This review was brought to you in high-definition and surround sound by Crystal Anne with An E. Crystal is a Hufflepuff who works as an autism consultant by day and goes to Library School at night. She reads a lot, she cross-stitches a lot, and is always ready to make someone a reading list. NB: This book is currently .99 digitally for May the 4th! … Guess who’s back? This time with bonus Grogu gifs! … Continue reading Star Wars: Into the Dark by Claudia Gray →
Confession time: I skip to the end within the first 10% of most books. (Please don’t yell at me. I’ve already been told by horrified friends that it’s a moral failing.) When I skipped to the end of Queen of Coin and Whispers, I was hit by one of the most compelling lines I’ve read in a long time: She loved me as I loved her, fierce as a bloodied blade. Does it give you … Continue reading Queen of Coin and Whispers by Helen Corcoran →
Content warnings: Lots and lots of grief and loss, also death of a secondary character Dearest Josephine is an epistolary novel about grief and coming of age, disguised as a paranormal gothic romance. It is a sweet, clever, beautiful book, and I adored it. In 1820, the recently orphaned Elias Roch meets Josephine DeClare at an inn, and falls instantly and passionately in love. But in the morning, she is gone, and he has no … Continue reading Dearest Josephine by Caroline George →
Slippers and Thieves is a clever YA urban fantasy retelling of Cinderella. On the whole, I think this is a conceptually clever story, but the characterization isn’t great, and for goodness sake don’t treat it as a stand alone book. Slippers and Thieves is the fourth book in the Fairy Tales of the Magicorum Series. In this series, magic users exist secretly alongside non-magical users in the modern world. Shifters, fairies, and witches are members … Continue reading Slippers and Thieves by Christina Bauer →
After Poppy’s beautiful “That Moment When…” post, A Handy Guide for Choosing Your Institute of Magical Education, LiteraryCharlie’s Angels, Eleanor Oliphant Wasn’t Completely Fine, and Neither Are Many of Us, and Awesome Non-Human Sidekicks in Books art essays, we are so excited to have some guest reviews from her! Poppy is a long-time fan of SBTB and loves cats, books and coffee, in that order. She illustrates The Loo Cats, an imaginative series starring her … Continue reading So This is Love by Elizabeth Lim →
After Poppy’s beautiful “That Moment When…” post, A Handy Guide for Choosing Your Institute of Magical Education, LiteraryCharlie’s Angels, Eleanor Oliphant Wasn’t Completely Fine, and Neither Are Many of Us, and Awesome Non-Human Sidekicks in Books art essays, we are so excited to have some guest reviews from her! Poppy is a long-time fan of SBTB and loves cats, books and coffee, in that order. She illustrates The Loo Cats, an imaginative series starring her … Continue reading As Old As Time by Liz Braswell →
One of my recent joys has been discovering Malinda Lo’s fantasy YA books. In her novel, Ash, Lo creates a beautiful Queer re-imagining of the Cinderella fairytale, complete with a complex main character, a fresh take on the plot, and gorgeous use of language, description, and world-building. Huntress is sort of a prequel to Ash, but it was written after Ash was published; you don’t have to have read it to read Ash. Here is … Continue reading Ash by Malinda Lo →
Are you tired of reading about the same old straight, White vampires? Well, then good news! Because Vampires Never Get Old delivers 11 short stories that bring fresh takes on vampires. If you’ve been looking for queer vampires, or Black or Brown rep in your fanged fiction, this is definitely the book for you (and also maybe for the kiddo in your life, if you have any that are YA readers). Tara: This is a … Continue reading Vampires Never Get Old edited by Zoraida Cordova and Natalie C. Parker →
Through reading (and loving) The Silence of Bones I’ve realized something about myself as a reader: I can tolerate a lot of dark, violent content in a book if the prose is pretty enough. And while the poetic prose is a definite selling point, the fact that The Silence of Bones is also an impeccably crafted mystery with amazing character work and an arc of profound hopefulness cemented its place in my heart as the … Continue reading The Silence of Bones by June Hur →
Bookish and The Beast isn’t a WOW book, but it’s a comforting, often funny YA read for romance fans who are either geeks or geek-sympathetic and who enjoy beauty and the beast variations. This is the third book in the “Once Upon a Con” series and while it works as a stand-alone, characters from the rest of the series make appearances. While the plot is nonsensical and the main characters are bland, the supporting characters … Continue reading Bookish and the Beast by Ashley Poston →
There was much excitement among the Bitches when Cinderella is Dead was announced, due to its exciting cover and concept, and the promise of a queer heroine of color. Alas, the book is virtually unreadable due to sloppy writing and a whiny, self-absorbed heroine. The concept is great. 200 years after Cinderella met her prince, Cinderella is dead and every year all the young women in the kingdom go to a ball (not optional) at … Continue reading Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron →
