what I understand, The Twice-Drowned Saint was originally a novella included in A Sinister Quartet, which was a collection of novellas from a few different authors. I believe the new version has been polished and possibly expanded upon, but I would be reading it even if it had not been, so. Makes no difference to me!
I have gleefully begun reading my ARC and placed my preorder with the publisher, and honestly, I can say right now that you should do the same!
The post I Can’t Wait For…The Twice-Drowned Saint by C.S.E. Cooney appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
December 12, 2022
Must-Have Monday #116
FIVE new SFF releases this week!
(Books are listed in order of pub date, then Adult SFF, Adult Other, YA SFF, YA Other, MG SFF.)
Secrets of Dorley Hall: The Sisters of Dorley Book Two by Alyson Greaves Genres: Queer Protagonists, Speculative Fiction
Representation: Trans MC
Published on: 12th December 2022
Goodreads
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Stef Riley worked hard to get into the Royal College of Saint Almsworth, so he could find out what happened to the women who live at the mysterious Dorley Hall.
But now he’s on the inside his plan is falling apart. Because what’s saving his life is torture to the men he now lives with, and he can’t just ignore their suffering.
Worse, he’s growing closer to one man in particular, a man who isn’t, if the Sisters have their way, going to be a man for much longer…
A closeted trans girl successfully infiltrated a secret underground forced feminisation programme. Now she must deal with what comes next.
Book two of The Sisters of Dorley.
Some of you might remember me raving about the amazing first book in this series a little while back; well, today we get the sequel! I wasn’t expecting it until next Summer, so it was an amazing surprise to discover it’s actually out today! I’m so looking forward to getting back to Stef and the others!
The Map and the Territory (Spell and Sextant #1) by A.M. Tuomala Genres: Fantasy, Secondary World Fantasy
Representation: Brown MCs
Published on: 12th December 2022
Goodreads
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When the sky breaks apart and an earthquake shatters the seaside city of Sharis, cartographer Rukha Masreen is far from home. Caught in the city's ruins with only her tools and her wits, she meets a traveling companion who will change her course forever: the wizard Eshu, who stumbles out of a mirror with hungry ghosts on his heels.
He's everything that raises her hackles: high-strung, grandiloquent, stubborn as iron. But he needs to get home, too, and she doesn't want him to have to make the journey alone.
As they cross the continent together, though, Rukha and Eshu soon realize that the disaster that's befallen their world is much larger than they could have imagined. The once-vibrant pathways of the Mirrorlands are deserted. Entire cities lie entombed in crystal. And to make matters worse, a wild god is hunting them down. The further they travel from familiar territory, the more their fragile new friendship cracks under the strain.
To survive the end of their world, Rukha and Eshu will need more than magic and science—they'll need each other.
I pay very close attention to Candlemark & Gleam’s books – so far this publisher has released some very fabulous SFF – and between the breathtaking cover, all the awesomeness in the description, and bits and pieces I’ve seen the author say on twitter? I am seriously grabby-hands for this one!
Mayatte's Catharsis : A Feathered Serpent Reborn by Jack E Mohr Genres: Fantasy
Representation: Brown MC
Published on: 12th December 2022
Goodreads
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The mythical Island of Mayatte was never meant to be discovered by anyone, and its natives are about to find out why.
When a ship of foreigners crashes along the coast, everyone but Naña is wary of their inexplicable arrival. While others are suspicious and fearful, Naña is curious and even helpful, especially when one of the outsiders becomes gravely ill. But her goodwill might be a fatal flaw that puts the entire island in jeopardy.
While she grows closer to the foreigners, they discover something that could revolutionize the outside world. A resource so powerful, they’re compelled to harvest it at any cost. Naña is now pit against forces that could wipe her people from existence. How can she stop an enemy that’s more powerful than any of them can handle?
Mayatte’s Catharsis is a bittersweet tale of humanity in all its madness. Follow Naña through mystic battles, political unrest, and acts of kindness with magic leading every step of the way.
I haven’t been able to find out much about this book (novella?) but I love the premise and the hints of story in the cover! Plus, we don’t get to see feathered serpents/dragons very often, but they’re one of my favourite magical creatures, and I’m always happy to get more of them!
