A new favorite book!! Like a continued conversation of C.S. Lewis' Narnia but with some much-needed modern updates and encapsulating the most importanA new favorite book!! Like a continued conversation of C.S. Lewis' Narnia but with some much-needed modern updates and encapsulating the most important bit: the joy of portal fantasy.
As boys, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in a vast West Virginia state forest, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they’d gone or how they’d survived. Fifteen years after their miraculous homecoming, Rafe is a reclusive artist who still bears scars inside and out but has no memory of what happened during those months. Meanwhile, Jeremy has become a famed missing persons’ investigator. With his uncanny abilities, he is the one person who can help vet tech Emilie Wendell find her sister, who vanished in the very same forest as Rafe and Jeremy.
Sometimes, there are stories that come out of nowhere and knock you back on your feet in pure joy. The Lost Story was one of those tales for me.
I went into this novel with little to no expectations—it was my Book of the Month book club pick, and seemed like the best of the lot in a lackluster selection pool. So it was to my pleasant surprise that I found myself captivated by this fairytale of childhood escapades colliding with adult dreams.
If you were a Narnia kid, you've got to give this novel a try. (And, if you weren't a Narnia person for the religious reasons, rest assured that this story is a safe space for you too as religion is not a factor in this remake.)
The Lost Story is about two adult men coming together again after decades of separation and separate grief periods following a mysterious lost period of their childhood. It's also about an adult woman looking for her long-lost sister, who she never knew but has always mourned. And it's about "finding" in all of its forms. Finding your way, finding love, finding home, finding what was once lost.
Like all the best fairytales, this story isn't that deep yet hits all of the deep notes. We're not excavating Christianity like C.S. Lewis, and we're not trying to take any moral stance on anything. But we are coming to the meaning of love, and acceptance, and overcoming childhood traumas to discover inner peace.
I think it's best to go into this novel with little more than that as preparation—part of the magic is in the joy of experiencing this story for what it is.
However, please note there are some trigger warnings:(view spoiler)[ childhood abuse, parental abuse of father to child (not sexual), trauma from those experiences affecting the child as an adult, confronting your abuser, homophobia. (hide spoiler)]
I’m sobbing, what a beautiful story and what beautiful words I can't—
Me (Moth) is a novel told in verse, and I picked it up in early 2024 at my local I’m sobbing, what a beautiful story and what beautiful words I can't—
Me (Moth) is a novel told in verse, and I picked it up in early 2024 at my local Black-owned bookstore because it spoke to me on the shelf and I just... needed it. I find it's always worth it to follow that kind of bookstore-browsing urge.
(A small plug for that store—Socialight Society in Lansing, Michigan—because I love them and if you're looking for a shop to support with online sales or whatnot... Why not them!)
Like the other few novels in verse that I've read, I devoured this story in one sitting. It was poignant. It was heartrending. It was truly hopeful and truly devastating in equal measure. It also shook me to my core in a way that very, very few novels do these days.
I don't even want to summarize the book's blurb because I think the less you know, the better the reading experience.
I encourage readers to go into this slim novel with a few expectations:
1) This novel is about grief, depression, death, and healing. Tread cautiously and know yourself.
2) This story is Emotional. I sobbed for a good 10 minutes after finishing it.
3) There is magic in these words.
I hope more readers find solace and cathartic release in this tale. I didn't expect it to get this heavy—blame me, not the novel, as I always underestimate novels in verse—but it's the kind of story that needs to get heavy in order to showcase its true form.
From one classic film buff to another, this book was exactly my cup of tea. It's as campy and cliche as those classic early 1930s films and captures tFrom one classic film buff to another, this book was exactly my cup of tea. It's as campy and cliche as those classic early 1930s films and captures the soul of the iconic movies like its title's original, It Happened One Night.
Let's start this review from the end: my final thoughts and a reflection on the shockingly low average rating of this book by other readers. I'm really sad to see the low average. But I get it, I do. I think this novel took so many nuances from the classic movies it was referencing—and in such an one-the-nose AND somehow subtly organic way—that it looped from a level of clever referencing back onto itself with an over-the-top edge that appears to have turned off several readers. This novel captured the camp and cliches TOO well, and therefore it seems like a some readers see this romance as derivative, ridiculous, and not authentic. I am not trying to shame or call out anyone who didn't love this book, to each their own.)
As someone who's seen the movies that Lenker references in her afterword, I thought she nailed it. The soul of those movies and that era of filmmaking was captured in this novel—romanticized for the rom-com nature of the story, it's true, and omitting the period's racist ideals—and so It Happened One Fight felt like the best of fanfictions for themes and dialogues that I know so well.
Dialogue repetitive and themes over-dramatized? That was the early 1930s' jam!
Grandiose feelings and actions and constant external verbalizations of themes? This too was the era!
Joan Davis is a movie star, and a damned good actor, too. Unfortunately, Hollywood only seems to care when she stars alongside Dash Howard, Tinseltown's favorite leading man and a perpetual thorn in Joan's side. Davis and Dash, constantly together and constantly clashing—their onscreen chemistry leads to fantastic blowups on set, and their famous feud heightens each box office sale. It's a classic Hollywood setup, and Joan's tired of it.
So when Joan announces her engagement to Monty, another swoon-worthy Hollywood leading man, the LAST thing she expects is to find out that she's actually...already married? It turns out an onscreen marriage scene to Dash in an early film was much more legal than anyone thought. And somehow, a real marriage license made its way to a City Hall office.
