#The Orphan Queen Duology

[richincolor]

Spring Break Reading

I have one more day of teaching before Spring Break begins. I'm exhausted and can't wait to spend some time curled up with a cup of tea and a book. My TBR is waiting and I'm super excited to dive into these three fantasies.

Broken Web by Lori M. Lee is a sequel to Forest of Souls which I loved. The third book in the Shamanborn series comes out next month so I need to read this one to be ready. 

Pub summary: The Soulless has woken from his centuries-long imprisonment. Now, he lurks in the Dead Wood recovering his strength, while Sirscha and her allies journey east to the shaman empire of Nuvalyn. Everyone believes she is a soulguide—a savior—but Sirscha knows the truth. She’s a monster, a soulrender like the Soulless, and if anyone discovers the truth, she’ll be executed.

But there’s nothing Sirscha won’t risk to stop the shaman responsible for the rot that’s killing her best friend. While the Soulless is formidable, like all shamans, his magic must be channeled through a familiar. If Sirscha can discover what—or who—that is, she might be able to cut him off from his power.

With Queen Meilyr bent on destroying the magical kingdoms, Sirscha finds herself caught between a war brewing in the east and the Soulless waiting in the west. She should be trying to unite what peoples she can to face their common enemies, but instead, her hunt for clues about the Soulless leads to a grim discovery, forcing Sirscha to question who her enemies really are.

Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier will be coming out on April 9th and I will be reviewing it soon. Isn't the cover a beauty?

Pub summary: Hanalei of Tamarind is the cherished daughter of an old island family. But when her father steals a seadragon egg meant for an ailing princess, she is forced into a life of exile. In the years that follow, Hanalei finds solace in studying the majestic seadragons that roam the Nominomi Sea. Until, one day, an encounter with a female dragon offers her what she desires most. A chance to return home, and to right a terrible wrong. Samahtitamahenele, Sam, is the last remaining prince of Tamarind. But he can never inherit the throne, for Tamarind is a matriarchal society. With his mother ill and his grandmother nearing the end of her reign. Sam is left with two to marry, or to find a cure for the sickness that has plagued his mother for ten long years. When a childhood companion returns from exile, she brings with her something he has not felt in a very long time - hope. But Hanalei and Sam are not the only ones searching for the dragonfruit. And as they battle enemies both near and far, there is another danger they cannot escape…that of the dragonfruit itself.

A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal is one I've been waiting for and I have given up on the hold shelf at the library. My local indie bookstore has it so I'm stopping by tomorrow to pick it up. I'm always happy to see books that involve tea as is evidenced by an earlier blog post here. 

Pub summary: Why save the world when you can have tea? On the streets of White Roaring, Arthie Casimir is a criminal mastermind and collector of secrets. Her prestigious tearoom transforms into an illegal bloodhouse by dark, catering to the vampires feared by society. But when her establishment is threatened, Arthie is forced to strike an unlikely deal with an alluring adversary to save it—and she can’t do the job alone. Calling on some of the city's most skilled outcasts, Arthie hatches a plan to infiltrate the sinister, glittering vampire society known as the Athereum. But not everyone in her ragtag crew is on her side, and as the truth behind the heist unfolds, Arthie finds herself in the midst of a conspiracy that will threaten the world as she knows it.  From the New York Times—bestselling author of We Hunt the Flame comes the first book in a hotly anticipated fantasy duology teeming with romance and revenge, led by an orphan girl willing to do whatever it takes to save her self-made kingdom. Dark, action-packed, and swoonworthy, this is Hafsah Faizal better than ever.

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

JOMP BPC - May 7th - Favourite Sequel

I absolutely loved the direction Jodi Meadows took her Orphan Queen duology in the sequel 💕 such an underrated series with a fascinating magic system and excellent characters 🥰

[sleepless-crows]

which ending did you prefer, the season 2 finale or the ruin and rising ending?

season 2 finale - mal becomes sturmhond, alina becomes nikolai's general/queen/queen consort, dark!alina storyline, david is not a part of the triumvirate, zoya is not the general of the second army

book ending - alina loses her powers as a consequence of greed and possessing too much power, alina and mal fake their deaths and live life peacefully taking care of orphans like they were too, david is still alive and is the third of the triumvirate, zoya is the general of the second army

these are what i feel like are the main differences

and please be honest

soc isn't relevant in this particular sab poll so it isn't up there

[alfvaen]

Novel Battle

Last month I did a roundup of books I read, and it looks like I managed to do it again this month, woot. It's not quite the end of the month yet, but there's only day left in December 2023 and I don't think I'll be getting anything else finished this month (and I finished my 100 books on Goodreads), so I might as well do it now. (I have been trying to not leave it all to the last minute, writing bits of it during the month, which may be an effective strategy.)

Actual books under the cut--possible spoilers for Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series, Michelle West's House War series, and maybe C.J. Cherryh's Atevi series, though I'm trying not to.

Michelle West: Battle, completed December 6

This is a slot for a female (or non-male) "diversity" slot author. It almost feels a bit cheating for me to use the slot for Michelle West (a.k.a. Michelle Sagara), who I've been reading for a long time now, and is somebody I'd read anyway, but her books are pretty thick and I have a tendency to fall behind on them, so I'll take whatever will get me to actually read them.

