Siavahda's Blog, page 77

Holy, Holy, Holy Hell: Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White

Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White
Representation: Queer MC, assorted queer cast
Published on: 7th June 2022
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
ISBN: 1682633241
Goodreads

Sixteen-year-old trans boy Benji is on the run from the cult that raised him—the fundamentalist sect that unleashed Armageddon and decimated the world’s population. Desperately, he searches for a place where the cult can’t get their hands on him, or more importantly, on the bioweapon they infected him with.

But when cornered by monsters born from the destruction, Benji is rescued by a group of teens from the local Acheson LGBTQ+ Center, affectionately known as the ALC. The ALC’s leader, Nick, is gorgeous, autistic, and a deadly shot, and he knows Benji’s darkest secret: the cult’s bioweapon is mutating him into a monster deadly enough to wipe humanity from the earth once and for all.

Still, Nick offers Benji shelter among his ragtag group of queer teens, as long as Benji can control the monster and use its power to defend the ALC. Eager to belong, Benji accepts Nick’s terms…until he discovers the ALC’s mysterious leader has a hidden agenda, and more than a few secrets of his own.

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

{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2021-11-20T09:07:00+00:00", "description": "A post-apocalyptic debut about queer monsters reclaiming themselves and the world.", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/holy-holy-holy-hell-hell-followed-with-us-by-andrew-joseph-white\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "Hell Followed with Us", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andrew Joseph White", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "1682633241" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siavahda", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": 4.5, "bestRating": "5" }} Highlights

~everything is a metaphor and the metaphors are A++
~the apocalypse is queer as fuck
~transitioning with testosterone hell-virus
~absolutely every adult in this thing can fuck off forever
~bead lizards = true love
~if they want a monster, give them Hell
~#HugsForGraces2022

My immediate response to finishing this book was: THERE HAD BETTER BE A SEQUEL COMING BECAUSE I AM NOT READY FOR THIS TO BE OVER.

Which is kind of odd, because if you asked me, I wouldn’t say that I loved Hell Followed With Us, not the way I hoped and expected to when I first heard the premise. I wish it hadn’t been written in first-person (although I’m also not sure that was the wrong choice for this story; it’s more that I, personally, am generally not a fan of first-person) and I wish the prose hadn’t been so simplistic and so blunt. I wish the climax had been a bit less rushed, and that there’d been more showing and less telling about the monsters and Benji’s powers. I wish the diabolus ex machina in the final showdown had felt less like it came out of absolutely nowhere.

And yet.

And yet, I couldn’t put it down. And yet, I was utterly fascinated by Benji’s transformation into Seraph, the monster-messiah of the cult that wiped out most of the human race. And yet, I want to stand up and applaud Andrew Joseph White until my hands burn.

Hell Followed With Us is going to be one of the heavy-hitters of 2022, and it absolutely deserves to be.

The plot is pretty much as the blurb describes: Benji is a trans teen desperately trying to get away from the doomsday cult (who call themselves the Angels) that brought about the end of the world with an engineered virus – a cult that reveres him as an almost-messiah, because he’s been infected with a strain meant to turn him into Seraph, a monster that will wipe out the last of humanity’s survivors. A community of queer teens struggling to get by welcome him in, not knowing his backstory, but their acceptance can’t stop the virus and Benji’s transformation.

It’s post-apocalyptic queer horror, and it’s very much a book about rage – queer rage and teen rage and righteous rage.

It’s glorious, getting angry so quickly. Maybe the Flood has given me something in return for my body: the anger I never let myself have as a little girl, the rage I swallowed down every day of my life. It feels like it’s slotting into place where it was meant to be all along.

And every time you peel back a layer, there’s more underneath it – White has woven so much meaning and symbolism into every aspect of the story, the characters, and the general aesthetic. There’s a parallel to be drawn, for example, between Benji and the teens of the ALC who adopt him, and Benji’s let’s-call-it-psychic bond to the Graces, the monsters created by the apocalypse-virus. The Graces are terrifying, and hideous, and deadly – but Benji refuses to call them ‘it’, croons to them when they’re scared, feels empathy and sympathy and maybe something we can call affection for them. I’d argue the Graces embody, in some aspects, the view fundamentalists and queerphobes have of queer people – hideous monsters – but the truth is that the Graces are creatures with feelings who deserve to be valued. The Graces fight with, and for, Benji, and there’s just something so fucking excellent about that, about aligning queerness with a monstrousness that isn’t evil, but is massively powerful. Queerness has been aligned with monstrousness for a while by gross idiots; Hell Followed With Us embraces that, reclaims it, revels in it. Fucking celebrates it. Says, if you want a monster, I’ll give you a monster.

And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light.

For the world will burn under the weight of it.

And it’s thrilling. It is. It’s empowering and glorious and it keeps you locked on to every page, reading as fast as you can, drinking it in.

If they want me to be a monster one step closer to God, that’s fine. In what world was their God ever a benevolent one?

There’s no way White did not intentionally, deliberately spin it so that Seraph really is a messiah – to the monsters. And to the people the cult consider monsters; queer people and BIPOC people and people who are both. That’s just – clever and subversive and gods damn delicious, and I want to write a thesis on this book, okay? On all the layers, all the metaphors, all the symbolism, all the ways in which Hell Followed With Us sears through your veins and makes you want to howl, want to roar.

No, this book isn’t going to be for everyone. But it is the embodiment of the feelings most queer people have experienced at least once, even if we never act on them. Hell Followed With Us is as much power-fantasy as it is horror, in its way.

The Angels were made to be the servants of the Lord, but I am the wrath, the flaming sword, the six-winged beast.

And like – okay, I wish the writing had been more descriptive, sure. But damn is White brilliant at packing a hell of a punch into just a few short words; the prose is concise because it is distilled, pure and powerful and true. I love descriptive purple-shaded prose, but Hell Followed With Us doesn’t need it. More words would have diluted the effect; every word present has been chosen with care and deliberation, placed exactly where it needs to be to rip your breath away. And the biblical imagery! All the gorgeous, sharp-toothed biblical imagery makes me swoon with delight.

What’s left of my heart beating holy, holy, holy in my throat.

(Holy, holy, holy is what the seraphim – a kind of angel – sing in Heaven, constantly praising God.)

In fact, maybe the general sparseness of description makes those moments when it does appear more effective – they certainly stand out more. One of my favourite lines in the entire book is when the people at the ALC are handling supplies, which are obviously unspeakably precious in a post-apocalyptic setting, which is why the teens are

cradling painkillers like Fabergé eggs.

I just adore the wonderful similes we get occasionally, okay?

When it comes to the characters, one thing I dearly loved was the depiction of Benji’s relationship with his body and dysphoria. Cis writers especially often depict trans characters as unequivocally hating their bodies, but there are a lot of ways to be trans (or any other flavour of nonbinary), and some people experience much less dysphoria than others. So it was really, really great to see a trans character who, while uncomfortable with other people perceiving him as a girl (fair), didn’t feel the need to wear a binder, and didn’t feel emasculated by things like having periods. HI YES THANK YOU SO MUCH. More diverse depictions of the trans experience, please! That was excellent, especially contrasted against other trans characters, who all had different takes and approaches to their bodies and identities. THERE’S NO ONE RIGHT WAY TO BE TRANS.

Being transgender is who you are, and the pain is what the outside does to you. The pain is what happens when you and the world go for each other’s throats.

And speaking of breaking away from stereotypes, I was so freaking delighted to see Nick, our autistic sharpshooter kinda-sorta-probably love interest, was an excellent liar and able to manipulate people. (Not in a villain way, just in a leader way.) Autistic people are not all innocent naive sweethearts, and plenty of us are very good at lying, or making hard calls, or being ruthless. There’s no one-size-fits-all version of autism, either, and I’m so happy White kicked the stereotypes in the teeth with Nick. HELL TO THE YES.

I wish I could stay here forever, surrounded by ash and death and his laughter.

I have to admit, though, that I did not find the horror elements particularly horrifying. I think that’s for a few reasons: for one thing, the writing style – via Benji’s first-person narration – is very blunt and lacking in description, and even the most body-horror monsters just don’t feel very scary or even gross if you don’t describe them the right way, with enough detail. I think Hell Followed With Us would be marvellously terrifying on a screen, with Guillermo del Toro or someone in charge of the visuals…but in written form, it didn’t really work.

It’s more human than not, more human than some but less human than the inside-out man Dad and I saw on the apartment floor days ago. A head, a torso, close enough. But its ribs open into a second set of teeth, gray organs pulsing underneath like fat, heavy tonsils. Its lower jaw has melted into its chest, and molars stick out of its collarbones.

Sorry. There’s just something so…so matter of fact about the way the monsters are described, that it’s just not hitting the right note to squick me, never mind scare me.

The other reason the horror elements didn’t give me horror!feels is that I’m a freak who very quickly fell in with Benji’s softness, affection, and protectiveness towards the monsters. That is simply, as they say, my jam. Even as Benji himself was transforming and mutating, his new form didn’t disgust me – I thought he sounded monstrously beautiful, or beautifully monstrous.

It’s harder for someone to pin you down as a girl when they need a moment to pin you down as human.

But I think that’s a me thing, not any weakness in the writing! Your mileage will vary.

Put it all together, and Hell Followed With Us is an immensely powerful, darkly glorious book that I want to personally deliver into the hands of every nonbinary teen ever. And a lot of us nonbinary adults, too. It really, really, really needs to be on your TBR for 2022.

The good the world needs right now is teeth and claws and a taste for blood.

Preorder it immediately. You won’t regret it.

The post Holy, Holy, Holy Hell: Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

That Which Yields Is Not Always Weak: The Broken Crown by Michelle West

Highlights

~you don’t have to be the serpent under ‘t to be badass as a flower
~the Dark Chosen One is feral
~don’t fuck with Ospreys
~the sun sword is not a metaphor
~you should be very afraid of three rings

I love the idea of Epic Fantasy – of big, sprawling stories where the fate of all-and-everything is at stake, rich with magic and adventures and people fighting in whatever way they can so others who will never know their names might be able to live in a world with at least a little less suffering in it. But for a long time, I thought I didn’t enjoy Epic Fantasy, since pretty much every title that got recced to me was strongly Do Not Want.

Then someone suggested I try Epic Fantasy that wasn’t written by cishet white guys, and you know what??? That did the trick. (If you love Epic Fantasy but haven’t yet read Kate Elliott’s Crown of Star series??? You need to go read that.)

The Sun Sword series has been on my TBR list for a very long time – years and years – but I kept bouncing off it. In fact, I bounced off it five times. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get past the first few chapters – after an incredible prologue, the first chapters were slow and heavy and very far away from the places and people I was now interested in. But I wanted to read – and like! – this book so badly that I came back for a sixth shot this year, and for whatever reason, this time something clicked. And once I was in, I was completely swept away by the truly epic (in scope and in execution) story West has written here.

In the prologue, a woman with the magical ability to heal is kidnapped and raped to bear the child of the darkest of gods – a pregnancy she doesn’t abort (which her powers would allow her to do) because of a promise that her child might tip the balance in a war that’s coming; the vibe I got was of a dark Chosen One type of thing going on, which definitely got my attention.

But we don’t get to see that child for a while: the first chapter opens in the Dominion, a hot desert land with a, I must be honest, boringly patriarchal society. Women have no legal rights here, men take multiple wives and concubines, and the worth of a man is his worth as a warrior. Etc. That’s not to say there’s nothing original about the worldbuilding here, because there is, but I am capital-t Tired of this kind of nonsense. Which is probably why I struggled with it all those other times I tried to read this book.

The Broken Crown is very much a book about feminine strength – not female strength, feminine strength. The kind of strength that lies in being meek and quiet and biddable and pleasant, and preferably beautiful. The kind that has nothing to do with swords and horses and war. The kind that is often overlooked and almost always undervalued. This isn’t at all the only kind of female strength we see – outside the Dominion, women can be House Lords, warriors, queens, priestesses, and around the halfway mark of Broken Crown we do start to spend some time in these not-so-distant lands with their very different culture. We see a good number of women who are very impressive with swords and soldiers indeed. And they’re important too.

But there’s something very subversive about writing an Epic Fantasy that, at its heart, revolves around the actions of women everyone believes have no power to act. Especially, I think, in 1997, which is when The Broken Crown was first published.

That being said, there’s no way to get around the fact that I found most of this book very slow. I’m not sure that’s a bad thing, but readers who are looking for fast-paced, action-heavy stories should probably look elsewhere. The Broken Crown is more about the slow, wary dance of politics, shifting power dynamics and gathering strength and allies to stage a coup – and keep control after it. In practice, this means that the book follows Diora, the daughter of one of the men looking to overthrow the current ruling family of the Dominion and the eventual wife of the man who’s basically the crown prince. She’s far from the only POV character, but I think we spend the most time with her, and it’s inarguably her actions that bring about the events at the end of the book.

I enjoyed the parts with Diora – all the parts set in the Dominion – because of West’s prose and worldbuilding, not because of the actual plot. I spent the first half of the book waiting to hear more about the child of the poor healer from the prologue, and I think I only really became engaged when we did in fact learn more about her. (Spoiler: she’s feral, and I read her as autistic, both of which delight me.) There’s no question that I was a lot more engaged with the parts of the book – and the various plotlines – that take place outside the Dominion, and I wish they’d been introduced sooner. There’s not much that can keep me super interested in such a heavily patriarchal setting and culture as the Dominion: that’s not West’s fault, that’s just not my thing. But where the worldbuilding we saw in the Dominion was interesting, the worldbuilding we saw outside it made me so excited and left me with many passionate questions. God-children! Noble (?) Houses! The Black Ospreys! The seer! I need to know more!

And woven throughout the human plotlines are the workings of what I can only call demons, some of whom are working with – or manipulating – some of the human players. The politics that shake up the Dominion in this book really are just the opening moves in a much bigger game; it’s clear that what I consider the ‘real’ story is just starting as The Broken Crown is wrapping up. In a way, that was disappointing, but I find I don’t really mind too much. The Broken Crown was enjoyable for its own sake; yes, it’s mostly laying the groundwork for a much bigger conflict, but there is enough here to hold your attention – especially if you don’t mind your stories moving more languidly.

I’ve already started the second book, and suspect I’ll keep reading until I hit the last page of the last book. The Broken Crown might be slow, and quite heavy, but I’m hooked. If you love political machinations and aren’t afraid of a lot of made-up fantasy words, then you’ll probably love it too.

The post That Which Yields Is Not Always Weak: The Broken Crown by Michelle West appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

I Can’t Wait For…Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane

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 Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane!

Art by Marcela Bolivar Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane
Representation: Trans MC
Published on: 7th June 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Goodreads

Drawing on ancient texts and modern archeology to reveal the trans woman's story hidden underneath the well-known myths of The Iliad, Maya Deane's Wrath Goddess Sing weaves a compelling, pitilessly beautiful vision of Achilles' vanished world, perfect for fans of Song of Achilles and the Inheritance trilogy.

The gods wanted blood. She fought for love.