Yep, that's right. Dash and Davis are actually husband and wife. And Joan is PISSED. (Dash's feelings are more on the humorous side, as he loves to see Joan spark with emotions.)
To fix this huge blunder, the two stars hightail it to Reno, where divorces are easier to grant after a quick 6-week residency. Their current film was already about a divorcee finding love on a remote ranch. A quick script rewrite and boom! Reno Rendezvous is ready for camera, set, action.
But six weeks is a long time to be that close together, and Joan and Dash are about to discover that their feelings might not be so simple after all. And they're already husband and wife, so... Cue some shenanigans on set and behind the scenes.
UGH. I loved this story. It was so much fun, and let's be honest: I did tear up there at the end. This romance was everything I was looking for in this setup, and the film buff in me enjoyed every reference. The characters were sweet, the plot was unique for the modern "illustrated cover romances" of today, and it was the perfect level of banter + slow burn + amusing setups.
I just think this novel is a lot of fun, folks, and the author did a superb job at honoring the source material and twisting it slightly for modern readers to enjoy without making the romance, the characters, or the setting feel too modern.
Come for the nod to the classics, stay for the nod to the classics. This is such a fun, lighthearted, and emotionally good time!
Tamsyn please stop running circles around me and reminding me that I’m just barely keeping up with you. I love it but it hurts.
Like all Muir masterpiTamsyn please stop running circles around me and reminding me that I’m just barely keeping up with you. I love it but it hurts.
Like all Muir masterpieces, this was madness and theatrical and I loved it. (Please write us a play someday, I’d travel to New Zealand to see it.)...more
Obsessed with this. There is nothing I love more than a hybrid-genre, convoluted, and dramatic mess of a book mixed with the occult and dark academia.Obsessed with this. There is nothing I love more than a hybrid-genre, convoluted, and dramatic mess of a book mixed with the occult and dark academia.
Evocation is a dash of polyamory, a dash of messy rich people, a heavy dusting of the occult, a moderate dumping of modern-day Boston, and a clash of speculative mixed with academia mixed with paranormal fantasy vibes.
As a teen, David Aristarkhov was a psychic prodigy, operating under the shadow of his oppressive occultist father. Now, years after his father’s death and rapidly approaching his thirtieth birthday, he is content as a Boston attorney, moonlighting as a powerful medium for his secret society.
But with power comes a price, and the Devil has come to collect on an ancestral deal. David’s days are numbered.
Reluctantly, he reaches out to the only person he’s ever trusted, his ex-boyfriend and secret Society rival Rhys, for help. However, the only way to get to Rhys is through his wife, Moira. Thrust into each other’s care, emotions once buried deep resurface, and the trio race to figure out their feelings for one another before the Devil steals David away for good…
This book has oddly low ratings, considering it's a new favorite read for me. I think it's a mix of a few issues.
The first and largest one being that this novel is not too much of any one thing. The dark academia folks coming from The Secret History aren't finding enough literary descent into madness. The occult baddies are not finding enough buzzwords and practical plot developments to make this feel like a dark tapestry of occult happenings. And the people who like strictly fantasy, or horror, or speculative, are confronted with this hybridized version of all three concepts wrapped up in a package that feels very... contemporary fiction vibes with its modern-day dramas and emotional politics between late 20-somethings in Boston.
I like it all, folks, so this series opener was a smash hit for me. The exes drama? On point. The slow-build poly negotiations? Exquisite. The culture clash of old-world occult with talk of cell phones and Boston apartment costs? I love that duality.
Evocation will be a slow-burn hit for those who like to read a little bit of everything. I hope it finds its audience, as I NEED the author to keep going and write us more about these characters and their world. I'm obsessed.
Very much looking forward to where ST Gibson takes us with this series, especially as we move beyond the opening act of relationship-dynamic excavation and move on to the good stuff in the demonic plot and the (hopefully) good ending for all of our favs on the page.
Oh YES. I had such a horrifically good time. This is the mirror-twin counter melody to Mexican Gothic, the Fall of the House of Usher done grot5 stars
Oh YES. I had such a horrifically good time. This is the mirror-twin counter melody to Mexican Gothic, the Fall of the House of Usher done grotesque.
Concept: ★★★★ Pacing: ★★★★★ Enjoyment: ★★★★★
Well, it's happened again: I have fallen in love with yet another bizarre and lingering horror story with a special focus on mushrooms. ("Again," yes, because this niche apparently has multiple books in it.)
Join me and the spores...
Alex Easton has heard word that their childhood friends, the Ushers, are struggling. Madeline is gravely ill, Roderick is not faring much better, and something is amiss.
Alex arrives, and they quickly realize that Roderick's understated things. There is something very, very wrong with this scene.
Madeline looks like she's already dead, Roderick doesn't look much better. The Usher estate is damp, moldy, and near-death itself. There's a visiting American doctor who has no idea what is going on, and a wandering older British woman on the grounds with a passion for mushroom study and a daughter named Beatrix Potter.
As Alex stays in the home, a creeping sense of foreboding and inevitability starts to sink in. The longer they stay at Usher, the worse it seems to get...
And that's IT. I won't say any more.
What Moves the Dead looks like—and sounds like—a repeat of concepts to those of us who have already read and loved Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic. In fact, T Kingfisher themselves writes in the Author's Note that they'd been chewing on this idea already, and then Mexican Gothic came out and What Moves the Dead disappeared into a drawer, almost for forever, as Kingfisher went "gah, I can't do it better than THAT!"
Well I, personally, am thrilled that someone got T Kingfisher to revisit and finish this tale. This is something akin to a cousin, a neighbor, someone with the same facial features as Mexican Gothic but with an entirely different set of personality traits. These two novels are NOT the same, and—as a Moreno-Garcia superfan I can't believe I'm saying this—What Moves the Dead did it... better.
This was grotesque, truly horrifying, and went somewhere that even I didn't full expect. I thought I knew the steps, and I was having a good time, but then... yeah. This seasoned reader was still surprised in an interesting way. A very, very good horror novella that I recommend to anyone with the stomach to handle it.
Thank you to TOR/Nightfire for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
Oh YES. I had such a horrifically good time. This is the mirror-twin counter melody to Mexican Gothic, the Fall of the House of Usher done grotesque.
Concept: ★★★★ Pacing: ★★★★★ Enjoyment: ★★★★★
Well, it's happened again: I have fallen in love with yet another bizarre and lingering horror story with a special focus on mushrooms. ("Again," yes, because this niche apparently has multiple books in it.)
Join me and the spores...
Alex Easton has heard word that their childhood friends, the Ushers, are struggling. Madeline is gravely ill, Roderick is not faring much better, and something is amiss.
Alex arrives, and they quickly realize that Roderick's understated things. There is something very, very wrong with this scene.
Madeline looks like she's already dead, Roderick doesn't look much better. The Usher estate is damp, moldy, and near-death itself. There's a visiting American doctor who has no idea what is going on, and a wandering older British woman on the grounds with a passion for mushroom study and a daughter named Beatrix Potter.
As Alex stays in the home, a creeping sense of foreboding and inevitability starts to sink in. The longer they stay at Usher, the worse it seems to get...
And that's IT. I won't say any more.
What Moves the Dead looks like—and sounds like—a repeat of concepts to those of us who have already read and loved Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic. In fact, T Kingfisher themselves writes in the Author's Note that they'd been chewing on this idea already, and then Mexican Gothic came out and What Moves the Dead disappeared into a drawer, almost for forever, as Kingfisher went "gah, I can't do it better than THAT!"
Well I, personally, am thrilled that someone got T Kingfisher to revisit and finish this tale. This is something akin to a cousin, a neighbor, someone with the same facial features as Mexican Gothic but with an entirely different set of personality traits. These two novels are NOT the same, and—as a Moreno-Garcia superfan I can't believe I'm saying this—What Moves the Dead did it... better.
This was grotesque, truly horrifying, and went somewhere that even I didn't full expect. I thought I knew the steps, and I was having a good time, but then... yeah. This seasoned reader was still surprised in an interesting way. A very, very good horror novella that I recommend to anyone with the stomach to handle it.
Thank you to TOR/Nightfire for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
Yarros had the AUDACITY to put all of my favorite things in one book?? *fans self* Dragons, fights to the death, enemies to lovers, and a perfectly acYarros had the AUDACITY to put all of my favorite things in one book?? *fans self* Dragons, fights to the death, enemies to lovers, and a perfectly accessible writing style have made this an addictive series to watch.
This book really said, "Let's combine everything that worked in a bunch of fantasy books before and mash them into something awesome." And it worked.
Fourth Wing has been all over the book community this spring. If you've somehow not heard of it yet, you will, and if you haven't broken under the hype train and tried this story out, then you are an insanely strong personality and I fear you.
I had no desire to avoid this hype train—I've been eagerly awaiting it since this book popped up on my Amazon "you might be interested in..." window in late 2022.
Dragon riders. A college segmented into quadrants. A quashed rebellion with lingering consequences. A longstanding war. Magic powers. A girl caught in the middle, tugged on by Fate.
I know, I know. We've heard those things before, right? That's like Eragon + Divergent + Deadly Education + Red Queen + [insert blockbuster series here].
But Y'ALL. When I tell you that I couldn't put this book DOWN, I mean that I literally took it into the bathroom with me so that I could keep reading it. (Outing myself here, but you need to hear me right when I talk about this level of obsession.)
I ignored texts for this book. I ignored meal times. Like I've already said, I took this book with me for calls of nature. Fourth Wing couldn't be stopped, and I was obsessed beyond reason.
Addictive is the only word I can use to describe this reading experience and the subsequent fandom hype that happens after you finish. Unlike some popular reads out there—where let's be honest, once you gain some distance you realize flaws and your passion fades—I don't see this happening with Fourth Wing. I'm days out from my first read and I'm still wishing I could dive back into this world.
This is so clearly a reaction review that I don't think I want to talk about anything specific in this story. The blurb pretty much covers it.
My only caveat for Fourth Wing is related to its fanfiction-like status as a remix of the greatest trope hits: Listen, I know this book isn't a unique snowflake. But I literally don't care.
There's something to be said for the talent required in taking an established set of ingredients and still baking something tasty that feels like a handmade treat tailored to you, you know?
Ride the wave, y'all. It's so much fun.
Thanks to the author for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
Books like these are why I adore fantasy with all of my heart. A pirate queen cajoled out of retirement for one last job. A deadly sea with supernaturBooks like these are why I adore fantasy with all of my heart. A pirate queen cajoled out of retirement for one last job. A deadly sea with supernatural consequences. And a myth in the making.