The Bleeding Stone (The Spellbinders and the Gunslingers, #1) by Joseph John Lee Genres: Fantasy
Representation: Indigenous MC
Published on: 13th December 2022
Goodreads
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The island nation of Ferranda is the jewel of the Acrarian Kingdom, and its Founder, Aritz a Mata, is revered as a god amongst men. But twenty-five years ago, Aritz was merely a man, a colonizer, an Invader seeking glory and fame in the name of his King and Queen, and Ferranda was a nameless union of indigenous Tribes, reverent of the heightened powers and aptitudes granted to them by their Animal Deities, but sundered by the foreigners claiming their lands to the south.
In the unconquered north, the Stone Tribe has for fifteen years offered a safe haven for the southern Tribes displaced by Aritz's Invaders, whose occupying march north has been ostensibly halted by a dense forest barrier dividing north and south. Among the Stone people lives Sen, an outcast for the circumstances of her birth, preserved in society only by her status as daughter of her Tribe's Chief. Forever relegated to the fringes of society, she is forced to watch as countless of her kin, including her sister and brother, complete their rites of passage into adulthood and accordingly earn their aptitudes by the Deity to whom they share an affinity-the Bear, the Wolf, or the Owl.
Despite this, Sen finds comfort in her life of forced solitude with her close inner circle, but hers is a comfort in days of waning tenuous peace. When Aritz's technologically-advanced forces push north, Sen is thrust into a singular quest to rescue one of her precious few captured in the ensuing struggle. While her goal is earnest - save someone dear to her and prove her worth to her Tribe - her people's goal is far more dire: survival in the face of uncertainty.
I’m hopeful that this is going to be not-a-trainwreck, because the author has talked about the problems with how the West teaches colonisation and wanting to work against that. Meaning there’s a very good chance of the themes of Bleeding Stone being handled well, for once! I’m definitely going to be giving it a go, because if isn’t a trainwreck I really want to know about it!
Sweep of the Heart (Innkeeper Chronicles, #5) by Ilona Andrews Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy
Published on: 13th December 2022
Goodreads
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From the New York Times #1 bestselling author, Ilona Andrews, comes a fun and action-packed new adventure in the Innkeeper Chronicles! We invite you to relax, enjoy yourself, and above all, remember the one rule all visitors must obey: the humans must never know.
Life is busier than ever for Innkeeper, Dina DeMille and Sean Evans. But it’s about to get even more chaotic when Sean's werewolf mentor is kidnapped. To find him, they must host an intergalactic spouse-search for one of the most powerful rulers in the Galaxy. Dina is never one to back down from a challenge. That is, if she can manage her temperamental Red Cleaver chef; the consequences of her favorite Galactic ex-tyrant's dark history; the tangled politics of an interstellar nation, and oh, yes, keep the wedding candidates from a dozen alien species from killing each other. Not to mention the Costco lady.
They say love is a battlefield; but Dina and Sean are determined to limit the casualties!
This is the fifth installment of the Innkeeper Chronicles – I’m a couple of books behind on this series, but I’m fond of it and want to catch up when I can!
Will you be reading any of these? Let me know!
The post Must-Have Monday #116 appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
December 11, 2022
Sunday Souçons #18
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!
Two mini-reviews for books that left me a little…uncertain?
Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: F/F
PoV: First-person, past-tense
ISBN: 1250849462
Goodreads
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“Stylish supernatural noir with a heart and a thrumming pulse. I devoured it.” —Laini Taylor
C. L. Polk turns their considerable powers to a fantastical noir. A magical detective dives into the affairs of Chicago's divine monsters to secure a future with the love of her life. This sapphic period piece will dazzle anyone looking for mystery, intrigue, romance, magic, or all of the above.
An exiled augur who sold her soul to save her brother's life is offered one last job before serving an eternity in hell. When she turns it down, her client sweetens the pot by offering up the one payment she can't resist — the chance to have a future where she grows old with the woman she loves. To succeed, she is given three days to track down the White City Vampire, Chicago's most notorious serial killer. If she fails, only hell and heartbreak await.
I was warned – by everyone up to and including the author! – that CL Polk’s new book was very different from anything they’d written before. Specifically, that it was reasonably dark, and quite noir, and therefore I have absolutely no right to be…upset that it is exactly what it said it would be.
(‘Upset’ feels like a strong word. Maybe just ‘unhappy’ would be better?)
There were a few aspects of the book that genuinely underwhelmed me: the love between the main character and her partner is very clearly meant to be a One True Love kind of deal, but I never really felt it, and therefore found it hard to believe in. That might be because we didn’t really get to see a lot of their relationship, though; this is a novella, so the pagecount goes more towards plot than lovey-dovey moments.