Achilles has fled her home and her vicious Myrmidon clan to live as a woman with the kallai, the transgender priestesses of Great Mother Aphrodite. When Odysseus comes to recruit the "prince" Achilles for a war against the Hittites, she prepares to die rather than fight as a man. However, her divine mother, Athena, intervenes, transforming her body into the woman's body she always longed for, and promises her everything: glory, power, fame, victory in war, and, most importantly, a child born of her own body. Reunited with her beloved cousin, Patroklos, and his brilliant wife, the sorceress Meryapi, Achilles sets out to war with a vengeance.

But the gods--a dysfunctional family of abusive immortals that have glutted on human sacrifices for centuries--have woven ancient schemes more blood-soaked and nightmarish than Achilles can imagine. At the center of it all is the cruel, immortal Helen, who sees Achilles as a worthy enemy after millennia of ennui and emptiness. In love with her newfound nemesis, Helen sets out to destroy everything and everyone Achilles cherishes, seeking a battle to the death.

An innovative spin on a familiar tale, this is the Trojan War unlike anything ever told, and an Achilles whose vulnerability is revealed by the people she chooses to fight...and chooses to trust.

{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2021-11-17T08:39:00+00:00", "description": "'Trans woman Achilles' really is all I need to hear.", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/i-cant-wait-for-wrath-goddess-sing-by-maya-deane\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "Wrath Goddess Sing", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maya Deane", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siavahda", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": false, "bestRating": "5" }}

This premises ticks every single box I have – including my myth-nerd ones: the opening of the Illiad, Homer’s epic poem about the Trojan War, is generally translated as something like ‘Sing, goddess, of the wrath of Achilles’, which makes Wrath Goddess Sing an especially appropriate title for this book in so many ways. (One famous translation reads as ‘Rage–goddess, sing the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles’, which is even closer to Deane’s title – it’s the first three words, Rage/Wrath Goddess Sing, see?) It’s a lovely nod to the Illiad from a book that is a complete re-imagining of that story.

(I’m also tickled by the fact that my Classical Civilisations teacher, who taught my class about the Illiad and the Odyssey and many other things Ancient Greek, shares a surname with Deane. It’s a tiny detail, but it delights me.)

I am Very Done with seeing the Greek gods or myths used in urban fantasy, but Wrath Goddess Sing is not UF and sounds perfectly epic in all senses of the word. Trans woman Achilles!!! That’s really all I need to hear, but almost everything else about this book sounds just as incredible – Helen as a terrifying villain rather than a victim without agency!!! Trans priestesses!!! Athene as Achilles’ mother!!!

I’m so looking forward to all the ways Deane is going to change the myths I know. Retellings often stick so closely to the source material that they’re predictable, but we already know from the blurb that a lot more than Achilles’ gender has changed here – just Athene as Achilles’ mum is a big deal already, as is the heavy implication that there will be no Achilles/Patroclus shenanigans here – at least, not sexual ones. And an Achilles who wants a child, rather than one who wants only glory??? BIG. DEAL. I don’t know how the story will go, and I am so happy about that, and excited!

…Okay, I nerded out more than a little. I’m not sorry. I’ve preordered the hell out of this, and you should as well – TRANS WOMAN ACHILLES!

Seriously. Cannot. Wait!!!

The post I Can’t Wait For…Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

Must-Have Monday #60

The publishing world is definitely slowing down as we approach the end of the year, but quality > quantity! This week there are just FOUR releases-of-interest, but they all sound pretty damn awesome!

You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo
Representation: Queer MCs
Published on: 16th November 2021
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Goodreads

Farscape meets The Great British Bake Off in this fantastic space opera You Sexy Thing from former SFWA President, Cat Rambo.

Just when they thought they were out...

TwiceFar station is at the edge of the known universe, and that's just how Niko Larson, former Admiral in the Grand Military of the Hive Mind, likes it.

Retired and finally free of the continual war of conquest, Niko and the remnants of her former unit are content to spend the rest of their days working at the restaurant they built together, The Last Chance.

But, some wars can't ever be escaped, and unlike the Hive Mind, some enemies aren't content to let old soldiers go. Niko and her crew are forced onto a sentient ship convinced that it is being stolen and must survive the machinations of a sadistic pirate king if they even hope to keep the dream of The Last Chance alive.

{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2021-11-15T07:23:00+00:00", "description": "Boys from the stars and girls from the woods are among this week's FOUR fab new books!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/must-have-monday-59-2\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "You Sexy Thing", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cat Rambo", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siavahda", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": false, "bestRating": "5" }}

This has been described as whimsical and fun and silly, with sci fi foodie vibes, so you can bet I’m going to be snatching it up! And if you’re still wondering whether you want to, you can read an excerpt from the book over here!

Briar Girls by Rebecca Kim Wells
Representation: Bi/pansexual MC, sapphic love interest, nonbinary secondary characters, sapphic trans secondary character
Published on: 16th November 2021
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Goodreads

The Cruel Prince meets A Curse So Dark and Lonely in this epic reimagining of “The Sleeping Beauty” that follows a teen girl on a quest to wake a sleeping princess in an enchanted forest, while searching for the truth behind her own deadly curse.

Lena has a secret: the touch of her skin can kill. Cursed by a witch before she was born, Lena has always lived in fear and isolation. But after a devastating mistake, she and her father are forced to flee to a village near the Silence, a mysterious forest with a reputation for luring people into the trees, never to be seen again…​

Until the night an enigmatic girl stumbles out of the Silence and into Lena’s sheltered world. Miranda comes from the Gather, a city in the forest brimming with magic. She is on a quest to wake a sleeping princess believed to hold the key to liberating the Gather from its tyrannical ruler—and she offers Lena a bargain. If Lena assists her on her journey, Miranda will help her break the curse.

Mesmerized by Miranda and her promise of a new life, Lena jumps at the chance. But the deeper into the Silence she goes, the more she suspects she’s been lied to—about her family’s history, her curse, and her future. As the shadows close in, Lena must choose who to trust and decide whether it’s more important to have freedom…or power.

{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2021-11-15T07:23:00+00:00", "description": "Boys from the stars and girls from the woods are among this week's FOUR fab new books!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/must-have-monday-59-2\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "Briar Girls", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rebecca Kim Wells", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siavahda", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": false, "bestRating": "5" }}

Wells is the author of the Shatter the Sky duology, which was F/F + dragons in a queernorm world, so you can bet I’m pouncing on her new book! Enchanted!forest stories hold a special place in my heart, and this one sounds like it’s going to be marvelous.

Starling by Isabel Strychacz
Published on: 16th November 2021
Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Goodreads

Edward Scissorhands meets When the Moon Was Ours in this enchanting, lushly romantic novel about two teen sisters who fight to protect the mysterious stranger who literally fell from the stars and into their backyard.

Strange things have always happened in the small town of Darling…

​Yet Delta Wilding and her sister Bee are familiar with the peculiar. Raised by an eccentric father always on the hunt for the spectacular, they’re used to following weather patterns that twirl onto strange paths, a car that refuses to play any artist but one, and living in a sentient house with whims of its own. But when a mysterious boy falls from the stars into the woods behind the Wilding sisters’ farmhouse, nothing can prepare them for the extraordinary turn their lives are about to take.

Extraordinary, and dangerous.

Starling Rust is not from this world and his presence in the Wilding home brings attention. As the terrified locals, Delta’s ex-boyfriend, and the unscrupulous mayor descend onto the Wilding’s home, both Delta and her sister go to incredible lengths to protect their mystical visitor—especially as Delta’s growing feelings for Starling could prove the greatest risk of all.

Filled with atmospheric prose and lush and vivid descriptions, Starling has the spectacular waiting with every flip of the page.

{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2021-11-15T07:23:00+00:00", "description": "Boys from the stars and girls from the woods are among this week's FOUR fab new books!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/must-have-monday-59-2\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "Starling", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Isabel Strychacz", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siavahda", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": false, "bestRating": "5" }}

I haven’t heard a lot of hype for this book, which is a shame, because it sounds pretty unique and wonderful! I love stories about stars even more than I do enchanted forests, and I very much want to know more about this boy who’s come from the sky! Not sure whether this is going to be more magical realism or straight-up fantasy, but I’m definitely picking it up either way!

Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Published on: 16th November 2021
Genres: Sci Fi
Goodreads

In Adrian Tchaikovsky's Elder Race, a junior anthropologist on a distant planet must help the locals he has sworn to study to save a planet from an unbeatable foe.

Lynesse is the lowly Fourth Daughter of the queen, and always getting in the way.
But a demon is terrorizing the land, and now she’s an adult (albeit barely) and although she still gets in the way, she understands that the only way to save her people is to invoke the pact between her family and the Elder sorcerer who has inhabited the local tower for as long as her people have lived here (though none in living memory has approached it).

But Elder Nyr isn’t a sorcerer, and he is forbidden to help, for his knowledge of science tells him the threat cannot possibly be a demon…

{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2021-11-15T07:23:00+00:00", "description": "Boys from the stars and girls from the woods are among this week's FOUR fab new books!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/must-have-monday-59-2\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "Elder Race", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Adrian Tchaikovsky", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siavahda", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": false, "bestRating": "5" }}

I spent a long time wanting to be an anthropologist when I grew up, and I love it when they appear in SFF! I don’t love the trope of non-industrialised culture thinks science = magic, but when it’s done well it can be really interesting. I have my fingers crossed!

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

The post Must-Have Monday #60 appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

Must-Have Monday #59

The publishing world is definitely slowing down as we approach the end of the year, but quality > quantity! This week there are just FOUR releases-of-interest, but they all sound pretty damn awesome!

You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo
Representation: Queer MCs
Published on: 16th November 2021
Genres: Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Goodreads

Farscape meets The Great British Bake Off in this fantastic space opera You Sexy Thing from former SFWA President, Cat Rambo.

Just when they thought they were out...

TwiceFar station is at the edge of the known universe, and that's just how Niko Larson, former Admiral in the Grand Military of the Hive Mind, likes it.

Retired and finally free of the continual war of conquest, Niko and the remnants of her former unit are content to spend the rest of their days working at the restaurant they built together, The Last Chance.

But, some wars can't ever be escaped, and unlike the Hive Mind, some enemies aren't content to let old soldiers go. Niko and her crew are forced onto a sentient ship convinced that it is being stolen and must survive the machinations of a sadistic pirate king if they even hope to keep the dream of The Last Chance alive.

{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2021-11-15T07:23:00+00:00", "description": "Boys from the stars and girls from the woods are among this week's FOUR fab new books!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/must-have-monday-59-2\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "You Sexy Thing", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cat Rambo", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siavahda", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": false, "bestRating": "5" }}

This has been described as whimsical and fun and silly, with sci fi foodie vibes, so you can bet I’m going to be snatching it up! And if you’re still wondering whether you want to, you can read an excerpt from the book over here!

Briar Girls by Rebecca Kim Wells
Representation: Bi/pansexual MC, sapphic love interest, nonbinary secondary characters, sapphic trans secondary character
Published on: 16th November 2021
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Goodreads

The Cruel Prince meets A Curse So Dark and Lonely in this epic reimagining of “The Sleeping Beauty” that follows a teen girl on a quest to wake a sleeping princess in an enchanted forest, while searching for the truth behind her own deadly curse.

Lena has a secret: the touch of her skin can kill. Cursed by a witch before she was born, Lena has always lived in fear and isolation. But after a devastating mistake, she and her father are forced to flee to a village near the Silence, a mysterious forest with a reputation for luring people into the trees, never to be seen again…​

Until the night an enigmatic girl stumbles out of the Silence and into Lena’s sheltered world. Miranda comes from the Gather, a city in the forest brimming with magic. She is on a quest to wake a sleeping princess believed to hold the key to liberating the Gather from its tyrannical ruler—and she offers Lena a bargain. If Lena assists her on her journey, Miranda will help her break the curse.

Mesmerized by Miranda and her promise of a new life, Lena jumps at the chance. But the deeper into the Silence she goes, the more she suspects she’s been lied to—about her family’s history, her curse, and her future. As the shadows close in, Lena must choose who to trust and decide whether it’s more important to have freedom…or power.

{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2021-11-15T07:23:00+00:00", "description": "Boys from the stars and girls from the woods are among this week's FOUR fab new books!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/must-have-monday-59-2\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "Briar Girls", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rebecca Kim Wells", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siavahda", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": false, "bestRating": "5" }}

Wells is the author of the Shatter the Sky duology, which was F/F + dragons in a queernorm world, so you can bet I’m pouncing on her new book! Enchanted!forest stories hold a special place in my heart, and this one sounds like it’s going to be marvelous.

Starling by Isabel Strychacz
Published on: 16th November 2021
Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Goodreads

Edward Scissorhands meets When the Moon Was Ours in this enchanting, lushly romantic novel about two teen sisters who fight to protect the mysterious stranger who literally fell from the stars and into their backyard.

Strange things have always happened in the small town of Darling…

​Yet Delta Wilding and her sister Bee are familiar with the peculiar. Raised by an eccentric father always on the hunt for the spectacular, they’re used to following weather patterns that twirl onto strange paths, a car that refuses to play any artist but one, and living in a sentient house with whims of its own. But when a mysterious boy falls from the stars into the woods behind the Wilding sisters’ farmhouse, nothing can prepare them for the extraordinary turn their lives are about to take.

Extraordinary, and dangerous.

Starling Rust is not from this world and his presence in the Wilding home brings attention. As the terrified locals, Delta’s ex-boyfriend, and the unscrupulous mayor descend onto the Wilding’s home, both Delta and her sister go to incredible lengths to protect their mystical visitor—especially as Delta’s growing feelings for Starling could prove the greatest risk of all.

Filled with atmospheric prose and lush and vivid descriptions, Starling has the spectacular waiting with every flip of the page.

{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2021-11-15T07:23:00+00:00", "description": "Boys from the stars and girls from the woods are among this week's FOUR fab new books!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/must-have-monday-59-2\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "Starling", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Isabel Strychacz", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siavahda", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": false, "bestRating": "5" }}

I haven’t heard a lot of hype for this book, which is a shame, because it sounds pretty unique and wonderful! I love stories about stars even more than I do enchanted forests, and I very much want to know more about this boy who’s come from the sky! Not sure whether this is going to be more magical realism or straight-up fantasy, but I’m definitely picking it up either way!

Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Published on: 16th November 2021
Genres: Sci Fi
Goodreads

In Adrian Tchaikovsky's Elder Race, a junior anthropologist on a distant planet must help the locals he has sworn to study to save a planet from an unbeatable foe.

Lynesse is the lowly Fourth Daughter of the queen, and always getting in the way.
But a demon is terrorizing the land, and now she’s an adult (albeit barely) and although she still gets in the way, she understands that the only way to save her people is to invoke the pact between her family and the Elder sorcerer who has inhabited the local tower for as long as her people have lived here (though none in living memory has approached it).

But Elder Nyr isn’t a sorcerer, and he is forbidden to help, for his knowledge of science tells him the threat cannot possibly be a demon…

{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2021-11-15T07:23:00+00:00", "description": "Boys from the stars and girls from the woods are among this week's FOUR fab new books!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/must-have-monday-59-2\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "Elder Race", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Adrian Tchaikovsky", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siavahda", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": false, "bestRating": "5" }}

I spent a long time wanting to be an anthropologist when I grew up, and I love it when they appear in SFF! I don’t love the trope of non-industrialised culture thinks science = magic, but when it’s done well it can be really interesting. I have my fingers crossed!