The Adventures of Amina Al-Sarafireads like one of those real-world myths that creep up on your slowly. As your parents, schoolmates, books, and media tell it to you—it's almost like it's always been there, a fictional story existing outside of your own lived existence and yet wholly real somehow, grounded in historical fact and cultural relevancy.
To put it even more simply: Mention the concept of "greek gods" to almost anyone on the street these days and they have the story already. They know the strokes, or they know at least several small details that have made it into their brain via cultural osmosis.
When I read Amina's tale for the first time, I felt that stirring. That behemoth feeling in the deep that this is a tale that's more real than fiction, more muchness than just a fable told to mimic the 1100s Indian Ocean tales for a 2020s audience.
Like the best fantasy tales of new and old—Amina Al-Sarafi is here now, and she's always been here and always will be here. Her tale is too rich to ignore.
Combining elements of seafaring adventure, heists, monsters, and more, The Adventures of Amina Al-Sarafi struck me most in its unique and unputdownable voice. Amina's no-nonsense, middle-aged motherhood persona was a treat in its (unfortunate) uniqueness in today's fantasy market and also a hilarious narrator in her endless dry wit and "let me tell you how bad things went to shit" attitude.
There is nothing I did not like about this story. It stands proudly in the canon besides Chakraborty's already titanic City of Brass trilogy, and other fantasy legacies such as R.F. Kuang, Fonda Lee, Jacqueline Carey, Jenn Lyons, and more.
Oh, and there's the swashbuckling, seafaring, mythologically induced adventures with all of the plot points you could possibly want rolled into the most attractive package to any fantasy fan. I enjoyed the hell out of myself. I think others will too.
Well I've clearly wasted many previous years without the joy that is Kennedy Ryan. Before I Let Go was nothing short of flawless.
Emotional Range: ★★★Well I've clearly wasted many previous years without the joy that is Kennedy Ryan. Before I Let Go was nothing short of flawless.
Emotional Range: ★★★★★ Plot/Pacing: ★★★★★ Sense of Joy: ★★★★★
Yasmen and Josiah Wade are divorced. After a cataclysmic series of tragedies, the Wades couldn't keep their foundation strong—they fractured in the aftermath of a sorrow so deep they couldn't reach each other. Their vows included "til the wheels fall off." They never imagined that anything could shake that unbreakable, lifetime love.
But something did, and now they're two separate ships.
Well... Not quite.
They're still co-parents of two beautiful children, Deja and Kassim, which they both co-raise with love and daily support.
They're also still co-owners of their business—the highly successful restaurant, Grits, is something they grew together and is almost as important to them as their children.
So the Wades are still a team... even if that team looks a little (lot) different these days.
Yasmen's spent two years in therapy, and with a healthier way to cope and the assistance of her therapist and medication, she's finally starting to feel like herself again after two years of endless night. She'll never, NEVER stop loving Josiah, even though she's the one who forced their hand into the situation of separation.
Josiah's always been strong. He won't stop for the bad things, because if he keeps moving those bad things will fade. He's been in constant motion ever since the wrecking ball hit. Every bone in Josiah's body will always love Yasmen. However, he knows that door is closed and all he can do is try to pick up his pieces and love what's left.
But where there is love... there is always a way back in. And the Wades are going to find that the light and love could reach them if they find a way to follow it.
Before I Let Go is a story of pain, grief, and recovery. It's a second-chance phoenix rising from the ashes. I sobbed my way through this reading experience—sometimes sad tears, sometimes happy tears, sometimes more. This was an emotional release of a book!
I aspire to have a life as rich and beautiful as Yasmen and Josiah's. From the tears and pain to the light and love, this was such a beautiful, real journey and I feel blessed to have had this reading experience in my life. I have no complaints, besides of course my own internal AGH! that it took me this long to try Kennedy Ryan.
This book might include some serious darkness, true, but it is really about the light that shines in all the cracks. What a stunning, utterly perfect read. Pick it up!
Wow, what a honey-slow, menacing descent into the edges of one town's humanity. This book had a unique flow and a different kind of storytelling.
ConceWow, what a honey-slow, menacing descent into the edges of one town's humanity. This book had a unique flow and a different kind of storytelling.
Concept: ★★★★ Actual flow of story: ★★★★★ Characters: ★★★★★ Enjoyment: I couldn't put this down, I read it into the night
I am utterly and entirely entranced by this story. From the reading experience to the well crafted mystery to the ominous and never-ending undertone of death, We Are All the Same in the Dark is a mystery/thriller that I will remember.
Trumanell Branson disappeared from the Branson home in rural Texas ten years ago. A bloody handprint was found on the doorframe, but no body was ever recovered. Her father, the unpopular and abusive Frank Branson, also disappeared that fateful night. The only Branson who made it out of that night alive was Wyatt, the younger brother whose mind cracked that night and no one could ever prove fully innocent (or guilty).
Odette Tucker's past is tied up in that bloody night like a bundle of chicken wire—one that she refuses to forget and yet can never fully solve. Her father was the policeman first on the scene at the Branson home. Odette herself was dating Wyatt Branson. And Odette's alibi for the night of Trumanell's disappearance is bloody—she was in a rollover car crash a few miles from the Branson property.
Now a partial leg amputee and haunted by that night for personal and professional reasons, Odette's turned into the Tucker legacy: a cop for the local community. And she's never let go of the Trumanell case.
Tangled up with guilt, a personal pressure to solve the unsolvable, and the sense that what's happened in the past might be happening again, Odette's not as surprised as she should be when Wyatt—now an unstable adult still living in the fateful home—discovers a young woman on the side of road with a dangerous past.