Back when I first read Michelle Sagara, I was heavily into Canadian SF and wanted to read everything that was eligible for the Aurora Awards every year, if possible. (It soon became clear that it was not, for all practical purposes, possible.) So I saw her on the list with her first series, The Sundered, and read them all. It's a series where the good guys lose at the end of the first book, and our protagonist ends up imprisoned by a demon lord type who is also her main romantic interest. This kind of dynamic has turned up a few times in her other books, to some degree or another. Later she came out with the Sun Sword series under the name Michelle West, a series of six quite thick books. (And, it turns out, there had been a previous duology, Hunter's Oath and Hunter's Death, set in the same world and featuring some of the same characters.) And after that, she started coming out with her Elantra series (a.k.a. the "Cast" series, since the titles are all like Cast In Shadow or Cast In Courtlight etc.), again under the Sagara name; slightly lighter, and thinner, fantasy novels featuring a guardswoman named Kaylin Neya living in a multiracial fantasy city (and by multiracial, we have like hawk people, lion people, dragons, elf-types, and telepaths, and probably others I'm forgetting). And after that, she started coming out with the House War series, which was designed to tie up some loose ends from the Sun Sword series. (She's also got another series, a YA-ish urban fantasy series called "Queen of The Dead", but I haven't tried those yet.)

So at the moment I'm reading both the Elantra series and the House War series; I try to get through one of each a year so that maybe I won't fall further behind. Battle is, as one might guess, in the House War series, which, as a series, is a bit odd. The first three books in the series are really their own trilogy, since they take place before The Sun Sword entirely (and one of them overlaps with Hunter's Death). And then comes Skirmish, which takes place after The Sun Sword, and continues on with Battle, Firstborn, Oracle, and War. (Firstborn and Oracle were not part of the original series listing, so I assume that the series stretched as she was writing it.)

The central character of the House War is Jewel Markess ATerafin, who I believe was introduced all the way back in Hunter's Oath and may have been in all of the Michelle West books to date. She started out as a street kid, leader of a "den" of orphans and homeless kids, until she gained the attention of the powerful House Terafin, and managed to win entry for herself and her den; later it turned out that she was a rare "seer-born", and she grew in power and influence. She is a fundamentally nice person, though, who would be happy if everybody just got along and nobody got hurt, so she's not comfortable wielding her power--something she may have to overcome by the end of the series, I suspect. (And, unlike some of Sagara/West's characters, she seems deeply aromantic-coded. Not even a hint of romantic feelings in any of the books to date.) Also, in these books it seems like any random character can turn out to be a retired assassin with a dark past, or a troubled immortal, or a secret mage, or some other such archetype. It works better than it has a right to.

So what is the House War? That's a good question. It's not, fundamentally, a struggle within House Terafin, or between any of the Ten Houses, at least as of yet. It seems more like a struggle of House Terafin, or all of human civilization, against outside forces, quite frankly. Battle has relatively little battle in it, in fact; it still feels like we're readying for the battles to come.

I've started supporting the author on Patreon, mostly because she was working on a new book in this world, Hunter's Redoubt, which the publishers passed on (possibly because she couldn't guarantee it being a reasonable length, or maybe the series just wasn't selling well enough for them), and I've only got three more House War books after this one, so probably by 2027 I'll get to reading it.

Ian Fleming: For Your Eyes Only, completed December 8

Feeling a little behind on my Goodreads challenge after the length of Battle, I decided to scan my shelves for something somewhat shorter, and less fantasy. And Ian Fleming is what I came up with.

I remember James Bond from an early age, between the HBO we (probably illicitly) had when I was a kid, and the promotion for the movie "For Your Eyes Only" (including the Sheena Easton song and the Marvel comics adaptation). These days "FYEO" is considered a lesser entry in the Bond canon, but I have a soft spot for it. I watched and rewatched a lot of the movies over the years, and at some point I started reading the original novels. They're not bad, though of course a product of a different time with all sorts of deeply-ingrained sexism (and probably racism too).

For Your Eyes Only the book is actually a collection of short stories. The first one, "From A View To A Kill", is perhaps the best, a straightforward but engaging story of Bond outwitting an embedded spy nest in France. (Little or nothing in common with the "A View To A Kill" movie.) The title story and "Risico" are the two that the "For Your Eyes Only" movie was built around--the former a story of an off-the-books mission where Bond avenges a pair of M's old friends (with the aid of their bereaved archer daughter, who became Melina in the movie), and the latter being the story of double agent Kristatos trying to set Bond against rival Colombo; the stories themselves are pretty good. Then there's "Quantum of Solace", which also has nothing to do with the later movie, and hardly anything to do with James Bond, being mostly a story told to Bond about a relationship that went sour, and "The Hildebrand Rarity", which oddly didn't get any movies named after it, about a horrible person who comes to a bad end on a boat on the Indian Ocean, and good riddance. While uneven, it was actually a bit refreshing to see Bond in different contexts and shorter pieces.

Jim Butcher: Warriorborn, completed December 9

Next, I wanted another male author, and still probably a shorter book. The Olympian Affair, the latest Jim Butcher novel, had just come out, and was devoured by several members of the household; this e-novella was kind of a precursor to it, and my wife had recommended I read it, and I decided it might be just the thing.

I have a read a lot of Jim Butcher--almost all of the Dresden Files (saving only a few of the more recent stories), the Codex Alera, and The Aeronaut's Windlass, the first Cinder Spires book (to which The Olympian Affair is the sequel). It's been some time since his last novel, Battle Ground, and quite frankly, that one left a really bad taste in my mouth. A lot of that was due to a particular character death which I really did not appreciate, but I can't tell if it's just that or if I've gone off him completely. So I have deliberately been avoiding the last few Dresden Files stories, and I wasn't sure if I was going to read any more at all, so I guess this was also a way of giving him another chance.

I apparently didn't remember The Aeronaut's Windlass that well, because I did not remember the main character of the story, or the whole Warriorborn class at all (they seem to be humanoid but part cat or something?). I remembered actual intelligent cat characters, but not these guys. Anyway, there was a story, it was mildly exciting, and it only took me a day to read it. I'm still not sure if Butcher has redeemed himself, but I did put The Olympian Affair on my to-read list, even if I probably won't actually read it any time soon. He may not be "don't read ever again", but he hasn't earned his way back up to "read as soon as the hardcover comes out" yet by a long shot.

