Siavahda's Blog, page 68

SFF Recs for International Asexuality Day 2022!

Asexual Pride dragon by Kaenith!

It’s the second ever International Asexuality Day, and as I hope will become tradition on this blog – you can find last year’s post here – I have recs for you! These are all SFF books with asexual protagonists.

ENJOY!

No Gods, No Monsters (The Convergence Saga, #1) by Cadwell Turnbull
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Black bi mc, Puerto Rican American sapphic mc, biracial bi ace trans mc, nonbinary side character, Black bi side character, Black side characters
Goodreads

One October morning, Laina gets the news that her brother was shot and killed by Boston cops. But what looks like a case of police brutality soon reveals something much stranger. Monsters are real. And they want everyone to know it.

As creatures from myth and legend come out of the shadows, seeking safety through visibility, their emergence sets off a chain of seemingly unrelated events. Members of a local werewolf pack are threatened into silence. A professor follows a missing friend’s trail of bread crumbs to a mysterious secret society. And a young boy with unique abilities seeks refuge in a pro-monster organization with secrets of its own. Meanwhile, more people start disappearing, suicides and hate crimes increase, and protests erupt globally, both for and against the monsters.

At the center is a mystery no one thinks to ask: Why now? What has frightened the monsters out of the dark?

The world will soon find out.

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You can find out more in my review, but the TL;DR version is that this is a brilliantly modern urban fantasy that puts BIPOC characters front and centre and never slows down for a second. It pulls from a bunch of different mythologies and makes up its own, which is my favourite combination, and I really loved the ace rep!

The Wolf Among the Wild Hunt by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor, Andrew Garin
Genres: Horror, Queer Protagonists, Secondary World Fantasy
Representation: Aro-ace MC, aro-ace nonbinary queerplatonic partner, secondary sapphic character, minor polyamory/group marriage, minor disabled character, queernorm world
Goodreads

Skythulf wants to live. Raised in the fight pits, trained to kill or be killed, he yearns for freedom that's out of reach. He's a scythewulf: a wolf-shifter considered neither fully man nor beast, his life worth nothing to his keepers…until Brennus, knight-champion of Saorlland, rescues him from certain death and offers him a new life.

When he mistakenly kills a corrupted nun, Skythulf has one chance to redeem himself and restore his honor. He must run with the Wild Hunt: an age-old trial of blood and courage, where every step hides peril and carnage. If he survives, he will be pardoned. If he fails, Brennus will die brutally at his side.

Few have ever returned from the fae-haunted land, where horrors unnamed dwell beside the enchanted and the damned. There is no rest, no relent, and no mercy.

In the Wild Hunt, you run or you die.

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You can read my review here, but basically, this is a breathlessly beautiful supernatural horror, and the first book I read featuring a queerplatonic couple who are absolutely ready to die for each other. I adored the characters and love the worldbuilding – but I do not recommend cooking or trying to eat while reading!

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Disabled asexual-coded MC, sapphic MC, major Black character, F/F, minor Indigenous American character, minor trans character
Goodreads

In 1893, there's no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.

But when the Eastwood sisters--James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna--join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women's movement into the witch's movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote-and perhaps not even to live-the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.

There's no such thing as witches. But there will be.

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This is another absolutely gorgeous book, one of my all-time favourites for its prose, worldbuilding, and fiercely, intersectionally feminist themes. (To say nothing of the incredible characters and plot.) DRESSES DON’T HAVE POCKETS BECAUSE ONLY WITCHES NEED POCKETS TO KEEP SPELL INGREDIENTS IN. FINALLY IT IS EXPLAINED!

Nophek Gloss (The Graven, #1) by Essa Hansen
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi, Science Fantasy
PoV: Asexual MC, nonbinary secondary characters
Goodreads

In this dark, dangerous, roller coaster of a debut, a young man sets out on a single-minded quest for revenge across a breathtaking multiverse filled with aliens, mind-bending tech, and ships beyond his wildest imagining. Essa Hanson’s is a bold new voice for the next generation of science fiction readers.
Caiden's planet is destroyed. His family gone. And, his only hope for survival is a crew of misfit aliens and a mysterious ship that seems to have a soul and a universe of its own. Together they will show him that the universe is much bigger, much more advanced, and much more mysterious than Caiden had ever imagined. But the universe hides dangers as well, and soon Caiden has his own plans.
He vows to do anything it takes to get revenge on the slavers who murdered his people and took away his home. To destroy their regime, he must infiltrate and dismantle them from the inside, or die trying.
Finalist for r/Fantasy Stabby Awards for Best Debut!

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Hansen’s imagination is just amazing, as I spelled out in my review of Nophek Gloss – and the series is incredibly diverse, both in terms of the variety of alien species and sexuality and gender identities. It almost reads as Science Fantasy rather than pure Sci-Fi, but in my book that’s a plus, not a minus.

Inheritors of Power by Juliette Wade
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Two ace MCs, gay major secondary character, secondary trans character, secondary nonbinary character, queernorm castes
Goodreads

The third book of The Broken Trust continues a deadly battle for power in this sociological sci-fi novel where brother is pitted against brother.

Many years have passed since the Eminence Nekantor and Heir Adon seized power, and life in Pelismara has found a fragile equilibrium under Nekantor’s thumb. Now the Imbati Service Academy suspects that Xinta, Manservant to the Eminence, may have taken control of Nekantor for his own sinister purposes, endangering what peace still remains. Imbati Catín, an Academy prodigy, vows service to Adon, balancing two core purposes — to advance her Master's designs on power, and to determine the full extent of Xinta's influence.

When a trash hauler named Akrabitti Corbinan walks into a place he doesn’t belong, everything falls out of balance. Catín, who is investigating this newly discovered hidden library, immediately arrests Corbinan for trespassing. Nekantor then seizes Corbinan, believing he's a spy who sought to topple the government, and Xinta vanishes him before Catín can determine his intent. What was Corbinan really seeking? What dangerous information does the library contain, that Xinta might seek to control? And what might happen if someone more dangerous finds Corbinan first?

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This is not the first book in this series, and you definitely shouldn’t start here, but to make up for that every book so for has been packed full of queer characters! The attention to detail, the worldbuilding, is absolutely extraordinary, and if you love political intrigue this is DEFINITELY the series you’re looking for!

You can read my review of book one here!

Cantor for Pearls (Twin Kingdoms Romances, #2) by M.C.A. Hogarth
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Asexual agender MC, pansexual MC
Goodreads

For years, Always Falling has been content in the capital of the Twin Kingdoms, seeing to its beloved the imperial composer…and there the neuter might have stayed, had it not received an urgent message summoning it home. After the cruelties that saw Always Falling exiled, the last thing it wants is to go back, much less in the company of a near stranger: Amet Emendexte-ilye, the new lover its beloved took to ens breast only a few months ago.

But no one else can accompany Always Falling to the harbor city where it was once a member of a rarified aristocracy. And maybe a highland warrior, a stranger, and a musician will be the key not just to the injustices of the past, but the needs Always Falling has never admitted to, even to itself.

The sea is waiting….

Heat Level: ** (not-explicit, some sensual thoughts)
Relationship: Neuter/male, asexual with implied poly
Conflict-level: Low, pastoral
Length: Novel

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Again, not the first book in its series, but this one can definitely be read as a standalone if you want to skip the first book (although you shouldn’t, because it’s wonderful). This is a low-stakes fantasy romance with an asexual, agender lead (who uses ‘it’ as a pronoun, so be warned if that bothers you) and a pansexual cis man, with sea serpents giving love advice and family drama. Super sweet and super beautiful!

The Ruin of Kings (A Chorus of Dragons #1) by Jenn Lyons
Genres: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Bisexual MCs, nonbinary bisexual MC, major asexual characters/arguably MCs
Goodreads

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

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

Then again, maybe he's not the hero, for Kihrin is not destined to save the empire.
He's destined to destroy it.

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This one’s a bit odd, because in one sense, the two asexual characters are relatively minor (although their roles grow and grow with each book) – but they’re also the chroniclers of the saga, which means we hear their voices all the time as they express themselves in footnotes throughout. So they’re either secondary characters or main characters depending on how you look at it. But this is an amazingly subversive Epic Fantasy series – Ruin of Kings looks like it’s playing by the rules, but I promise it isn’t – and the last book is out this month!

Dreams of Shreds and Tatters by Amanda Downum
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Asexual MC
Goodreads

When Liz Drake's best friend vanishes, nothing can stop her nightmares. Driven by the certainty he needs her help, she crosses a continent to search for him.

She finds Blake comatose in a Vancouver hospital, victim of a mysterious accident that claimed his lover's life--in her dreams he drowns. Blake's new circle of artists and mystics draws her in, but all of them are lying or keeping dangerous secrets. Soon nightmare creatures stalk the waking city, and Liz can't fight a dream from the daylight world: to rescue Blake she must brave the darkest depths of the dreamlands. Even the attempt could kill her, or leave her mind trapped or broken.

And if she succeeds, she must face the monstrous Yellow King, whose slave Blake is on the verge of becoming forever.

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I read this knowing absolutely nothing about Lovecraft, and it wasn’t a problem at all. This might actually have been the first book I read with an asexual MC, and definitely the first where an asexual person has sex – something baby!Sia definitely did not know could be a thing!

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Asexual Lipan Apache MC, Lipan Apache secondary characters
Goodreads

Imagine an America very similar to our own. It's got homework, best friends, and pistachio ice cream.

There are some differences. This America has been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not. Some of these forces are charmingly everyday, like the ability to make an orb of light appear or travel across the world through rings of fungi. But other forces are less charming and should never see the light of day.

Elatsoe lives in this slightly stranger America. She can raise the ghosts of dead animals, a skill passed down through generations of her Lipan Apache family. Her beloved cousin has just been murdered in a town that wants no prying eyes. But she is going to do more than pry. The picture-perfect facade of Willowbee masks gruesome secrets, and she will rely on her wits, skills, and friends to tear off the mask and protect her family.

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I.

LOVED.