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

The post Must-Have Monday #59 appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

DNF Round-Up

Two books I couldn’t stand, and one that I loved!

The Carnival Of Ash by Tom Beckerlegge
Published on: 15th March 2022
ISBN: 1786185008
Goodreads

Solaris Lead title for Spring 2022.

An extravagant, lyrical fantasy about a city of poets and librarians. A city that never was.

Cadenza is the City of Words, a city run by poets, its skyline dominated by the steepled towers of its libraries, its heart beating to the stamp and thrum of the printing presses in the Printing Quarter.

Carlo Mazzoni, a young wordsmith arrives at the city gates intent on making his name as the bells ring out with the news of the death of the city’s poet-leader. Instead, he finds himself embroiled with the intrigues of a city in turmoil, the looming prospect of war with their rival Venice ever-present. A war that threatens not only to destroy Cadenza but remove it from history altogether…

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

{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2021-11-14T08:07:00+00:00", "description": "Two books I couldn't stand, and one I loved!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/dnf-round-up\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "The Carnival Of Ash", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Beckerlegge", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "1786185008" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siavahda", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": 1, "bestRating": "5" }}

I was so excited for The Carnival of Ash; what booklover doesn’t want to read about the magic of books and writing? Unfortunately, this is only SFF in the sense that it’s an alternate history; there isn’t any actual magic (or at least, there wasn’t in the parts I read. I did DNF it; there’s a possibility there’s magic later. But from other early reviews, I doubt it.) Instead we have a fictional city in vaguely Medieval (or maybe Renaissance?) Italy, which is stuffed full of libraries and poets, and yet doesn’t really seem to be about books. It’s very pretentious, very male-gaze-y, very concerned with the egos of male poets and politicians. The prose isn’t anything I would consider lyrical or beautiful; it’s very thick, very heavy, so that reading it felt like an exhausting chore. I didn’t enjoy reading it, and every time I put the book down, I didn’t want to pick it up again. Distinctly unimpressed.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess (The Celestial Kingdom Duology, #1) by Sue Lynn Tan
Representation: Chinese-coded cast
Published on: 11th January 2022
Genres: Fantasy, High Fantasy
ISBN: 0063031302
Goodreads

A captivating debut fantasy inspired by the legend of Chang'e, the Chinese moon goddess, in which a young woman’s quest to free her mother pits her against the most powerful immortal in the realm.

Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the feared Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind.

Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the emperor's son, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the prince.

To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies across the earth and skies. But when treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream—striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess begins an enchanting, romantic duology which weaves ancient Chinese mythology into a sweeping adventure of immortals and magic—where love vies with honor, dreams are fraught with betrayal, and hope emerges triumphant.

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

{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2021-11-14T08:07:00+00:00", "description": "Two books I couldn't stand, and one I loved!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/dnf-round-up\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "Daughter of the Moon Goddess (The Celestial Kingdom Duology, #1)", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sue Lynn Tan", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "0063031302" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siavahda", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": 2.5, "bestRating": "5" }}

Sigh. I guess I’m being a special snowflake again, because every other review I’ve seen for Daughter of the Moon Goddess is glowing, and I…just can’t see what everyone else is seeing. (Honestly, some of the other early reviews have made me question whether I’d read the same book.)

This is supposed to be Adult, but it reads like YA, and not especially good YA, either: generic, meh YA. Everything was disappointingly simplistic; the prose, the worldbuilding, the ridiculously convenient way that things fall into place for the heroine. Of course she ends up as the crown prince’s companion through virtually no effort; of course he chooses her as said companion, and manipulates the challenges on her behalf, based on an impression she made during a five-minute conversation. Of course he is kind and good despite his parents being unmitigatedly terrible (how??? where did he get all his virtues, who did he learn them from??? insert shrug here). Of course Xingyin is immediately so good with a bow the imperial soldiers watch her train – because her dad is a legendary archer, I guess, and that’s definitely genetic.

Even the magic system is oddly simple, mostly coming down to affinities for Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. I was surprised, and disappointed, that Tan chose to base her magic system on the classical Greek elements rather than the Chinese ones (Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal), although in fairness she does add an additional two elements, Life and Mind. But the whole thing of, people who live by the sea are best with Water, by forests are best with Earth… That’s just simplistic and dull again. And the literal demonization of those with Mind powers was so obvious it had me eye-rolling at the page. It’s so in-your-face that it’s like a big flag waving ‘this will be plot-relevant shortly!!!’

And good gods, does anyone really need that many info-dumps? Info-dumps that repeat previous info-dumps?

These are all things that I can live with if they’re balanced by really beautiful prose, or lush, unique worldbuilding, or interesting and unusual characters. But I didn’t find any of that here. Despite drawing from Chinese mythology, Daughter of the Moon Goddess felt incredibly generic to me. I DNF-ed it at 22%, and it’s completely possible that it gets much better later, but I felt absolutely no desire to keep reading and find out.

The Lost Dreamer by Lizz Huerta
Representation: Mesoamerican-coded cast
Published on: 1st March 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Secondary World Fantasy
ISBN: 1250754852
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.

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

{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2021-11-14T08:07:00+00:00", "description": "Two books I couldn't stand, and one I loved!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/dnf-round-up\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "The Lost Dreamer", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lizz Huerta", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "1250754852" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siavahda", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": 4, "bestRating": "5" }}

The Lost Dreamer is not a DNF-forever; instead, I’m DNFing it for now. Because I’m crossing my fingers that my main issue with it is a problem with the ARC rather than the finished book.

The worldbuilding is absolutely wonderful, and I dearly love that it’s drawing on Mesoamerican mythology and culture rather than generic-Medieval Europe. There are so many cool things – like the Ilkan, the warrior-women who gain jaguar rosettes on their skin when they get angry or upset, complete with claws and sharp teeth! Or the fact that hummingbirds can apparently move between the Waking World and the Dreaming at will! And the whole book giving a great big middle finger to white beauty standards – instead emphasising and celebrating brown skin and thick bodies, full lips and wider noses. I LOVE THAT. ALL THE YAY.

The writing is nothing to sneer at either – maybe a little simplistic, but still lovely, with just enough description to feel lush without overwhelming readers who are wary of purple prose. I adored absolutely everything about the Dreaming itself, which is full of beauty and whimsy, even if there’s dangers in it too. The spirits who inhabit the Dreaming – and can perceive and interact with the Waking World – are fantastic; I love the set-up, their relationship with humans in general and the Dreamers in specific, and the system of trading offerings and stories back and forth. And that’s all without going into the various different cultures the story introduces, which are also brilliant and hugely varied and distinct. The world(s) Huerta has created are incredible, basically!

And I fell in love with the main characters very quickly; two teenage Dreamers living very different lives, both of which you really can’t help but sympathise and empathise with. I started rooting for each one pretty much the moment I was introduced to them. That doesn’t happen to me very often.

The story itself, the plot, is also a delight; I suppose if you zoom out on it, it follows the general arc of stories we’ve seen before, but it feels unique and unpredictable. I freaking treasure a book whose ending I can’t predict, okay? And I really don’t know where this one is going, or how everything will be resolved or what that resolution will look like.

So why am I DNFing it? It’s hard to put into words – the only way I can describe it is that the rhythm of the writing is off. The paragraphs don’t break where they need to, which is the kind of thing that probably won’t bother literally anyone else on the planet, but which is the equivalent of putting itching powder in my clothes, for me. But! I am extremely hopeful that this is an issue with the ARC rather than the book, especially because there are also scene breaks where they are clearly not supposed to be. So the ARC definitely has formatting issues, and I’m hoping this thing with the paragraphs, and thus the rhythm of the prose, is a part of that.