The other main thing was all the angel stuff. I’m majorly into angelic lore, and while I loved the twist Polk gave to the story of the Watchers, I never felt that sense of awe and wonder or alien otherness that are what I really want to be feeling when angels are involved. I think most of this comes down to Polk’s writing style/Helen’s voice (Helen being the MC and first-person narrator), which is quite…hard-boiled and direct and straightforward, all of which perfectly fits the vibe Polk was clearly going for, but, you know, I like my prose Pretty and Purple, so that didn’t work for me.
What really did upset me was the ending. I have a…very definite Thing when it comes to stories about selling your soul – for example, I have absolutely No Chill if a story makes it possible for someone to sell someone else’s soul rather than their own. (That’s not what happened here.) I don’t know if it was being raised Roman Catholic or what, but I need there to be rules and some kind of fairness to the system or I get upset. And I absolutely lose it when characters are stupid about it.
Well, suffice to say that Helen is extremely fucking stupid about it, and I ended up wanting to throw this book out into the snow.
However – none of these things make Even Though I Knew The End a bad book. It just wasn’t to my taste, and managed to hit one of my Absolute Nope buttons…but that doesn’t make it bad.
When I look at it as objectively as I can, I don’t think this was jaw-droppingly amazing or anything, but it was and did what it wanted to be and do, so points for that?
To Catch a Moon by Rym Kechacha Genres: Fantasy
PoV: Third-person, present-tense, multiple PoVs
ISBN: B0B47D72GT
Goodreads
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Mexico City, 1955. The painter Remedios Varo sits in her kitchen with her friend, the artist Leonora Carrington. Together they let their imaginations soar beyond their canvases to create new worlds.
In the surreal landscape of her imagination, Varo’s creations take on a life and power of their own. A wheeled spirit of the earth kidnaps a baby star; a woman who is half owl draws herself a daughter; a juggler entrances a crowd of grey-cloaked men, a lion and a goat. The rules that govern this world bend and creak, old alliances break, and an impending apocalypse forges the most unlikely of friendships.
To Catch a Moon was a book I became absolutely rabid to read after I learned about it from Fantasy Hive, something which was only further cemented when Civilian Reader posted an author-annotated excerpt of it. Having now finished it…I really don’t know what I think.
To Catch a Moon follows several different characters through storylines that eventually converge; a girl sewing the world into existence; a lion who used to be a man and is still part of a troupe of actors; the thirteen wheel-riding…beings…who organise the world; and the latest daughter of the moon. It feels quite dreamy and strange – which is clearly deliberate – and the pacing is very dream-like as well; this is definitely not a grab-you-by-the-throat thriller, but that’s okay because it’s not trying to be. It’s…I’m not sure exactly what it is. It doesn’t fit neatly into any genre niche I can think of; it’s not a coming-of-age, there’s no quest as such, it’s not a struggle between good and evil, exactly. It’s its own thing, which I really like. The story is a fairly languid wandering thing, humming to itself as it winds back and forth, soft even when it’s bitter.
Unfortunately, I think that kind of pacing – that lack of impetus – only really works when the prose is so gorgeous I’m here more for the writing than the story, and that wasn’t the case here. And while I really liked some elements, for the most part I didn’t think To Catch a Moon was strange enough – I’m calibrated for dreamy strangeness like Palimpsest by Catherynne Valente, or Half-Witch by John Schoffstall, or Hal Duncan’s Book of Hours duet. By that standard, this did not measure up. To Catch a Moon never made me ache with wonder, never showed me anything so beautiful or strange it got into my dreams, never made itself a nest in my heart.
I think it says a lot that although I finished it just a few days ago, I’m struggling to remember most of the plot/s, and can’t remember a single character name except Goat. (Goat is awesome.)
I suspect readers who enjoy slow dreamy books will enjoy To Catch a Moon, given that I seem to be an outlier when it comes to how weird I want my weird fantasy to be. The prose is lovely, and the thoughtful, slow pacing doesn’t ask much of the reader – it’s a good book to pick up when you just can’t face something fast and/or complicated.
Basically, I think both of these would delight the right reader! But alas, the right reader was not me.