THIS!!! This is exactly the kind of urban/modern world fantasy I crave, with brilliant worldbuilding and an immensely lovable MC. Don’t be put off by the age of the protagonist, either – this is absolutely a book adults can and will enjoy. (As I can attest from personal experience!)

The Language of Roses by Heather Rose Jones
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Asexual aromantic MC, sapphic MC, F/F
Published on: 14th April 2022
Goodreads

A Beauty. A Beast. A Curse. This is not the story you know.

Join author Heather Rose Jones on a new and magical journey into the heart of a familiar fairytale. Meet Alys, eldest daughter of a merchant, a merchant who foolishly plucks a rose from a briar as he flees from the home of a terrifying fay Beast and his seemingly icy sister. Now Alys must pay the price to save his life and allow the Beast, the once handsome Philippe, to pay court to her.

But Alys has never fallen in love with anyone; how can she love a Beast? The fairy Peronelle, waiting in the woods to see the culmination of her curse, is sure that she will fail. Yet, if she does, Philippe’s sister Grace and her beloved Eglantine, trapped in an enchanted briar in the garden, will pay a terrible price. Unless Alys can find another way…

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Do you really need to hear more than ‘Beauty and the Beast with an asexual, aromantic MC’? This one comes out next week!

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Desi cast, asexual aromantic MC
Published on: 26th April 2022
Goodreads

"Patel’s mesmerizing debut shines a brilliant light on the vilified queen from the Ramayana….This easily earns its place on shelves alongside Madeline Miller’s Circe." –Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“I was born on the full moon under an auspicious constellation, the holiest of positions—much good it did me.”

So begins Kaikeyi’s story. The only daughter of the kingdom of Kekaya, she is raised on tales about the might and benevolence of the gods: how they churned the vast ocean to obtain the nectar of immortality, how they vanquish evil and ensure the land of Bharat prospers, and how they offer powerful boons to the devout and the wise. Yet she watches as her father unceremoniously banishes her mother, listens as her own worth is reduced to how great a marriage alliance she can secure. And when she calls upon the gods for help, they never seem to hear.

Desperate for some measure of independence, she turns to the texts she once read with her mother and discovers a magic that is hers alone. With this power, Kaikeyi transforms herself from an overlooked princess into a warrior, diplomat, and most favored queen, determined to carve a better world for herself and the women around her.

But as the evil from her childhood stories threatens the cosmic order, the path she has forged clashes with the destiny the gods have chosen for her family. And Kaikeyi must decide if resistance is worth the destruction it will wreak—and what legacy she intends to leave behind.

A stunning debut from a powerful new voice, Kaikeyi is a tale of fate, family, courage, and heartbreak—of an extraordinary woman determined to leave her mark in a world where gods and men dictate the shape of things to come.

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Also out later this month, if you loved Circe by Madeline Miller, you are definitely going to love this too – the style and writing are very similar, even though the characters and stories are very different!

I hope you found something wonderful to read, and that I’ll have many more to rec next year!

The post SFF Recs for International Asexuality Day 2022! appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

I Can’t Wait For…August Kitko and the Mechas From Space by Alex White

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 is August Kitko and the Mechas From Space by Alex White!

August Kitko and the Mechas from Space by Alex White
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Queer MC
Published on: 12th July 2022
Goodreads

When an army of giant robot AIs threatens to devastate Earth, a virtuoso pianist becomes humanity's last hope in this bold, lightning-paced, technicolor new space opera series from the author of A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe. 

Jazz pianist Gus Kitko expected to spend his final moments on Earth playing piano at the greatest goodbye party of all time, and maybe kissing rockstar Ardent Violet, before the last of humanity is wiped out forever by the Vanguards--ultra-powerful robots from the dark heart of space, hell-bent on destroying humanity for reasons none can divine. 

But when the Vanguards arrive, the unthinkable happens--the mecha that should be killing Gus instead saves him. Suddenly, Gus's swan song becomes humanity's encore, as he is chosen to join a small group of traitorous Vanguards and their pilots dedicated to saving humanity. 

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I don’t know much about this book yet beyond the blurb, but I also don’t need to – after the incredible Salvagers trilogy, I’ll read anything White writes!

Between the title, the description and the tagline (which I adore – Space Opera just got louder, YES PLEASE) this sounds like it might be more campy and light than the Salvagers books??? Which is not at all a bad thing. I also suspect that this is going to be straight-up scifi rather than science-fantasy like the Salvager trilogy, which is also not a problem for me!

I’m excited that this is the start of a series, not a standalone, but I have so many questions! Such as, are the mecha pilots humans or aliens? What is their interest in a jazz player? And will poor August get his kiss???

I’ve had this preordered for months already – you should too!

The post I Can’t Wait For…August Kitko and the Mechas From Space by Alex White appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

A Paean of Hope Against the Dark: Ansible–A Thousand Faces by Stant Litore

Ansible: A Thousand Faces (The Complete Omnibus of Seasons 1-3) by Stant Litore
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Middle Eastern cast, bisexual Muslim MC, Syrian bisexual MC, Black African MC, F/F, queernorm cultures
PoV: 1st person present tense, multiple PoVs
Goodreads

This omnibus edition includes the entire Ansible series: Seasons 1-3.

"My mind has touched the stars, wearing a thousand faces..."

In Ansible, 25th century Islamic explorers transfer their minds across space and time to make first contact...and get marooned in alien bodies on alien worlds. Along the way, they encounter the most dangerous predator humanity has ever faced. Now a Syrian refugee, a thirteenth-century librarian, and a hijabi shapeshifter from the far future must travel across space and time to defend humanity from this intergalactic and devouring evil.

They'll find allies: A wheelchair gunslinger from far-future Beijing. A legion of women soldiers wielding Spinning Saws that can slice through predators that only barely exist inside our universe. A strange child-empath who can hear all of humanity's suffering at every instant in history. A firestarter-goddess from our prehistory. Together, they will face a species that travels across time and feeds on terror itself.

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~bisexual shapeshifting hijabi time traveler
~the most nightmarish monsters to ever nightmare
~psychic scholar-scientists
~gleaming prose
~it’s never time to give up on hope

This is a masterpiece.

It starts beautiful but bleak; beautiful, because a new Islamic Golden Age is flourishing after the environmental collapse of Earth, which is slowly recovering; bleak, because it is all about the Starmind program, where the minds of trained individuals are flung through space and time into the bodies of alien life-forms – and that experience is predictably lonely, occasionally tragic, as is to be expected with something so new, experimental, and exploratory. The humans can’t make it home again, after all.

Then it turns to horror. Because one far-flung Ansible, as they’re called, comes to a world full of monsters. And unintentionally gives them the location of Earth.

Picture enormous, near-invisible jellyfish. Now imagine that they are immune to most weaponry, are impossibly strong, and feed on sapient fear. If they touch you with their tendrils – which can lift an adult human up into the sky, not nearly as delicate an they should be – they trap your mind in an eternity of nightmares and feast on your psychic screaming forever.

This is the first 16% of the book – about 100 pages of this 600-page epic. And it’s rough. By which I mean, difficult to get through, not poorly written.

After that, though.

Gods.

Uncertainty is not despair; it’s another word for hope.

Ansible was pitched to me as featuring a ‘bisexual shapeshifting hijabi time traveler’, and you know what, that really is all I need to hear. But even though, with that premise, I was expecting it to be awesome? I did not, could not, imagine the…the scale of it. How completely it would take my breath away. How utterly it would consume my every waking moment – and quite a lot of my sleeping ones. How impossible it would be to stop thinking about it. How it would – would fit, the way the perfect stone fits in your hand, smooth and silken and just inexplicably right. Except Ansible isn’t your average pebble, but some kind of crystal, one with veins and dapples of colour running through it, so that every time you look, every time you turn it over in your hand, there’s some new and unexpected brilliance to fall in love with.

This moment will be my shield and my dome lifted in praise of he who is All Compassionate and who drops universes from his hand the way a jeweler drops diamonds onto a dark fabric, to show them off as things of unparalleled and indescribable beauty.

Sahira is a psicaster, someone who can project into the minds of others. Most psicasters need the help of specialised technology to become Ansibles – Sahira doesn’t. She can even ‘leap’ into another body without destroying the original mind of that body, which is another aspect of her talent that is unprecedented. When the pneumavores – the ‘soul-eaters’, nightmare-makers, world-enders – retrace the paths of previous Ansibles and attack first Starmind and then the world, Sahira manages to escape, leaping across galaxies and back and forth through time. And she dedicates her life to fighting back and saving humanity.

This isn’t a blockbuster; this is an epic. Sahira travels the timeline searching for others with powerful psi talents to help her, honing her own skills and teaching them to her allies, learning how to fight monsters that can barely be seen or felt, while simultaneously safeguarding and shepherding refugees from across the universe – for humans have spread to the stars, a little further into the future – into the Last Redoubt, a pyramid the size of a nation, of a hundred nations, impregnable and safe from the pneumavores. She falls in love more than once, but finds the love of her life in Rasha, a Syrian refugee from roughly our own time; she lives not in straight lines but in some impossibly intricate geometric pattern like an Islamic artwork, present in so many presents, going into battles knowing she’s already survived them, won them, lost them.

And Litore takes us through the timestream with her; we see the far-future of humanity in the Last Redoubt; we see our present, and Rasha’s life before she leaves it to join Sahira in her quest; skip forward again to see the Last Redoubt being built by survivors of the 25th century; then backwards to prehistoric times and the ancestors of modern humans. In lesser hands it would be a jerky, disjointed mess, but in Litore’s it’s spun silk woven back and forth into a darkly shining tapestry of lives and loss and love.

For this night, the first hours of the long night, we have been knives in God’s hands and songs in his throat, and he has wielded us to preserve all of your lives, all of you who are the books in the library that is the mind of All-Merciful God.

I really can’t overstate Litore’s skill here, how his prose just shines. Science becomes song, becomes hymns and poetry in a way that immediately brings to mind the Islamic scholars of the past (almost certainly Litore’s intent), and it’s so beautiful it made my heart ache. This isn’t the super-descriptive, decadently purple prose I normally love; this is sharp and elegant and gleaming, a heart-felt hymn both to God – from the perspective of the characters – and to humanity.

By stories and song, we hold back the dark.

Ansible starts out as horror, but it is immensely hopepunk. This is a book about fear and loss and hope and love, about trying your best, about fighting both for ideals and for the people standing beside and behind you. It’s effortlessly inclusive, racially and sexually, putting queer women of colour front and centre. It’s about never giving up. It’s honest about the ways in which we fail sometimes, the ways in which we give in to fear sometimes. It starts as a nightmare, and then the story fights that back, one inch at a time, one step at a time. It’s about glory and awe and longing, sorrow and joy and life. I cannot exaggerate how beautiful, how poignant, how powerful and moving it is.

Maybe this is how we stand against the ifrits that feed on our fear: by passing bravery from one body to another, in the clasp of a hand, in the sharing of a glance, in the touch of a thought.

Let me put it this way: last month I started new meds that made me incredibly jittery and left me struggling to focus on anything for more than a few minutes at a time. It was incredibly distressing and depressing. But the one book I could still read? Was Ansible. Because it is just that good, that addictive, that compelling. When I couldn’t read anything else, I could read this, and passionately wanted to read this.

Ansible: A Thousand Faces is one of the precious books – stories – that goes on the shelf behind my heart because it’s touched my soul. This is a book I know I will come back to again and again; one I won’t ever forget. One I’ll carry with me for always, no matter where my path takes me.

I urge you to read it too.

The post A Paean of Hope Against the Dark: Ansible–A Thousand Faces by Stant Litore appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

Must-Have Monday #80

TEN wonderful new SFF releases, and two bonus contemporary books I’m making grabby-hands at!

In a Garden Burning Gold by Rory Power
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Bisexual MC
PoV: 3rd person past tense, multiple PoVs
Published on: 5th April 2022
Goodreads

Twins imbued with incredible magic and near-immortality will do anything to keep their family safe—even if it tears the siblings apart—in the first book of a mythic epic fantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of Wilder Girls.

Rhea and her twin brother, Lexos, have spent an eternity helping their father rule their small, unstable country, using their control over the seasons, tides, and stars to keep the people in line. For a hundred years, they've been each other's only ally, defending each other and their younger siblings against their father's increasingly unpredictable anger.

Now, with an independence movement gaining ground and their father's rule weakening, the twins must take matters into their own hands to keep their family—and their entire world—from crashing down around them. But other nations are jockeying for power, ready to cross and double cross, and if Rhea and Lexos aren't careful, they'll end up facing each other across the battlefield.

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This one didn’t quite work for me, but if you like your Fantasy as a YA/Adult mash-up I’d recommend it!

Aspects by John M. Ford
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Published on: 5th April 2022
Goodreads

"The best writer in America, bar none."—Robert Jordan

At last, the final work of John M. Ford—one of the greatest SF and fantasy authors of his time.

Enter the halls of Parliament with Varic, Coron of the Corvaric Coast.

Visit Strange House with the Archmage Birch.

Explore the mountains of Lady Longlight alongside the Palion Silvern, Sorcerer.
In the years before his unexpected death, John M. Ford wrote a novel of fantasy and magic unlike any other. Politics and abdicated kings, swords and sorcerous machine guns, divination and ancient empires—finally, Aspects is here.

“A great writer who is really fucking brilliant.”—Neil Gaiman

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I’ve never read any of Ford’s worm before, but I’m curious about this one – not just because it’s being published posthumously, but because it makes one think of Jonathan Strange and Mister Norrell, except more serious in tone. There’s an excerpt up on Tor.com if you want to see what I mean!

Scout's Honor by Lily Anderson
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy
Published on: 5th April 2022
Goodreads

Prudence Perry is a third-generation Ladybird Scout who must battle literal (and figurative) monsters and the weight of her legacy in this YA paranormal perfect for fans of Stranger Things and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Sixteen-year-old Prudence Perry is a legacy Ladybird Scout, born to a family of hunters sworn to protect humans from mulligrubs―interdimensional parasites who feast on human emotions like sadness and anger. Masquerading as a prim and proper ladies' social organization, the Ladybirds brew poisons masked as teas and use knitting needles as daggers, at least until they graduate to axes and swords.
Three years ago, Prue’s best friend was killed during a hunt, so she kissed the Scouts goodbye, preferring the company of her punkish friends lovingly dubbed the Criminal Element much to her mother and Tía Lo’s disappointment. However, unable to move on from her guilt and trauma, Prue devises a risky plan to infiltrate the Ladybirds in order to swipe the Tea of Forgetting, a restricted tincture laced with a powerful amnesia spell.

But old monster-slaying habits die hard and Prue finds herself falling back into the fold, growing close with the junior scouts that she trains to fight the creatures she can’t face. When her town is hit with a mysterious wave of demons, Prue knows it’s time to confront the most powerful monster of all: her past.

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This is from the author of Undead Girl Gang, which I loved when it came out back in 2018! This sounds like it’ll be just as, if not more, amazing to read!

Queen of Clouds by Neil Williamson
Genres: Fantasy
Published on: 5th April 2022

Queen of Clouds is a sumptuous fantasy from the mind of Glasgow-based author and musician Neil Williamson. Neil's debut novel The Moon King was described by Jeff VanderMeer as "one of the best debuts of this or any other year" and went on to be shortlisted for both the BSFA Award and British Fantasy Award for best novel.

Billy Braid has been raised in an idyllic mountain backwater, aiding Master Kim to craft strangely sentient sylvans from carefully cultivated trees. Then the outside world impinges, and Billy is tasked with delivering a sylvan to the Sunshine City of Karpentine. Upon his arrival, Billy falls in with a young Weathermaker, Paraphernalia, who proves to be fascinating and infuriating in equal measure. But all is not well in the Sunshine City, and Billy is soon embroiled in Machiavellian intrigues he is ill-equipped to deal with, as the city's ruling Guilds – the Constructors, Inksmiths, Weathermakers and more – jostle for status and power, seeing him as the key.

Billy gets co-opted by the Weathermakers who have troubles of their own. The weather is behaving badly. Can Billy help Paraphernalia, heir to the Queen of Clouds, understand what is happening and restore order to the Sunshine City? And if this strange new phenomenon gets out of control, will it usher in a new chapter for humankind… or the end of everything.

Queen of Clouds is a delight; a fast-paced tale set in a richly imagined world. Wooden automata, sentient weather, talking cats, compellant inks, a tower of hands built from the casts provided by the city's many visitors, and a host of vividly realised characters provide the backdrop as the drama rushes to its stunning climax.

“A truly unique and powerful work, intricate and ingenious.” – Adrian Tchaikovsky, Arthur C. Clarke Award winning author

“Superb characterization and fascinating worldbuilding. There’s plenty to enjoy.” – Publishers Weekly

“A book with a lot of charm. Queen of Clouds brings together a resourceful protagonist, a pacey narrative, and a lovingly imagined setting. Moving between a mountainous forest and a teeming and fantastical city, the book's feel is part adult fairy tale, part steampunk, with a dash of satire thrown in.” – Chris Beckett, Arthur C. Clarke Award winning author

“The best fantasy I’ve read in a long time, written with a deep love of language and a quirky inventiveness that charms and fascinates in equal measure. Highly recommended.” – Keith Brooke, Philip K. Dick Award shortlisted author.

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This sounds extremely odd but also extremely delightful??? For some reason it doesn’t seem to have a Goodreads page, but it’s available to order in all the usual places, and I really can’t wait to dive in and see how its premise works out!

The Bladed Faith (The Vagrant Gods, #1) by David Dalglish
Genres: Fantasy, High Fantasy
Representation: Sapphic PoV character
Published on: 5th April 2022
Goodreads

A usurped prince prepares to take up the mantel of a deadly assassin and reclaim his kingdom, his people, and his slain gods in this epic fantasy from a USA Today bestselling author.

Cyrus was only twelve years old when his gods were slain, his country invaded, and his parents—the king and queen—beheaded in front of him. Held prisoner in the invader's court for years, Cyrus is suddenly given a chance to escape and claim his revenge when a mysterious group of revolutionaries comes looking for a figurehead. They need a hero to strike fear into the hearts of the imperial and to inspire and unite the people. They need someone to take up the skull mask and swords and to become the legendary "Vagrant"—an unparalleled hero and assassin of otherworldly skill. 

But all is not as it seems. Creating the illusion of a hero is the work of many, and Cyrus will soon discover the true price of his vengeance. 

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I’ll admit, I haven’t had good luck with Dalglish in the past, but I’m very willing to try again – I like this premise a lot, and I want to meet the queer character I’ve heard quite a bit about. Especially after reading this excerpt over at Civilian Reader!

The Blood Trials (The Blood Gift Duology, #1) by N.E. Davenport
Genres: Science Fantasy
Representation: Black MC
Published on: 5th April 2022
Goodreads

Blending fantasy and science fiction, N. E. Davenport's fast-paced, action-packed debut kicks off a duology of loyalty and rebellion, in which a young Black woman must survive deadly trials in a racist and misogynistic society to become an elite warrior.

It's all about blood.

The blood spilled between the Republic of Mareen and the armies of the Blood Emperor long ago. The blood gifts of Mareen's deadliest enemies. The blood that runs through the elite War Houses of Mareen, the rulers of the Tribunal dedicated to keeping the republic alive.

The blood of the former Legatus, Verne Amari, murdered.

For his granddaughter, Ikenna, the only thing steady in her life was the man who had saved Mareen. The man who had trained her in secret, not just in martial skills, but in harnessing the blood gift that coursed through her.

Who trained her to keep that a secret.

But now there are too many secrets, and with her grandfather assassinated, Ikenna knows two things: that only someone on the Tribunal could have ordered his death, and that only a Praetorian Guard could have carried out that order.

Bent on revenge as much as discovering the truth, Ikenna pledges herself to the Praetorian Trials--a brutal initiation that only a quarter of the aspirants survive. She subjects herself to the racism directed against her half-Khanaian heritage and the misogyny of a society that cherishes progeny over prodigy, all while hiding a power that--if found out--would subject her to execution...or worse. Ikenna is willing to risk it all because she needs to find out who murdered her grandfather...and then she needs to kill them.

Mareen has been at peace for a long time...

Ikenna joining the Praetorians is about to change all that.

Magic and technology converge in the first part of this stunning debut duology, where loyalty to oneself--and one's blood--is more important than anything.

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I DNF-ed this the first time I read it, but I really want to give it another go. The premise is just that awesome.

Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments by T.L. Huchu
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy
Representation: Black MC
PoV: 1st person past tense
Published on: 5th April 2022
Goodreads

Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments by T. L. Huchu is the second spellbinding book in the Edinburgh Nights series.

"Stupendously engaging." – Ben Aaronovitch, bestselling author of Rivers of London

Some secrets are meant to stay buried

When Ropa Moyo discovered an occult underground library, she expected great things. She’s really into Edinburgh’s secret societies – but turns out they are less into her. So instead of getting paid to work magic, she’s had to accept a crummy unpaid internship. And her with bills to pay and a pet fox to feed.

Then her friend Priya offers her a job on the side. Priya works at Our Lady of Mysterious Maladies, a very specialized hospital, where a new illness is resisting magical and medical remedies alike. The first patient was a teenage boy, Max Wu, and his healers are baffled. If Ropa can solve the case, she might earn as she learns – and impress her mentor, Sir Callander.

Her sleuthing will lead her to a lost fortune, an avenging spirit and a secret buried deep in Scotland’s past. But how are they connected? Lives are at stake and Ropa is running out of time.

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Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments finally releases in the US this week! (The UK got it a little earlier.) The first book made it clear this is going to be one of my favourite series, and if you like fantasy is an urban setting I strongly recommend it!

Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li
Representation: Chinese-American cast
Published on: 5th April 2022
Goodreads

Ocean’s Eleven meets The Farewell in Portrait of a Thief, a lush, lyrical heist novel inspired by the true story of Chinese art vanishing from Western museums; about diaspora, the colonization of art, and the complexity of the Chinese American identity.

History is told by the conquerors. Across the Western world, museums display the spoils of war, of conquest, of colonialism: priceless pieces of art looted from other countries, kept even now.

Will Chen plans to steal them back.

A senior at Harvard, Will fits comfortably in his carefully curated roles: a perfect student, an art history major and sometimes artist, the eldest son who has always been his parents’ American Dream. But when a mysterious Chinese benefactor reaches out with an impossible—and illegal—job offer, Will finds himself something else as well: the leader of a heist to steal back five priceless Chinese sculptures, looted from Beijing centuries ago.

His crew is every heist archetype one can imag­ine—or at least, the closest he can get. A con artist: Irene Chen, a public policy major at Duke who can talk her way out of anything. A thief: Daniel Liang, a premed student with steady hands just as capable of lockpicking as suturing. A getaway driver: Lily Wu, an engineering major who races cars in her free time. A hacker: Alex Huang, an MIT dropout turned Silicon Valley software engineer. Each member of his crew has their own complicated relationship with China and the identity they’ve cultivated as Chinese Americans, but when Will asks, none of them can turn him down.

Because if they succeed? They earn fifty million dollars—and a chance to make history. But if they fail, it will mean not just the loss of everything they’ve dreamed for themselves but yet another thwarted at­tempt to take back what colonialism has stolen.

Equal parts beautiful, thoughtful, and thrilling, Portrait of a Thief is a cultural heist and an examination of Chinese American identity, as well as a necessary cri­tique of the lingering effects of colonialism.

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Not SFF, but even with early reviews being quite mixed, I just can’t resist that premise. I’ve got to read it!

Love from Scratch by Kaitlyn Hill
Published on: 5th April 2022
Goodreads

This summer, Reese Camden is trading sweet tea and Southern hospitality for cold brew and crisp coastal air. She's landed her dream marketing internship at Friends of Flavor, a wildly popular cooking channel in Seattle. The only problem? Benny Beneventi, the relentlessly charming, backwards-baseball-cap-wearing culinary intern--and her main competition for the fall job.
Reese's plan to keep work a No Feelings Zone crumbles like a day-old muffin when she and Benny are thrown together for a video shoot that goes viral, making them the internet's newest ship. Audiences are hungry for more, and their bosses at Friends of Flavor are happy to deliver. Soon Reese and Benny are in an all-out food war, churning homemade ice cream, twisting soft pretzels, breaking eggs in an omelet showdown--while hundreds of thousands of viewers watch.
Reese can't deny the chemistry between her and Benny. But the more their rivalry heats up, the harder it is to keep love on the back burner...

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No, as far as I can tell this isn’t SFF in the least either. However, I have a major sweet tooth for baking-related love stories, so this is another one I’ll definitely be checking out!

We Who Hunt The Hollow by Kate Murray
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Bisexual MC
Published on: 6th April 2022
Goodreads

A firecracker urban fantasy about the youngest daughter of a family of women warriors, and the power she wishes she had …

Seventeen-year-old Priscilla Daalman’s entire family are Hollow Warriors – legendary monster hunters charged with killing evil beasts from beyond our universe. She’s desperate to live up to that legacy, but she’s convinced neither she, nor her superpower – the ability to sense Hollow energy – is up to the task.

But when Priscilla attempts a desperate ritual to enhance her abilities, she accidentally triggers a frightening new power: the power to summon monsters from the Hollow itself. Now, Priscilla must protect her loved ones – her heartbroken ex-girlfriend, her mysterious new boyfriend, even her fierce warrior family – from supernatural monsters, and also from herself. Because if her power gets out, all hell will break loose … and Priscilla will risk losing everything.

Shortlisted for the Ampersand Prize, Kate Murray’s breathtaking debut YA novel is perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare and Lynette Noni.

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This is an Australia-only release, but it sounds so amazing I’ve jumped through half a dozen hoops to get my hands on a copy! I mean, this is how the author describes it on her website;

bi protag loads of sistersrebelsanimal companionskickass warrior grandmotherfamily with 2 mumssecret monsterssecret superpowerscactus with googly eyesvery snarky mouse

What more could you possibly want?!

Amongst Our Weapons (Rivers of London, #9) by Ben Aaronovitch
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy
Representation: Black MC
Published on: 7th April 2022
Goodreads

The ninth novel of the bestselling Rivers of London urban fantasy series returns to the adventures of Peter Grant, detective and apprentice wizard, as he solves magical crimes in the city of London.
There is a world hidden underneath this great city.

The London Silver Vaults–for well over a century, the largest collection of silver for sale in the world. It has more locks than the Bank of England and more cameras than a celebrity punch-up. Not somewhere you can murder someone and vanish without a trace–only that’s what happened.

The disappearing act, the reports of a blinding flash of light and memory loss amongst the witnesses all make this a case for Detective Constable Peter Grant and the Special Assessment Unit.
Alongside their boss DCI Thomas Nightingale, the SAU find themselves embroiled in a mystery that encompasses London’s tangled history, foreign lands and, most terrifying of all, the North!

And Peter must solve this case soon because back home his partner Beverley is expecting twins any day now. But what he doesn’t know is that he’s about to encounter something–and somebody–that nobody ever expects…

Effortlessly original, endlessly inventive and hugely entertaining–step into the world of the much-loved, Number One bestselling Rivers of London series.

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The US needs to wait another week, but the latest Rivers of London book is out in the UK this Thursday! I’ve loved this series for years and years and can’t wait to see what happens next!

The Last Gifts of the Universe by Rory August
Genres: Sci Fi
Published on: 7th April 2022
Goodreads

A dying universe.

When the Home worlds finally achieved the technology to venture out into the stars, they found a graveyard of dead civilizations, a sea of lifeless gray planets and their ruins. What befell them is unknown. All Home knows is that they are the last civilization left in the universe, and whatever came for the others will come for them next.

A search for answers.

Scout is an Archivist tasked with scouring the dead worlds of the cosmos for their last gifts: interesting technology, cultural rituals—anything left behind that might be useful to the Home worlds and their survival. During an excavation on a lifeless planet, Scout unearths something unbelievable: a surviving message from an alien who witnessed the world-ending entity thousands of years ago.

A past unraveled.

Blyreena was once a friend, a soul mate, and a respected leader of her people, the Stelhari. At the end of her world, she was the last one left. She survived to give one last message, one final hope to the future: instructions on how to save the universe.
An adventure at the end of a trillion lifetimes.

With the fate of everything at stake, Scout must overcome the dangers of the Stelhari’s ruined civilization while following Blyreena’s leads to collect its artifacts. If Scout can’t deliver these groundbreaking discoveries back to the Archivists, Home might not only be the last civilization to exist, but the last to finally fall.

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This has been very positively reviewed by early readers as very human-focussed scifi, and that combined with the premise has me really looking forward to it!

Will you be reading any of these? Did I miss any books I should know about? Let me know!

The post Must-Have Monday #80 appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

Sunday Soupçons #5

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!

Just one this week!

Those Who Hunt the Night (James Asher, #1) by Barbara Hambly
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Horror
PoV: 3rd person, two PoVs
Goodreads

At the turn of the twentieth century, a former spy is called into service to hunt down a vampire killer...

Once a spy for Queen Victoria, James Asher has fought for Britain on every continent, using his quick wits to protect the Empire at all costs. After years of grueling service, he marries and retires to a simple academic’s life at Oxford. But his peace is shattered one night with the arrival of a Spanish vampire named Don Simon. Don Simon can disappear into fog, move faster than the eye can see, and immobilize Asher—and his young bride—with a wave of his hand. Asher is at his mercy, and has no choice but to give his help.

Because someone is killing the vampires of London, and James Asher must find out who—before he becomes a victim himself.

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For years, I’ve reread this entire series almost every year. Hambly’s prose is decadently sensual, some of the most beautiful I’ve ever read (this applies to all her books, not just the James Asher series!) while simultaneously being some of the most compellingly readable – Those Who Hunt the Night is one of a small handful of go-to books when I’m ill, in pain, or having a Bad Brain Day, because even when I feel awful it (and the sequels) can always draw me in.

Beyond the prose, it has two huge things going for it: Hambly’s vampires are hands down my favourite in fiction, and secondly, despite it being called the James Asher series, Lydia Asher, his wife, is a major PoV character with an enormous amount of agency. She and James are partners in the truest sense of the word; the first thing James does when he discovers vampires are read is tell Lydia – no lying, no making up stories or trying to protect her from the truth, just pure honesty. And their relationship and trust in each other is so strong that she believes him!

I’ve just never seen a married couple like that in fiction, before or since. I love it so much!

As for the vampires: I get frustrated with vampires who are basically just humans who drink blood. I want to read about vampires who feel completely Other; alien and at least a little frightening, not mindlessly evil but beings I can’t completely understand, either. Hambly nails this; her vampires are still people, but the transformation from human to vampire has affected much more than their diet, and they absolutely feel deliciously and wholly Other. I also adore how James and particularly Lydia (who’s a doctor) speculate as to what vampirism is and how it might work; Hambly points out that it being a series of interlocking viruses would explain quite a few vampiric weaknesses, like their inability to tolerate silver. But there’s still a mystery at the heart of what makes up a vampire that I find absolutely wonderful – there’s still that element of magic and/or horror in the mix, inextricable from the rest.

Strongly recommended, especially for anyone bored with the usual vampire portrayals!

Have you read any of Barbara Hambly’s books?

The post Sunday Soupçons #5 appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

Books to Read When You Can’t Read

For a bunch of reasons, sometimes it’s nearly impossible to focus on a book – you’re stressed, you’re ill, or maybe you’re just straight-up having a bad brain day.

Here are some books I’ve found easy to read even when my brain is misbehaving; light and fun, but also well-written and with enough meat on the bone to keep you engaged.

(You can also check out my Books Guaranteed to Make You Smile list, since that also features books that should be easily approachable and still wonderful!)

Murder Most Actual by Alexis Hall
Representation: Black sapphic MC, F/F
Goodreads

From the author of Boyfriend Material and Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake comes a cozy mystery that revisits the Golden Age of detective fiction, starring a heroine who’s more podcaster than private eye and topped with a lethal dose of parody -- perfect for fans of Clue, Knives Out, and Only Murders in the Building!

When up-and-coming true crime podcaster Liza and her corporate financier wife Hanna head to a luxurious hotel in the Scottish Highlands, they're hoping for a chance to rekindle their marriage - not to find themselves trapped in the middle of an Agatha Christie-esque murder mystery with no way home. But who better to take on the case than someone whose entire profession relies on an obsession with all things mysterious and macabre? Though some of her fellow guests may consider her an interfering new media hack, Liza knows a thing or two about crime and – despite Hanna’s preference for waiting out the chaos behind a locked door – might be the only one capable of discovering the killer. As the bodies rack up and the stakes rise, can they save their marriage -- and their lives?

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I know, it’s not SFF – alas, most of Hall’s books aren’t. What they are is addictive, and very funny, and Murder Most Actual in particular was able to hold my attention while I was struggling with new medication. That’s five stars right there, in my book. It’s tropey and silly, but aware of both those things, and the tongue-in-cheek vibe makes the whole thing utterly delightful.

Burn for Me (Hidden Legacy, #1) by Ilona Andrews
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy
Goodreads

Nevada Baylor is faced with the most challenging case of her detective career—a suicide mission to bring in a suspect in a volatile case. Nevada isn't sure she has the chops. Her quarry is a Prime, the highest rank of magic user, who can set anyone and anything on fire.

Then she's kidnapped by Connor "Mad" Rogan—a darkly tempting billionaire with equally devastating powers. Torn between wanting to run or surrender to their overwhelming attraction, Nevada must join forces with Rogan to stay alive.

Rogan's after the same target, so he needs Nevada. But she's getting under his skin, making him care about someone other than himself for a change. And, as Rogan has learned, love can be as perilous as death, especially in the magic world.

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I’ve used some of the foreign covers for this book (Turkish, Polish, and German respectively) because the English-language one gives you completely the wrong idea about what Burn For Me is like; there’s definitely Paranormal Romance elements, but in classic Ilona Andrews style they buck or subvert a lot of common tropes, and – spoiler! – nobody gets together in book one.

It’s a fast-paced, action-packed urban fantasy that is full of family-feels and clever in its approach to magic and worldbuilding; not exactly light, but easy to read and a ton of fun.

Incursion (The Dakotaraptor Riders Book 1) by Stant Litore
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Sapphic MC, Deaf sapphic wife, F/F
Goodreads

Looking for a thrilling tale with lesbian dakotaraptor riders, were-brachiosaurs, Slavic witches, triceratops cowboys, carnivorous cacti, and invaders with machine guns mounted on deathreaper tyrannosaurs?

If you’ve been looking for a series like that, Stant Litore has your back. In Incursion, join Sasha Nightwatcher and her wife Yekaterina on a wild dash across the violet prairie to save their alien homeworld.

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I read and reviewed this one recently, and despite touching on some heavier topics, Incursion was a beautifully easy, escapist read. I mean – sapphic raptor-riders kicking ass on a purple planet! What more could you want???

House of Shadows by Rachel Neumeier
Genres: Fantasy
Goodreads

Orphaned, two sisters are left to find their own fortunes.

Sweet and proper, Karah's future seems secure at a glamorous Flower House. She could be pampered for the rest of her life... if she agrees to play their game.

Nemienne, neither sweet nor proper, has fewer choices. Left with no alternative, she accepts a mysterious mage's offer of an apprenticeship. Agreeing means a home and survival, but can Nemienne trust the mage?

With the arrival of a foreign bard into the quiet city, dangerous secrets are unearthed, and both sisters find themselves at the center of a plot that threatens not only to upset their newly found lives, but also to destroy their kingdom.

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Just about any Neumeier book will do, but House of Shadows (and its sequel, Door Into Light) is one of my especial favourites. Neumeier’s prose is as soothing as sinking into a warm bath, while her worldbuilding is always perfectly balanced between beautifully detail and accessibility – she has a kind of fairytale-esque, gently-lecturing style that is unbelievably relaxing. Bonus points for introspective storytelling and magic that always feels genuinely magical.

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun
Representation: Gay Desi-American MC with depression, queer MC with clinical anxiety + OCD, multiple queer and BIPOC secondary characters
Goodreads

Dev Deshpande has always believed in fairy tales. So it’s no wonder then that he’s spent his career crafting them on the long-running reality dating show Ever After. As the most successful producer in the franchise’s history, Dev always scripts the perfect love story for his contestants, even as his own love life crashes and burns. But then the show casts disgraced tech wunderkind Charlie Winshaw as its star.

Charlie is far from the romantic Prince Charming Ever After expects. He doesn’t believe in true love, and only agreed to the show as a last-ditch effort to rehabilitate his image. In front of the cameras, he’s a stiff, anxious mess with no idea how to date twenty women on national television. Behind the scenes, he’s cold, awkward, and emotionally closed-off.

As Dev fights to get Charlie to connect with the contestants on a whirlwind, worldwide tour, they begin to open up to each other, and Charlie realizes he has better chemistry with Dev than with any of his female co-stars. But even reality TV has a script, and in order to find to happily ever after, they’ll have to reconsider whose love story gets told.
In this witty and heartwarming romantic comedy—reminiscent of Red, White & Royal Blue and One to Watch—an awkward tech wunderkind on a reality dating show goes off-script when sparks fly with his producer.

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Another contemporary-fic book! But I couldn’t not include it; The Charm Offensive is compulsively readable, and somehow manages to feel light while diving deep. It’s massively sweet and just as funny, and is pretty perfect in all the ways – most especially when you’re struggling to concentrate, because this book grabs hold of you by the Feels and never let go!

[image error]A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge
Genres: Fantasy
Goodreads

In the underground city of Caverna, the world's most skilled craftsmen create delicacies beyond compare: cheese that can show you the future and perfumes that convince you to trust the wearer, even as they slit your throat. The poeple are unlike any other: they have faces blank as untouched snow. Expressions must be learned, and the famous Facesmiths will teach a person to display joy, despair or fear - at a price.

Into this dark and distrustful world tumbles Neverfell, a girl with no memory and a face so incredible to those around her that she must wear a mask at all times. For Neverfell has a face that shows her emotions. A face incapable of lying. A face that is a dangerous threat and an irrestible treasure - a face that some would kill for...

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All of Hardinge’s books are weird and wonderful, but Face Like Glass is one of her better-known works for a reason! It’s strange and delightful and super clever, with easy but wonderful prose that draws you irresistably along and into the story. Strongly, strongly recommended!

Those Who Hunt the Night by Barbara Hambly
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Goodreads

At the turn of the twentieth century, a former spy is called into service to hunt down a vampire killer...

Once a spy for Queen Victoria, James Asher has fought for Britain on every continent, using his quick wits to protect the Empire at all costs. After years of grueling service, he marries and retires to a simple academic’s life at Oxford. But his peace is shattered one night with the arrival of a Spanish vampire named Don Simon. Don Simon can disappear into fog, move faster than the eye can see, and immobilize Asher—and his young bride—with a wave of his hand. Asher is at his mercy, and has no choice but to give his help.

Because someone is killing the vampires of London, and James Asher must find out who—before he becomes a victim himself.

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There’s no getting around it: Those Who Hunt the Night is not a fun, light-hearted story. What it is, is one of my favourite-ever takes on vampires – properly alien and unhuman, properly frightening – written in utterly gorgeous, magnetically compelling prose. Hambly’s writing is just so beautiful, so lush, that I can’t help coming back to this series again and again – most years I reread the entire 8 books!

And if vampires aren’t your thing, Hambly has written a lot of other books, including ones about wizards, dragons, and there-isn’t-a-word-for-female-wizards (in that particular book), as well as plenty of historical fiction if that’s your jam. I sincerely urge you to check out her bibliography!

7 is a magic number, so I’ll stop there.

What are your go-to books when you’re struggling to read?

The post Books to Read When You Can’t Read appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

The Queerest of Fairytales: Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars by Kai Cheng Thom

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl’s Confabulous Memoir by Kai Cheng Thom
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Magical Realism
Representation: Chinese-American trans MC, trans cast of colour, secondary F/F
PoV: 1st person, present and past tense
ISBN: 9780994047168
Goodreads

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl’s Confabulous Memoir by Kai Cheng Thom is the highly sensational, ultra-exciting, sort-of true coming-of-age story of a young Asian trans girl, pathological liar, and kung-fu expert who runs away from her parents’ abusive home in a rainy city called Gloom. Striking off on her own, she finds her true family in a group of larger-than-life trans femmes who live in a mysterious pleasure district known only as the Street of Miracles. Under the wings of this fierce and fabulous flock, Dearly blossoms into the woman she has always dreamed of being, with a little help from the unscrupulous Doctor Crocodile. When one of their number is brutally murdered, the protagonist joins her sisters in forming a vigilante gang to fight back against the transphobes, violent johns, and cops that stalk the Street of Miracles. But when things go terribly wrong, she must find the truth within herself in order to stop the violence and discover what it really means to grow up and find your family.

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I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Highlights

~ghosts are a girl’s best friend
~heels are a girl’s best weapon
~forgiveness is cake
~fight for your family
~love yourself

This is the story of how I became a dangerous girl and the greatest escape artist in the world.

I spent years waiting to read this book – and it was so worth it!

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars is a kind of fairytale, where mermaids and ghosts are just as real as trans girls. Putting them side by side seems as pointed as it is delightful; this is a book that says trans women are as magical as mermaids, and far more real than ghosts. The ladies of the Street of Miracles are not stereotypes or sex objects; they walk among myths, but are as human as me and you – something not everyone always remembers, or chooses to acknowledge.

West of the ocean and east of the wind, there is place they call the city of Smoke and Lights.

Thom has written a beautiful fantasy, but it’s not a glamourisation of how hard it is to be a trans woman, particularly a trans woman of colour. This isn’t that kind of fairytale. But neither is it as dark as the original Grimm tales, nor is it the magical horror of Angela Slatter. It’s brutally honest, but there’s a sweetness and a softness to it too; a celebration of community and sisterhood, gilded with witches and magic fountains and Kung Fu.

In the City of Smoke and Lights, they say, you can be everything you dreamed of. Especially if you are prone to nightmares, deep and wild.

And Thom has such an incredible way with words – I lost count of how many lines I highlighted on my ereader, sentences like golden fishhooks getting under my skin and catching me by the ribs. Many are simply beautiful, but even more were wrenching, breathtaking gut-punches that just… I won’t say I understand how it feels to be a trans woman, because I don’t, but Fierce Femmes hits as hard as a bedazzled knuckleduster.

my hair is dreaming itself

That line – ‘my hair is dreaming itself’ – is part of a poem the MC writes later in the book, and it’s so moving and powerful. The image of a trans woman’s hair dreaming itself into being…because of course, long hair is typically a sign of femininity, which makes it very, very meaningful for a trans person who has always had to keep their hair short.

Taller in my heels, I am closer to some dangerous heaven.

Thom packs so much power into so few words; her writing is concise and concentrated. Fierce Femmes is short, but to make it longer would have been to dilute it. It’s exactly as long as it should be.

They are a pantheon of goddesses

Dangerous trans women, hot as blue stars.

Fierce Femmes is a book about being trans and what that means, about community and sisterhood, dreams and ghosts and the mythologies of the streets. It’s about fighting back against hate, standing with your sisters, using lipstick to lacerate. It’s about bees and mermaids and rejecting heteronormative ideals, finding yourself and refusing an ending.

It’s utterly glorious, and you should read it.

The post The Queerest of Fairytales: Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars by Kai Cheng Thom appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

In Short: March

New meds halfway through the month really threw me for a loop; I’m still adjusting, and not enjoying it at all. But I did get some reading done, and some reviews I’m pretty proud of.

Read

Where Machines Redeem the Lost is so far the weakest installment of the Machine Mandate series that I’ve yet read – or at least, the one I enjoyed the least. But everything else I read this month blew my mind. Pennyblade and Ansible (Seasons One and Two) were unexpected delights, and I knew I would love Saint Death’s Daughter, A Strange and Stubborn Endurance, and A Taste of Gold and Iron – but I had no idea how much I’d love them! Particularly Saint Death’s Daughter; I had to invent two new words just to describe it. (It’s an athegravagant exhilerant, if you’re wondering.)

And of course, I reread The Sunken Mall and The Hanged Man as part of the #TTSReadalong. Both even more excellent than I remembered, now that I’ve read book three and can spot even more of the clues and hints Edwards has been laying for us!

Two books out of ten – 20% of my reading – were by BIPOC authors this month. Not terrible! It’s less than last month, but I read less overall than February, so I’m giving myself a pass this time.

Reviewed

An average of a bit over one review a week is acceptable, but I really wanted to write more this month. Oh well!

(And anyway, if you count the mini-reviews, my total comes up to twelve! Much better.)

I have to say, I’m really, really proud of my review of Saint Death’s Daughter – I worked even harder on it than I did for Cooney’s Dark Breakers, which held the previous high score for hours-spent-on. Still not sure I did the book justice, but it was definitely one of the best reviews I’ve ever written.

(And my review for Fierce Femmes goes live later today!)

ARCs Received[image error]

This month, I decided to try something pretty radical: contacting publishers to request ARCs. I wrote up a nice little resume for myself, emailed, and assumed it would be weeks before I heard back, if I ever did.

But…it…worked??? I got responses within a couple of business days and they were very happy to send me digital ARCs??? Even though I didn’t lie in my resume thing at all???

…I think I have to officially stop calling myself a baby!blog, if real live publishers are taking me seriously!

Speaking of publishers; Kai Cheng Thom’s Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars has been out since 2016, but the publisher, Metonymy Press, sent me an early copy of the ebook edition they’re set to release later this year. So it’s an ARC, kind of, but of a book that is already out in the world – which is something we probably don’t see too often!

All in all, a most excellent haul!

DNF-ed

I’m most heartbroken about Bone Orchard, The Language of Roses and Kaikeyi, all of which I was so excited for and was expecting to adore. Alas, it just wasn’t to be.

Most of these I just didn’t get invested in, but I outright despised The First Binding, which is packed so full of sexist, pretentious dudebro vibes I wanted to chuck it out a window. It’s possible that it gets much better later in the book, but I see no reason to suffer through the awfulness for a chance that it improves. There are too many books that are wonderful from page one to waste time on one that isn’t.

ARCs Outstanding[image error]

I’m hard at work on reviews for A Strange and Stubborn Endurance and A Taste of Gold and Iron, but honestly, Kathy’s review of The Hourglass Throne is so freaking flawless I don’t think anything I write about it could compare. (Which won’t stop me trying, but – seriously, go read her review!)

Misc

As usual my Unmissable SFF of 2022 list has been updated throughout the month – cover reveals, some new books featured, dates shifted around, etc.

I started my Sunday Soupçons, a feature where I post mini-reviews every week! I’ve got to be honest, it’s been a huge relief to get to scribble small reviews rather than always trying to make them in-depth. SOMETIMES YOU JUST WANT TO SHRIEK THAT A BOOK IS GOOD AND PEOPLE SHOULD READ IT!

I’ve also started including PoV as part of my book review form – meaning that from now on I’ll list whether a book is in 1st or 3rd person (or 2nd, if someone is doing something Strange and Unusual) and past or present tense. Because I’d really like to have warning, going in – it makes me want to scream when I pick up a book I’ve been looking forward to and it’s in 1st and present-tense – so I want to give any readers of my blog that head’s up I wish someone would give me!

Speaking of things that would make my reading life easier – Netgalley now allows you to withdraw ARC requests!!! As someone who definitely has a problem with requesting far too many books, I’m especially grateful for this. It also officially means Netgalley > Edelweiss, since cancelling a request was the only advantage Edelweiss had over Netgalley in my eyes. WOO!

Last but certainly not least…my signed copies of Dark Breakers by CSE Cooney (one ARC, one finished copy) arrived, and it took me a while to open up the parcel because FEELS, and – well–

I’M NOT CRYING YOU’RE CRYING.

Looking Forward[image error]

NEW CATHERYNNE VALENTE NEW CATHERYNNE VALENTE NEW CATHERYNE VALENTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ahem.

It’s a given that I’m ridiculously excited for Spear, Osmo Unknown, and Amongst Our Weapons – and if you think I’m not going to immediately reread Saint Death’s Daughter on release day, you are entirely incorrect – but I also discovered that one of my new favourite authors, Merc Fen Wolfmoor, author of Wolf Among the Wild Hunt (read my review here) has gathered three previously-published short stories/novellas into one collection, The Lawless! Given that I utterly adored Wolf Among the Wild Hunt, I’m really excited to read more of Wolfmoor’s work.

That wraps up March! May April be kind to us all.

The post In Short: March appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

March DNFs

Full disclosure: I started new meds midway through this month that made me very restless and messed with my ability to focus, so take these with a larger-than-usual pinch of salt.

The Bone Orchard by Sara A. Mueller
Genres: Fantasy
PoV: 3rd person past tense, multiple PoVs
Published on: 22nd March 2022
ISBN: 1250776945
Goodreads

Charm is a witch, and she is alone. The last of a line of conquered necromantic workers, now confined within the yard of regrown bone trees at Orchard House, and the secrets of their marrow.

Charm is a prisoner, and a survivor. Charm tends the trees and their clattering fruit for the sake of her children, painstakingly grown and regrown with its fruit: Shame, Justice, Desire, Pride, and Pain.

Charm is a whore, and a madam. The wealthy and powerful of Borenguard come to her house to buy time with the girls who aren't real.

Except on Tuesdays, which is when the Emperor himself lays claim to his mistress, Charm herself.

now—Charm is also the only person who can keep an empire together, as the Emperor summons her to his deathbed, and charges her with choosing which of his awful, faithless sons will carry on the empire—by discovering which one is responsible for his own murder.

If she does this last thing, she will finally have what has been denied her since the fall of Inshil—her freedom. But she will also be betraying the ghosts past and present that live on within her heart.

Charm must choose. Her dead Emperor’s will or the whispers of her own ghosts. Justice for the empire or her own revenge.

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 was really surprised to end up DNF-ing The Bone Orchard – it was one of my most anticipated releases of 2022, and I really enjoyed the beginning of the book. The prose was compared to Jacqueline Carey’s in the pre-release materials! But something didn’t quite work, and when I got to the halfway point and realised I had no interest in how it ended – well.

It’s really hard to explain what about this didn’t work for me. It’s specifically the prose – it’s…too fast-paced? I don’t know the technical terminology, but reading it was like…a paragraph would abruptly change halfway through to focus on a new thing. Or there would be a jump in topics between one paragraph and the next, with no transition. Details were shared in random places, jarring the flow of the writing. It’s kind of subtle; it took me forever to realise what was making me uncomfortable and disinterested.

Plot-wise, the story seemed to be packed full of All The Things, with not a whole lot of room for any of those things to get much emotional development – so I really didn’t care about almost any of it. Also, even once I was halfway through the book, I still had no idea who the Emperor’s murderer was – I didn’t have even the most tentative theory, it felt like there was no evidence one way or another on any of the suspects – and the book kept introducing new characters and issues and objects and expecting me to be immediately invested in them, despite not giving me much to work with. There were so many little sub-plots or threads going on, but even though I could follow most of them, none of them felt important, and most of them didn’t feel very relevant to the main story. (Possibly it would all have come together in the second half of the book, in fairness.) I had no idea why x, y or z was supposed to matter, which was frustrating in the extreme when the characters treated the thing as Very Significant.

The premise of Mistress Charm and the bone-ghosts, the true nature of them all, was very cool, but the execution felt a little clumsy to me, particularly the dynamic and interaction of Charm and The Lady.

I probably could have put up with all of that if the prose was actually Carey-esque, but as implied, it was not. The jerkiness especially was just not something I could put up with – it was incredibly grating, and the effect just got worse as the book went along.

This review over on Goodreads puts most of the problems with The Bone Orchard very well, I think.

Ordinary Monsters (The Talents Trilogy, #1) by J.M. Miro
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Representation: Black PoV character
PoV: 3rd person, past tense, multiple PoVs
Published on: 7th June 2022
Goodreads

A STUNNING NEW WORK OF HISTORICAL FANTASY, J. M. MIRO'S ORDINARY MONSTERS INTRODUCES READERS TO THE DARK, LABYRINTHINE WORLD OF THE TALENTS

England, 1882. In Victorian London, two children with mysterious powers are hunted by a figure of darkness—a man made of smoke.

Sixteen-year-old Charlie Ovid, despite a brutal childhood in Mississippi, doesn't have a scar on him. His body heals itself, whether he wants it to or not. Marlowe, a foundling from a railway freight car, shines with a strange bluish light. He can melt or mend flesh. When a jaded female detective is recruited to escort them to safety, all three begin a journey into the nature of difference, and belonging, and the shadowy edges of the monstrous.

What follows is a story of wonder and betrayal, from the gaslit streets of London, and the wooden theatres of Meiji-era Tokyo, to an eerie estate outside Edinburgh where other children with gifts - the Talents - have been gathered. There, the world of the dead and the world of the living threaten to collide. And as secrets within the Institute unfurl, Marlowe, Charlie and the rest of the Talents will discover the truth about their abilities, and the nature of what is stalking them: that the worst monsters sometimes come bearing the sweetest gifts.

Riveting in its scope, exquisitely written, Ordinary Monsters presents a catastrophic vision of the Victorian world—and of the gifted, broken children who must save it.

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 don’t think Ordinary Monsters is a bad book at all – I suspect it will get very high ratings from most readers, and probably deserves to. This is one of those times where the problem is almost certainly the reader, not the book.

It just felt so heavy. Both in tone – it’s not grimdark, I don’t think, but the characters are not rich white people, there’s a great deal of poverty and some pretty horrific racism near the start of the book – and prose-wise. It’s hard to explain, which I think is a sign that the issue is me, not Ordinary Monsters. I’m just not up to reading this right now, and in fairness I don’t think I’ll come back to it – I hope things get better for the characters, but although I found all of them interesting and many of them sympathetic, I didn’t form any attachment to any of them; I’m just not emotionally invested, and the tone of the story is so grim, which…is just not something I enjoy. And I don’t want to trudge through the grimness in the hopes that it’ll get better later on in the story – especially since there was no hint that that was going to happen.

So a DNF from me.

The Splendid City by Karen Heuler
Genres: Fantasy
PoV: 3rd person, past tense
Published on: 12th July 2022
Goodreads

A genre-blending story of modern witchcraft, a police state and WTF characters, for fans of Alice Hoffman and Madeline Miller.

In the state of Liberty, water is rationed at alarming prices, free speech is hardly without a cost, and Texas has just declared itself its own country. In this society, paranoia is well-suited because eyes and ears are all around, and they are judging. Always judging. This terrifying (and yet somehow vaguely familiar) terrain is explored via Eleanor - a young woman eagerly learning about the gifts of her magic through the support of her coven.

But being a white witch is not as easy as they portray it in the books, and she's already been placed under 'house arrest' with a letch named Stan, a co-worker who wronged her in the past and now exists in the form of a cat. A talking cat who loves craft beers, picket lines, and duping and 'shooting' people.

Eleanor has no time for Stan and his shenanigans, because she finds herself helping another coven locate a missing witch which she thinks is mysteriously linked to the shortage of water in Liberty.

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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This was originally on my list of Unmissable SFF of 2022, but I didn’t even make it three chapters into the ARC. So insert the usual caveats here re the book might have gotten a lot better after that!

I think a big part of the problem was the tone – The Splendid City is an oil-and-water mix of surreal humour, shock, and Being Serious; it opens with a cat walking around on two legs, carrying a gun in his fanny-pack, which he uses to shoot (non-fatally) a woman waiting for her bus. ??? The other problem was probably the dissonance between what I was expecting and what I got, because I was assuming the ex-boyfriend-turned-cat was going to be something like Salem in the Sabrina the Teenage Witch show back in the 90s, and that is…not the kind of human-turned-cat we’re talking about here.

I’m just not a fan of this surreal/not blend, a story that simultaneously wants to be weird and take itself seriously – and worse, expect me to take it seriously. It didn’t help that The Splendid City starts in what feels like the middle of the story – the ex is already a cat, after all, we don’t see that happen – which left me feeling pretty lost, even with the info-dump-esque dialogue that tried to cover for it.

Very interested to see what other readers end up thinking of this one, but I suspect I will not be giving it another go later.

In a Garden Burning Gold by Rory Power
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Bisexual MC
PoV: 3rd person past tense, multiple PoVs
Published on: 5th April 2022
ISBN: 0593354974
Goodreads

Twins imbued with incredible magic and near-immortality will do anything to keep their family safe—even if it tears the siblings apart—in the first book of a mythic epic fantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of Wilder Girls.

Rhea and her twin brother, Lexos, have spent an eternity helping their father rule their small, unstable country, using their control over the seasons, tides, and stars to keep the people in line. For a hundred years, they've been each other's only ally, defending each other and their younger siblings against their father's increasingly unpredictable anger.

Now, with an independence movement gaining ground and their father's rule weakening, the twins must take matters into their own hands to keep their family—and their entire world—from crashing down around them. But other nations are jockeying for power, ready to cross and double cross, and if Rhea and Lexos aren't careful, they'll end up facing each other across the battlefield.

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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This was my first Rory Powers book, and I was so in love with it in the beginning! The magic is properly magical – mysterious, its mechanics unexplained but exquisitely beautiful, like the way Lexos has to embroider the stars on the sky every night! And the prose describing that magic is utterly sworn-worthy.

But this read for more like unsophisticated YA than what I expect of Adult Fantasy. Thea and Lexos are meant to be over 100 years old, but they behave and think like teenagers, and that’s just something I’m so tired of seeing. Not even the excuse that they’re both quite sheltered explains or excuses it; particularly Rhea, who, as she says herself, is constantly leaving home to spend weeks or months all over, and thus should have been exposed to all sorts of different experiences.

Then there’s the fact that Lexos and Thea just. don’t. TALK to each other, and I’m sorry, that trope is just Tired. I am tired of that trope. Especially after having read several Adult Fantasies this year where the characters act like actual, mature adults and communicate with each other even when it’s difficult.

Beautiful magic aside, this just feels like YA, with a lot of the usual YA tropes, and it just couldn’t hold my interest. The narrative wasn’t complex or sophisticated enough to pull off what Powers was trying to do for an Adult audience, in my opinion. I could see the twists coming from miles away, and that’s just not fun to read, not in a book that isn’t supposed to be light and fluffy and escapist.

I do think it’s unfair for other reviewers to critique the worldbuilding as a poor example of this place/that place/whichever place, when Powers specifically mentions in the author note that her world isn’t meant to be an analogue of any real-world country or culture. (Other critiques of the worldbuilding are more valid, although personally I was comfortable with the level of detail and explanation we got.)

If I’d read this a decade ago, I might have loved it, and I’m sure there will be plenty of readers who do enjoy it – readers who are much happier with YA/Adult blends than I am will likely have no problem with Garden Burning Gold at all.

The First Binding by R.R. Virdi
Genres: Fantasy, Secondary World Fantasy
Representation: South Asian-coded MC
PoV: 1st person, past tense
Published on: 16th August 2022
ISBN: 1250799341
Goodreads

All legends are born of truths. And just as much lies. These are mine. Judge me for what you will. But you will hear my story first.

I buried the village of Ampur under a mountain of ice and snow. Then I killed their god. I've stolen old magics and been cursed for it. I started a war with those that walked before mankind and lost the princess I loved, and wanted to save. I've called lightning and bound fire. I am legend. And I am a monster.

My name is Ari.

And this is the story of how I let loose the first evil.

