As someone who reads tarot cards professionally, I was excited about Tarot, a YA novel about a young woman named Anna locked in a Tower in the Land of Pentacles who escapes and flees to the Land of Cups. Alas, this book fails as an allegory, because it casts certain elements of Tarot in a villainous light in a way that is inconsistent with the actual nature of the deck. It fails even more so … Continue reading Tarot by Marissa Kennerson
I thought that The Afterward would be a fun adventure story, and it was, but I was thrilled to realize that it is also a moving romance that works beautifully as a romance novel despite its unusual structure. This story describes what happens to a group of knights (all women) plus a thief and an apprentice knight (also women) during and after an epic quest. It’s told from the viewpoints of the thief (Olsa) and the … Continue reading The Afterward by E.K. Johnston
TW/CW: Potentially disordered eating. Somewhere Only We Know is an adorable YA romance that feels very much like a modern Roman Holiday retelling between a K-Pop star and a freelance tabloid photographer. It’s light and incredibly sweet. This isn’t to imply that it lacks substance; there were just deeper issues that could have used extra exploration. Lucky is a K-Pop superstar who has just wrapped up a multi-city tour ending in Hong Kong. The following … Continue reading Somewhere Only We Know by Maurene Goo
If I’m Being Honest is a contemporary YA version of The Taming of the Shrew with a candy-floss surface and surprising hidden depths. Our story begins in a prep school in Los Angeles. Cameron is super popular. Query – how come in media (Heathers, Mean Girls) popular girls don’t seem to have many actual friends? It’s obvious from the first page that no one, with the possible exception of two characters named Morgan and Elle, … Continue reading If I’m Being Honest by Austin Siegemund-Broka and Emily Wibberley
One of our readers pointed me towards An Enchantment of Ravens. In this book, a human painter uses the power of human creativity to save her Fey lover (who can shapeshift into a horse or a raven) and fight the Alder King. With art. Dear Bitches, it’s like you know me. The heroine, Isobel, lives in the town of Whimsy, where it is always summer and the Fair folk come into town to trade for … Continue reading An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
One of our keen readers suggested that I might enjoy A Curse So Dark and Lonely which is a romance-centric YA Beauty and the Beast retelling in which the heroine, a modern day teen with cerebral palsy, is transported to an alternate fairytale world and meets a Prince who periodically turns into a monster and eats everyone in sight. This keen reader thought I might like the book and the reader was not wrong. I liked … Continue reading A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
The Princess and the Fangirl is a romantic YA retelling of The Prince and the Pauper, set at a science fiction convention. This book, the second in the Geekerella series, includes a f/f romance and a f/m romance but is primarily about the personal growth of the two heroines, Jessica and Imogene. It is lighter than a piece of glitter but does a good job of capturing the crowded, crazy convention world. You can certainly get … Continue reading The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston
I know we’re not especially far into 2019 yet, but We Set the Dark on Fire is hands down my favorite book of the year so far. It’s a YA novel about two women who are placed in competing positions inside a toxic patriarchy, then say “fuck that noise,” fall in love with each other, and help foment rebellion. It’s completely gripping, the world-building is excellent, and as a dystopian future, it feels alarmingly possible. I … Continue reading We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia
The Summer of Jodi Perez (And the Best Burger in Los Angeles) is a body-positive f/f contemporary romance/rom-com set in L.A. This book is a light, fast read with plenty of humor, and with an angst level that is appropriate but never too heavy or whiny. The story is narrated by Abby Ives, who is seventeen. Abby is gay, which is an issue for absolutely no one except her mother, who seems to hope Abby will … Continue reading The Summer of Jordi Perez by Amy Spalding
NB: We have a suspicion that many of the Bitchery are Buffy fans, which means this squee is in good company. This review from Crystal Anne With An E was originally graded “A with Extra Squee Because Buffy,” but we felt bumping up up to a full on squee was fair. Crystal reads a lot, cross-stitches, and is an autism consultant by day and goes to library school by night. She is a Hufflepuff. … … Continue reading Guest Squee: Slayer by Kiersten White
I recently described this book’s plot as a road with several roundabouts in a row, in which the story gets stuck before moving on. It’s the best description I can come up with to explain why this book frustrated me both in terms of plot development and character development. The story opens with Rosie Radeke, a teenager from a small town in Ohio, on her first international flight to Paris. She’s been accepted into a … Continue reading Love à La Mode by Stephanie Kate Strohm