They call her Angel, and she's unknowingly brought everything crashing down in this tiny town.
I really, really can't say more of the plot without ruining some of the magic. Let's stop there.
I thought this novel did a few things brilliantly. One: the narrative voice. It's a spoiler to say WHY I am calling out the narrative voice as the best part of this novel, but just trust me on the fact that there are some unique surprises in just who is telling the story (and mystery fans, it's not that unreliable narrator nonsense).
Two: the almost hypnotic sense of reality vs. storytelling at play, and the constant sense that we have, as the reader, that there's elements of the story that we should know (but don't) and that there are things being told to us via these characters that they feel is obvious (but we can't really tell what that is). This is hard to describe, but I've seen it as a negative in other people's reviews when, for me, it was a huge positive. I like a level of confusion, especially when it's done as spectacularly as this.
Fans of intelligent mystery/thrillers with a dash of the gothic, pick this up.
I knew this book was going to be an all-time favorite by the first few chapters. Calling all fans of the Fair Folk, journal entry narration, and trulyI knew this book was going to be an all-time favorite by the first few chapters. Calling all fans of the Fair Folk, journal entry narration, and truly fun banter...
Emily Wilde is an intrepid and fearless Fae scholar. Documenting and studying the fairy folk throughout the world is a singular profession. While the folk have been proven in multiple cases, it's a dangerous pursuit and the academia surrounding it is wreathed in disappearances, contradictions, and gray areas.
Emily Wilde has no time for that nonsense. It's her calling, her obsession—and she's damn good at it.
She's assembling an encyclopedia of the world's different types of Fair Folk, and she's nearly done. All she needs is confirmation on the elusive folk of the northern Arctic community of Ljosland, Scandinavia.
Armed with her huge dog companion, Shadow, and her notes, Emily arrives in the rural community.
She quickly finds herself on the wrong foot. (Did we forget to mention that, while scholastically brilliant, Emily is terrible at human interaction and emotions? She managed to offend the entire community on her first day onsite. Whoops.)
It's good thing that her coworker—okay, the beautiful bane of her existence and scholarly nemesis—surprises her by arriving in town within the week.
Wendell Bambleby is universally loved, overwhelmingly lazy, and the most stunning man Emily has ever laid eyes on. They have neighboring offices at Cambridge and have a collegiate petty rivalry that they both get perverse enjoyment out of enacting.
With winter quickly settling in, the community on edge, and a history of missing children quickly becoming a present-day concern, Emily and Wendell are in for more than they bargained for...
Aghhhhhhhhhhh I loved this story so much, y'all. I have ZERO complaints. I don't even have small, annoying critiques. All I have is love and a newfound obsession for female characters who are hopelessly, utterly oblivious to social cues.
Emily might be brilliant, but she's also unbelievably obtuse. I couldn't get enough of the situational humor and delight surrounding a main character who was both ruthlessly brilliant in each scene AND somehow comedically dumb when it came to her social interactions. That combo was flawless, and I will gladly read Emily's journal entries forevermore.
I loved the journal entry narrative style. I loved the banter between Wendell and Emily. I loved Shadow, the lovable-yet-terrifyingly huge black dog. I loved the footnotes and endless references to other scholars documenting the Fair Folk and having adventures throughout the world. (Could we get a spin-off series on Grey?? She sounds epic!) I loved the fae plot and the historical lean—it's refreshingly new in today's fae/folk story canon that has traditionally lived in the modern-day urban and high fantasy spaces.
My only complaint is that now we must wait for the sequel. I hope this series is long and fruitful—given that this book opened us up to entire world of scholarly pursuit of different types of fae across the globe, I see no reason that Emily and Wendell couldn't globetrot us from adventure to adventure for books to come.
My first read of the year, and what a treat! Beautifully illustrated and beautifully told.
Artwork: ★★★★★ Stories: ★★★★★ Enjoyment: ★★★★★
This will definMy first read of the year, and what a treat! Beautifully illustrated and beautifully told.
Artwork: ★★★★★ Stories: ★★★★★ Enjoyment: ★★★★★
This will definitely an abbreviated review due to the short length of the stories. My best suggestion to those who are pulled in by that beautiful cover is this: if the title and cover appeal to you, then this collection is worth your time.
With truly stunning illustrations, stories ranging from short and quaint to long and lingering, An Illustrated Treasury of Scottish Castle Legends was truly delightful.
I picked this oversized hardcover up from a local independent bookstore—the true MVPs of the book world!!—and just had to have it.
This collection is most likely "officially" for children, but as an adult with a firm interest in folk tales I found this well worth the read and will definitely refer back to it in the future to gaze at the art and keep as knowledge of these interesting Scottish castle fables.
This was an addictive read—fun and flashy, yet still a normal competition/deadly game fantasy romance...until it surprised me and ripped open into somThis was an addictive read—fun and flashy, yet still a normal competition/deadly game fantasy romance...until it surprised me and ripped open into something devastating and shiny. Then it became a new favorite.
Before we begin, a rambled note on TikTok: In my opinon, TikTok is an odd zone for the book community. It's large, obviously, and a lot of people love it. I love that for them. But overall... I struggle. I almost never agree with the flashy/quick recommendation videos based on hype and aesthetics vs. actual similarities between books. I think they're formed on the fly in the hype culture of fast recs vs. quality recs, and I also think it's often the same books in the rec pot across the board. (This isn't a TikTok specific hate, I've always grumbled about Instagram and YouTube too when it comes to "if you like this, try this" content.) So usually, I avoid all TT recommendations like the plague until someone I trust and/or actually know takes a bite of the apple.