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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A disclaimer: I did not get far into this book at all. My usual rule is to not DNF a book before at least the 20% mark, but readers, I didn’t even make it to 10% before I wanted to throw this thing out a window. So it is very possible that First Binding gets much better after a rocky start. Take my following review with a fair bit of salt.

The biggest issue I have with it is something that I doubt other readers will even notice: the ‘rhythm’ of the prose is off for me, like listening to a song that’s just a little out of tune. I really wish I had the technical knowledge to be able to explain this, because it’s an issue I run into a lot – often with books other readers enjoy, so I do think it’s more a me-problem than a book-problem. But when you put a comma after ‘but’ and ‘though’ at the start of every sentence, my eye starts twitching, and I’m not a fan of first-person anyway, so The First Binding was already working at a disadvantage.

But this is just so pretentious. It’s over 1000 pages on my Kindle, and I’m willing to bet that’s because the entire thing is the main character loving the sound of his own voice way, way too much.

The worst sort of prison held the Three Tales Tavern.

An emptiness.

A stillness.

And that is always meant to be broken.

It hung like a cord gone taut, quivering and waiting to snap. It was the quiet of held breaths, wanting for a voice, but ready to bite at any that dare make noise. It was the soundlessness of men too tired to speak and with an ear to hear even less. And all the stillness of an audience waiting for the play to begin.

This opening reminds me, painfully, of the opening to the first draft of the first book I wrote at 13, which was an awful lot of purple prose about the fact that it was raining. I just Cannot. It’s so…I’m blanking on coming up with anything other than pretentious again. I think it’s largely because this is in first-person. You can get away with this kind of thing in third-person, I think, sometimes, if you’re a good enough writer. But first-person? If you speak like this in first-person I already think your narrator is a jackass, and that’s not a great way to begin our relationship.

It just gets worse and worse from there. The magic system is intriguingly different to anything I’ve seen before – it involves ‘folding’ the mind like origami, as best I can make out – but that can’t trump describing the first female character you take notice of as having skin like cooked sugar. I really hope she turns out to be an ice-cold assassin or something, but she’s introduced as a singer who strokes men’s collars and bats her eyes and is The Most Beautiful and wow this is a very Straight Male book, isn’t it?

None of the drink left a trail of foam and froth across her lips. It was like it refused to adhere.

I’m having flashbacks to Kvothe obsessing over Denna in Name of the Wind.

And the singer isn’t even the first time we get these vibes; before she’s introduced in chapter 2 (in a chapter titled A Dark and Wild Woman, which, how about NO) we get this;

“It’s a silly thing–a woman was involved.”

There always is–always.

And this

Her. How so many stories start.

I really hope I’m wrong, and this book subverts all my new expectations of it, but everything I read screamed ‘dudebro book’ and I am just not here for that.

The Language of Roses by Heather Rose Jones
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Aromantic asexual MC, F/F
PoV: 1st person present tense, 3rd person past tense, multiple PoVs
Published on: 14th April 2022
Goodreads

A Beauty.
A Beast.
A Curse.

This is not the story you know.

Join author Heather Rose Jones on a new and magical journey into the heart of a familiar fairytale. Meet Alys, eldest daughter of a merchant, a merchant who foolishly plucks a rose from a briar as he flees from the home of a terrifying fay Beast and his seemingly icy sister. Now Alys must pay the price to save his life and allow the Beast, the once handsome Philippe, to pay court to her.

But Alys has never fallen in love with anyone; how can she love a Beast? The fairy Peronelle, waiting in the woods to see the culmination of her curse, is sure that she will fail. Yet, if she does, Philippe’s sister Grace and her beloved Eglantine, trapped in an enchanted briar in the garden, will pay a terrible price. Unless Alys can find another way…

This is the third volume of the Queen of Swords Press Mini Series.

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I’m really upset about it, but I’m just not enjoying this. The prose is a bit too blunt, and something about the rhythm of the writing bothers me like a toothache. I wanted to love this so badly, and I really hope other readers do, but I just don’t. When you know (or think you know) how the story’s going to end, there needs to be something else to keep you invested, and for me there was nothing – especially with two of the biggest secrets revealed before the halfway mark.

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Desi setting and cast, asexual MC
PoV: 1st person past tense
Published on: 26th April 2022
ISBN: 0759557330
Goodreads

"Patel’s mesmerizing debut shines a brilliant light on the vilified queen from the Ramayana….This easily earns its place on shelves alongside Madeline Miller’s Circe." –Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“I was born on the full moon under an auspicious constellation, the holiest of positions—much good it did me.”

So begins Kaikeyi’s story. The only daughter of the kingdom of Kekaya, she is raised on tales about the might and benevolence of the gods: how they churned the vast ocean to obtain the nectar of immortality, how they vanquish evil and ensure the land of Bharat prospers, and how they offer powerful boons to the devout and the wise. Yet she watches as her father unceremoniously banishes her mother, listens as her own worth is reduced to how great a marriage alliance she can secure. And when she calls upon the gods for help, they never seem to hear.

Desperate for some measure of independence, she turns to the texts she once read with her mother and discovers a magic that is hers alone. With this power, Kaikeyi transforms herself from an overlooked princess into a warrior, diplomat, and most favored queen, determined to carve a better world for herself and the women around her.

But as the evil from her childhood stories threatens the cosmic order, the path she has forged clashes with the destiny the gods have chosen for her family. And Kaikeyi must decide if resistance is worth the destruction it will wreak—and what legacy she intends to leave behind.

A stunning debut from a powerful new voice, Kaikeyi is a tale of fate, family, courage, and heartbreak—of an extraordinary woman determined to leave her mark in a world where gods and men dictate the shape of things to come.

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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This is not a bad book…but it’s also just not one I’m interested in finishing. I’m not invested, and I don’t know why, because everything about this seems catered to my tastes. And yet the thought of continuing makes me feel exhausted – not because the book is a heavy slog – it really isn’t – just… I just don’t care how the story is going to end.

Unfortunately Kaikeyi’s story is just too familiar – the princess frustrated with the limitations that come with womanhood in her culture, who learns to fight in secret, who is smarter than those around her but rarely appreciated…etc. And it’s not fair, because we haven’t seen that format/these tropes with a Desi protagonist before, but that doesn’t change the fact that I feel like I’ve read this story 100 times, and Kaikeyi doesn’t feel like it’s doing anything new.

Maybe if I pushed through further – I’m quitting at 26%, 6% after my usual cut-off point – it would turn into something new; after all, I don’t know anything about Kaikeyi as a mythological figure. But I don’t feel any desire to keep reading – just guilt that it didn’t work for me.

I think readers who loved Circe by Madeline Miller will love this to pieces – Kaikeyi has a very similar tone and vibe, and the voices feel comparable too. And I do urge other readers to give it a try, because it’s even odds that this is more a me problem than a book problem.

Sweep of Stars (Astra Black #1) by Maurice Broaddus
Genres: Sci Fi
Representation: Black cast
PoV: 1st, 2nd, 3rd
Goodreads

Maurice Broaddus's Sweep of Stars is the first in a trilogy that explores the struggles of an empire. Epic in scope and intimate in voice, it follows members of the Muungano empire – a far-reaching coalition of city-states that stretches from O.E. (original earth) to Titan – as it faces an escalating series of threats.

"The beauty in blackness is its ability to transform. Like energy we are neither created nor destroyed, though many try." - West African Proverb

The Muungano empire strived and struggled to form a utopia when they split away from old earth. Freeing themselves from the endless wars and oppression of their home planet in order to shape their own futures and create a far-reaching coalition of city-states that stretched from Earth and Mars to Titan.

With the wisdom of their ancestors, the leadership of their elders, the power and vision of their scientists and warriors they charted a course to a better future. But the old powers could not allow them to thrive and have now set in motion new plots to destroy all that they've built.

In the fire to come they will face down their greatest struggle yet.

Amachi Adisa and other young leaders will contend with each other for the power to galvanize their people and chart the next course for the empire.

Fela Buhari and her elite unit will take the fight to regions not seen by human eyes, but no training will be enough to bring them all home.

Stacia Chikeke, captain of the starship Cypher, will face down enemies across the stars, and within her own vessel, as she searches for the answers that could save them all.

The only way is forward.

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This is yet another I was surprised to not-enjoy – especially after I downloaded and read the free preview, and loved it! But I can’t put up with sentences that read like they’re missing multiple words (not like a deliberate dialect) and characters whose voices are completely interchangeable, despite jumping between first, second, and third person narration. The prose jerks rather than flows, and characters make huge leaps to conclusions the reader just can’t follow – it’s like reading complex Math problems where noone showed their working; I have no idea how you got from point A to point L.

The premise is wonderful, and I really liked what I saw of the worldbuilding, but I didn’t enjoy the execution at all.

Hopefully April will have fewer disappointments!

The post March DNFs appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

I Can’t Wait For…The Two Doctors Górski by Isaac Fellman

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 Two Doctors Górski by Isaac Fellman!

The Two Doctors Górski by Isaac Fellman
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy
Published on: 29th November 2022
Goodreads

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 give her colleagues what they each want out of their relationship with her.

When Annae moves to the UK to rebuild her life and finds herself studying under the infamous, misanthropic magician Marec Górski, she sees inside his head a dangerous path to her redemption. Annae now faces two choices—follow in Dr. Górski’s lead, or break free of a lifetime of conditioning to follow her own path.

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So first off, Fellman knocked it out of the park at the start of the year with Dead Collections, an amazing book about a trans vampire archivist! That would be plenty for any author, but we’re being spoiled with a second book! Two books in one year! EEEEE!

And it sounds easily as awesome as Dead Collections; I mean, psychiatric magic? PSYCHIATRIC MAGIC! As someone who a) has been in and out of psych offices my whole life and b) is a major, major fantasy fan, I cannot WAIT to see how psychiatry and magic go together! Will it be like empathy? Or telepathy? Psychic healing? I have no idea, but I am dying to find out!

You bet I’ve already got this preordered, and you should too!!!

The post I Can’t Wait For…The Two Doctors Górski by Isaac Fellman appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.