Siavahda's Blog, page 71

Must-Have Monday #75

Tomorrow is my birthday – I’ll be 29! – and we’re getting so many books this week! They all feel like presents. Just take a look – magical cooking and dream realms and a Muslim Robin Hood!

The Lost Dreamer by Lizz Huerta
Representation: Mesoamerican cast + setting
Published on: 1st March 2022
Genres: Fantasy
Goodreads

A stunning YA fantasy inspired by ancient Mesoamerica, this gripping debut introduces us to a lineage of seers defiantly resisting the shifting patriarchal state that would see them destroyed—perfect for fans of Tomi Adeyemi and Sabaa Tahir.

Indir is a Dreamer, descended from a long line of seers; able to see beyond reality, she carries the rare gift of Dreaming truth. But when the beloved king dies, his son has no respect for this time-honored tradition. King Alcan wants an opportunity to bring the Dreamers to a permanent end—an opportunity Indir will give him if he discovers the two secrets she is struggling to keep. As violent change shakes Indir’s world to its core, she is forced to make an impossible choice: fight for her home or fight to survive.

Saya is a seer, but not a Dreamer—she has never been formally trained. Her mother exploits her daughter’s gift, passing it off as her own as they travel from village to village, never staying in one place too long. Almost as if they’re running from something. Almost as if they’re being hunted. When Saya loses the necklace she’s worn since birth, she discovers that seeing isn’t her only gift—and begins to suspect that everything she knows about her life has been a carefully-constructed lie. As she comes to distrust the only family she’s ever known, Saya will do what she’s never done before, go where she’s never been, and risk it all in the search of answers.

With a detailed, supernaturally-charged setting and topical themes of patriarchal power and female strength, Lizz Huerta's The Lost Dreamer brings an ancient world to life, mirroring the challenges of our modern one.

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I got to read an ARC of this one, and I adored it! So much love for a gorgeously unique setting and magic, and I cheered at how hard it tossed white beauty standards out the window! Appealing and sympathetic main characters, lush prose, and immensely cool worldbuilding. Strongly recommended!

Travelers Along the Way: A Robin Hood Remix by Aminah Mae Safi
Representation: Muslim MC, sapphic brown characters
Published on: 1st March 2022
Goodreads

A ragtag band of misfits gets swept up in Holy Land politics in Travelers Along the Way by Aminah Mae Safi, a thrilling YA remix of the classic legend of Robin Hood.

Jerusalem, 1192. The Third Crusade rages on. Rahma al-Hud loyally followed her elder sister Zeena into the war over the Holy Land, but now that the Faranji invaders have gotten reinforcements from Richard the Lionheart, all she wants to do is get herself and her sister home alive.

But Zeena, a soldier of honor at heart, refuses to give up the fight while Jerusalem remains in danger of falling back into the hands of the false Queen Isabella. And so, Rahma has no choice but to take on one final mission with her sister.

On their journey to Jerusalem, Rahma and Zeena come across a motley collection of fellow travelers—including a kind-hearted Mongolian warrior, an eccentric Andalusian scientist, a frustratingly handsome spy with a connection to Rahma's childhood, and an unfortunate English chaplain abandoned behind enemy lines. The teens all find solace, purpose and camaraderie—as well as a healthy bit of mischief—in each other's company.

But their travels soon bring them into the orbit of Queen Isabella herself, whose plans to re-seize power in Jerusalem would only guarantee further war and strife in the Holy Land for years to come. And so it falls to the merry band of misfits to use every scrap of cunning and wit (and not a small amount of thievery) to foil the usurper queen and perhaps finally restore peace to the land.

Praise for Travelers Along the Way:
"Travelers Along the Way is the Robin Hood retelling I did not know I wanted. Deeply researched and masterfully written, here is a story that’s not only thrilling, but also delightfully clever!" —Tanaz Bhathena, author of A Girl Like That and Hunted by the Sky

"If you love heists, found family, and stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, then put Aminah Mae Safi's heartfelt and humorous take on Robin Hood at the very top of your TBR." —Jodi Meadows, New York Times bestselling co-author of My Lady Jane

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Retelling Robin Hood with a Muslim MC, and setting it in Jerusalem??? HI, YOU HAVE MY ATTENTION!

Spelunking Through Hell: A Visitor's Guide to the Underworld by Seanan McGuire
Published on: 1st March 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Goodreads

The eleventh book in the fast-paced InCryptid urban fantasy series returns to the mishaps of the Price family, eccentric cryptozoologists who safeguard the world of magical creatures living in secret among humans.

Love, noun:
1. An intense feeling of deep affection; may be romantic, filial or platonic.

Passion, noun:
1. A strong or barely controllable emotion.
2. Enthusiasm, interest, desire.
3. See also “obsession.”

It’s been fifty years since the crossroads caused the disappearance of Thomas Price, and his wife, Alice, has been trying to find him and bring him home ever since, despite the increasing probability that he’s no longer alive for her to find. Now that the crossroads have been destroyed, she’s redoubling her efforts. It’s time to bring him home, dead or alive.

Preferably alive, of course, but she’s tired, and at this point, she’s not that picky. It’s a pan-dimensional crash course in chaos, as Alice tries to find the rabbit hole she’s been missing for all these decades—the one that will take her to the man she loves.
Who are her allies? Who are her enemies? And if she manages to find him, will he even remember her at this point?

It’s a lot for one cryptozoologist to handle.

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I’m massively behind on this series, but that doesn’t mean I’m not still following it! It’s Seanan McGuire, which makes it an auto-buy. I’ll get to it sooner or later!

The Book of Living Secrets by Madeleine Roux
Representation: Sapphic MC
Published on: 1st March 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Portal Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Goodreads

Perfect for fans of The Hazel Wood, this genre-bending page-turner from New York Times bestselling author Madeleine Roux follows two girls who transport themselves into the world of their favorite book only to encounter the sinister alternate reality that awaits them.

No matter how different best friends Adelle and Connie are, one thing they’ve always had in common is their love of a little-known gothic romance novel called Moira. So when the girls are tempted by a mysterious stranger to enter the world of the book, they hardly suspect it will work. But suddenly they are in the world of Moira, living among characters they’ve obsessed about for years.

Except…all is not how they remembered it. The world has been turned upside down: The lavish balls and star-crossed love affairs are now interlaced with unspeakable horrors. The girls realize that something dark is lurking behind their foray into fiction—and they will have to rewrite their own arcs if they hope to escape this nightmare with their lives.

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I’m an outlier among bookwyrms – I definitely don’t want to be zapped into one of my favorite books! Not without a lot of prerequisites. But I empathise with those who do want to, which makes the premise of Living Secrets pretty interesting. Early reviews have been mixed, but I still want to check it out!

Vagabonds! by Eloghosa Osunde
Representation: F/F
Published on: 1st March 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Magical Realism, Queer Protagonists
Goodreads

In the bustling streets and cloistered homes of Lagos, a cast of vivid characters—some haunted, some defiant—navigate danger, demons, and love in a quest to lead true lives.

As in Nigeria, vagabonds are those whose existence is literally outlawed: the queer, the poor, the displaced, the footloose and rogue spirits. They are those who inhabit transient spaces, who make their paths and move invisibly, who embrace apparitions, old vengeances and alternative realities. Eloghosa Osunde's brave, fiercely inventive novel traces a wild array of characters for whom life itself is a form of resistance: a driver for a debauched politician with the power to command life and death; a legendary fashion designer who gives birth to a grown daughter; a lesbian couple whose tender relationship sheds unexpected light on their experience with underground sex work; a wife and mother who attends a secret spiritual gathering that shifts her world. As their lives intertwine—in bustling markets and underground clubs, churches and hotel rooms—vagabonds are seized and challenged by spirits who command the city's dark energy. Whether running from danger, meeting with secret lovers, finding their identities, or vanquishing their shadowselves, Osunde's characters confront and support one another, before converging for the once-in-a-lifetime gathering that gives the book its unexpectedly joyous conclusion.

Blending unvarnished realism with myth and fantasy, Vagabonds! is a vital work of imagination that takes us deep inside the hearts, minds, and bodies of a people in duress—and in triumph.

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This sounds weird and strange and beautiful, and I can’t wait to dive into it. I have very little idea of what to expect, but I have high hopes!

The Quarter Storm (Mambo Reina #1) by Veronica Henry
Representation: Black MC
Published on: 1st March 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Goodreads

A practitioner of Vodou must test the boundaries of her powers to solve a ritual murder in New Orleans and protect everything she holds sacred.

Haitian-American Vodou priestess Mambo Reina Dumond runs a healing practice from her New Orleans home. Gifted with water magic since she was a child, Reina is devoted to the benevolent traditions of her ancestors.

After a ritual slaying in the French Quarter, police arrest a fellow vodouisant. Detective Roman Frost, Reina’s ex-boyfriend—a fierce nonbeliever—is eager to tie the crime, and half a dozen others, to the Vodou practitioners of New Orleans. Reina resolves to find the real killer and defend the Vodou practice and customs, but the motives behind the murder are deeper and darker than she imagines.

As Reina delves into the city’s shadows, she untangles more than just the truth behind a devious crime. It’s a conspiracy. As a killer wields dangerous magic to thwart Reina’s investigation, she must tap into the strength of her own power and faith to solve a mystery that threatens to destroy her entire way of life.

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I’ve mentioned before that New Orleans is one of my favourite settings, and I’m extremely hopeful that this book will have a respectful (albeit fantasy-ised) portrayal of Vodou and its practicioners – something you generally can’t trust to white authors (which Henry is not) in my experience. I love the idea of a Vodou practicioner working to clear the name of another, and I always want to know more about the (fictional) magical communities of New Orleans. Been looking forward to this one for a while!

Awakenings: A Cute Mutants Anthology by S.J. Whitby, E.M. Anderson, Hsinju Chen, Astra Daye, Yves Donlon, Shannon Ives, Emma Jun, Monica Gribouski, Charlotte Hayward, Shelly Page, Andy Perez, Amanda M. Pierce, Melody Robinette, Hester Steel, Elle Tesch
Published on: 1st March 2022
Genres: Science Fantasy
Goodreads

The Cute Mutants Universe keeps getting bigger! AWAKENINGS brings fourteen incredible authors together to tell their stories of mutation.

Featuring all-new original stories from: Shelly Page, Elle Tesch, Andy Perez, Hsinju Chen, Shannon Ives, Melody Robinette, Astra Daye, Yves Donlon, E.M. Anderson, Hester Steel, Monica Gribouski, Charlotte Hayward, Amanda M. Pierce, and Emma Jun.

Something has changed. People around the world are being awakened and developing strange new powers.

In Texas, a girl gains the ability to know when someone will die. In Taiwan, a man discovers he’s become a radio antenna. The residents of Oak House are hiding a whole host of secrets, and in Dorset, even the countryside is mutating. And if you go down to the woods today, you’re in for a big surprise.

Meanwhile, on the secretive island of Mutopia, someone’s watching.

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Another series I’m terribly behind on is the Cute Mutants series – which I believe is now finished! Awakenings is a collection of stories set in the Cute Mutants universe, written by other authors, and I’m definitely adding it to my shelf next to the rest of the Cute Mutants books!

Now I just need to sit down and read them all…!

A Thousand Steps into Night by Traci Chee
Representation: Japanese-coded cast + setting
Published on: 1st March 2022
Genres: Fantasy
Goodreads

In the realm of Awara, where gods, monsters, and humans exist side by side, Miuko is an ordinary girl resigned to a safe, if uneventful, existence as an innkeeper’s daughter. But when Miuko is cursed and begins to transform into a demon with a deadly touch, she embarks on a quest to reverse the curse and return to her normal life. Aided by a thieving magpie spirit and continuously thwarted by a demon prince, Miuko must outfox tricksters, escape demon hunters, and negotiate with feral gods if she wants to make it home again. But with her transformation comes power and freedom she never even dreamed of, and she’ll have to decide if saving her soul is worth trying to cram herself back into an ordinary life that no longer fits her… and perhaps never did.