In a totally unexpected and surprising turn of events, Amy read a TikTok-recommended fantasy romance. (Did you hear that? It was the reality paradigm, it cracked in half when I typed that sentence.)
No, seriously, it's true. This ridiculous anti-platform gremlin/stick-in-the-mud reader picked up The Serpent and the Wings of Night because it refused to leave her alone, and there was something deep down that made her go... maybe they're right, maybe this is awesome.
And it WAS.
Imagine if you took everything you liked and stirred it into one pot. For me, it's a combination of the following ingredients (let's make a potion together):
-A deadly game, competition, or high-stakes survival scenario -A female protagonist with *actual* hard edges/reasons to be a badass -A male love interest who has more character traits than 1) I Am Powerful/Deadly/The Black Sheep, and 2) Relentlessly Attracted to FMC" (it's amazing how many SFF men fail this test—even some of my favs.) -A unique world, bonus points for a clever twist of the usual tropes -A sense of actual doom/high stakes/death impending -Realistic fighting -Actually consequences/death -A well-done, slower-burn romantic pacing -Decent dialogue for the steamy scenes -Great writing all around -More than 1 side character with a backstory and personality
And that's it. I'm a simple girl, with simple needs.... and a longgg laundry list of things that need to hit right for me to love the fantasy romances. I usually love books that include at least two thirds of my list—it's not like I sit there with my checklist, but anecdotally, I've noticed I tend to follow this list subconsciously in my book selections.
The Serpent and the Wings of Night hit every. single. one.
I read this book in ONE DAY and then read all of book two two days after that. Don't sleep on this one, fellow fantasy fans and those who like those things on my checklist. This book has it all.
Medieval history secrets, ancient tarot decks, a dark academia museum setting, and a close-knit group of coworkers who blur the line5 tarot-ific stars
Medieval history secrets, ancient tarot decks, a dark academia museum setting, and a close-knit group of coworkers who blur the lines between personal and professional... I'd love to live in this version of higher academia, please, potentiality for murder be damned.
Use of history: ★★★★★ Setting: ★★★★ Pacing: ★★★★★ Enjoyment: ★★★★★
"Death always came for me in August."
Ann Sitwell, a recent college graduate from Nowhere Important in small town Washington, has arrived in New York City. She's an art history graduate with a passion for esoteric Renaissance and late Medieval pieces with a bend toward the arcane—her niche topic isn't necessarily the most relevant, her internship opportunities slim. So when she arrives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to find out that they don't want her anymore, she's paralyzed.
But then, a fortuitous chance meeting with the enigmatic head curator at The Cloisters, Patrick, changes Ann's trajectory forever.
The Cloisters, a gothic museum settled right in the heart of Manhattan and incongruously secluded, is a museum unlike any Ann has ever laid eyes on. Its history seeps from the walls, and priceless collections, artifacts, and archives all tailored to Ann's areas of interest seem like an unbelievable dream.
There's Patrick, the established curator and head of The Cloisters, who has amassed a small and cloistered—pun so very intended—group around him for his current passion project in the occult. He's searching for hints of the earliest tarot decks and their potential links between the Medieval and Renaissance periods. He's searching, unbelievably, for a hint of true magic amongst the earliest of divination decks.
There is Leo, the gardener for the magical copse of deadly plants in the center of The Cloisters' museum structure. Surrounded by plants used historically in poisons, medicines, and aids to the divine, Leo's orbit as the non-academic in this seat of hushed knowledge is an itch that Ann just might find herself scratching.
And then there is Rachel, Patrick's other assistant. Beautiful, ethereal, unbelievably wealthy and connected Rachel. Rachel is also interested in this same field of study and welcomes Ann into the fold like a sorority sister inducting a new member, teaching her all of the tricks and ways of life in this small, set apart academic pocket.
When academic stakes meet deadly games, Ann just might find that she's found more than she bargained for...
Welcome to The Cloisters.
I'll keep my thoughts short and sweet on this one, because it's all high praise. This honey-slow, lingering, and deathly divine story was one that I could not stop reading. The Cloisters is a novel that breathes, sharing its secrets and obsessive drive with you. Ann's journey through grief, her enmeshing into this closed system of claustrophobic academics, and the ultimate unraveling of it all was such a treat to read.
Obvious comparisons have been made between this novel and other dark academia titans like The Secret History. I agree with those comparisons—if you like the standard favorites in the genre, then this novel is likely going to work for you. But I'd like to expand that filter a bit. If you're interested in magic and its weavings throughout our actual history, if you're interested in tarot, if you're interested in the study of the arcane in any way... this novel will likely work for you also.
I'm starting to think that readers of this series should have some sort of button that states 'I survived the Locked Tomb readinI..... well, alright.
I'm starting to think that readers of this series should have some sort of button that states 'I survived the Locked Tomb reading experience' or something because, wow, my brain continues to tumble head over heels in overload for Nona the Ninth. It's done that for each of the books, to be fair, but this one was extra special given how spectacularly different it felt from the first two books in the series.
Plot/Pacing: ★★★★★ Concept: ★★★★★ Enjoyment: ugh bury me with these books
If you're seeing this review somehow with zero prior knowledge of Gideon the Ninth or Harrow the Ninth, please immediately stop reading this review and check out those two books or reviews of those books first. This review will sound like absolute insanity on a good day and just utter nonsense if you're new to the fandom. My reviews for Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth, respectively.
Are they gone???
....
PEOPLE. People. What did we just read, why is it so well done despite of/due to its status as meme trash, and are you also ready to die for Nona. Because I am feeling all of those things.
I will not be explaining the plot or what happens in this book because I'll either sound like an idiot or I'll try and regurgitate the entire series so far in order to do so.
Suffice to say, I continue to be impressed by Tamsyn's ability to turn this series' arc around over and over while maintaining its integrity and intelligence in the writing and plot. I have such sky-high expectations for Alecto the Ninth now that frankly, it's scary. I hope Muir sticks the landing with a mic-drop atom bomb.
Nona the Ninth's brilliance for me came from the choice to make our one point-of-view that of the person with the least knowledge of what's going on. How fun. How frustrating. How titillating.
Seeing our favorite characters with (no) context... nice. Guessing who is who, who is where, who is why, and the underlying meaning of it all??? So fun.
The absolute GRIP this series has on my soul, I swear. I am in the chokehold of the Ninth House and I'm happy to be here—as absolutely wi5 soupy stars
The absolute GRIP this series has on my soul, I swear. I am in the chokehold of the Ninth House and I'm happy to be here—as absolutely wild as it is to be on a mound of constantly shifting, resurrecting bones.
Concept: ★★★★★ Construction of story: ★★★★★ Enjoyment: ★★★★★
Stop right the heck here if you haven't read Gideon the Ninth yet.
This book is the terribly confusing sequel to its extremely dense and pivotal first book, and unlike many other series you absolute cannot, under any reasonable circumstance, start with this particular book. Do not pass go.
Harrow the Ninth took my incredibly lofty expectations—how does one follow Gideon the Ninth?—and said "wait, you thought that's all I would do?" and decided to wham-bam, thank you ma'am me down with a notepad and said "watch me."
(As you can tell, this is a reaction review. Any summary would be either too vague or too nonsensical, and both are useless in this case. My reaction is already nonsensical enough for the both of us.)
The ending of Gideon the Ninth left me shattered. I wondered what could possibly happen in Harrow's journey. I wondered how I'd possibly like it. I wondered where we could go from here without falling into at least 3 previously done science fiction plot lines.
Again, Tamsyn didn't need my wonderings. She had other things to say.
Harrow the Ninth is a puzzle box, a haunted house, and a meditation on the intensely human capacity for emotion and inner mentality. It's a study of insanity, an unreliable framework, and a genre-defying installment in a series that gives new meaning to the word "epic."
I love the irreverence and utter lack of fear in this writing. The author saw the borderline of what had been done before—our comfort levels in genre fiction, our societal expectations, you name it—and decided to ignore any and all prior caution tape. An equal-opportunity mindf*ck, if you will. Nothing is sacred and yet this series—and this book in particular—feels like a religious experience.
I just... couldn't stop. It's been a long, long time since I've found a novel that ticked every. single. box.
It uses your entire brain—there are enough micro-puzzles and macro-arcs to keep even the unrelenting mystery reader satisfied. (There is also just enough of the familiar—and the more easily guessed—to keep you from disengaging in frustration, as well, which is almost more impressive for the mystery fans.)
It uses your acceptance of fictional truths and writing styles and subverts them in delightful ways. It explores a love on the interstellar and devastatingly intimate scale. It's so, so well devised and SO well written.
And, more than all else and with all of that included... it's still an absolute joy to read.
An all-time favorite, and hopefully the first of many in an exciting subniche of brilliant genre fiction to come.
This cover does not do a good job representing this graphic novel—the art is gorgeous with a vibrant dark academia color palette, the story is autumnaThis cover does not do a good job representing this graphic novel—the art is gorgeous with a vibrant dark academia color palette, the story is autumnal in the BEST way, and it’s a witchy magical school that perfectly straddles multiple age groups. It’s also fantastic. I have NO idea why it has such a dull cover and a generic title.
Artwork: ★★★★★ Plot/Pacing: ★★★★ Enjoyment: ★★★★
With the quaintness of Mooncakes, the grit of a young adult mystery thriller, and the atmosphere of of a witchy magical boarding school, Over My Dead Body is definitely a graphic novel to pick up this spooky season. (And the artwork is GORGEOUS.)
In the days leading up to Samhain, the veil between the world of the dead and the living is at its thinnest.
Abby Younwity is a senior student at Younwity's Institute of Magic, a boarding school for witches. Foundlings with no parents are given the surname of the school, Younwity, and Abby is one such witch.
Younwity students tend to do well at the school, but there's a cautionary tale told by the older students: don't go into the Untamed Wood. Especially if you're a Younwity.
Younwity students who go into the woods...don't always make it out. A girl went into the woods a long time ago and was taken by a demon, so they say. Better safe than sorry.
When Noreen Younwity, Abby's young fledging student pair, is discovered missing, Abby knows something is wrong. Very wrong.
It's time to find Noreen and get to the bottom of the demon in the woods... before it's too late.
And that's all I'll say about the plot. I really want to leave some of the magic and mystery to the reading experience. No spoilers here!
All in all, I think Over My Dead Body was a stunning young adult graphic novel. It was atmospheric, beautiful drawn, and had an engaging plot. This is the perfect read to put you in the fall mindset—the color palette, the witchy vibes, the dark academia setting... Perfection.