The post Sunday Souçons #18 appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
December 7, 2022
I Can’t Wait For…The Magician’s Daughter by H.G. Parry
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about but haven’t yet read. Most of the time they’re books that have yet to be released, but not always. It’s based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme, which was originally hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
This week my Can’t-Wait-For Book is The Magician’s Daughter by H.G. Parry!
The Magician’s Daughter by H.G. Parry Genres: Fantasy
Published on: 21st February 2023
Goodreads
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It is 1912, and for the last seventy years magic has all but disappeared from the world. Yet magic is all Biddy has ever known.
Orphaned in a shipwreck as a baby, Biddy grew up on Hy-Brasil, a legendary island off the coast of Ireland hidden by magic and glimpsed by rare travelers who return with stories of wild black rabbits and a lone magician in a castle. To Biddy, the island is her home, a place of ancient trees and sea-salt air and mysteries, and the magician, Rowan, is her guardian. She loves both, but as her seventeenth birthday approaches, she is stifled by her solitude and frustrated by Rowan’s refusal to let her leave. He himself leaves almost every night, transforming into a raven and flying to the mainland, and never tells her where or why he goes.
One night, Rowan fails to come home from his mysterious travels. When Biddy ventures into his nightmares to rescue him, she learns not only where he goes every night, but the terrible things that happened in the last days of magic that caused Rowan to flee to Hy-Brasil. Rowan has powerful enemies who threaten the safety of the island. Biddy’s determination to protect her home and her guardian takes her away from the safety of Hy-Brasil, to the poorhouses of Whitechapel, a secret castle beneath London streets, the ruins of an ancient civilization, and finally to a desperate chance to restore lost magic. But the closer she comes to answers, the more she comes to question everything she has ever believed about Rowan, her origins, and the cost of bringing magic back into the world.
Along with a lot of other people, I absolutely adored A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians, Parry’s sophomore novel – and I am very grumpy that I haven’t had a chance to read the sequel yet. But damn it, I will MAKE time to read The Magician’s Daughter if I have to, because everything about it has me entranced and I am pining for it.
(The beautiful cover certainly doesn’t hurt!)
We already know that Parry writes wonderful historical fantasy, and the description is so tantalising – for one thing, Hy-Brasil is a name straight out of Irish mythology, one of many names for a magical island that was supposed to exist to the west of Ireland. I’m half-Irish and REALLY excited by the possibility that Parry might be drawing at least a little from that mythos – imo, Irish mythology is so under-utilised in Fantasy! But we know that Biddy makes it to London, and I’m curious about how that happens – meaning, why her adventures take place in London rather than Dublin – and what the…dynamic of the Ireland-England relationship will be like. (Spoilers for Irish history: it was usually fraught.)
The way Biddy’s described gives me the some of the same vibes as Miranda from The Tempest, particularly as depicted in Jacqueline Carey’s novel Miranda and Caliban. Except with much more mysterious origins…
And I’m not sure it’s possible to write a bringing-the-magic-back story that I won’t go heart-eyes for. I love that trope, and can’t wait to see what Parry does with it!
It’s definitely on my must-read list for 2023 – is it on yours?
The post I Can’t Wait For…The Magician’s Daughter by H.G. Parry appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
December 5, 2022
Must-Have Monday #115
SIX books on my radar this week!
(Books are listed in order of pub date, then Adult SFF, Adult Other, YA SFF, YA Other, MG SFF.)
More Than Utopia (The Cognate Coefficient #1) by Benjanun Sriduangkaew Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Sapphic MCs
Published on: 5th December 2022
Goodreads
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The aliens came to uplift humanity—and brought with them quantum computation that allows chosen humans, called cognates, to travel between parallel universes.
Jirayu’s wife Yvette disappeared when the aliens arrived. When Yvette returns, she’s an artifact of the future, a soldier from another timeline . . . and she carries with her the answer to why Jirayu is targeted by killers who have snuffed out every other version of Jirayu.
Yvette lost her wife Jirayu once before, and she’s determined to keep this version alive at any cost. But as she learns more and more of the aliens’ plans, she realizes she has a choice to make. She can continue being their weapon, or escape with her wife to a world where there is no war, no aliens, and where both of them can set the terms of their fate—forever.
I’ve yet to read a book by Sriduangkaew that I have not adored (including the books she co-writes under the penname Maria Ying), and I’m excited to see her starting a brand-new series! Plus, it’s out TODAY – I plan on pouncing on it the moment I’m finished with this post!