The TL;DR version: I’m putting the ARC aside, but I have the book preordered and will be giving it another go once it’s published! And if it’s not an issue with the ARC, it’s still something that probably won’t bother any other reader, so I encourage you to give it a go when it’s released!

In short: put Lost Dreamer on your tbr immediately, but take a looong look at Carnival of Ash and Daughter of the Moon Goddess before giving them your time.

The post DNF Round-Up appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

Enchanting Indeed: A Far Wilder Magic by Alison Saft

A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft
Representation: Jewish-coded MC, minor M/M and sapphic characters
Published on: 8th March 2022
Genres: Fantasy
ISBN: 1250623650
Goodreads

When Margaret Welty spots the legendary hala, the last living mythical creature, she knows the Halfmoon Hunt will soon follow. Whoever is able to kill the hala will earn fame and riches, and unlock an ancient magical secret. If Margaret wins the hunt, it may finally bring her mother home. While Margaret is the best sharpshooter in town, only teams of two can register, and she needs an alchemist.

Weston Winters isn’t an alchemist--yet. Fired from every apprenticeship he's landed, his last chance hinges on Master Welty taking him in. But when Wes arrives at Welty Manor, he finds only Margaret and her bloodhound Trouble. Margaret begrudgingly allows him to stay, but on one condition: he must join the hunt with her.

Although they make an unlikely team, Wes is in awe of the girl who has endured alone on the outskirts of a town that doesn’t want her, in this creaking house of ghosts and sorrow. And even though Wes disrupts every aspect of her life, Margaret is drawn to him. He, too, knows what it's like to be an outsider. As the hunt looms closer and tensions rise, Margaret and Wes uncover dark magic that could be the key to winning the hunt - if they survive that long.

In A Far Wilder Magic, Allison Saft has written an achingly tender love story set against a deadly hunt in an atmospheric, rich fantasy world that will sweep you away.

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

{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2021-11-12T08:14:00+00:00", "description": "Gorgeous prose telling a soft, deep story.", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/enchanting-indeed-a-far-wilder-magic-by-alison-saft\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "A Far Wilder Magic", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Allison Saft", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "1250623650" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siavahda", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": 4.5, "bestRating": "5" }} Highlights

~alchemy > electricity
~a woman who can shoot is a woman to treasure
~the quest for a magic bullet
~Feels that will make you ache
~Trouble is anything but

It’s funny, I came very close to DNF-ing this book. As a general rule of thumb, if I don’t care about how a book’s going to end by the 20-25% mark, I put it down – there are so many books to read, I just don’t have time to waste on ones I’m not invested in.

And it’s true that at 25%, I really didn’t care very much about where the story was going – even though it’s around that point that the real action starts, aka the hunt for the hala. I liked the characters, but I wasn’t interested in them. And I wasn’t super enthusiastic to read about what is functionally a fox hunt, because I’m that person who thinks hunting that isn’t for food is despicable.

But.

I wasn’t sure about DNF-ing A Far Wilder Magic. I hesitated. I told myself, ‘I’ll just read one more page, to make sure.’ Which turned into ‘Just one more chapter.’ And then ‘…just another chapter, for real this time.’

Reader, I did not DNF this book.

And the primary reason for that is that the prose is so beautiful. I did eventually become very invested in the story and the characters, but the prose held me hypnotised long enough for that to happen. It’s not purple, but it is very descriptive, and Saft comes up with beautiful similes and metaphors, with images that perfectly evoke the very specific vibe she’s going for in a given sentence. It’s gorgeous and hypnotic and more than occasionally breathtaking.

Every now and again, a white-capped wave rears up, snarling, and breaks on the rocks–just enough bite to prove it’s not a tamed creature.

In the world Saft has created, alchemy is very real and very respectable – even if it is as much magic as science. In fact, it’s so respectable that only alchemists can become politicians. I’ll admit I never understood that detail, but humans arrange a lot of things in ways that don’t make sense in the real world, too, so I was willing to accept it and move on. Besides, what’s more important is that it means that Wes, one of our main characters, must become an accredited alchemist if he wants to become the kind of politician who does real good with real change – something that’s incredibly important, and urgent, given the way his family and their fellow Banvish immigrants, followers of the Sumic faith, are treated in the country of New Albion. But due to what reads like learning difficulties – I think in our world Wes might be diagnosed with something like ADHD? – he’s never managed to complete an apprentiship. His last chance is to convince Master Welty to take him on.

Margaret Welty, on the other hand, is no alchemist, despite being the daughter of a very famous one. The only thing she’s interested in is a quiet life, and somehow earning the approval or even just the attention of her famous, but emotionally neglectful, mother. Margaret is an impressive sharpshooter, skilled hunter, and has taught herself to need no one but her dog Trouble and her horse Shimmer. The last thing she wants is Wes turning up on her doorstep – especially while her mother’s away.

And yet.

They’re the same height, nearly nose to nose. Wes decides this means she is tall rather than the alternative.

Saft has pulled various bits of worldbuilding from our world’s history, but with extreme precision: New Albion can easily be read as a stand-in for late-1800s/early-1900s America; the Banvish are very obviously inspired by the Irish immigrants from that time period; the Sumic faith is incredibly similar to Catholicism in its practices; Yu’adir are clearly Jews. Although all three of the religions we see in this book are concerned with a single Creator and differing views on the creatures known as demiurges, the prejudices and stereotypes thrown at Sumics are identical to those that were thrown at Catholics, as the ones about the Yu’adir are interchangeable for the awfulness still said about Jews and Judaism. For example, idiots claim that the Banvish will never be loyal to New Albion because their loyalty belongs to their far-off Pope; this is exactly the crap that was spewed about the Irish immigrants who made it to the States. Similarly, many new Albians believe the Yu’adir secretly run and manipulate the world’s finances via some elaborate conspiracy – where have we heard that before?

“Western Winters, huh? You’re sure you didn’t find him in a children’s book?”

On a more positive note, Saft’s world is a queernorm one – although neither Margaret nor Wes express any queer feelings themselves, queer characters are casually included, and it’s clear no one bats an eye. Men and women also seem to be societal equals, which was a surprise and a delight – it feels like I’ve read very few gender-equal stories recently.

This is all important – the religious conflicts are the main reasons people turn on Margaret and Wes when the two of them join the hunt – but I never felt overwhelmed by it. Saft doesn’t believe in info-dumps or lecturing her readers. It feels like you absorb the worldbuilding almost by osmosis, just by holding the book; that’s how deftly the information is imparted, how well it’s woven into the story.

Now that is the first thing he’s said that makes sense. All dogs deserve veneration, maybe even canonization.

And it’s a hugely, massively character-driven story. The hunt for the hala is not really what this story is about – although even Margaret and Wes think it is! But really, A Far Wilder Magic is a love story – and yet I wouldn’t call it a capital-R Romance either. Romance can be deep and intricate too, but it’s fundamentally escapist – it’s not a real Romance if it doesn’t have a happy ending – and A Far Wilder Magic doesn’t feel quite like escapism. It’s polished to perfection – but it feels raw. It’s gentle, even tender – then feral and painful. It’s about so many kinds of hurt and unfairness and prejudice – religious and racial, and to a lesser extent classist and…whatever it’s called when you look down on those who struggle with academics.

Her hair tumbles from beneath her cloche hat in curls, as rich and round as chestnuts, and pearls drip from her ears like raindrops from the lip of a petal.

I really don’t know how to describe this book. Wes and Margaret both undergo huge character development between the start of the book and its end, which I adored, and thought was done extremely well. They both have their own baggage. They both have sharp edges – even if Wes’ glitter – and yet, they find a way to fit together. Without ever intending it.

she watched him fall in love with her at the end of a gun.