I thought the characters were authentic, the representation was fantastic, AND to top it all off, nothing in this graphic novel felt forced or sped up for pacing flaws. This was just... really well done.
This review is a bit bare bones, I know, but don't let that stop you. This was a lot of fun. Pick it up if you're in the mood for a moody autumnal read!
A Clue-style mystery setting mashed with scintillating razor-sharp humor mashed with intricate puzzle-box plotting mashed with post-apoca5 necro stars
A Clue-style mystery setting mashed with scintillating razor-sharp humor mashed with intricate puzzle-box plotting mashed with post-apocalyptic necromancy mashed with intergalactic space vibes mashed with death/not-death mashed with lesbian drama mashed with—
I could go on, but we’d be here all day. This is an excellent chaotic casserole of brilliant nonsense.
UPDATE 7/15/23: Reread it, loved it the same, had even more good times as the eggs are all buried in this waiting for us to see them for what they are.
I now completely understand why Gideon the Ninth is marketed the way it is. Let me explain.
This book came out in 2019. It was pitched as "lesbian necromancers in space." I, not particularly liking space and not receiving much else from that limited pitch, took a pass on reading it. "Lesbian necromancers" was interesting... but vague. I didn't have enough to go on to outweigh my dislike of Star Wars-esque space-y stuff involving politics and planets.
Then the reviews started coming out and all of them said a confusing blend of nonsensical ?!?!?!, fandom love for the queer epic-ness, mentions of how messed up and dark and brutal it was, and a general sense of awe and an utter unwillingness to describe what was going on.
I was more intrigued, but not quite enough to pick it up. I had a lot to read, and this was still in my no-no zone of adult hard science fiction (I believed it to be, anyway.)
I waited until 2022 to read it.
Hot diggity dang, what a book. One of those Amy-you-dumbass, shoulda coulda woulda read it earlier type of moments.
Gideon the Ninth is an epic done on the intimate and bonkers foundations of the post-modern cultural moment of the now as opposed to the traditional scale of genre and expectations. Its readership both fits the pitch "lesbian necromancers in space" and yet needs to include other groups of people—myself included—who should ignore that pitch and try this glorious black hole of a book anyway.
I, too, will remain weirdly vague and wax rhapsodic on its attributes over its actual plot because going into this book blind, like a horror-thriller, is really the way to go.
It's a murder mystery. It's a haunted house novel. It's a video game-esque questing story with challenges to defeat. It's puzzles to solve. It's hidden clues on the tale ends of sentences and descriptions leading the reader unknowingly to the inevitable. It's a plot-twist thriller. It's an intimate enemies-to-[something?] with a passionate rivalry/hatred to rouse the interests of the most hardened of the slow burn smut readers—an unbelievable feat considering there is no pay-off in this particular installment. It's a gut punch, a brutal overthrow of your expectations. It's also pop-culture level funny with quips that seriously date it and yet add to the humor and surprise.
I'm honestly shocked at how not-science fiction this novel feels while remaining such a strong science fiction novel.
This is a gothic ballad to the queer emo mixed with the sardonic humor of the Black Death aficionados. I have spent this review making sentences with lofty nonsense pairings for the vibes and to depict the emotional aura of this novel because, frankly, I think Tamsyn would approve. (If my review annoys you, pass on this book.)
This looped a rope around my ankle and zig-zagged me down the rabbit hole. Hours disappeared as I cackled my way through a bizarre medievalesqu5 stars
This looped a rope around my ankle and zig-zagged me down the rabbit hole. Hours disappeared as I cackled my way through a bizarre medievalesque alternate fantasy world led but an unreliable and self-deprecating narrator. It was a whirlwind, a masterpiece, a satire, a heist. Can you tell I LOVED it??
Concept: ★★★★ Character: ★★★★★ Sense of Voice: ★★★★★ Witty Humor: ★★★★★
Oooookay. From the lead-in, I hope you gathered that I have completely converted into an absolute superfan for this novel. Don't expect any level of balanced critique—for me, this was perfect. (I know, I'm shook. too. Who'd have thought a book with a cover like that and a battle-focused concept would live on my shelf of greats.)
Orhan is an engineer. More specifically, a colonel of engineering bridge-builders. He and his team of 4,000 men travel across the Empire building bridges. This is what they do.
When the Empire starts to fall to a cleverly executed and unknown invader, however, Orhan's life as a bridge-builder starts to end. The Empire's navy has been lost to the sea. The military's robust defensive supplies and stores are gone. The 13,000-man army has been massacred. And the walled City is now at risk—with no one to defend it.
To the surprise of literally everyone—including Orhan's own men—Orhan decides he might as well give it a go. Protecting the city, he means. It's either be slaughtered trying to run away, or die quickly while defending a well-built siege city. As a former slave to this same Empire in trouble, it's an odd choice for Orhan to make, but Orhan often makes seemingly odd choices. (Even though he's telling the story, who's to say it's the right one.)
So the siege begins.
Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City is, to put it simply, AWESOME. K.J. Parker is known for his irreverent humor, his wry twists of concept and story arc and unreliable-yet-begrudgingly-likeable narrators. I thought I was a potential fan with Prosper's Demon. I knew I was a fan with Inside Man. And now I'm sure of it—I'm going to read every novel Parker has ever written under this pseudonym. I must!
Don't go into this novel with more background than the above. (It's more fun that way.)
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