Where it Rains in Color by Denise Crittendon Genres: Sci Fi
Representation: Black cast
Published on: 6th December 2022
Goodreads
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Lileala has just been named the Rare Indigo – beauty among beauties – and is about to embrace her stardom, until something threatens to change her whole lifestyle and turn the planet of Swazembi upside down.
Colonized by the descendants of Earth’s West African Dogon Tribe, the planet of Swazembi is a blazing, color-rich utopia and famous vacation center of the galaxy. No one is used to serious trouble in this idyllic, peace-loving world, least of all the Rare Indigo.
But Lileala’s perfect, pampered lifestyle is about to be shattered. The unthinkable happens and her glorious midnight skin becomes infected with a mysterious disease. Where her skin should glisten like diamonds mixed with coal, instead it scabs and scars. On top of that, she starts to hear voices in her head, and everything around her becomes confusing and frightening.
Lileala’s destiny, however, goes far beyond her beauty. While searching for a cure, she stumbles upon something much more valuable. A new power awakens inside her, and she realizes her whole life, and the galaxy with it, is about to change…
I admit the writing style of this one did not work for me, but the premise and worldbuilding are SO COOL, and so many people are going to love it.
The Ivory Tomb (Rooks and Ruin, #3) by Melissa Caruso Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Bisexual MC
Published on: 6th December 2022
Goodreads
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The Rooks and Ruin series concludes with this epic fantasy bursting with intrigue and ambition, questioned loyalties, and broken magic as Ryx fights to defeat the demons and save everything she loves.
The Dark Days have returned. The Demon of Carnage mercilessly cuts through villagers and armies. The Demon of Corruption rots the land. The Serene Empire and the Witch Lords race towards war. And in the middle of it all stands Rxyander, the Warden of Gloamingard. Burdened by conflicting loyalties and guilt, Ryx searches desperately for a way to defeat the demons before the world she loves is completely destroyed. To find answers, she’ll have to return to where it all started…the black tower at the heart of Gloamingard.
By blood the Door was opened and only by blood will the Dark Days end.
Ivory Tomb is the epic finale of the Rooks and Ruin trilogy, and I haven’t let myself read the blurb, because spoilers! I need to reread the earlier books in the series before diving into this one, but it’s Caruso so you KNOW it’s going to be brilliant!!!
Monster Girls Don't Cry: short stories by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Published on: 6th December 2022
Goodreads
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Listen, when it’s a Wolfmoor book, I don’t need a proper synopsis, okay? Whatever Wolfmoor writes, I’m gonna read: it’s that simple! (And isn’t that one hell of a title?!)
Fired by Darren Allen Genres: Fantasy
Published on: 10th December 2022
Goodreads
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A modern burlesque epic.
A gently anarchic oddbod loses a succession of jobs while slowly being drawn into an epic battle between the forces of good and evil.
Fired is a burlesque epic set in a world out of joint. It is a heroic journey of self-discovery, a study of contemporary minds at the end of their tether, a salt-in-the-eye satire of the dystopian modern world, a heartbreaking outpouring of grief for the condition of creatures in existence and a good old fashioned supernatural love-story.
From Darren AllenA brilliant communicator; Russell Brand
A follower of love, empathy and creativity; Alain de Botton
…made me laugh, drew me in, [bent me] stupid; Chris Morris
One of our most vital contemporary essayists; Irvine Welsh
A very funny, brilliantly talented and seriously disturbed writer; Terry Gilliam
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t able to find out anything about this book beyond the official synopsis…which is pretty light on details. But ‘a burlesque epic’? Even if I’m not 100% what that looks like in practice, I definitely need to find out!
The Silk Empress by Josef Matulich Genres: Fantasy
Representation: Chinese secondary characters
Published on: 11th December 2022
Goodreads
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The boy called “Pig”, grew up reading stories of airships and boy adventurers in penny dreadfuls. At twelve he finds himself orphaned and apprenticed to Feng Po McLaren, semi reformed air-pirate, first mate of the airship Wu Zetian along the High Silk Road between China and Europe. Now he is facing air pirates, rebels, five unusual women of dangerous abilities, and a clockwork dragon.
This seemed all so much easier in the books.
I can’t quite tell if Silk Empress is going to be silly fun or take itself seriously, but either way I’m very interested in clockwork dragons!
Will you be reading any of these? Let me know!
The post Must-Have Monday #115 appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
November 30, 2022
In Short: November
I took November off when it came to blogging…and I’ve got to say, I regret absolutely about that decision. Especially since I got hit with some brand-new health problems and a family emergency (now resolved, worry not): I was really grateful not to have many blogging responsibilities this month! I did some creative writing every day instead (NOT Nano), and I’d like to keep that up. I guess we’ll see!
ARCs Received
For the first time in a while, I was rejected for a string of ARCs, but that’s probably not the worst thing for my ego. And I was approved for four really GORGEOUS books! Hunger of Thorns and The Buried and the Bound are both YA – in fact Hunger might technically be MG? – but both really appealed to me. Dragonfall is a book I’ve been waiting for since the publishing deaI was announced, and I was interested in The First Bright Thing already, but after what Seanan McGuire said about it? Instant must-read!
Read
Just 12 books read in November, almost half of what I managed in October. I spent most of this month reading fanfiction instead of novels, and I’m not sorry. But the books I did read were all fantastic! Of the new-to-mes, Golden Enclaves was the brilliant finale of the Scholamance trilogy, and Babel was painfully perfect in every respect; and as I expected, I really enjoyed the indulgently queer and magical Might of Monsters, and desperately need the next book in the series!
To the best of my knowledge, 20% of this month’s authors were BIPOC.
Reviewed
I really thought, even when taking a break, that I’d manage more than just one review this month…but so it goes!
DNF-edZERO DNFs for November! Although that’s at least partly due to my not counting all the books I picked up and put down again due to my brain refusing to concentrate…
ARCs Outstanding
Look at all these beauties – I feel SO LUCKY to be able to read them all!
I’ve already finished Encyclopaedia, and ended up MASSIVELY enjoying it, and I think I’m on track to get all the January books read and reviewed during December. Really looking forward to all of these!
MiscI don’t think there was anything of note this month, except for one thing I’m not allowed talk about, and getting to write stories instead of read them (as you’d expect, keeping up an active blog eats into the time and spoons I need for creative writing). It really felt amazing to be writing again, so I’m going to have to work out a way to balance writing reviews with writing fiction going forward. Devoting all my time to blogging is not something I want to do any more.
Oh!!! There was REALLY GREAT NEWS about the 2023 editions (reissues? reprints?) of the Kushiel/Phedre Trilogy by Jacqueline Carey; I’ve got to remember to make a book news post about it!
Looking ForwardDecember has only one self-pubbed book I’m looking forward to, so I plan on spending the month reading and reviewing ARCs – as well as working on my Best of 2022 and Unmissables of 2023 lists! All my Yuletide shopping is done, so fingers crossed, I should have no other distractions…
I hope your November was great, and your December is even better!
The post In Short: November appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
I Can’t Wait For…Proud Pink Sky by Redfern Jon Barrett
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 Proud Pink Sky by Redfern Jon Barrett!
Proud Pink Sky by Redfern Jon Barrett Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Queer MCs
Published on: 14th March 2023
Goodreads
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Berlin: a megacity of 24 million people, is the world’s first gay state. Its distant radio broadcasts are a lifeline for teenager William, so when his love affair with Gareth is discovered the two flee toward sanctuary. But is there a place for them in a city divided into districts for young twinks, trendy bears, and rich alpha gays?
Meanwhile, young mother Cissie loves Berlin’s towering highrises and chaotic multiculturalism, yet she’s never left her heterosexual district – not until she and her family are trapped in a queer riot. With her husband Howard plunging into religious paranoia, she discovers a walled-off slum of perpetual twilight, home to the city’s forbidden trans residents.
As William and Cissie dive deeper into a bustling world of pride parades, polyamorous trysts, and even an official gay language, they discover that all is not well in the gay state – each playing their part in a looming civil war...
Can you blame me? What part of that synopsis doesn’t sound AMAZING?!
I’m sure a gay state wouldn’t be a utopia, but damn, I’d still like to visit. And it sounds like Proud has the potential to either play with some queer identities and stereotypes (dear gods, what is an alpha gay???) tongue-in-cheek style, or else give us some subversion or commentary – and any of those would be fun for me!
Of couse I’m really interested in the worldbuilding – when am I not? – and would probably read the book just for that. (I desperately want to know if there’s room for nonbinary people in this future!) But the idea of a gay civil war?
Yeah, sorry not sorry, I am gonna be all over this.
I’ve preordered my copy – and I can’t wait till it gets here!
The post I Can’t Wait For…Proud Pink Sky by Redfern Jon Barrett appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
November 28, 2022
Must-Have Monday #114
I’m only aware of TWO new books this week, but they’re both ones I’m extremely excited for!
(Books are listed in order of pub date, then Adult SFF, Adult Other, YA SFF, YA Other, MG SFF.)
The Two Doctors Górski by Isaac Fellman Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy
Published on: 29th November 2022
Goodreads
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The Two Doctors Górski is a dazzling contemporary fantasy and an exploration of reclaiming personal power in the aftermath of abuse by Lambda Award-winning author Isaac Fellman
"Confident and lyrical."—Caitlin Starling
A Most Anticipated Pick for Buzzfeed
Annae, a brilliant graduate student in psychiatric magic and survivor of academic abuse, can’t stop reading people’s minds. This is how she protects herself, by using her abilities to know exactly how her colleagues view her. This is how she escapes the torturous experience of her own existence.
When Annae moves to England to rebuild her life and finish her studies under the seminal magician Marec Górski—infamous for bringing to life a homunculus made from his unwanted better self—she sees, inside his head, a man who is both a destructive force to everyone around him, and her mirror image. For Annae to survive, she’ll need to break free of a lifetime of conditioning to embody her own self and forge her own path.
Fellman released another book this year, Dead Collections, which was a lovely and unique take on vampires, fandom and queerness. (And for the record, I loved it!) The Two Doctors Górski sounds like it’ll be quite different, but still really interesting – I’ve been looking forward to it all month!
Geometries of Belonging by R.B. Lemberg Genres: Fantasy, Secondary World Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: QBIPOC cast
Published on: 29th November 2022
Goodreads
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Nebula and Locus award finalist Lemberg returns us to the Birdverse with this powerful collection of poems and stories.
"In the Birdverse, a magic loosely based in geometry is a source of craftsmanship, art, protection and healing. Multiple cultures and countries engage in trade relationships and political alliances. Cultures make use of magic according to their own traditions and rules, and worship the deity Bird, in whichever feathered from Bird takes. And within these countries and cultures, individuals hurt and are hurt, heal and are healed." - Bookslut
If you haven’t encountered Lemberg’s Birdverse before, this is probably going to be a good place to start! Geometries of Belonging is, like it says on the cover, a collection of stories and poems from the incredibly beautiful setting Lemberg has created (complete with Bird goddess, all kinds of queerness, and a magic system like nothing I’ve seen elsewhere), and I’m eager to dive in!
Will you be reading either of these? Let me know!
The post Must-Have Monday #114 appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
November 23, 2022
I Can’t Wait For…Orphia and Eurydicius by Elyse John
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 Orphia and Eurydicius by Elyse John!
Orphia and Eurydicius by Elyse John Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Queer MCs
Published on: 3rd May 2023
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.
Elyse John is the same person who wrote The Councillor as EJ Beaton – aka, one of my favourite books of 2021 – so obviously I lit up like a firework when I heard she had written a new book!
The author has already talked about how Orphia and Eurydicius is about ‘two people finding the mirror of their own queerness‘, and Shelley Parker-Chan called it ‘a bisexual retelling‘, so we know it’s definitely going to be queer! Which, given the amazing queer rep in The Councillor, doesn’t surprise me at all, but does make me happy. And it’s very clear from the book description that both the main characters are also gender nonconforming – not just by our modern standards, but by the setting’s standards: Orphia’s been trained as a warrior, but isn’t interested, whereas in the conversation around the book Eurydicius has been described as being gentle and soft, which is not what most people expect from a man.
It should go without saying that I massively approve!
I’m also pretty excited that we’re going to be seeing the Muses, Calliope, and Hera – goddesses who don’t usually get a lot of attention. Hera in particular is usually portrayed as pretty nasty, and I’m preeeeeeeeetty sure Elyse John isn’t going to do that, given that she’s called the book an ode to women’s voices. (And Hera just. Deserves more love, okay???)
Listen, I’m not usually interested in retellings of Greek myths – but that’s because it’s usually the same stories getting retold over and over, and the retellings often don’t do anything that new. Whereas I don’t think I’ve even heard of an Orpheus and Eurydice retelling before, and what we know about this one sounds incredible. And I already know Elyse John is an amazing writer from The Councillor.
So yes, I’ve already preordered this one. Why haven’t you?!
The post I Can’t Wait For…Orphia and Eurydicius by Elyse John appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.