And I really can’t talk about it much without spoilers, but I loved how Margaret, who is tough and prickly and needs no one…how the narrative allowed her to be soft, in the end. That she didn’t have to want to change the world. The quiet message that less dramatic, quieter dreams and desires are just as valuable as big loud world-changing ones. That it’s okay to not want to be a leader, a pioneer, a trailblazer. I don’t think we get that in SFF very often. SFF is so concerned with big, dramatic stories that we lose the quieter ones, sometimes, and Saft has…brought that back. That thread of something quiet and warm.

I hope we can hold onto it.

A Far Wilder Magic is a book about hurts, and it’s a book about healing. It’s about letting no one else define who you are. It’s about family, and what that’s supposed to look like and be like. And A Far Wilder Magic is all of this, threaded through with surprising humour, written in poetry, and soft even when it’s sharp.

It’s an absolute knock-out, and you really need to read it.

So make sure it’s on your 2022 list!

The post Enchanting Indeed: A Far Wilder Magic by Alison Saft appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

I Can’t Wait For…The Scratch Daughters by Hannah Abigail Clarke

Can’t-Wait Wednesdayis 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 Scratch Daughters by Hannah Abigail Clarke!

The Scratch Daughters (Scapegracers, #2) by Hannah Abigail Clarke
Representation: Lesbian MC, queer Black secondary character, bisexual Asian-American secondary character, secondary M/M
Published on: 21st December 2021
Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Goodreads

It's been a wild year for Sideways Pike. After forming a coven with the three most popular girls in school and developing a huge crush on a mysterious stranger named Madeline, Sideways' Halloween was ruined by finding out that Madeline wasn't trying to make out with her, but to steal Sideways' specter, the force that gives witches the ability to cast magic spells. From Madeline's perspective, it's not her fault: after a doomed relationship with one of the creepy near-identical Chantry Boys turned into a witch hunt, they took her specter, so, really, she's only borrowing Sideways' until she can recover her own and punish the Chantrys.

The specter-less Sideways is in a horrid, distracted mood, unable to do magic and with part of her consciousness tied to Madeline's, on the lam as she uses Sideways' specter to hunt Chantrys. The other Scapegracers are much jollier, heading into the winter holidays having set up shop as curse crafters for girls in their school who've been done wrong by guys. When Sideways—through Madeline—gets a flash of how to track down both her foes at once, she asks the Scapegracers to help entrap them, only to be told her plan is unsafe and unwise. So if she's going to find Madeline, her only ally is Mr. Scratch, the inky book demon currently inhabiting her as life support until she gets her spectre back.

Sideways is used to being an outcast loner, and is desperate to do magic again, so she's not going to let little barriers like facing an betraying crush and a family of six demented witch hunters practically alone stop her. But she and her trusty stolen bike are in for a bumpy ride...

{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2021-11-10T20:34:02+00:00", "description": "The book I have spent all of 2021 pining for!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/i-cant-wait-for-the-scratch-daughters-by-hannah-abigail-clarke\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "The Scratch Daughters (Scapegracers, #2)", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hannah Abigail Clarke", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siavahda", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": false, "bestRating": "5" }}

Release day is coming up fast – this might be the first 2021 release I’ve featured for Can’t Wait Wednesday, actually – but it really can’t come soon enough! The Scapegracers was one of my best-beloved books of last year, and I’ve spent all of this year pining for the sequel. I cannot get enough of Clarke’s insanely delicious, gorgeous prose, and I’m in love with every single one of the characters, and this is the first book I’ve ever read that actually, really and truly, gets magic; gets what it’s like to feel it and use it, and captures all of that so superbly. And everything Scapegracers has to say about queerness and being a girl – all the different ways of being a girl – with all the fem-friendship feels instead of all the Not Like Other Girls nonsense – it’s just *chef’s kiss*

The publishing date for Scratch Daughters was pushed back a few times, but it’s currently slated to be released on the Winter Solstice, and honestly – that’s just freakishly, epically perfect. It’s correct. Of course it’s coming out on the longest night of the year; the night after which the days get longer, the nights get shorter, the world fills up with light again. (At least, for us in the Northern Hemisphere.) The tagline for Scratch Daughters is It’s gonna be another dark night of the soul, and yes! Yes it is! But there will be LIGHT because we will finally have MORE SCAPEGRACERS and that is simply THE BEST THING.

If you’ve somehow missed The Scapegracers, go read it, and then preorder Scratch Daughters! And if you’ve already preordered…well, there might just be time for another Scapegracers reread if we’re quick!

The post I Can’t Wait For…The Scratch Daughters by Hannah Abigail Clarke appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

Must-Have Monday #59

I have SIX books to introduce to you today, ranging from wives solving murders together, to a pink bear, and a mysterious Bluebeard-esque thriller!

A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger
Representation: Asexual Indigenous American MC
Published on: 9th November 2021
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Goodreads

Nina is a Lipan girl in our world. She's always felt there was something more out there. She still believes in the old stories.

Oli is a cottonmouth kid, from the land of spirits and monsters. Like all cottonmouths, he's been cast from home. He's found a new one on the banks of the bottomless lake.

Nina and Oli have no idea the other exists. But a catastrophic event on Earth, and a strange sickness that befalls Oli's best friend, will drive their worlds together in ways they haven't been in centuries.

And there are some who will kill to keep them apart.

Darcie Little Badger introduced herself to the world with Elatsoe. In A Snake Falls to Earth, she draws on traditional Lipan Apache storytelling structure to weave another unforgettable tale of monsters, magic, and family. It is not to be missed.

{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2021-11-08T19:16:17+00:00", "description": "SIX books releasing this week, including star-magic, a horse-race, and time-travelling butterflies!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/must-have-monday-59\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "A Snake Falls to Earth", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Darcie Little Badger", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siavahda", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": false, "bestRating": "5" }}

The ebook, at least, seems to be releasing tomorrow, although A Snake Falls to Earth won’t be available in hardcover until a bit later this month. I think? But this sounds like it’s going to be really lovely – unsurprising, since Badger’s debut Elatsoe was seriously beautiful. (THE WORLDBUILDING! *swoons*) Can’t wait to check it out!

Murder Most Actual by Alexis Hall
Representation: F/F, Black sapphic MC
Published on: 9th November 2021
Genres: Queer Protagonists
Goodreads

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

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

{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2021-11-08T19:16:17+00:00", "description": "SIX books releasing this week, including star-magic, a horse-race, and time-travelling butterflies!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/must-have-monday-59\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "Murder Most Actual", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexis Hall", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siavahda", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": false, "bestRating": "5" }}

Murder Most Actual is a Kobo Original, which means you won’t be able to buy it except through the Barnes & Noble e-store, and you’ll need a Kobo, or the Kobo app, to read it. (The app is free to download and ought to work on any smartphone/tablet/laptop etc; I haven’t heard anything about Murder Most Actual getting a paper edition.) But it’s a new Alexis Hall book, which means it will definitely be worth the extra effort!

Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente
Published on: 9th November 2021
Goodreads

A terrifying new thriller from bestseller Catherynne M. Valente, for fans of Gone Girl and Spinning Silver

Sophia was made for him. Her perfect husband. She can feel it in her bones. He is perfect. Their home together in Arcadia Gardens is perfect. Everything is perfect.

It's just that he's away so much. So often. He works so hard. She misses him. And he misses her. He says he does, so it must be true. He is the perfect husband and everything is perfect.

But sometimes Sophia wonders about things. Strange things. Dark things. The look on her husband's face when he comes back from a long business trip. The questions he will not answer. The locked basement she is never allowed to enter. And whenever she asks the neighbors, they can't quite meet her gaze...

But everything is perfect. Isn't it?

{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2021-11-08T19:16:17+00:00", "description": "SIX books releasing this week, including star-magic, a horse-race, and time-travelling butterflies!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/must-have-monday-59\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "Comfort Me With Apples", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Catherynne M. Valente", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siavahda", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": false, "bestRating": "5" }}

No question, this is the book I’m most excited to read this month. IT’S CATHERYNNE VALENTE, THAT IS SERIOUSLY ALL I NEED TO KNOW. I have been scrupulous about avoiding any possible spoilers, so all I really know is that it’s a thriller, with some Bluebeard vibes. But it could be Valente’s shopping list and I’d still have had it preordered a year ago. GIMME! *grabby hands*

[image error]The Undertakers (Murder & Magic #2) by Nicole Glover
Representation: Black cast
Published on: 9th November 2021
Goodreads

Nicole Glover delivers the second book in her exciting Murder & Magic series of historical fantasy novels featuring Hetty Rhodes and her husband, Benjy, magic practitioners and detectives living in post–Civil War Philadelphia.

Nothing bothers Hetty and Benjy Rhodes more than a case where the answers, motives, and the murder itself feel a bit too neat. Raimond Duval, a victim of one of the many fires that have erupted recently in Philadelphia, is officially declared dead after the accident, but Hetty and Benjy’s investigation points to a powerful Fire Company known to let homes in the Black community burn to the ground. Before long, another death breathes new life into the Duval investigation: Raimond’s son, Valentine, is also found dead.

Finding themselves with the dubious honor of taking on Valentine Duval as their first major funeral, it becomes clear that his passing was intentional. Valentine and his father’s deaths are connected, and the recent fires plaguing the city might be more linked to recent community events than Hetty and Benji originally thought.

The Undertakers continues the adventures of murder and magic, where even the most powerful enchantments can’t always protect you from the ghosts of the past . . .  

{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2021-11-08T19:16:17+00:00", "description": "SIX books releasing this week, including star-magic, a horse-race, and time-travelling butterflies!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/must-have-monday-59\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "The Undertakers (Murder & Magic #2)", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nicole Glover", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siavahda", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": false, "bestRating": "5" }}

This is the second book in the Murder & Magic series, so I wouldn’t pick this up if you haven’t read the first one yet – but if you haven’t read the first one yet, you should! It’s post-Civil War USA with Black people looking out for each other, using secret star-magic. For the magic system alone, you ought to be reading these.

The Reckless Kind by Carly Heath
Representation: Deaf asexual MC, disabled achillean MC with depression, achillean MC, M/M, queerplatonic M/M/F
Published on: 9th November 2021
Genres: Queer Protagonists
Goodreads

A genre-defying debut, this queer historical YA centers a wild and reckless trio who fly in the face of small town tradition—full of compassion, love, and determination to live the lives of their choosing.

It's Norway 1904, and Asta Hedstrom doesn't want to marry her odious betrothed, Nils—even though a domestic future is all her mother believes she's suited for, on account of her single-sided deafness, unconventional appearance, and even stranger notions. Asta would rather spend her life performing in the village theater with her friends and fellow outcasts: her best friend Gunnar Fuglestad and his secret boyfriend, wealthy Erlend Fournier.

But the situation takes a dire turn when Nils lashes out in jealousy—gravely injuring Gunnar. Shunning marriage for good, Asta moves with Gunnar and Erlend to their secluded cabin above town. With few ties left with their families, they have one shot at gaining enough kroner to secure their way of life: win the village's annual horse race.

{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2021-11-08T19:16:17+00:00", "description": "SIX books releasing this week, including star-magic, a horse-race, and time-travelling butterflies!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/must-have-monday-59\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "The Reckless Kind", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carly Heath", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siavahda", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": false, "bestRating": "5" }}

Historical fiction rather than outright SFF, but this managed to make it onto my tbr anyway! I have no idea how a horse race is supposed to resolve things for this queerplatonic triad, but I am VERY INVESTED in finding out!

Capturing the Butterfly by Sharon K. Grosh
Representation: Japanese MC
Published on: 11th November 2021
Genres: Fantasy

Two humans, from different places and times, find themselves together in the cave of an unlikely pink bear. All three, Mina, Claudius, and Pink the bear, yearn to change history, both personal and worldview.

Claudius wants to go back in time and marry his sweetheart, who married Alois Hitler, Adolph Hitler's father. Mina stood 500 feet away from the Hiroshima bomb and woke to find herself in another body, in another place, five years later without her baby, Saki. Pink grieves the loss of his mother and his sister, having spent four years of hibernation without them.

This small book holds a big story. The three together start on an unprecedented journey, covering years and lives, while waiting for time to pass and their circumstances to make sense in a remote cave, the home of a pink bear.

{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2021-11-08T19:16:17+00:00", "description": "SIX books releasing this week, including star-magic, a horse-race, and time-travelling butterflies!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/must-have-monday-59\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "Capturing the Butterfly", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sharon K. Grosh", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siavahda", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": false, "bestRating": "5" }}

I came across this while browsing BookHype, and…honestly I know nothing about it but what’s in the description. As of this moment, it doesn’t have a Goodreads page for me to link you to, but it’s available for preorder from everyone I checked, and I remain in love with the bizarre but beautiful cover!

The post Must-Have Monday #59 appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.

I Can’t Wait For…A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland

Can’t-Wait Wednesdayis 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 A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland!

Cover art by Martina FačkováA Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland
Published on: 21st June 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Goodreads

Kadou, the shy prince of Arasht, finds himself at odds with one of the most powerful ambassadors at court—the body-father of the queen’s new child—in an altercation which results in his humiliation.

To prove his loyalty to the queen, his sister, Kadou takes responsibility for the investigation of a break-in at one of their guilds, with the help of his newly appointed bodyguard, the coldly handsome Evemer, who seems to tolerate him at best. In Arasht, where princes can touch-taste precious metals with their fingers and myth runs side by side with history, counterfeiting is heresy, and the conspiracy they discover could cripple the kingdom’s financial standing and bring about its ruin.

{ "@context":"https://schema.org", "@type":"Review", "datePublished": "2021-11-03T19:10:29+00:00", "description": "Choose your favourite grabby-hands emoji and insert here, please!", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Every Book a Doorway" }, "url": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/i-cant-wait-for-a-taste-of-gold-and-iron-by-alexandra-rowland\/", "itemReviewed": { "@type": "Book", "name": "A Taste of Gold and Iron", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexandra Rowland", "sameAs": "" }, "isbn": "" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siavahda", "sameAs": "https:\/\/everybookadoorway.com\/" }, "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": false, "bestRating": "5" }}

I was an ardent follower of Rowland’s even before they published their first book, A Conspiracy of Truths – they’re a fun and on-point blogger and I heartily recommend following them – but Conspiracy absolutely put them on my auto-buy list! So I would be grabbing a copy of A Taste of Gold and Iron even if all we knew about it was who wrote it – but we do know more, and all of it sounds incredible!

Like, pure wonderful wish-fulfilment. I love, love, LOVE it when authors use AO3 tags to describe their books, and Rowland’s tags for Taste are enough to make me go heart-eyes;

exquisitely beautiful prince/hot stoic bodyguardchronic anxietyoaths of fealtywashing each other’s hair and talking about ethicsfound familywhat we owe each otherenemies-to-loverskissing to avert suspicionhurt/comfortslow burnthere’s only one bed

All of that on top of a really unique magical ability, a queernorm setting, and Rowland’s fantastic prose? I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS. SO MUCH.

(And EXCUSE ME??? THAT COVER??? There is such a thing as too gorgeous, you know!!!)

I already have my copy preordered, and so should you – but if June feels like it’s too far away, you’ve got Rowland’s other books to catch up on while you wait!

The post I Can’t Wait For…A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland appeared first on Every Book a Doorway.