From New York Times bestselling author and National Book Award finalist, Traci Chee, comes a Japanese-influenced fantasy brimming with demons, adventure, and plans gone awry.

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There’s an excerpt of this up at Tor.com, if you’re on the fence about whether you want to read it. Personally I love the premise and really want to give this one a go!

Chef's Kiss by Jarrett Melendez, Danica Brine, Hank Jones, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Representation: Queer MC
Published on: 1st March 2022
Genres: Queer Protagonists
Goodreads

Watch things start to really heat up in the kitchen in this sweet, queer, new adult graphic novel! 

Now that college is over, English graduate Ben Cook is on the job hunt looking for something…anything…related to his passion for reading and writing. But interview after interview, hiring committee after hiring committee, Ben soon learns getting the dream job won’t be as easy as he thought. Proofreading? Journalism? Copywriting? Not enough experience. It turns out he doesn’t even have enough experience to be a garbage collector! But when Ben stumbles upon a “Now Hiring—No Experience Necessary” sign outside a restaurant, he jumps at the chance to land his first job. Plus, he can keep looking for a writing job in the meantime. He’s actually not so bad in the kitchen, but he will have to pass a series of cooking tests to prove he’s got the culinary skills to stay on full-time. But it’s only temporary…right? 

When Ben begins developing a crush on Liam, one of the other super dreamy chefs at the restaurant, and when he starts ditching his old college friends and his old writing job plans, his career path starts to become much less clear. 

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Listen, I know this isn’t being marketed as SFF, but there are little fairies talking to the MC and I don’t care if they’re supposed to be imaginary, that makes it SFF enough for me! Plus, the art is lovely; you can see some sample pages at the publisher’s listing for the book. It looks sweet and cute and I love cooking-and-food-related stories, so I’m in!

Ready When You Are by Gary Lonesborough
Representation: Queer Aboriginal Australian MCs
Published on: 1st March 2022
Genres: Queer Protagonists
Goodreads

A remarkable YA love story between two Aboriginal boys -- one who doesn’t want to accept he’s gay, and the boy who comes to live in his house who makes him realize who he is.

It's a hot summer, and life's going all right for Jackson and his family on the Mish. It's almost Christmas, school's out, and he's hanging with his mates, teasing the visiting tourists, avoiding the racist boys in town. Just like every year, Jackson's Aunty and annoying little cousins visit from the city -- but this time a mysterious boy with a troubled past comes with them. As their friendship evolves, Jackson must confront the changing shapes of his relationships with his friends, family and community. And he must face his darkest secret -- a secret he thought he'd locked away for good.

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As far as I’m aware there’s no speculative elements to Ready When You Are, but it sounds like a really beautiful book, and I loved the excerpt that was posted online. (Check the link on desktop, not mobile – for some reason I couldn’t get it to work on mobile.) Definitely snatching this one up!

Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments by T.L. Huchu
Representation: Black MC
Published on: 3rd March 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Goodreads

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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This is releasing next week in the USA, but the UK gets it this week! I adored the first book of this series (which, by the way, is one of the nominees in this year’s SCKA awards!) and I’ve been making grabby hands for book two since turning the last page of book one. Gimme!

The Book of Perilous Dishes by Doina Ruști, James Christian Brown
Published on: 3rd March 2022
Genres: Fantasy
Goodreads

1798: A magical, dark adventure. Fourteen-year-old Pâtca, initiated in the occult arts, comes to Bucharest, to her uncle, Cuviosu Zăval, to retrieve the Book of Perilous Dishes. The recipes in this magical book can bring about damaging sincerity, forgetfulness, the gift of prediction, or hysterical laughter. She finds her uncle murdered and the book missing. All that Zăval has left her is a strange map she must decipher. Travelling from Romania to France and on to Germany to do so, Patca’s family’s true past and powers are revealed, as is her connection to the famous and sublime chef, Silica.

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I only found out about this one from Imyril’s Make Some Room post last week – I’m appalled I came so close to missing it! As stated above, I love food and cooking stories, and this one is unapologetically SFF! Plus, I need to read more books in translation. This ticks every box, and I’m honestly ridiculously excited to get my mitts on 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 #75 appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

February DNFs

Five DNFs this month; four ARCs and my first read for the Subjective Chaos Kind Of Awards.

Gravity and Lies by C.G. Volars
Representation: Queer hispanic MC
Published on: 8th March 2022
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
ISBN: 1954255225
Goodreads

Most cosmopolitan city in the universe, and a guy can't even get a freakin' sandwich.

It should be the least of Izo's concerns. After all, he's already been kidnapped by aliens and dragged halfway across the galaxy so they can make a buck off his abilities. And sure, he knew being able to fly made him a little unique. But he had no idea the cult-like—yet strangely marginalized—reputation Avarians held beyond Earth's boundaries. As he arrives on the Imperial Capital, IA, he's got one choice: cooperate with his captors so they'll get him back home, or split and head out on his own, taking his best shot at returning to Earth—a planet no one's ever heard of.

It isn’t much of a choice. Being extorted by a mean reptile, a tele-empathic linguist, and a giant teddy bear who could crush a car seems as bad as it gets—until a powerful CEO-Senator appears from deep within the IA’s darkest corners. With things changing from annoying to alarming, it’s up to Izo to navigate a dangerous game of befriend and befraud, or be trapped on the wrong side of the universe forever—several million lightyears from the nearest deli.

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As much as I adored the main character, I just couldn’t get on board with the ‘lovable sentient-being traffickers’ thing, which it did seem like the narrative was trying to make me do. The worldbuilding didn’t work for me either – every member of every alien species is the same??? I am TIRED of that trope. Then there’s the entire concept of Avarians – people who can fly. Avarians can be any species, but regardless of their species the entire universe considers them sex objects??? Like. How can you even tell if someone’s an Avarian, if you don’t see them flying??? Couldn’t anyone just claim they were one, for the various modelling and sex-work jobs that are dying to get their hands on Avarians? Who’s going to know they’re lying?

Maybe later on in the book it’s explained – I made it to 21% – but what I read seemed to imply that there wasn’t a way to tell, so??? (The scout who picks up Izo never asks to see him fly, just overhears him saying he’s an Avarian and takes him at his word. The agent the scout brings him to also doesn’t ask for proof!)

This is without going into the fact that I wasn’t in love with the prose – it’s not bad or anything, but I want prose that’s lush and descriptive and preferably purple as hell, which this isn’t. (That will be a selling point to many other readers, I know.) More of a problem is the dissonance between tone and theme – Gravity and Lies is set up as light and funny, but again, it’s about some poor human teenager being kidnapped off his planet and forced to make money for his kidnappers if he ever wants to get home, with bonus objectification, victim-blaming, and one of the kidnappers having a ‘cute’ crush on him. None of that is fun.

Izo himself? Amazing. 10/10, I love his snark and his refusal to be impressed by the Capital of the Universe, his intense desire to get home and how he doesn’t take any of his kidnappers’ crap, fighting tooth and nail for every bit of independence and control he can get. I would love to read a book about him, but not this one.

I don’t think this is a bad book – I can see lots of people really enjoying it – it just didn’t work for me.

Silk Fire by Zabé Ellor
Representation: Bisexual MC, F/M/M, queernorm world, secondary trans character
Published on: 5th July 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
ISBN: 1781089760
Goodreads

Set in a planet-sized matriarchal city where magic and technology freely bleed together, a male courtesan’s quest for vengeance against his aristocrat father draws him into an ancient struggle between dragons, necromancers, and his home district’s violent history.

Koré wants to destroy a man.

Koré knew that meddling in politics could end badly, particularly when trying to sabotage his aristocratic father’s campaign before it destroys the city he has come to love. And when a chance encounter with a dying god imbues him with magic-breathing powers, it gets worse: he suddenly becomes a commodity – and a political player.

But the corruption in his city runs deeper than just one man, and an ally's betrayal unleashes an army of the dead on his home street. Koré must trust the world with his deepest secret to stand beside the woman and man he's finally let himself love, as only the bright truth of dragon's fire can break the iron fist of a necromancer's hold.

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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Silk Fire? More like trash fire.

Gods, this was a massive disappointment. Like, heartbreakingly so. This was one of my most anticipated books of the year – hells, I’ve been looking forward to it for years, plural, ever since the publishing deal was announced. But it’s a trainwreck. I would even go so far as to say it’s an objectively bad book, rather than simply one that I didn’t enjoy.

The prose is simplistic and blunt, eons away from anything that could be called lyrical no matter what the author claims even if it tries to use prettier words and imagery occasionally. The dialogue is clunky, zig-zagging randomly rather than flowing naturally the way a conversation does. The worldbuilding is non-existent, just a checklist of cool things thrown into a pot together – hovercraft, dinosaurs, courtesans, dragons, etc – which I don’t object to, in theory, but in Silk Fire they don’t weave together into a cohesive whole, they’re just random disjointed bits that don’t fit. If I’m being charitable, I’ll say that it reads as though Ellor was afraid of info-dumping the reader, and went so far in the other direction we end up understanding nothing at all. Literally nothing is described, so we have no idea how to picture any of it – clothes? Food? Hovercraft? Buildings? I have no idea what any of it looks like. The only place we really see is the street the main character lives on – out of the entire ‘planet-sized city’ – and we don’t know what said street looks like either.

The names are just… Ellor raised on social media that Silk Fire is epic fantasy and that means there’s going to be weird names. But I cut my milk teeth on epic fantasy, and this is not how the good stuff works. Names are something that have to grow out of the worldbuilding; different cultures and social classes and everything else have different naming conventions. Names coming from the same cultures should sound like they’ve come from the same place, the same language. The names in Silk Fire are all over the place; some sound like they could come from a middle-class family in London, others are clearly completely made up, some sound vaguely Greek, and so on. Naming your MC Koreshizar is one thing; naming him Koreshizar Brightstar is something else – pairing something that sounds very Epic Fantasy with a surname that sounds like a My Little Pony. Vashathke Faraakshge exists alongside Opal and Stonefire, Kge next to Jasho. It’s a random mess, and someone should give Ellor a head’s up that unpronounceable names are harder for readers to remember and keep track of – they’re a turn-off for just about everyone. The pronunciation guide at the start of the book is woefully inadequate – and all the accent-marks on every other letter just comes across as pretentious, the modern version of putting apostrophes in your names and nouns.

The names are a mess because they’re a mess, not because this is epic fantasy.

(And I’m going to reiterate; we’re not given the in-world history! A non-sequitur reference to some individual or god or event thousands of years ago, mentioned once and never again, is not ‘giving us in-world history’.)

The ‘matriarchy’ is lazy and pathetic; again, no worldbuilding. Ellor just took our world’s patriarchy – at its most obnoxious – and flipped the genders around, rather than taking any time at all to consider how different a culture/world ruled by women would be. (A world where women have power and men have none is going to be terrible – but it should be terrible in different ways than a world where men have power and women have none, not a carbon copy.) Women are aggressive, grabby, patronising; men are overly emotional, drama-queens, should be at home taking care of the children. Hi, it’s 2022, you’re approximately two and a half decades too late to impress me with this crappy take. This kind of matriarchy only serves as an object lesson to show men ‘oh look, the way you treat women is bad, you wouldn’t like it if you were treated this way!’ like anyone who will listen still needs to be told that. It’s boring, crudely done, and disappointing.

Oh, and apparently this culture/world has existed unchanging for ten thousand years. Same form of government, same values, same language. Ten thousand years is longer than it took real-world humans to get from discovering agriculture to now. Unless you’re writing about elves or something, it goes beyond my suspension of disbelief to buy into a culture/world that’s stayed static that long.

(It is mentioned that people with a lot of essence – let’s call it magic life-force – can live to be about 200, but that’s not enough to account for ten thousand years of stagnation. Let’s pretend everyone in Silk Fire lives to be 200 – which they absolutely do not, that kind of lifespan is only for the 1%. But let’s pretend.

Ten thousand divided by 200 is fifty generations. Fifty generations in our world takes you back to the Fall of Rome; do our languages and beliefs and practices look anything like they did back then? No, because of course they don’t. Fifty generations produces a tonne of cultural change. Silk Fire‘s handwaved lack of history is lazy and makes no sense.)

The MC is whiny and idiotic – for someone who’s supposedly a master of political intrigue, whose only purpose in life is to bring about his political goals, he’s unfathomably unwilling to use the literally world-changing gift he’s given at the start of the book as leverage. Every other page, he’s calling himself a monster, without ever telling us why or showing us any evidence; it goes from repetitive to eye-rolling to fucking annoying. Spare me. Also, who just ignores the fact that they’re manifesting dragon scales??? Manifesting WINGS??? ‘Nope, nevermind, let’s pretend it’s not happening’ Kore why are you like this.

Also, partly a worldbuilding issue, but: his shame over his sex work??? Please make up your mind as to whether sex work is culturally acceptable or not, is supposed to be shameful or not. The book treats sex-work as whatever best fits the moment rather than establishing how it’s viewed in this culture and sticking with it; there’s absolutely no nuance to the depiction. Even though really good sex can make you accidentally give some of your life-defining essence to your partner, which should have an immense impact on how this culture views sex-work!

Zero chemistry with the love interests, who aren’t given much personality, but that’s fine because neither is Kore so it all works out, I guess. I’m poly myself, I could not have been more excited for a big epic science-fantasy featuring polyamory, but this is ‘meh’ at best.

The plot moves too fast. If it had been action-focussed, that would have been…fine, but Silk Fire constantly throws out these big emotional moments – and then rushes on before either the reader or characters can process what’s happened or been revealed. Which makes it impossible to be emotionally invested in any aspect of the story. (This is without touching on all the out-of-nowhere reveals and the Big Dramatic Things that appear once and are never mentioned again/don’t create any kind of ripple effect in this society.)

The sex scenes are abysmal. When your MC refers to his arse as ‘my lower opening’, you don’t get to claim your book is ‘if Sanderson wrote Kushiel’s Dart‘. (Which: why would anyone want that?) Don’t write about sex, about sex-work, about courtesans, until you can write sex scenes like an actual adult, kay? Because this is pathetic and cringe-worthy. Not quite as bad EL James, but that’s not exactly a high bar.

All in all, Silk Fire reads like a Nanonovel – a book written in 30 days, just to get the story down on paper. (Minus, in all fairness, the typos of a Nanonovel.) But the thing is, no one publishes their Nanonovel. They edit and rewrite and edit some more and rewrite it again, and it’s exhausting and hard and takes forever, but that’s what’s required to write something brilliant. Ellor is just not a good enough writer to pull off Silk Fire – which could have been amazing, if he’d held off on writing it until he was more experienced/better, or if he’d been willing to go back and rewrite it another half-dozen times. Worse, he’s evidently not a good enough writer to see what a trainwreck he made of the genuinely awesome story he had in his head. I would be humiliated to publish something like this, and I’m honestly stunned, and seriously unimpressed, that it’s being published at all.

Also heartbroken, because you can see the skeleton of something breathtaking here, and it’s a tragedy that it’s lost under all the trash.

Ultimately, Silk Fire doesn’t deliver on any of its promises, and I don’t recommend it for anyone.

The Stardust Thief (The Sandsea Trilogy, #1) by Chelsea Abdullah
Representation: Arabic cast + setting
Published on: 17th May 2022
Genres: Fantasy
ISBN: 0316368768
Goodreads

Inspired by stories from One Thousand and One Nights, The Stardust Thief weaves the gripping tale of a legendary smuggler, a cowardly prince, and a dangerous quest across the desert to find a legendary, magical lamp.
Neither here nor there, but long ago…

Loulie al-Nazari is the Midnight Merchant: a criminal who, with the help of her jinn bodyguard, hunts and sells illegal magic. When she saves the life of a cowardly prince, she draws the attention of his powerful father, the sultan, who blackmails her into finding an ancient lamp that has the power to revive the barren land—at the cost of sacrificing all jinn.

With no choice but to obey or be executed, Loulie journeys with the sultan’s oldest son to find the artifact. Aided by her bodyguard, who has secrets of his own, they must survive ghoul attacks, outwit a vengeful jinn queen, and confront a malicious killer from Loulie’s past. And, in a world where story is reality and illusion is truth, Loulie will discover that everything—her enemy, her magic, even her own past—is not what it seems, and she must decide who she will become in this new reality.

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’ve checked and double-checked, and this is definitely supposed to be Adult Fantasy, but it reads much more like YA – and not amazing YA, but the mid-tier stuff. Between the description and the cover, I was expecting really beautiful, lush prose, but definitely didn’t get it – the writing is pretty bare and bland, and worse, it’s simplistic, as if Stardust Thief is meant for much younger readers. The characters, plot, and dialogue are also frustratingly simplistic, and there’s so much telling instead of showing, so much that is just…handwaved Because Plot.

I don’t think it’s an actively bad book, but I was looking for intricate and lush, and this just isn’t it. Sigh.

Last Exit by Max Gladstone
Representation: Sapphic MC, Indigenous American MC, Achillean hispanic MC, major secondary Black character
Published on: 8th March 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Portal Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Horror, Queer Protagonists
ISBN: 0765335735
Goodreads

Ten years ago, Zelda led a band of merry adventurers whose knacks let them travel to alternate realities and battle the black rot that threatened to unmake each world. Zelda was the warrior; Ish could locate people anywhere; Ramon always knew what path to take; Sarah could turn catastrophe aside. Keeping them all connected: Sal, Zelda’s lover and the group's heart.

Until their final, failed mission, when Sal was lost. When they all fell apart.

Ten years on, Ish, Ramon, and Sarah are happy and successful. Zelda is alone, always traveling, destroying rot throughout the US.

When it boils through the crack in the Liberty Bell, the rot gives Zelda proof that Sal is alive, trapped somewhere in the alts.

Zelda’s getting the band back together—plus Sal’s young cousin June, who has a knack none of them have ever seen before.

As relationships rekindle, the friends begin to believe they can find Sal and heal all the worlds. It’s not going to be easy, but they’ve faced worse before.

But things have changed, out there in the alts. And in everyone's hearts.

Fresh from winning the Hugo and Nebula Awards, Max Gladstone weaves elements of American myth--the muscle car, the open road, the white-hatted cowboy--into a deeply emotional tale where his characters must find their own truths if they are to survive.

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 this is a bad book at all… but it is so, so slow to get started, and despite all the chapters and chapters of introspection and memories, I really didn’t get attached to most of the characters. (The exception was Sarah. Sarah is amazing.) When the plot really did start to get going… It was too scary for me. Too heavy on the horror.

And while I can see the appeal, a big part of this book (at least the first half) is how grim and dark reality is and we’re all just doing our best to forget or ignore how everything is falling apart. Which, #accurate, but I am small and shallow and fragile and I just can’t deal with anything that heavy right now. Or in the foreseeable future.

I do hope to come back to it later, though.

The Future God of Love by Dilman Dila
Representation: African cast + setting
Genres: Fantasy
ISBN: 1913387518
Goodreads

The Future God of Love is a romance fantasy, set in an African world where stories are essential for the survival of humanity.

Jamaaro, a struggling storyteller, is the future god of love and must create a story every full moon for the prosperity of his town.

When he falls in love with a strange woman, having known loneliness all his life, he ignores the clues that she might not be what she seems.

My first read for the Subjective Chaos Kind Of Awards was unfortunately a disappointment. I loved the premise, but the execution bored the hell out of me. I’m not sure I’d go so far as to say it’s a bad book though, it may be a your-mileage-may-vary thing (hence not giving it a rating).

Fingers crossed there are fewer DNFs next month!

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

An Enjoyable Letdown: The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

[image error]The Atlas Six (The Atlas, #1) by Olivie Blake
Representation: Black MC, Cuban MC, Japanese MC, bi/pansexual MC
Published on: 1st March 2022
Genres: Fantasy
ISBN: 1250854512
Goodreads

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake is the runaway TikTok must-read fantasy novel of the year. If you loved Ninth House and A Deadly Education, you’ll love this.

Originally a self-published sensation, this edition has been fully edited and revised, including gorgeous new illustrations.

Secrets. Betrayal. Seduction.
Welcome to the Alexandrian Society.

When the world’s best magicians are offered an extraordinary opportunity, saying yes is easy. Each could join the secretive Alexandrian Society, whose custodians guard lost knowledge from ancient civilizations. Their members enjoy a lifetime of power and prestige. Yet each decade, only six practitioners are invited – to fill five places.

Contenders Libby Rhodes and Nico de Varona are inseparable enemies, cosmologists who can control matter with their minds. Parisa Kamali is a telepath, who sees the mind’s deepest secrets. Reina Mori is a naturalist who can perceive and understand the flow of life itself. And Callum Nova is an empath, who can manipulate the desires of others. Finally there’s Tristan Caine, whose powers mystify even himself.

Following recruitment by the mysterious Atlas Blakely, they travel to the Society’s London headquarters. Here, each must study and innovate within esoteric subject areas. And if they can prove themselves, over the course of a year, they’ll survive. Most of them.

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I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, then bought a copy of my own. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Highlights

~empathy ≠ telepathy
~let’s stop time
~a criminal mermaid
~wormholes are for grabbing late-night snacks
~if power corrupts, and knowledge is power, what happens when you give all the knowledge to those who are already all-powerful?

It’s really difficult to quantify what it is that makes The Atlas Six work. When I take a step back from it, it seems like it shouldn’t work: for most of the book there is almost no real plot, and most storytellers understand that all-powerful magic users aren’t interesting. There’s a whole lot of telling-not-showing. The worldbuilding fits together until it really doesn’t. And none of the characters are likable, sympathetic, or even especially interesting (even if their powers are).

And yet.

And yet, it does work. The Atlas Six is bizarrely readable; it manages to feel like a fluff-read – by which I mean, easy to read and follow and engage with – despite contemplating the mechanics of time-travel and So Much Ethics and exploring quantum physics. That’s incredibly impressive all on its own – making such intellectual topics flow so smoothly, keeping it all engaging and addictive when it could so easily have slid into heavy boredom. I set aside other books that felt like Too Much Effort in favour of relaxing into The Atlas Six, whose slow pace and deeply introspective storytelling is soothing and hypnotic. It felt escapist, even though nothing about the premise or plot is escapist in any way.

I can’t put my finger on how she does it, but Blake’s managed to create something that balances perfectly between deep dark magic and addictive escapism. I didn’t want to put it down.

So the book sweeps you along like a current, pulling you through the ever-shifting character dynamics and relationships, the pages and pages of introspection, the academic magic and slow, steady investigation into What The Fuck Is Going On Here.

The problem is that when it’s over…you’re kind of left wondering what the hell just happened, and why the hell did I waste my time with that???

Because there’s nothing really there. The Atlas Six is like biting into a beautiful pastry, and finding that it’s all air instead of delicious treat. Although I enjoyed the reading experience, after turning the final page I was left with the realisation that I had no interest whatsoever in reading the sequel. I felt frustrated with the book, and with myself for spending three days on it, because only in finishing it did I realise there was no substance to any of it.

For example: I have no gods-damn idea why most of the characters are so passionate about joining the Society. Nico is the only one with a really clear motive – he’s in it in the hopes that somewhere in the archives he can discover a way to cure/protect one of his closest friends, which is backed up by the fact that he’s spent the last four or five years of his life running himself ragged looking for a cure/solution out in the wider world.

Reina? I think she just really likes ancient classics and is enjoying reading books the wider world thinks are lost forever?

Libby? Vaguely feels like she has a responsibility to use her power to Advance Human Knowledge, except she’s completely on board with keeping all the discoveries of her research secret because What If Politicians Got a Hold Of It???

Parisa? I don’t know. I can’t even guess.

Callum? I don’t know. I can’t even guess. He seems actively disinterested in the whole thing.

Tristan? He hates his life and takes a gamble that this will be better?

Bar Nico, none of them felt like they were passionate about it; I just did not buy into why they were here at all, never mind why they stayed. Which made it massively underwhelming when the Big Reveal comes: in order for five of the team to advance, they have to kill the sixth. But nobody except Nico felt like they would believably kill for this. Their engagement was so unconvincing I expected them all to shrug, go ‘no thanks’, and walk away rather than commit murder.

Like. Come on. If you want me to buy that someone will murder for a thing, you have to convince me that they really, really care about the thing. And The Atlas Six simply does not do that.

This is without going into the whole ‘we must keep all this knowledge secret because the World Cannot Be Trusted With It’, which. Makes me Tired. Like, I see your point, but also, that means there’s no point in gathering knowledge at all. Instead of building this big magical archive, you should have burned it all, if this is stuff people can’t be trusted with. And this foundational aspect of the premise isn’t really poked all that hard, even if someone in the book occasionally points out that the Society’s set-up is elitist and capitalist in the extreme, and that all this knowledge isn’t doing any good at all locked up behind all these wards where no one can get at it.

But by far the worst part of The Atlas Six is its ending. The big game-changing, dun dun DUN reveal made me absolutely furious – because there was no build-up to it! It’s a gods-damn diabolus ex machina; no groundwork, no hints, no moments that suddenly click into place in hindsight. The book just abruptly starts lecturing the reader on what the characters don’t know has been Going On All Along, complete with Enemy From Nowhere and the most eye-rollingly cliche Evil Villain Plan ever. There’s no way the reader could have seen it coming, or even guessed at it, and that kind of last-second reveal is unforgivable in a story. Blegh!

(The thing with the construct and how it was made? That was clever. I’ll grant Blake that one. BUT THE REST OF IT? NO.)

Despite all the book’s flaws, I did enjoy actually reading it – but the ending blew through all the goodwill The Atlas Six had earned from me up until that point. I probably would have picked up the sequel when it comes out, just because I know Blake writes enjoyably, if not for that stupid, our-of-nowhere ending.

(As a sidenote, I don’t know why this is being hailed as being packed full of queerness. Only one character is clearly bi or pansexual; and there’s one drunken F/M/F threesome, which is from every angle is more about the F/M. Nico might be in romantic love with the friend he’s trying to save, but it’s not at all clear; and if you squint very hard Callum and Tristan might be giving off queer vibes, but again, it’s not clear at all. I can see plenty of grounds for fanfic, and subtext that might become text in a later book, but this is nothing like the queer dark fantasy I was promised.)

So basically – a good read, but not a great book, with an ending I wanted to punch in the face. I can’t deny I enjoyed the reading experience, but The Atlas Six is like junkfood; looks good, tastes good, with zero nutritional value…and in this case, left me with food poisoning.

The post An Enjoyable Letdown: The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

I Can’t Wait For…The Language of Roses by Heather Rose Jones

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 The Language of Roses by Heather Rose Jones!

The Language of Roses by Heather Rose Jones
Published on: 14th April 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
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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I’ve followed Jones’ career avidly since the release of Daughter of Mystery, a F/F historical fantasy set in the fictional country of Alpennia, from which the ensuing series takes its name. Every single one of the Alpennia books became an instant favourite of mine as they each came out, and I’ve been on tenterhooks waiting for The Language of Roses since Jones first mentioned it in one of her newsletters!

Even more so since it was featured on LGBTQ Reads as part of arospectrum week! I haven’t seen nearly enough stories with aromantic leads, and I love the idea of rewriting a fairytale – one that’s even more about romantic love than most – and putting an aromantic character (or maybe even two???) front and centre!

I have this preordered from the publisher, but I think it’s available from other outlets as well now! GO GET IT!

The post I Can’t Wait For…The Language of Roses by Heather Rose Jones appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

Must-Have Monday #74

It’s another week packed full of new books! This week we have TEN, including Korean myths, monster girls, and space-faring nuns!

Inheritors of Power by Juliette Wade
Representation: Two ace MCs, gay major secondary character, secondary trans character, secondary nonbinary character, queernorm castes
Published on: 22nd February 2022
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
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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The Broken Trust is one of my favorite series of all time, and it just keeps getting better. You definitely can’t start here – Inheritors of Power is the third instalment – but if you aren’t reading these books yet, you should be, and it you’ve read the first two books, you definitely need to read this one!

You can read my review here!

Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman
Representation: Trans MC, bi/pansexual MC
Published on: 22nd February 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Goodreads

A whirlwind romance between an eccentric archivist and a grieving widow explores what it means to be at home in your own body in this clever, humorous, and heartfelt novel.

When archivist Sol meets Elsie, the larger than life widow of a moderately famous television writer who's come to donate her wife's papers, there's an instant spark. But Sol has a secret: he suffers from an illness called vampirism, and hides from the sun by living in his basement office. On their way to falling in love, the two traverse grief, delve into the Internet fandom they once unknowingly shared, and navigate the realities of transphobia and the stigmas of carrying the "vampire disease."

Then, when strange things start happening at the collection, Sol must embrace even more of the unknown to save himself and his job. DEAD COLLECTIONS is a wry novel full of heart and empathy, that celebrates the journey, the difficulties and joys, in finding love and comfort within our own bodies.

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I’ve been excited for this one for over a YEAR, and I can’t wait to finally dive into it! A trans vampire, libraries, and fandom??? HI YES PLEASE AND THANK YOU!

Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin
Representation: Trans MCs, fat sapphic MC with chronic pain, F/F, F/NB,
Published on: 22nd February 2022
Genres: Horror, Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Goodreads

Y: The Last Man meets The Girl With All the Gifts in Gretchen Felker-Martin's Manhunt, an explosive post-apocalyptic novel that follows trans women and men on a grotesque journey of survival.

Beth and Fran spend their days traveling the ravaged New England coast, hunting feral men and harvesting their organs in a gruesome effort to ensure they'll never face the same fate.

Robbie lives by his gun and one hard-learned motto: other people aren't safe.
After a brutal accident entwines the three of them, this found family of survivors must navigate murderous TERFs, a sociopathic billionaire bunker brat, and awkward relationship dynamics―all while outrunning packs of feral men, and their own demons.

Manhunt is a timely, powerful response to every gender-based apocalypse story that failed to consider the existence of transgender and non-binary people, from a powerful new voice in horror.

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This isn’t the book to read if you’re squeamish, but if you enjoy properly fucked-up horror? If you’ve been wondering where the hell all the trans people are in the apocalypse? Felker-Martin has written a gory glory of a horror novel, one that doesn’t play nice for a second – and is exquisitely, brutally well-written. If you can stomach it, you should definitely read it!

My review!

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh
Representation: Korean-coded setting and cast
Published on: 22nd February 2022
Genres: Fantasy
Goodreads

Axie Oh's The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is an enthralling feminist retelling of the classic Korean folktale “The Tale of Shim Cheong,” perfect for fans of Wintersong, Uprooted, and Miyazaki’s Spirited Away.

Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. Floods sweep away entire villages, while bloody wars are waged over the few remaining resources. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride” will be chosen and end the suffering.

Many believe that Shim Cheong, the most beautiful girl in the village—and the beloved of Mina’s older brother Joon—may be the legendary true bride. But on the night Cheong is to be sacrificed, Joon follows Cheong out to sea, even knowing that to interfere is a death sentence. To save her brother, Mina throws herself into the water in Cheong’s stead.

Swept away to the Spirit Realm, a magical city of lesser gods and mythical beasts, Mina seeks out the Sea God, only to find him caught in an enchanted sleep. With the help of a mysterious young man named Shin—as well as a motley crew of demons, gods and spirits—Mina sets out to wake the Sea God and bring an end to the killer storms once and for all.

But she doesn’t have much time: A human cannot live long in the land of the spirits. And there are those who would do anything to keep the Sea God from waking…

Praise for The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea:"Shim Cheong is Korea's most famous legend and one I've heard all my life, but as a feminist it has always been my least favorite. Axie's book retells the fairy tale and empowers the girl protagonist while still preserving the beloved classic tale, set in a fantastical world so unique and fascinating. I absolutely loved every word!" —Ellen Oh, author of Prophecy and co-founder of We Need Diverse Books

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When I was a mini!Sia living in Japan, I was read a few stories involving undersea divine realms, and loved them – so I very much want to see how different the Korean mythology is, since I know next to nothing about it. I’m especially excited by the promise of mythical beasties – I’m always on the look-out for more magical creatures to add to the bestiary in my head!

Only a Monster (Monsters, #1) by Vanessa Len
Published on: 22nd February 2022
Genres: Fantasy
Goodreads

With the sweeping romance of Passenger and the dark fantasy edge of This Savage Song, this standout YA contemporary fantasy debut from Vanessa Len, is the first in a planned trilogy.

It should have been the perfect summer. Sent to stay with her late mother’s eccentric family in London, sixteen-year-old Joan is determined to enjoy herself. She loves her nerdy job at the historic Holland House, and when her super cute co-worker Nick asks her on a date, it feels like everything is falling into place.

But she soon learns the truth. Her family aren’t just eccentric: they’re monsters, with terrifying, hidden powers. And Nick isn’t just a cute boy: he’s a legendary monster slayer, who will do anything to bring them down.

As she battles Nick, Joan is forced to work with the beautiful and ruthless Aaron Oliver, heir to a monster family that hates her own. She’ll have to embrace her own monstrousness if she is to save herself, and her family. Because in this story . . .

. . . she is not the hero.

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I am very much here for monster girls who are unabashedly monstrous, and I have my fingers crossed that that’s what we’re getting here! Alternatively, I may just have been seduced by the cover – isn’t it stunning?! I had to leave it full-sized just so you can see all the incredible details! THERE’S EVEN SOME KIND OF (SEA-?)DRAGON AT THE BOTTOM THERE!

(Which, for the record, is the best background for the author name I’ve ever seen on a cover. If I ever publish a book, I want my name backed by a dragon!!!)

League of Liars by Astrid Scholte
Published on: 22nd February 2022
Genres: Fantasy
Goodreads

In this fantasy thriller, four teens charged with murder and the illegal use of magic band together to devise the ultimate jailbreak. Perfect for fans of Six of Crows and How to Get Away with Murder.

Ever since his mother was killed, seventeen-year-old Cayder Broduck has had one goal--to see illegal users of magic brought to justice. People who carelessly use extradimensional magic for their own self-interest, without a care to the damage it does to society or those around them, deserve to be punished as far as Cayder is concerned. Because magic always has a price. So when Cayder lands a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to apprentice under a premier public defender, he takes it. If he can learn all the tricks of public defense, the better he'll be able to dismantle defense arguments when he's a prosecutor. Then he'll finally be able to make sure justice is served.

But when he meets the three criminals he's supposed to defend, it no longer seems so black and white. They're teenagers, like him, and their stories are . . . complicated, like his. Vardean, the prison where Cayder's new clients are incarcerated, also happens to be at the very heart of the horrible tear in the veil between their world and another dimension--where all magic comes from.

League of Liars is a dark and twisty mystery set in a richly-drawn world where nothing is as it seems, rife with magic, villains and danger.

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I am cautiously intrigued by this premise, and I’ve heard good things from early reviews. Characters who wake up to the fact they’re part of a corrupt system are always fascinating, as are stories that acknowledge that ethics and the law are complicated… I really want to see how this take on it goes!

Extasia by Claire Legrand
Representation: F/F
Published on: 22nd February 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Goodreads

From New York Times bestselling author Claire LeGrand comes a new, bone-chilling YA horror novel about a girl who joins a coven to root out a vicious evil that’s stalking her village. Perfect for fans of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Grace Year.

Her name is unimportant.

All you must know is that today she will become one of the four saints of Haven. The elders will mark her and place the red hood on her head. With her sisters, she will stand against the evil power that lives beneath the black mountain—an evil which has already killed nine of her village’s men.

She will tell no one of the white-eyed beasts that follow her. Or the faceless gray women tall as houses. Or the girls she saw kissing in the elm grove.

Today she will be a saint of Haven. She will rid her family of her mother’s shame at last and save her people from destruction. She is not afraid. Are you?

This searing and lyrically written novel by the critically acclaimed author of Sawkill Girls beckons readers to follow its fierce heroine into a world filled with secrets and blood—where the truth is buried in lies and a devastating power waits, seething, for someone brave enough to use it.

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Legrand’s Sawkill Girls is one of my all-time favourite books, so I’m really excited for her latest release! This sounds like my kind of dark, with fucked-up religion and heavy girls-against-the-patriarchy vibes, and again, lots of praise from early readers! Definitely at the hop of my tbr.

Sisters of the Forsaken Stars (Our Lady of Endless Worlds #2) by Lina Rather
Representation: F/F
Published on: 22nd February 2022
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Goodreads

The sisters of the Order of Saint Rita navigate the far reaches of space and challenges of faith in Sisters of the Forsaken Stars, the follow-up to Lina Rather's Sisters of the Vast Black, winner of the Golden Crown Literary Society Award.

“We lit the spark, maybe we should be here for the flames.”

Not long ago, Earth’s colonies and space stations threw off the yoke of planet Earth’s tyrannical rule. Decades later, trouble is brewing in the Four Systems, and Old Earth is flexing its power in a bid to regain control over its lost territories.

The Order of Saint Rita—whose mission is to provide aid and mercy to those in need—bore witness to and defied Central Governance’s atrocities on the remote planet Phyosonga III. The sisters have been running ever since, staying under the radar while still trying to honor their calling.

Despite the sisters’ secrecy, the story of their defiance is spreading like wildfire, spearheaded by a growing anti-Earth religious movement calling for revolution. Faced with staying silent or speaking up, the Order of Saint Rita must decide the role they will play—and what hand they will have—in reshaping the galaxy.

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I loved the first novella in this series, and like everyone else I’m delighted we’re getting a sequel! I’m going to have to reread the first book before diving into this one, but it’s definitely a must-read for me!

Nightside of the Sun (Rise of the Alliance, #4) by Sherwood Smith
Published on: 22nd February 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
Goodreads

The climax to the Rise of the Alliance saga begins with Detlev’s boys taking two prisoners as they retreat to their lair on Five, the sister world that has been lifeless for nearly five thousand years. Reviled by both sides, the one thing they can trust is their strength, their training, and each other. Or so it seems.

Meanwhile, unknown to both Norsunder and the Sartoran mages, there are secrets living within that world that will change everything.

The high-stakes hunt continues on two worlds as the surviving allies step into adult roles one by one, just to find themselves with greater challenges as the world hurtles inexorably toward war . . .

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What? What?? WHAT??? Another installment of Rise of the Alliance, already?! I’m now completely convinced that Smith had the entire thing written while her publisher…well, I don’t know what was going on behind the scenes, but the first book was trad-pubbed, then nothing for ages, and now three full (and self-published) books in as many months??? She HAS to have had these ready to go!

I am not even close to being ready to dive in to Nightside of the Sun – I’m several books behind! – but that hasn’t stopped me preordering it. I want to have it waiting on my ereader when I’m ready to read it!

(Also, to clarify: the paperback was available earlier this month, but the ebook’s being released this week!)

The Hidden Saint by Mark Levenson
Representation: Jewish MC + cast
Published on: 22nd February 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Goodreads

THIS NEW FANTASY NOVEL TAKES READERS TO A WORLD THEY’VE NEVER ENCOUNTERED BEFORE, IN WHICH THE VAST SWEEP OF JEWISH MYTH AND MAGIC IS COMPLETELY REAL.

The historical horrors of eighteenth-century Eastern Europe are interwoven with fantastic creatures drawn from 3,500 years of Jewish myth and magic. For the first time, THE HIDDEN SAINT conjures up a very human origin story for one of the greatest superheroes of Jewish folklore: Rabbi Adam, famous for battling wizards, witches, and demons.

The story opens on a long-awaited family wedding, which turns to horror as Rabbi Adam’s children are abducted by an ancient supernatural evil.

To save them, the rabbi is joined by a golem, a man of clay pained by the burden of living among, but always apart from, humans. He’s goaded and mentored by an elderly, wisecracking housekeeper who is secretly one of the thirty-six hidden saints, or Lamed-Vavniks, upon whom the fate of the world depends.

And he’s blessed and challenged by his wife, Sarah, who leads him to a garden named Eden.

As tidal waves and fires ravage the earth and the very stars above begin to disappear, can Rabbi Adam and his companions succeed in time?

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What little I know of Jewish folklore I find very interesting, and this sounds like both a great dive into an important folkloric figure and a genuinely exciting read! Golems and hidden saints and the garden of Eden??? Plus a parent out to save his kids, which is a trope I’m a complete sucker for every time! I very much need to check this one out!

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

The post Must-Have Monday #74 appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

Pure Mindblowing Genius: Inheritors of Power by Juliette Wade

Inheritors of Power by Juliette Wade
Representation: Two ace MCs, gay major secondary character, secondary trans character, secondary nonbinary character, queernorm castes
Published on: 22nd February 2022
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
ISBN: 0756418011
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?

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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~it was all a set up!!!
~(for this book. It was all a set up for this book)
~sometimes ‘we’ and ‘I’ are the same
~the best kind of buried treasure is books
~everything you think you know is wrong

:DO NOT COME ANYWHERE NEAR THIS REVIEW UNLESS YOU HAVE FIRST READ THE PREVIOUS BOOKS IN THE SERIES!!!:

I’ve loved this series from the first line of the first book, but I didn’t comprehend the sheer genius of Wade’s storytelling until Inheritors of Power.

Because this book? This is where the story starts.

Think about that for a sec.

(Strap in, it’s gonna be more than a sec.)

Another author would have begun the series with this book. They would have started the story here. And maybe they could have made it work – but they couldn’t have made it brilliant. Because so much of this story – the story Wade’s been waiting to tell us, and good GODS I cannot imagine the willpower and patience it took to wait and write two whole books, books that are completely amazing in their own right, FIRST, before finally getting to write the story she wanted to write! – so much of this story hinges on context. On the histories of the characters, the dynamics between the castes, the political and social divides in Varin society. So much of Inheritors of Power depends on us, not just being invested in these characters and this world, but on knowing them.

Because we know them, Wade doesn’t have to wave a flag at us to make us pay attention to the Important Thing – we’re already gaping at the page. Because we know them, Wade doesn’t have to spell it out for us – we’re already flailing, and shushing the anxious questions from our loved ones who want to know if we’re okay. (WE’RE NOT. THE THING. AND THE OTHER THING. AND THE THING AFTER THAT! WE ARE NOT OKAY. HOW DARE YOU. BUGGER OFF SO WE CAN GET BACK TO OUR BOOK!) Because we know them, Wade doesn’t have to lecture us, or info-dump us, or spell out all the implications of The Things – we’re already pacing the kitchen while ranting about All The Things with many dramatic arm gestures as emphasis!

(By ‘we’ I mean me. Obviously. We is me. I have been pacing the kitchen and ranting with a great deal of arm-gestures and my poor husband has had to sit through it all. He is wonderful and indulges me terribly. Send him good vibes!)

And honestly…just freaking WOW. Because who does that?! Who has the willpower, and the patience, to sit down and write two books to serve as context and background for the story you really want to tell??? Who has the brutal self-honesty to admit, and insist, to yourself that it’s necessary, that starting the series with Inheritors will cost you so much impact and poignancy???

WHO HAS THE GODS-DAMN SKILL TO WRITE TWO BOOKS THAT ARE NOT THE BOOKS YOU WANT TO WRITE…AND MAKE THEM AMAZING ANYWAY?!?!?!

Wade, I doff my cap to you. I really do. I am in awe.

Because it wouldn’t have worked, writing it the normal way, the expected way. If Inheritors of Power were a series opener, instead of book three… It wouldn’t have mattered. Not as much. Not enough. We might have gone ‘omg!’ at The Thing, but we wouldn’t have really felt it, deep down in our guts. I wouldn’t have freaked out at what we learn about the Grobal Trust in this book, if I hadn’t lived through the modern reality of it via two previous books and about 20 fictional years. I wouldn’t have been biting my nails over Xinta’s situation if I didn’t have the the weight of Nekantor’s history on my shoulders too. Breathtaking reveals and WHAT THE FUCK twists and the emotional gut-punches would have instead been… ‘oh, that’s interesting’ or ‘hm, clever bait-and-switch’. I would have raised my eyebrows in polite interest, rather than been SHRIEKING.

Wade has spent years – in real-world time, and decades of fictional-time! – immersing us in this world and these characters…so that we care. And so that we get it, so that we understand the implications and ramifications in ways that, honestly??? I think we understand better than we would understand, or do understand, events in our world!

Do you see?

GENIUS.

Which is all to say… Folx, this is where the story really starts. Everything that’s come before, everything we’ve gone through with these characters and their world, was just setting the scene for us.

(‘Just’. If the scene-setting books were so incredible – which they were, you know that, if you’re here reading this you’ve already read the earlier books and you know – that should give you some kind of frame of reference to imagine how infinitely incredible the first book of the REAL STORY is!)

Enough already, Sia, what about this book?!

I’ve been telling you about this book! Have I not mentioned the gut-punches and the reveals and the twists??? How hard Inheritors hits??? Did I not mention the nail-biting and shrieking and very gesticular pacing???

And the cast! Wade continues to use new POV characters for each book (I wonder now if there’ll be another timeskip between book 3 and book 4, and whether we’ll stay with book 3’s POV characters from now on?) and continues to make us love them – even the ones I wanted to grab hold of and shake.

(CATÍN I AM LOOKING AT YOU.)

Has Wade’s mastery of worldbuilding become any less masterful??? Nope. Has she become less skilled at playing our emotions like freaking violins??? No she has not. Has she perhaps lost her touch at crafting characters we can’t help but imprint on like fluffy baby ducklings???

NOT A CHANCE!

For Inheritors, we have:

Catín, our second-ever Imbati POV character, a prodigy who swears herself to Heir Adon, but goes into the Residence with way too many assumptions that are way too incorrect. Not as smart as she thinks she is, and possibly an unwitting catspaw of the Imbati Academy.

Xinta, our third-ever Imbati POV character. Everything you go in expecting about him will be wrong, and it is wonderful. He needs more hugs.

Meetis, our first-ever Akrabitti POV character who sheds so much light on the culture and plight of the Akrabitti caste. Her past is complicated, and many of the things she takes for granted will have you reeling.

Corbinan, another Akrabitti, who is in the wrong damn place at the wrong damn time and fuck literally everyone who punishes him for it. I want to snatch him up, hide him somewhere comfy where there is lots of chocolate, and hiss at anyone who comes near him.

And these are only the POV characters; Inheritors sticks closely to both Adon and Nekantor, the Heir and Eminence respectively, who have both been POV characters in earlier books; and there are a whole range of fabulous new secondary characters, not least Tagaret and Della’s children; Ameyan, a nonbinary Melumalai with wonderful fashion sense and even better taste in friends; and Sirix, a young message-runner I defy you not to adore. Inheritors lets us follow the characters we’ve come to care about in previous books, while introducing us to a whole range of new ones, once again expanding our view of Varin’s society.

Which. Is about to get turned upside-down.

Inheritors opens with the same message – mandate? mantra? – as the previous books in the series;

VARIN IS A PLACE WHERE HUMANS HAVE ALWAYS LIVED ON AN ALIEN WORLD.

IT IS ALSO YOUR HOME.

I always thought it was intended as a kind of…head’s up to the reader: the book you’re about to read is not set on Earth or even an alternate of Earth; brace yourself. That kind of thing, you know? It’s always excited me, because I have spent my entire life looking for stories with really alien worldbuilding, and loving them when I find them! This little message at the start of the books has always felt like a welcome to me, personally. I’ve smiled every time I see that page, in each book.

Inheritors, though – Inheritors turned it from something exciting to something…creepy. Maybe alarming. Suddenly I can see the 1984 vibes that I didn’t get off it before. Suddenly I’m not so sure it’s true.

I don’t know how to talk about the plot. I never know how to talk about the plot in this series. Inheritors is… The feeling of walking down the stairs in the dark – stairs you’ve known since you were a kid – and finding a step missing. That lurch. That oh, fuck. But it’s also that feeling of – when you discovered what a library was, as a kid. When you discovered the internet. That unfolding in your head, that sense of expanding, of having the whole world at your fingertips. Of seeing pieces come together, and realising there are so many more pieces, and the joy of that, and the awe of that.

So many things we took for granted in this series are not. What we thought we knew, we don’t. The conclusions Wade led us to, or let us believe, were – deliberately, I’m sure – wrong.

This series is a gorgeous, multi-faceted, fractured kaleidoscope, and the thing about kaleidoscopes is that they are not telescopes, even when you hold them up to your eye and point them at the horizon, no matter how bold and beautiful are the sights they show you. Inheritors is also not a telescope, but it’s an astrolabe – we still can’t see where we’re going, but we’re starting to work out where we are, and it is not where we thought we were.

Every book of The Broken Trust outshines the one before it; every book makes me fall more in love with this series, and Inheritors of Power is no exception. Wade’s prose is sharp and gleaming, her worldbuilding exquisitely unique and detailed, and her mind is a masterpiece. She is not going to be one of the Greats; she already is one, and the world needs to be paying attention.

Inheritors of Power releases on the 22nd of Feb; miss it, and you’ll be missing one of the best books of the year.

The post Pure Mindblowing Genius: Inheritors of Power by Juliette Wade appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

The Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards 2022!!!

The Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards are…well, awards! Granted to the subjective best of the previous year’s SFF books, as determined by a very passionate group of bloggers and readers!

AND THIS YEAR I’M ONE OF THEM 8D 8D 8D

It’s the SCKA’s 5th year running, and there’s now an extremely spiffy website where you can read all about the voting process, and also check out the nominees and winners of previous years. If you do, you might notice that the categories vary a bit from year to year, which is only to be expected. These are chaotic awards, after all!

I admit to being ridiculously flattered to be invited to take part, and my tbr has expanded ENORMOUSLY with all the nominees! Probably my favourite aspect of the SCKAs is the emphasis on looking beyond the bestseller lists, and I’m hugely impressed (and excited) by how varied this year’s books are!

Below are the categories I’ll be judging, and the nominated books! Can you guess which nominees are mine?

FantasyScifiBlurred Boundaries[image error]

The Blurred Boundaries category is for books that don’t quiiiite fit neatly into either Fantasy or Scifi, but are definitely some kind of speculative fiction. Definitely a category all other SFF book awards should adopt, imo!

DebutNovella

Luckily I’ve read a decent number of these already – but that still leaves plenty! Between this and the Hourglass Throne promo, I am going to be busy!

For the full list of nominees, you can either check out the website or head on over to Imyril’s post, which also has a rundown of this year’s panelists! And to keep up to date on how the awards are progressing (beyond my own posts+reviews) there’s the official twitter, which you should definitely be following!

Onwards!

The post The Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards 2022!!! appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

Must-Have Monday #73

Brace your budgets, because there are TWELVE new SFF releases this week – and a bunch of them are from my Unmissable list! Mythopoeic fantasy about artists and the Fae, magical doors to mysterious places, Deaf princesses who are also witches, and embroidered spellbooks are just a few of them!

Dark Breakers by C.S.E. Cooney, Sharon Shinn, Brett Massé
Published on: 15th February 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Secondary World Fantasy
Goodreads

NEW FROM WORLD FANTASY AWARD WINNER C. S. E. COONEY

A young human painter and an ageless gentry queen fall in love over spilled wine—at the risk of his life and her immortality. Pulled into the Veil Between Worlds, two feuding neighbors (and a living statue) get swept up in a brutal war of succession. An investigative reporter infiltrates the Seafall City Laundries to write the exposé of a lifetime, and uncovers secrets she never believed possible. Returning to an oak grove to scatter her husband’s ashes, an elderly widow meets an otherworldly friend, who offers her a momentous choice. Two gentry queens of the Valwode plot to hijack a human rocketship and steal the moon out of the sky.

DARK BREAKERS gathers three new and two previously uncollected tales from World Fantasy Award-winning writer C. S. E. Cooney that expand on the thrice-enfolded worlds first introduced in her Locus and World Fantasy award-nominated novella DESDEMONA AND THE DEEP. In her introduction to DARK BREAKERS, Crawford Award-winning author Sharon Shinn advises those who pick up this book to “settle in for a fantastical read” full of “vivid world-building, with layer upon layer of detail; prose so dense and gorgeous you can scoop up the words like handfuls of jewels; a mischievous sense of humor; and a warm and hopeful heart.”

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This book is so beyond perfect that I had to invent a new word to describe it. (Although really it’s a word for all Cooney’s writing, across all her work, but Dark Breakers prompted its invention.) The prose is beyond compare, and the stories mix breathtaking otherworldliness with passages that will have you laughing out loud, if not cackling outright. It’s rich and delicious and poignant and FUN.

I can’t recommend it enough, but I did try and review it, if you still need convincing.

Unravel by Amelia Loken
Representation: Deaf MC
Published on: 15th February 2022
Genres: Fantasy
Goodreads

Sixteen-year-old Marguerite knows her uncle doesn’t like her. True, she’s in line for the throne before him and he contends she’s too deaf to rule, but she’s known since he broke her hand to keep her from using sign language. Now, as the kingdom’s Bishop-Princep, Uncle Reichard has declared war on magic and Marguerite must hide the fact that she’s a witch.

While witnessing her first witch trial, Marguerite rescues a child from death with the help of a handsome, itinerant acrobat, Tys. Marguerite flees, hiding in the neighboring empire where magical gifts can flourish. Before her training is complete, war threatens. She returns home, only to witness her uncle seizing the throne. He isolates and imprisons her. Marguerite’s love for her people drives her to continue defying him. But to challenge him means she’ll have to rely on her homemade invisibility cloak, questionable allies, and Tys, the one boy she never should have trusted.

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I’m not actually sure I’ve ever read a book with a Deaf protagonist before – books with Deaf characters in the main cast, or as secondaries, or love interests, sure, but not as protagonists. So it’s about time! (For me, and the publishing industry!) I am already massively invested in Marguerite – you can’t get me into momma bear!mode faster than by giving a minor an abusive guardian – and I’m really curious to see how her disability is handled in a fantasy setting. Especially if she can’t sign! (Although I’m hoping that her uncle didn’t hurt her so badly she was left permanently unable to sign, the blurb can be read either way…)

Also, bonus points for acrobat love interests. I don’t know why, but the idea of that makes me laugh.

Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi
Representation: Black MC
Published on: 15th February 2022
Goodreads

From National Book Award finalist Akwaeke Emezi comes a companion novel to the critically acclaimed PET that explores both the importance and cost of social revolution--and how youth lead the way.

After a childhood in foster care, Bitter is thrilled to have been chosen to attend Eucalyptus, a special school where she can focus on her painting surrounded by other creative teens. But outside this haven, the streets are filled with protests against the deep injustices that grip the city of Lucille.

Bitter's instinct is to stay safe within the walls of Eucalyptus . . . but her friends aren't willing to settle for a world that's so far away from what they deserve. Pulled between old friendships, her artistic passion, and a new romance, Bitter isn't sure where she belongs--in the studio or in the streets. And if she does find a way to help the revolution while being true to who she is, she must also ask: at what cost?

This timely and riveting novel--a companion to the National Book Award finalist Pet--explores the power of youth, protest, and art.

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Bitter should need no introduction – it’s the prequel to Emezi’s amazing book Pet from a few years ago! But if you DO need an intro: Pet was the story of an incredible young girl named Jam; Bitter is about – well, Bitter, Jam’s mother. Jam grew up in a seriously impressive utopia; my guess is that this book is going to revolve around the fight that led to the creation of that utopia. And possibly the magic we saw in Bitter’s paintings in Pet… Either way, I can’t wait to read it!

Age of Ash (Kithamar, #1) by Daniel Abraham
Representation: Sapphic MC
Published on: 15th February 2022
Genres: Fantasy, High Fantasy
Goodreads

From
New York Times
bestselling and critically acclaimed author Daniel Abraham, co-author of The Expanse , comes a monumental epic fantasy trilogy that unfolds within the walls of a single great city, over the course of one tumultuous year, where every story matters, and the fate of the city is woven from them all.

“An atmospheric and fascinating tapestry, woven with skill and patience.” –Joe Abercrombie, New York Times bestselling author of A Little Hatred
Kithamar is a center of trade and wealth, an ancient city with a long, bloody history where countless thousands live and their stories unfold.

This is Alys's.

When her brother is murdered, a petty thief from the slums of Longhill sets out to discover who killed him and why.  But the more she discovers about him, the more she learns about herself, and the truths she finds are more dangerous than knives. 

Swept up in an intrigue as deep as the roots of Kithamar, where the secrets of the lowest born can sometimes topple thrones, the story Alys chooses will have the power to change everything.

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Age of Ash marks the return of Daniel Abraham to writing fantasy, after years as co-author of the sci-fi Expanse series! It’s not very like either of his previous fantasy series – it’s quieter, more zoomed-in and taking place on a much smaller scale than any of his earlier books. But it’s still intense and intricate and brilliant; I absolutely loved it, and I already can’t wait for book two!

The Magic Between by Stephanie Hoyt
Representation: Bisexual MC, bisexual MC, M/M, secondary F/F
Published on: 15th February 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Goodreads

The official release of The Magic Between includes an updated prologue not found in advanced copies.

In a world where everyone has magic coursing through them, legend says magic itself craves a mate. Legend says those with opposite magics have the greatest chance of forming the unbreakable Bond it desires.

A.B. Cerise is an obsessive compulsive pop star with the ability to turn invisible. He’s an out bisexual with absolutely no belief in Bonds. He has a love-bruised heart, thinks dating in the spotlight is a hassle at best and a nightmare at worst, and has no intention of going through it all over again.

Matthew Hellman-Levoie is the NHL’s number one goalie prospect, the youngest in a hockey dynasty, and one of the rare few who can see the unseeable. He’s a straight man who wears his heart on his sleeve, has grown up searching for a Bond, and dreams of finding the love of his life.

Legend never said anything about what to do when sparks fly between two people opposite in more ways than just magic.

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I could not have loved this more; you can read my review over here! The Magic Between became one of my favourites of 2022 before 2022 even started; it’s full of big glittery Feels and a very sweet romance, expertly balancing fluffiness with depth while managing to feel utterly indulgent the whole way through!

The Thousand Eyes (The Serpent Gates, #2) by A.K. Larkwood
Representation: F/F, achillean MC
Published on: 15th February 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Goodreads

The sequel to A. K. Larkwood's stunning debut fantasy, The Unspoken Name. The Thousand Eyes continues The Serpent Gates series—perfect for fans of Jenn Lyons, Joe Abercrombie, and Ursula K. Le Guin.

Just when they thought they were out...

Two years after defying the wizard Belthandros Sethennai and escaping into the great unknown, Csorwe and Shuthmili have made a new life for themselves, hunting for secrets among the ruins of an ancient snake empire.

Along for the ride is Tal Charossa, determined to leave the humiliation and heartbreak of his hometown far behind him, even if it means enduring the company of his old rival and her insufferable girlfriend.

All three of them would be quite happy never to see Sethennai again. But when a routine expedition goes off the rails and a terrifying imperial relic awakens, they find that a common enemy may be all it takes to bring them back into his orbit.

"I cannot recommend this series enough." -- Tamsyn Muir, New York Times bestselling author of Gideon the Ninth

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I have very little idea what to expect of The Thousand Eyes – I definitely thought The Unspoken Name was going to be a standalone! – but I’m delighted to be getting to meet all these characters again! Also, we have been promised a ‘dirtbag chosen one’ and also at least one character growing an exoskeleton, and I am capital-h Here for both!

Reclaim the Stars: 17 Tales Across Realms & Space by Zoraida Córdova, Vita Ayala, David Bowles, J.C. Cervantes, Sara Faring, Romina Garber, Isabel Ibañez, Anna-Marie McLemore, Yamile Saied Méndez, Nina Moreno, Circe Moskowitz, Maya Motayne, Linda Raquel Nieves Pérez, Daniel José Older, Claribel A. Ortega, Mark Oshiro, Lilliam Rivera
Representation: Latinx/Latine MCs
Published on: 15th February 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Sci Fi
Goodreads

Seventeen fantasy and science fiction short stories from leading voices in the Latin American diaspora!

Reclaim the Stars is a collection of bestselling and acclaimed YA authors that take the Latin American diaspora to places fantastical and out of this world. From princesses warring in space, to the all too-near devastation of climate change, to haunting ghost stories in Argentina, and mermaids off the coast of the Caribbean. This is science fiction and fantasy that breaks borders and realms, and proves that stories are truly universal.

Authors include Daniel José Older, Yamile Saied Méndez, Anna-Marie McLemore, Mark Oshiro, Romina Garber, David Bowles, Lilliam Rivera, Claribel Ortega, Isabel Ibañez, Sara Faring, Maya Motayne, Nina Moreno, Vita Ayala, J.C. Cervantes, Circe Moskowitz, Linda Nieves Pérez, and Zoraida Córdova.

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SFF by Latine/Latinx authors, taking their heritage to every corner of the SFF sphere! With a truly STELLAR author line-up (and no, I will not be apologising for the pun – is it even a pun, when it’s a perfectly accurate adjective???) I AM EXCITED!

The Boy with a Bird in His Chest by Emme Lund
Representation: Gay MC
Published on: 15th February 2022
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Magical Realism
Goodreads

Though Owen Tanner has never met anyone else who has a chatty bird in their chest, medical forums would call him a Terror. From the moment Gail emerged between Owen’s ribs, his mother knew that she had to hide him away from the world. After a decade spent in hiding, Owen takes a brazen trip outdoors in the middle of a forest fire, and his life is upended forever.

Suddenly, Owen is forced to flee the home that had once felt so confining and hide in plain sight with his uncle and cousin in Washington. There, he feels the joy of finding a family among friends; of sharing the bird in his chest and being embraced fully; of falling in love and feeling the devastating heartbreak of rejection before finding a spark of happiness in the most unexpected place; of living his truth regardless of how hard the thieves of joy may try to tear him down. But the threat of the Army of Acronyms is a constant, looming presence, making Owen wonder if he’ll ever find a way out of the cycle of fear.

A heartbreaking yet hopeful novel about the things that make us unique and lovable, The Boy with a Bird in His Chest grapples with the fear, depression, and feelings of isolation that come with believing that we will never be loved, let alone accepted, for who we truly are, and learning to live fully and openly regardless.

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I don’t dip my toes into magical realism too often, but I’m intensely curious about this one. Plus, the premise reminds me of Maria Dahvana Headley’s Magonia, another book about people with birds in their chests – and that was utterly wonderful!

Where I Can't Follow by Ashley Blooms
Published on: 15th February 2022
Genres: Fantasy
Goodreads

Walk through the door and leave all your problems behind…but you don’t know what’s on the other side. And once you leave, you’ll never come back. Will you go through?

Maren Walker told herself she wouldn’t need to sell pills for long, that it was only means to an end. But that end seems to be stretching as far away as the other side of Blackdamp County, Kentucky. There’s always another bill for Granny’s doctor, another problem with the car, another reason she’s getting nowhere.

She dreams of walking through her little door to leave it all behind. The doors have appeared to the people in her mountain town for as long as anyone can remember, though no one knows where they lead. All anyone knows is that if you go, you’ll never come back.

Maren’s mother left through her door when Maren was nine, and her shadow has followed Maren ever since. When she faces the possibility of escaping her struggles for good, Maren must choose just what kind of future she wants to build.

From critically acclaimed author Ashley Blooms, Where I Can't Follow explores the forces that hold people in place, and how they adapt, survive, and struggle to love a place that doesn’t always love them back.

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I just said I rarely read magical realism…and yet I have two on my list this week! But I just can’t resist – I’m utterly enchanted by the idea of these doors, and I need to know all about them!

Errant, Volume One (Errant #1) by L.K. Fleet, K.R. Collins, Felicia Davin, Valentine Wheeler
Representation: F/F
Published on: 15th February 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Goodreads

Aspen Silverglade used to be a force for good, but now she’s just a sword for hire. On the run from the people she once trusted most, she needs to keep her head down and keep moving.

But old habits are hard to quit. One night in a tavern, Aspen tries to save a woman from some unwanted attention. The woman, Charm Linville, is in the middle of a subtle and delicate act of thievery, and she does not appreciate Aspen blundering in.

The disastrous and public rescue-gone-wrong makes the townspeople think Aspen and Charm are a couple. This mistake sets Aspen’s bloodthirsty betrayers on Charm’s trail, tying the two of them together.

Even if Aspen can’t run from her past any longer, Charm shouldn’t have to suffer. Despite Aspen’s determination to work alone, Charm insists on helping—and she has a past of her own. The two of them don’t care for each other’s methods, but as they journey through the villages and wildernesses of Falland, solving problems and meeting magical friends and foes, Aspen and Charm grudgingly come to care for each other. Can these two guarded, stubborn women admit their feelings, or will Aspen’s enemies kill them first?

Errant, Volume One is the first volume in a series of novellas. It contains two novellas, intended to be read in sequence, and is approximately 52,000 words total.

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L.K. Fleet is the penname of several very cool authors collaborating to write what sounds like wonderfully escapist queer fantasy! Hijinks and misunderstandings and queer ladies good with sharp things??? I fully plan on curling up somewhere comfy to indulge in this one!

Three Left Turns to Nowhere by Jeffrey Ricker, J. Marshall Freeman, 'Nathan Burgoine
Representation: Queer MCs
Published on: 15th February 2022
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Urban Fantasy
Goodreads

Three strangers heading to a convention in Toronto are stranded in rural Ontario, where a small town with a subtle kind of magic leads each to discover what he’s been searching for.

Ed Sinclair and his friends get stuck in Hopewell after their car breaks down. It’s snark at first sight when he meets local mechanic Lyn, but while they’re getting under each other’s skin, the town might show them a way into one another's hearts.

Rome Epstein is out and proud and clueless about love. He’s hosting a giant scavenger hunt at the convention, but ends up in Hopewell. When the town starts leaving him clues for its own scavenger hunt, he discovers a boy who could be the prize he’s been searching for.

Fielding Roy has a gift for seeing the past. His trip to reunite with friends hits an unexpected stop in Hopewell, but a long-lost love letter and two local boys give him a chance to do more than watch the past. This time, Fielding might be able to fix the present.

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I only found out that this is actually fantasy at the very last moment – I kept seeing it described as contemporary fiction! But nope, there are in fact supernatural elements, which puts it squarely in my sights! Three novellas by three different authors, the stories taking place in the same place simultaneously, each with a queer lead. It sounds slow and dreamy and low-stakes, which sounds wonderful.

The Embroidered Book by Kate Heartfield
Published on: 17th February 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Goodreads

‘Power is not something you are given. Power is something you take. When you are a woman, it is a little more difficult, that’s all.’

1768. Charlotte arrives in Naples to marry a man she has never met. Two years later, her sister Antoine is sent to France to marry another stranger. In the mirrored corridors of Versailles, they rename her Marie Antoinette.

But the sisters are not powerless. When they were only children, Charlotte and Antoine discovered a book of spells – spells that seem to work, with dark and unpredictable consequences.

In a world of vicious court politics, of discovery and dizzying change, Charlotte and Antoine use their secret skills to redefine their lives, becoming the most influential women of the age.

But every spell requires a sacrifice. As love between the sisters turns to rivalry, they will send Europe spiralling into revolution.

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I perked up the moment I heard the premise of Embroidered Book, but I slammed the preorder button after reading the publisher’s excerpt! I’ve been making grabby hands at this one ever since – GIMME!

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

The post Must-Have Monday #73 appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

Paragonical: Dark Breakers by C.S.E. Cooney

Dark Breakers by C.S.E. Cooney, Sharon Shinn, Brett Massé
Representation: Sapphic MC, pansexual MC, major nonbinary character, significant trans character, F/F/NB polyamory, bi/pansexual secondary character
Published on: 15th February 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
ISBN: 1732644063
Goodreads

NEW FROM WORLD FANTASY AWARD WINNER C. S. E. COONEY

A young human painter and an ageless gentry queen fall in love over spilled wine—at the risk of his life and her immortality. Pulled into the Veil Between Worlds, two feuding neighbors (and a living statue) get swept up in a brutal war of succession. An investigative reporter infiltrates the Seafall City Laundries to write the exposé of a lifetime, and uncovers secrets she never believed possible. Returning to an oak grove to scatter her husband’s ashes, an elderly widow meets an otherworldly friend, who offers her a momentous choice. Two gentry queens of the Valwode plot to hijack a human rocketship and steal the moon out of the sky.

DARK BREAKERS gathers three new and two previously uncollected tales from World Fantasy Award-winning writer C. S. E. Cooney that expand on the thrice-enfolded worlds first introduced in her Locus and World Fantasy award-nominated novella DESDEMONA AND THE DEEP. In her introduction to DARK BREAKERS, Crawford Award-winning author Sharon Shinn advises those who pick up this book to “settle in for a fantastical read” full of “vivid world-building, with layer upon layer of detail; prose so dense and gorgeous you can scoop up the words like handfuls of jewels; a mischievous sense of humor; and a warm and hopeful heart.”

