A Lily Among Thorns is a standalone Regency romance from Rose Lerner following Solomon Hathaway, a chemist and fabric dyer, and Lady Serena Ravenshaw, a former sex worker who’s now a hotel owner and terror to all who cross her. Many years ago, he gave her the money she needed to start a new life, and now he’s come to seek her help in finding stolen family heirlooms. Unfortunately, he’s arrived during one of the worst … Continue reading A Lily Among Thorns by Rose Lerner →
I learned so much from Juliet Takes a Breath. I gained a new sense of humility as well as the joy of knowing that many readers who rarely see themselves represented will find themselves in this book. I also laughed my face off. The book is not a romance although there is romance and sex in it. It’s 2003. Nineteen-year old Juliet lives in the Bronx with her Puerto Rican family, with whom she is … Continue reading Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera →
I really struggled with how to grade this book, mostly because I appreciated what it was trying to do even if I think it did not succeed. I mean, a lot of the ingredients are there: a teenage babysitter’s club that’s actually a coven of witches is a bomb-ass premise, the secondary characters were intriguing, and there were some genuinely funny jokes. So what’s the problem? The primary issue, craft-wise, was that this was a … Continue reading The Babysitters Coven by Kate Williams →
This was my most anticipated book of 2019, and I was terrified that it wouldn’t live up to my expectations. I adored Kann’s debut, Let’s Talk About Love, and number 96 on my list of why is how body positive it was. When I saw her next book had a chubby heroine, tendrils of hope grew that this might be an author who could write fat characters well. In that regard, If It Makes You … Continue reading If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann →
Note: This review contains minimal spoilers for the first book A Spark of White Fire. The YA SFF trilogy must be read in order. If this review piques your interest, then I recommend that you start with the previous book. If someone asked me what the happiest event of my life has been up to this point, I’d point to the moment when my parents decided to leave Asia and relocate our family to the … Continue reading A House of Rage and Sorrow by Sangu Mandanna →
Once in a while, you find a book that does exactly what it said it was going to do. The Queen of Ieflaria is one of those books. I bought it based on a Tumblr post which had the following summary, verbatim: “two princesses attempt to fight dragons and get married.” That’s what I wanted, and that’s exactly what I got. If you stopped reading and one-clicked based solely on that description, you won’t be … Continue reading The Queen of Ieflaria by Effie Calvin →
Book TW: Violence against women and children including in-text murder. I love a good story about witches and so when Sarah asked what book I wanted to review first, I immediately thought of the audiobook version of The Witches of New York by Ami McKay waiting for me in my Audible TBR pile. The narration by Julia Whelan was excellent. She manages to create distinct voices for the many characters, mostly female, who inhabited this … Continue reading The Witches of New York by Ami McKay →
So, you saw those content warnings and you’re feeling concerned? Will it help if I tell you that this is a book where scary plot turns appear to be just around the corner—and the dark backstory of the hero makes bad things feel inevitable—but in the end Relationship Material is just an angsty romance where most of the tension is about falling in love? Evan is a nurse in Portland, Oregon who has been in … Continue reading Relationship Material by Jenya Keefe →
The Ten Thousand Doors of January is a wonderfully magical portal fantasy novel that will appeal to just about any book lover. It’s slow, winding, and subtle, brimming with some of the most gorgeous writing I’ve ever read. Unfortunately, the plot doesn’t lend itself to tense action or momentum, making this a much quieter adventure and not quite what I was looking for after coming off the bloody, excitable events of The Blacksmith Queen by … Continue reading The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow →
Frankly In Love has a lot of romance in it, but it’s a coming of age story, not a romance, and the ending is bittersweet. There’s some really painful stuff in here and some wonderful stuff, too. It’s a lovely YA that should also appeal to adults because of the strength of the writing and the power of the book’s themes. The book is narrated by Frank Li, a Korean-American high school senior. The narration is … Continue reading Frankly in Love by David Yoon →
Gideon the Ninth has been parsed into four words that gave me instant grabby hands: “Lesbian necromancers in space.” It was one of my most coveted books to try and snag at BEA, and I preordered it because my goth-loving heart was swayed by the black-stained edges of its first printing. All of this leads to a very tough situation: will a book I’ve been anticipating (and many others, too) will live up to its … Continue reading Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir →