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I received this book for free from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Highlights

~prose like fairy fruit
~human art = Faerie warcraft
~even queens know a gift of a book = Best Friends Forever
~joyful decadence
~who wants roses when you can give your wife the MOON
~sometimes you have to save the git who keeps stealing all the toilet-paper
~there were no words !!! enough to describe this book SO I INVENTED MY OWN enjoy

This is a book for the dreamers. For the ones who never stopped peeking at the back of wardrobes, just in case; the ones who could never quite bring themselves to stop watching for a door where a door shouldn’t be. This is a book for everyone who ever ran a finger over the illustrations in their favourite storybook and ached; for everyone who stopped talking about magic because Grown Ups Don’t, but who never stopped wishing, never stopped wanting, never stopped hoping.

This book is jewel-tones and gilt and bells of bone. This book is secrets and yearning, terror and triumph, wonder and wildness. This book is a whisper and a song and a howl.

(Do you know why wolves howl? It’s to let other wolves know where they are.

Here we are. The dreamers, the wishers, the would-be world-walkers: here we are.)

*

When you sit down to write about the work of the one and only C.S.E. Cooney, you find all the words you know running through your fingers like sand, turned to dust from trying to touch perfection. You need to go on quests to find worthy words; east of sun and west of moon, to the waters of life at the end of the world. Maybe drinking from that well will give you the divine inspiration you need, give you a chance of describing the sheer gorgeous glory of the book you just read.

Maybe. If you’re lucky.

Nyx was probably old enough to survive it. To sip of a mortal’s fumbling grasp at immortality–their words, their images, their art–and not die of it.

More likely, you’ll find yourself in the same predicament as all those who return from Faerie; unable to make yourself understood to those who’ve never been. Because reading Dark Breakers is just like that, just like being whisked off your feet into another realm entire: you fall into Cooney’s world and are swept away by it, consumed by it, forever changed. It’s not a crucible but it is a prism, not distilling you down but magnifying you into the more-ness of a firework, making you grow and glitter and gleam, turning you into a thousand shades of rainbow colour. Dark Breakers is beautiful beyond the power of words to describe, but even more incredible is what it does to you. Lighting you up inside, snatching your breath away, holding you hypnotised because it’s a reminder, a promise, a proof you can hold in your hands that the world is so, so far from grey. That it’s worth getting up in the mornings, darlings; it’s worth it to keep carrying on, because we have art and magic and wonder and books like this!

It might take her a thousand years, Nyx thought, just to make it past the first page. But if she did–once she did–and if she survived the rest, then reading such a book–finishing it–would confer upon her powers beyond even her belief. She would be able to hold millions of bellicose gentry spellbound with a single quotation, end a war with a whispered fragment chosen for its meticulous craftsmanship, its hope, its ambition, even a kind of ecstasy…

Who can put that into words, describe it in any meaningful way? Not me. If you want to know Faerie – Dark Breakers – you have to experience it for yourself.

So I can tell you that Dark Breakers is set in the same universe as Desdemona and the Deep, that you don’t need one to enjoy the other but that the two of them click softly and perfectly into place when you bring them together, whole and complete. I can tell you that Dark Breakers is made up of three novellas and three short stories, that there are painters and sculptors and writers entwined with Fae Queens and living statues and changeling children. I can tell you that this book is about art and truth and stories and the power of all three; it’s about a half-dozen different kinds of love; it’s about the fate of worlds, and what happens when those worlds come together.

But what does that tell you, really? Do you really understand it all yet?

If her enemies opened up her chest, they might find a ruby-throated hummingbird at the center, or a whirlpool inhabited by leviathans, or the moon in all its phases, or all of this, all at once.

What if I told you that when you close your eyes and reach for what Fantasy is – not a picture, not an aesthetic, not even a genre, but pure, genuine magic – that’s Dark Breakers. This book embodies magic in ways I simply don’t have the skill to express. The ineffable, unnameable thing that drew you to myths and legends and fairytales, to the SFF section of the bookshop or library, that filled your dreams and made your imagination shine and your heart ache with equal parts yearning and wonder – that thing – Cooney has gathered it up and spun it into words on a page like spinning silk out of starlight.

Midnight, and the thirteenth bell sounded. When he looked around the Great Hall again, the walls were running like limestone ice cream cones, and the company had swelled to three times its former size. But these guests, Gideon knew, were different. Those birds’ heads perched atop their petal-clad bodies were not masks, the petals neither satin nor silk nor tulle. Rainbow-spangled wings, gem-encrusted tails, silver hooves, plush paws, scales of bronze and gold: these monstrous beauties were undeniably gentry, come to join the costumed mortals dancing at Desdemona Mannering’s invitation.

And what words! What incredible, luxurious, decadent words! Cooney’s prose is fairy food; one bite, one taste, and it has you forever. Not a page goes by without a turn of phrase or perfectly-expressed thought that pyrographs itself onto your bones; paragraphs become fixed constellations of your mindscape; thoughts and concepts and emotions you’ve never had the words for scribe across your skin in woad. Dark Breakers isn’t a book to quote, it’s a book to declaim, to blazon, to memorise entire so that you can whisper it to sunsets and shriek it at the stars. This is a book you swing around your shoulders like a cloak and wrap around yourself at night, that you print on your heart, that you tattoo on your tongue so you can always taste it.

Not for the gentry to pursue, but to lure. To entice. To seduce a bright-burning mortal thing deep into the Valwode’s dream. Theirs, to wear a cunning shape. Theirs, to become the bait, the prize worth hunting: a song from the waves, a flash in the fog, the golden hind or silver hair, the jet-black mare with maiden’s face, her hooves and mane and tail of milky jade. Impossible for a human, whether hunter or no, to witness such wonders and not follow. This, the glamour of the gentry. This, how they caught their prey.

Have I made it sound pretentious and over-complicated? Because it isn’t. Cooney’s writing is joyful, revelling in its own beauty; playful and elegant, powerful and delicate, dancing and inviting you in to dance too. It gleams. It sings.

It’s incandescent.

*

There’s a house that is three houses; there are three houses that are all in the same place in three very different worlds. At midnight, when the bone bells ring, the walls between worlds thin enough that you can walk right through the walls of one house and into one of the others.

Athe is like the world you and I know, minus a century or so. The Valwode is not like our world at all. It is terribly beautiful and beautifully terrible, and so are the beings that live there, and most of all their queen, Nyx, who dreams them all into existence. Who comes through the walls of the house, just for a night, and meets a painter, and a writer, and goes to war clad in phoenix-armour.

In Athe there is a sculptor who can’t stop sculpting but can – must – smash his creations to bits when he’s finished them. Until a writer (the writer) saves one, and runs through the walls of the house to oversee a coronation, and save a friend – even if that friend keeps stealing all the toilet paper.

The Laundries are in Athe too, and you could call them a kind of asylum, if you like – if an asylum’s patients were all bespelled and bewitched and/or bearing children that aren’t wholly human. Except clearly that’s nonsense, and too many people who’ve gone in have never come out, so of course an investigative journalist must sneak in undercover, and find out what’s really going on, with the pins and the blood and far too many laundry machines.

There’s one story about grief and love and healing after the walls have all come down in a gilded un-apocalypse, with an ending that isn’t.

There’s another story about a queen who decides ‘I’ll give you the moon’ as a declaration of adoration is meant literally, and won’t take no for an answer. There are spider legs and lectures on astrophysics and many, many giggles.

Susurra had been to that station only once, for nefarious purposes that she will not admit to even in the third person.

Yes, I said giggles. Did you think Dark Breakers is lofty and full of itself? I said it isn’t pretentious! It’s as much about being human as it is about otherworldly beings and magic – maybe quite a bit moreso, actually. There are balls and snide remarks and typewriters and literary agents! Terrible dinner parties and #Rude and flounces of many kinds! There are picture-books and cherished pens and delightfully delirious coats! Pining and snark and elegant insults – even a maid’s uniform!

He had done her an extraordinary service–stained his perfect sleeve for her sake!–and while she wore her mortal guise besides.

He deserved citadels!

Just. This book, folx. This book. This AUTHOR. I have never been immersed in so much C.S.E. Cooney before, and I am drunk on it like goblin peaches. There aren’t words enough in the world to do her writing, her myth-making, justice, and I know because I looked; I scoured all my dictionaries and thesauruses, I travelled west of sun and east of moon, but I couldn’t find any descriptor that conveyed everything I needed it to. In the end I had to invent a new word to be able to talk about the sheer wondrous word-magic going on in all these pages – that’s the level of !!! I’m trying to get across to you here, people!

Because yes, I can call it perfectly pulchritudinous, obviously opulent, most sincerely splendiferous! And I would be neither incorrect nor exaggerating if I did!

But none of that quite covers it.

So here it is: C.S.E. Cooney’s prose is paragonical, and so is every other aspect of her writing, and that has never been clearer than it is in Dark Breakers.

And I guess, after all that…that’s all that needs to be said.

Dark Breakers cascades into the world on Feb 15th, and I really must insist you preorder it immediately! (Especially since the publisher is having a massive pre-release sale for it!!!)

The post Paragonical: Dark Breakers by C.S.E. Cooney appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

I Can’t Wait For…Rebel Skies by Ann Sei Lin

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 Rebel Skies by Ann Sei Lin!

Rebel Skies (Rebel Skies, #1) by Ann Sei Lin
Representation: Asian-coded world + cast
Published on: 5th May 2022
Genres: Fantasy
Goodreads

Teen fantasy adventure set in a world of flying ships and sky cities, where chosen ones have the ability to bring paper to life and work as Crafters - people who hunt wild paper spirits called shikigami. Inspired by Asian culture and exploring themes of empire, slavery and freedom.

Kurara has never known any other life than being a servant on board the Midori, but when her party trick of making paper come to life turns out to be a power treasured across the empire, she joins a skyship and its motley crew to become a Crafter. Taught by the gruff but wise Himura, Kurara learns to hunt shikigami - wild paper spirits who are sought after by the Princess.

But are these creatures just powerful slaves for the Crafters and the empire, or are they beings with their own souls - and yet another thing to be subjugated by the powerful Emperor and his Princess?

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I’m just in absolute love with EVERYTHING about this premise! Any kind of paper-based magic always gets my attention, but this is the first time I’ve seen a whole world built up around the concept! Creatures of living paper??? With souls of their own??? (Come on, the way the question is framed in the blurb? We know shikigami have souls!) And skyships! I wonder if they’re made of paper too? I’m just dying to learn all about this world, and the people who live in it!

Early reviewers have also mentioned sky-CITIES as well as skyships, which, HI, WHO DOES NOT LOVE FLOATING CITIES??? And apparently mega Studio Ghibli vibes abound! Could this possibly tick any more of my boxes?!

When I first heard about Rebel Skies, I thought it was a standalone. And that would have been wonderful! But I’m extra-excited that it’s the start of the series – that means getting to see so much more of the world Lin has created, and I hope she shows it off extravagantly. And while I suspect the series is likely to follow the overthrow-the-empire template, that doesn’t make it predictable – there are a thousand ways to play that out, and in a setting of paper magic and SKY CITIES, it’s not going to look like anything I’ve seen before.

WHICH IS ALWAYS DELIGHTFUL.

Also, I am a shamelessly shallow creature, and that cover is just stunning. No two ways about it.

Is Rebel Skies on your tbr? I think it should be!

The post I Can’t Wait For…Rebel Skies by Ann Sei Lin appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.