Lois McMaster Bujold: Ethan of Athos, completed December 12

Three books since my last reread, so it was time for another one, the next (chronological) Vorkosigan book, Ethan of Athos. It's an odd duck in the series--no Vorkosigans appear in it at all, but we do get Elli Quinn, last seen getting sent off for extensive facial reconstruction surgery in The Warrior's Apprentice, in which she had barely any screen time. The book's POV character, though, is the titular Ethan, from the planet Athos, a planet of a reclusive misogynistic society that bans women entirely and reproduces entirely through uterine replicators and ovarian cultures. But when the ovarian cultures start senescing, and their replacement shipment is hijacked, Ethan is forced to head into the big bad woman-infested galaxy and try to remedy the problem. Which brings him into contact and/or conflict with Elli Quinn, Cetagandans, and other forces. And ends up broadening his worldview ever so slightly, though he does return home at the end…with perhaps the biggest dangling plot thread that never got revisited in the entire series. I was lukewarm about it my first time through, but by now I consider it pretty fun, but inessential. It does give you a chance to see Elli as a full-fledged character before you see her back with Miles again.

Cecilia Dart-Thornton: The Ill-Made Mute, completed December 18

After three short reads in a row, I was now ahead again. It was time for another female author, and for "trying out" one I hadn't read before. When I'd first started doing this, I limited it strictly to authors where I'd picked up one book at random and that was it, but I later broadened it to include other authors, particularly ones where I'd picked up two books by them and not yet read either. And the one I happened to have sitting on my shelf was Cecilia Dart-Thornton's The Ill-Made Mute, which was both an interesting author name and an interesting book title.

It's an odd book in a lot of ways. The language is…well, you could say "rich", you could say "not afraid of using obscure vocabulary words". The setting is interesting--there's a metal that floats above the ground (not unlike something that they have in the Cinder Spires, actually), and some people use it to travel by floating ship or floating horse…which makes sense once you find out how dangerous overland travel is, because of all the wights (a.k.a. fairy folk, seelie and unseelie, many of which seem to be drawn from actual Celtic folklore, given the extensive references at the back).

Our protagonist is the mute of the title--stripped of their memory, speech, and name, disfigured by accident, and receiving only grudging kindness by their rescuers. Could be a more proactive character than they are, since they spend a lot of the time at the mercy of more powerful forces (and many capricious wights), but you do root for them to come through.

It turns out, by the way, that the other book in the series which I own, The Battle of Evernight, is the third book, not the second, so I guess I need to track down a copy of The Lady of The Sorrows sometime. Sigh.

C.J. Cherryh & Jane Fancher: Defiance, completed December 22

I only had three books left to read for the year, and 13 days to do it in, so I still seemed more or less on track, but maybe a shorter book would not go amiss--especially since we were planning to go out of town on the 23rd, something that I could finish by the 22nd might be a good idea. Female author still, and not high fantasy.

I often like to let books sit on my to-read shelf for a while; or, to put it another way, to not neglect forever the books that have been sitting there for a long time in favour of newer and shinier ones. But there are exceptions, for authors that I've read a lot of and am actually caught up on, where I try to keep caught up by reading their newest books.

I've been reading C.J. Cherryh for a long time--I started with her Morgaine books, after seeing her mentioned in Dragon magazine, and went through whatever I could find--Cuckoo's Egg, Serpent's Reach, the Faded Sun books, the Chanur books, etc. I fell behind for a long time, but the Atevi books (starting with Foreigner) helped, because I started reading them to my son. They're not kids' books, but he was a teenager when I read them to him so that was okay. (If it bothers you to think of a teenager still being read to by his parents, think of it as a "parental audiobook experience".) I had gotten about twelve books in on my own, but even restarting from the beginning, I was able to plow through the series (up to at least book 20) reading them aloud. (By this point he can read them on his own if he wants to, though.)

This is book 22 in the series, and while it seems to be starting out with recap (which was less useful when reading them back-to-back, but helpful now) it's probably not a recommended starting point. The length of the series is a tribute to the complex political situations that our characters get involved in, and she's probably not in danger of running out. This is her second novel, and first Atevi novel, crediting her longtime companion Jane Fancher as a cowriter, probably for reasons.

The Atevi series in general takes place on (mostly) a planet inhabited by a species called atevi, where a group of humans were forced to settle after a hyperspace accident left them unable to return home. After some initial friction, they are coexisting mostly peacefully, with one human (called a "paidhi") as a cultural interface. The current paidhi, Bren Cameron, ends up getting involved more deeply than usual in atevi politics, which is all I'll say in lieu of spoilers.

Josiah Bancroft: Arm of The Sphinx, completed December 27

I also picked this one largely on page count--I was planning on reading it in 5-6 days, which would cover the days when I was visiting my mother for Christmas. In a slight deviation from my normal tactic, I ended up allocating reading pages so that the two travel days (it usually takes us about six hours to do the drive) required fewer pages, and it worked pretty well.

The first book in the series, Senlin Ascends, involved Thomas Senlin and his young wife travelling to the Tower of Babel, the wife getting abducted, and Senlin going into the tower after her. The details of the world aren't particularly clear--there is a Tower of Babel but there's also steampunk technology and people with European names, and there's no map of anything besides the Tower itself so I don't worry about it too much.

In this book, the second, we have more an ensemble cast rather than just Senlin, and I think the change is quite effective. Senlin is a reserved gentleman thrust into unfamiliar situations, and sometimes he's a little bit repressed, so having more viewpoints was helpful. Plus it allows us, the reader, to learn things without Senlin necessarily learning those things as well.

I'm hoping that we'll shift our plot from "Senlin looking for his wife" to something with slightly larger stakes about the fate of the Tower itself, and the world. Because it's beginning to seem like Senlin and his wife may not have the most successful, loving reunion. We haven't seen much of her at all, really, and I hope that when we do, she'll have a stronger character than just "damsel in distress".

There's two more books in the series, which of course may be out of print by this point, but I think the odds of my finishing the series at all have definitely gone up.

Lois McMaster Bujold: Borders of Infinity, completed December 30

And then it was time for another read, another Vorkosigan book, whose placement may be a little bit controversial. It consists of three novellas, the first of which, "The Mountains of Mourning", takes place between The Warrior's Apprentice and The Vor Game. The others do take place between Ethan of Athos and Brothers In Arms, but in this book there's also a framing story that takes place after Brothers In Arms. (In the more recent omnibus editions the novellas are rearranged, and the framing story disappears entirely. There's not much to it, so it's not a huge loss.) But there's no spoilers from BIA, it turns out (Miles is in the hospital with broken arms from an unchronicles adventure that happens after BIA, and while its events are alluded to, all that really comes up is that they were on Earth). BIA in fact takes place directly after "Borders of Infinity".

"Mountains of Morning" is probably the most affecting of the three novellas, as Miles has to investigate the murder of a baby in the backwoods of his district, with characters that show up again in Memory. "Labyrinth" is my least favourite of the three, though it's still good. It is the most novel-structured of them, with subplots and multiple settings, and its events serve as setup for the events on Jackson's Whole later in Mirror Dance. "Borders of Infinity" is a tour de force showing how Miles can accomplish his goals after stripped of pretty much everything, and also a good example of how to hide things from the reader that your viewpoint characters knows.

And that's December, and the end of 2023. Next up it will be a book from my dwindling supply of male "diversity" authors, Siege of Mithila by Indian author Ashok Banker. I also got a copy of the nonfiction book Paths of Pollen, written by my very own brother, that came out a month ago.

[sabraeal]

I hope you will take this as a fun opportunity and not an annoyance but I was wondering if you had any book recs? I generally read fantasy and have been trying to break into Adult Lit over YA (while still liking YA and hoping to find adult novels with the same engaging settings and brisk pacing but with more advanced prose). Really liked Spinning Silver and Uprooted by Naomi Novik this year, and my favorites of your fics are Seven Suitors (obligatory), pacific rim au, and the snow queen one. I’ve never really read romance before but I’m willing to give it a try, especially if there’s other genre elements at play as well. Do you have any directions you could point me? I appreciate it!

Oh, I always love giving book recs, and thank you so much for giving me some preferences because it's so much easier to direct people when I know what they already like!

My current favorite YA author right now is Frances Hardinge, who writes truly magnificent prose and absolutely amazing worlds. If you like All That Remains, you will probably love the emotional devastation that is The Lie Tree, and a few of my other favorites are Gullstruck Island and Cuckoo Song. If you are a fan of Terry Pratchett, you also can't go wrong with her Fly By Night duology. Genevieve Valentine is another YA author I highly recommend; Mechanique is probably my favorite, but the Persona series is also top notch, and The Girls at the Kingfisher Club has a vibe that cannot be beat.

I haven't yet read Spinning Silver but Uprooted is also a fav of mine; I have a deep love of fairy tale retellings, or stories written to be like fairy tales. On that thread I definitely recommend the Winternight trilogy by Katherine Arden (I have a few quibbles with the story, but the writing is solid and the first book had me captivated for a good 3/4ths of it), The Orphan's Tales by Catherynne M Valente, plus A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C Bunce (her Thief Errant series also lives RENT FREE in my head at all times).

Seven Suitors was fleshed out with Regency mores in mind, inspired by by historical mystery novels I read in that time period, plus some fantasy with more rigid social structure. The Crown & Court duet by Sherwood Smith is something I would consider formative for my writing in that quarter. For something actually regency set, though definitely not the same genre, I would recommend the Sebastian St Cyr series by CS Harris, which are mysteries set in Georgian London, featuring a brooding hero who starts off with an equally brooding, star-crossed actress as a lover...only to have the rug pulled out beneath him by the daughter of his father's long-standing political rival.

My scifi chops are rather thin-- I love the genre but I find lots of the deeper cuts here get too info-dumpy for me on the hard science level-- but I can definitely recommend The Expanse series by James SA Corey (as well as pretty much anything Daniel Abraham writes in the fantasy genre)

As for All That Remains, there are several extremely painful fantasy series I could recommend, because I love having my heart torn out, stamped on, and then taped back in. Guy Gavriel Kay is a great writer for that-- I suggest starting at Lions of Al-Rassan and then working your way forward through that setting by publishing date. The aforementioned Daniel Abraham also is amazing at this; The Seasons Quartet is a decades-spanning series that will truly make your tear out your hair at the end of each book. NK Jemisin is also amazing, The Broken Earth trilogy is where I would start out for intense heart-stomping.

[due4amiracle]

BOOKS.

Alright so. Wow this is just gonna be books. There's everything i read in September, and everything i've read so far in October. i'm not putting all these in the tags. Suffer. ♡

Zhara (Guardians of Dawn #1) by S. Jae-Jones 4/5 - i adored this book, it was so good. It was so anime and i really loved that. Very excited for the next book!

The Vermilion Emporium by Jamie Pacton 1.5/5 - Just... didn't feel this one.

Crown of Moonlight (Court of Midnight and Deception #2) by K.M. Shea 4/5 - Doot doot KU UF? Yesss~

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White 5/5 (Probable BotY!!) - OH FUCK. This book saw me, saw right into my deep dark dirty secrets and ripped them out into the light and oh shit this was good. i love AJW, i really do, and i'm excited for more!

The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss 5/5 (reread) - Auri is love, Auri is life!

The Queen's Crown (Court of Midnight and Deception #3) by K.M. Shea 4/5 Yep yep yep. This is probably my favorite of the trilogies so far?

Hunted (Pack of Dawn and Destiny #1) by K.M. Shea 3/5 - Fun fun~

United (Pack of Dawn and Destiny #2) by K.M. Shea 3/5 - Book two of a cute grumpy romance~

Together We Rot by Skyla Arndt 2/5 - Argh i wanted so much more from this. >_>

Godkiller (Godkiller #1) by Hannah Kaner 4/5 - AHH! This was so good, i really enjoyed it and i really need the second one!

Monstrous by Jessica Lewis 3/5 - This was pretty decent. It kinda made me crave a second book, but i'm fine without.

What Stalks Among Us by Sarah Hollowell 4/5 - Eek, another book that ripped me open! This was so good, i love it!

Fated (Pack of Dawn and Destiny #3) by K.M. Shea 3/5 - Finish off this trilogy!

Starter Villain by John Scalzi 4.5/5 - The bloody madlad did it again. i love Scalzi, i really do, and this book was no different. It was so much fun and had me yelling multiple times. (And come on, the cover is a cat in a business suit, how do you not love that!)

A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic #2) by V.E. Schwab 3/5 - The very slow progression of my reading of this series. It's aight. Am actually kinda intrigued as to what's coming up next.

Fireborne (The Aurelian Cycle #1) by Rosaria Munda 4/5 - THIS. This is what i wanted Fourth Wing to be!! Very good, very spicy.

I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea 4/5 - Oh i do love a villain origin story. This was vicious and darkly thrilling and so so beautiful. It had light brushes of romance, strong platonic connections, a deep pool of mystery that reveled in horror and delighted in misdirection, the deep underbelly of ballet, and a young woman tearing her way through it all by teeth and claw and sheer force of will. And a little bit of eldritch horror-y magical machinations thrown in.

Shadow Coven (The Witchery #2) by S. Isabelle 2/5 - This one is sad. i really loved the first one, but oh no this one… had so much bouncing around. So many PoV's so many different places so much happening - it was so hard to keep track of anything. i kinda don't really know what all went on. Overwhelming. But what i could keep track of, i did enjoy quite a bit.

What Became of Magic by Paige Crutcher 3/5 - i have a love/dislike relationship with Paige Crutcher. The Orphan Witch i absolutely adored, it was such a good book, it really hit me in a lot of heart places, i absolutely adore a found family chaos adventure! Then came The Lost Witch which was… bland. Convoluted. Lackluster. Sad. And now we have What Became of Magic. It lands kind of in the middle between the two. Often enough, it hit, and oh did it hit good. But otherwise it was… i found myself skimming to get to the next 'hit'. It was kinda disappointing. Maybe next time, Paige!

Cage of Dreams (City of Nightmares #2) by Rebecca Schaeffer 4/5 - WHAT A GOOD BOOK ahhh what a good duology what a good ending. That ending! How dare. i want more. i crave more. Gimmie!

Hex of the Witch (The Other Witch #1) by Heather G. Harris 4/5 - i love Harris' The Other Realm books, and this one is fantastic. AmberxBastion is my OTP! Can't wait for book 2 next month.

Dire Straits (The Austin Wolves #3) by C.P. Rider 3/5 - i really love this UF KU series, the whole extended universe. It's very good.

Gray Days (Black Hat Bureau #9) by Hailey Edwards 4/5 - i have read and will continue to read everything Hailey Edwards has put out. This book -- THE ENDING uuughhhh how dare, so cruel, so evil! So excited for more!

What i've read through October thus far! - The King's Captive (Gates of Myth and Power #1) by K.M. Shea 3/5 - Book 1 of a pretty good trilogy.

The King's Shadow (Gates of Myth and Power #2) by K.M. Shea 3/5 Doot doot KU UF gogo!

The King's Queen (Gates of Myth and Power #3) by K.M. Shea 3/5 - Alright and now we start the wait for More Magiford Gogo!

Flamefall (The Aurelian Cycle, #2) by Rosaria Munda 2.75/5 - i really struggled with the first, oh, 3/4 of this one. i understand the stakes, but oof, gritty abuse for abuse sake is a lot. i can't wait for Ixion's death, i hope it comes soon into book 3, what a pos i'm very interested to see where book 3 takes me!

Furysong (The Aurelian Cycle, #3) by Rosaria Munda 4/5 - HELL YES! That is how you fuckin' end it, i'm SO thrilled!

Beholder by Ryan La Sala 4.5/5 - This is going to be like, top 3 of the year, imo, this was so so so good, another one that ripped me open. So good. Whew. Loved it.

[strangenoquestion]

Sometimes we hate others for the things we hate in ourselves.

Jodi Meadows, The Mirror King    

[readaroundtherosie]

Completed Duologies in my collection // 1 / 3

[genyasafinsmissingeye]

My official ranking of all seven full grishaverse novels (Minor spoiler warning):

7. Rule of Wolves

The grishaverse ended on a very bad note for me. Nina’s ending was so awful and forced, and very un-Nina like. Besides the mastery of Zoyalai, so was the Ravka plot. Zoya’s racially identity? Thirty pages. Zoya being crowned queen? Ten. In the last few chapters, the Darkling runs off dramatically, only to reappear two chapters later (Not even shown, just told) and tell them everything they need to know, and sacrificing himself nobley. Also, was Bardugo trying to humanize him again, because it wasn’t working. This is just a personal preference, but all the politics was just eye gaugingly boring to me. I have so many negative feelings about ROW, I might make a whole other post about it.

6. Shadow and Bone

I really disliked the first book in the “Shadow and Bone” trilogy. Every major character spare Genya was insufferable, the writing was bad and emotionless, and the whole plot was just so cliche. However, it was the introduction to the beautiful world of the grishaverse and the world building was fantastic, so it gained points there, but that was pretty much its only saving grace.

5.  King of Scars

The Nikolai duology left me less then impressed, but KOS was decent. The interactions between Nikolai and Zoya were so funny and witty (and hot). I gained a new favourite ship from this book, and my love for David x Genya just grew. I also enjoyed the characters: the originals (especially Genya. If you have’t caught on, I love her) and also the new characters such as Leoni, Issak, and Hanne. But I found the plot surronding the return of the saints confusing, out of place and overall, just plain boring.

4. Ruin and Rising

The reason this one is up this high is due to the fact I am weak for the band-of-unlikely-heros trope. The dynamics between Alina’s little support group were unique, funny, and the banter was incredible. Though points were lost because the plot lagged, and I was disapointed by the ending (However, it is growing on me).

3. Siege and Storm

Three words: Nikolai fucking Lanstov. Also, Tolya and Tamar became new favourites, and Alina’s new powerful self was much more likeable then her little humble orphan persona in the first book. I just really love pirates- I mean privateers.

2. Crooked Kingdom

Had me rolling on the floor in pain. The crows were in their fine form, with all the banter Leigh Bardugo does best, and all those great ships. It was incredible through and through, the only reason it wasn’t as good as SOC to me being how confused I was about the auction plot line.

1. Six of Crows

This book is Leigh Bardugo’s Bohemian Rhapsody. Her Mona Lisa. Sometimes, I think about Six of Crows and either break into spontaneous sobs or laughter, or sometimes both. It was the perfect mix between humour and heartbreak, and it was refreshing to read a novel about a bunch of no good criminals- loveable anti heros. The found family was top tier, and the chaos that ensued between them was unmatched. What else could be my number one?

[richincolor]

New Releases for the Week of February 20, 2024

I'm interested in all of the new releases this week--especially A Tempest of Tea--since tea is in my cup every day. It's another to add to our list of books featuring tea. Along with the vampire and tearoom book, we have a contemporary story and another fantasy with demons and curses. It looks like a good week to read.

Conditions of a Heart by Bethany Mangle Margaret K. McElderry Books 

Brynn Kwan is desperate for her high school persona to be real. That Brynn is head of the yearbook committee, the favorite for prom queen, and definitely not crumbling from a secret disability that’s rapidly wearing her down. If no one knows the truth about her condition, Brynn doesn’t have to worry about the pitying looks or accusations of being a faker that already destroyed her childhood friendships. She’s even willing to let go of her four-year relationship with her first love, Oliver, rather than reveal that a necessary surgery was the reason she ignored his existence for the entire summer.

But after Brynn tries to break up a fight at a pep rally and winds up barred from all her clubs and senior prom, she has nothing left to prop up her illusion of being just like everyone else. During a week-long suspension from school, she realizes that she doesn’t quite recognize the face in the mirror—and it’s not because of her black eye from the fight. With a healthy sister who simply doesn’t understand and a confused ex-boyfriend who won’t just take a hint and go away like a normal human being, Brynn begins to wonder if it’s possible to reinvent her world by being the person she thought no one herself.

The Diablo’s Curse by Gabe Cole Novoa Random House Books for Young Readers

From the author of The Wicked Bargain comes a high-stakes race to defeat a curse designed to kill about a teen demon who wants to be human, a boy cursed to die young, and the murderous island destined to bury them both.

Dami is a demon determined to cancel every deal they’ve ever made in order to tether their soul to earth and become human again. There’s just one person standing in their Silas. An irresistibly (and stubborn) cute boy cursed to die young, except for the deal with Dami that is keeping him alive. If they cancel the deal, Silas is dead. Unless… they can destroy the curse that has plagued Silas’s family for generations. But to do so, Dami and Silas are going to have to work together. That is, if the curse doesn’t kill them first. . . . 

A Tempest of Tea (Blood and Tea #1) by Hafsah Faizal Farrar, Straus and Giroux

On the streets of White Roaring, Arthie Casimir is a criminal mastermind and collector of secrets. Her prestigious tearoom transforms into an illegal bloodhouse by dark, catering to the vampires feared by society. But when her establishment is threatened, Arthie is forced to strike an unlikely deal with an alluring adversary to save it—and she can’t do the job alone.

Calling on some of the city’s most skilled outcasts, Arthie hatches a plan to infiltrate the dark and glittering vampire society known as the Athereum. But not everyone in her ragtag crew is on her side, and as the truth behind the heist unfolds, Arthie finds herself in the midst of a conspiracy that will threaten the world as she knows it.

From the New York Times–bestselling author of We Hunt the Flame comes the first book in a hotly-anticipated fantasy duology teeming with romance, revenge, and an orphan girl willing to do whatever it takes to save her self-made kingdom. Dark, action-packed, and swoonworthy, this is Hafsah Faizal better than ever.

[celiabowens]

25 books recs from my 2020 reads

I’ve been wanting to make this post for a while, but I wanted to wait and see how my last reads of the year would go. Also, narrowing them down to 20 was a nope, so I just made a bigger list instead lol. I’ve tried to include a vague description of each book and the main trigger warnings and rep. I apologise in advance if I forgot anything (for trigger warnings, I suggest double checking on the site booktriggerwarnings).

Adult SFF

A Memory Called Empire: it feels like I’ve raved about this one enough but just in case: A Memory Called Empire is a space opera following an ambassador who suddenly finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery and a political conspiracy. It’s got brilliant world building and a nuanced and intricate reflection about culture, language and colonialism. Subtle slow burn f/f romance on the side (+ a poly relationship shown in flashbacks). TW: suicide.

Black Sun: first book in an epic fantasy series inspired by pre-columbian Americas. Great cast of characters and very interesting use of mythology + the main plot is focused on political and religious conflict and the author handles both sides of it quite well. The book has bisexual and non-binary rep, one of the main characters is blind. TW: suicide, abuse, self harm. There’s some gore, although it’s not extremely graphic.

The Sword of Kaigen: a Japanese inspired stand alone epic fantasy. The book is not focused on battle or war, although they play an important role in the plot itself, but on family dynamics and personal growth. It’s a very character driven novel, with some rather conventional elements (elemental magic) and some more original reuses of traditional fantasy tropes. TW: abuse.

Empire of Sand: first book in a duology of companion novels inspired by Mughal India. Mostly focused on religious and political conflict, although romance is heavily featured in both books. Pretty good slow burn romance in both cases. TW: abuse, slavery, torture, sexual assault, self-harm.

The Light Brigade: a rather unconventional space opera with a complex non linear narration. This is not an easy read in every possible way, but the pay off is worth it. Also it’s one of those cases in which I think it’s best to go in knowing nothing or almost nothing. TW: torture, murder, ptsd, war, gore, infectious diseases (yeah you need a strong stomach for this........).

Gods of Jade and Shadow: a coming of age story set in Mexico during the Jazz age. A bit of a lighter read, a journey-adventure featuring a god slowly becoming human, tasks to complete etc. TW: bullying.

River of Stars: more of an alternate history than pure fantasy, as most of GGK’s novels are. This one in particular was inspired by Chinese history and it’s ideally a companion to Under Heaven. Both can be read as standalones but I find their parallels and differences very interesting. I’d also recommend The Lions of Al-Rassan and A Brightness Long Ago, by the same author. All of them revisit historical events from the point of view of rather ordinary people who find themselves in the middle of events they can’t control. 

Empire of Gold: the last book in a trilogy, starting with City of Brass. The first novel is more trope-y and naive in places, but I found both the second book and the conclusion of the trilogy more nuanced and satisfying. There’s a m/m relationship on the side. TW: mass murder, torture, enslavement, abuse.

Adult SFF novella edition

The Deep: novella set in an underwater society built by the descendants of African slave women that were tossed overboard. The novella deals with trauma, both personal and generational one.

This Is How You Lose The Time War: epistolary set during a time-travel war. Enemies to lovers f/f romance. Very character driven, don’t expect a lot of world building.

The Empress of Salt and Fortune: an Asian-inspired novella that gives a voice to people usually silenced by history. It follows a cleric as they chronicle the story of the late empress, retold through objects that she used in her life. 

YA SFF

Return of the Thief/The Queen’s Thief series in general: the last book in the queen’s thief series! Honestly just read this series it’s literally too good? It is carefully planned from start to finish and it has politics, adventures, characters with extremely questionable morals and good banter? TW: loss of a limb, torture (not extremely graphic), ptsd.

The Kingdom of Back: probably Marie Lu’s best book yet? think of the concept of “shakespeare’s sister” as explained by Woolf in A Room of One’s Own, but with the Mozart siblings. I actually had no idea Mozart had a sister prior to reading this. It’s a quite emotional read, as it shows how little opportunities women had to be recognised for their talent.

Adult Literary Fiction

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous: a beautiful exploration of language, family history, trauma, sexuality and gender. TW: war, ptsd, death.

Augustus: an epistolary historical fiction novel narrating some of the main events of Augustus’ reign through letters from/by his closest friends and enemies. Not even remotely historically accurate, but a lot of fun to read if you’re familiar with historical accounts of that period.

A Gentleman in Moscow: following Count Alexander Rostov, who, in 1922, is sentenced to a lifetime of house arrest in the Metropol, a luxurious hotel in the center of Moscow. A peculiar novel, funny and heartbreaking at once, following a vibrant cast of characters as they come and go from Rostov’s secluded life.

How Much of These Hills Is Gold: following two recently orphaned children through the gold rush era, the book is an adventurous historical fiction piece that focuses on themes like gender, identity and immigration. TW: abuse, sexual assault, racism.

The Memory Police: published in Japan in the mid 90s, but translated recently, it’s an orwellian dystopian novel set on an unnamed Island where memories of certain objects and feelings slowly disappear.

The Nickel Boys: the book follows the lives of two boys sentenced to a reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida. A bleak, but important book, with a shocking final twist. TW: abuse, racism, death.

Manga/Graphic Novels

The Girl from the Other Side

Opus: very meta, much like most of Satoshi Kon’s movies. Kon actually never finished this (the magazine he was publishing it on was cancelled) and a last chapter was published after his death after his family found the sketches for it.

Oriental Piano: based on the story of the author’s grandfather, who invented a musical instrument in Beirut in the 1960s, combining Arabic music and a western musical instrument. Sort of reminiscent of Satrapi’s style. 

Webtoons

Lore of Olympus (TW: sexual assault)

Clara and The Devil

Non Fiction

The Professor and the Madman: the peculiar and extraordinary tale behind the compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary. TW: self-harm, ptsd, war.

Honourable mentions: The Binding (TW: abuse, sexual assault, suicide. Gay rep.), The Silence of the Girls (TW: sexual assault, death, war), To Be Taught, If Fortunate (bi, ace, poly rep), The Kyoshi Novels (bi rep, f/f relationship).

[starry-sky-stuff]

Rule of Wolves and Choice

The way that Rule of Wolves and, indeed, the Nikolai Duology as a whole, dealt with choice and agency has an excess of questionable implications.

I drew from a post chain here between me and @jeaniefranklins in writing this post.

Zoya’s a character who has never really gotten the chance to dictate the direction of her life. As a child, her mother tried to marry her off to a wealthy man, then she gets conscripted into the army, turned into a child soldier, and indoctrinated. Becoming Queen was not wholly Zoya’s decision. Nikolai decides to nominate her as his successor without consulting her or any real indication that she would be okay with his. Not only is this out of character, in my opinion, but inherently disrespectful to her agency. Imagine if your partner nominated you to become the boss without asking if you’re okay with the duties and responsibilities that come with that role. You probably wouldn’t be too happy about that. I understand that Leigh Bardugo wanted to keep this from the audience for the dramatic reveal, but she could have had Zoya know about it. She managed to pull off a narrator keeping things from the audience multiple times in the Six of Crows Duology.

Furthermore, as part of this wider theme there was room for an actual deconstruction of child soldiers, indoctrination, and agency but this is never fully explored. I understand that it's YA so it's predicated on a certain amount of suspension of disbelief but that doesn't mean the ethics of child soldiers couldn't be examined.

Being a soldier is all Zoya, and the other Grisha, have ever known. They’ve never been taught to be anything else much less given the opportunity to explore other pathways. Serving the Darkling, the Second Army, and Ravka, is the only life they’ve ever had. Zoya could still have chosen to serve Ravka, but it would have been her choice and not just because, as a Grisha, she’s never had the opportunity of choosing a different life.

This is part of a wider problem of Bardugo failing to critically analyse or deal with her own worldbuilding. She sets up a lot of themes that fall to the wayside because she’s not willing to carry through with the implications. The Grisha draft is an objectively awful thing that involved taking children away from their parents against their will, and the payments certainly implies to me that the poor and orphans are specifically targeted. Parents of the Grisha students, and indeed families in general, are almost never mentioned. Zoya visited her aunt and wrote to her, so it clearly wasn’t forbidden, but neither do I think continued close familial ties were encouraged. It doesn’t fit into the Darkling’s policy of indoctrinating the students. They arrive at the palace and are told, here’s your new family, here’s your new father, be loyal to them. They’re indoctrinated into the belief of Grisha supremacy, isolated from the real world and closed up in the Little Palace. And if they don’t want to serve in the army, then they have to go on the run or move to another country.

It’s not as if these issues are completely ignored, either. Tolya and Tamar both express disdain for the system of the Second Army, and even Genya points out how terrible it was to take children away from their families. For Zoya, it wasn’t terrible though and it saved her from a bad situation. So, the narration brushes over it completely. This could have been a moment of reflection for Zoya, where she could realise that her experience isn’t universal and for other people the Darkling’s actions denied them a safe life (or at least safer, this is Ravka after all). But we get no reflection, because that would involve confronting the fact the system hasn’t inherently changed. Yes, the draft has ended, but the militarisation of Grisha society remains.

There’s no evidence that the Little Palace has changed from a military school to just a school. Literally, all it would’ve taken is one line to mention that the Grisha can now choose whether they want to join the Second Army even if they were taught at the Little Palace. There could’ve been an effort to reconnect the Grisha with their family, or retraining Grisha so they can take up other jobs (Frabrikators could easily become inventors of things other than weapons, Squallers could work on ships, Healers can work in hospitals, etc). But there’s none of this. We’re never given a close enough look to see how the new Second Army is substantially different from that under the Darkling.

Ultimately, the poor treatment of Zoya and the other Grisha's agency is merely a symptom of the problems with the worldbuilding. To acknowledge that they were and are denied agency would open a can of worms Bardugo simply wasn’t prepared to address.

(*on an extra note, the plotpoint of Zoya killing Juris and taking him as an amplifier has some very gross implications. If I’m wrong, feel free to correct me, but at no point did Juris ever explain to Zoya the effects of killing him. Did she understand the effects of essentially taking on him and the dragon like a person hosting a demonic possession? And she certainly wasn’t coping well with it in the beginning of Rule of Wolves. In a different story, a mentor figure using you to basically continuing living in your head would be a horror story)

[thelivebookproject]

Talking Books With @coffeebooksorme!

[What is this and how can I participate?]

Important note: I haven’t changed or edited any of the answers. I’ve only formatted the book titles so they were clearer, but nothing else. Because I’m incapable of shutting up, my comments are between brackets and in italics, so you can distinguish them clearly.

-----------------------------------------------------------

[Image description: a square titled “Know the blogger”. Name & pronouns: Whitney, she/her; country: United States; three adjectives to describe her: passionate, dependable & persistent /end]

1. What is a book you own a special edition of?

Oh god, so many! I have numerous copies of wizardry books by she who must not be named, the B&N editions of the ADSOM trilogy, the 10th anniversary edition of The Name of the Wind, but I think the ones that really hold a special place in my heart are the first edition hardcovers of the Nevernight trilogy by Jay Kristoff. I'm not ashamed to admit I paid a ridiculous amount for the first book only for the reprint to happen a few months later 😂🤦

[B&N is Barnes and Nobles and ADSOM is the A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Scwhab, in case someone (like me) got lost!]

2. Last book character you've wanted to befriend?

I just finished The Orphan Queen duology by Jodi Meadows, which I absolutely loved and think is one of the best written YA fantasy books out there, so I'd have to say Wilhelmina, the MC, because she was just so freaking cool! She was super smart, not perfect but okay with it, willing to learn, and had such a dry sense of humor that I feel like we'd vibe pretty well!

[“Just” as in September 13, when the interview took place]

3. Do you like reading aloud to other people?

Oh god no! I always get nervous and stumble over my words and years of being forced to do it in school just makes me sweat having to think about it. 😂

4. How do you decide which books go on your TBR? Are there any deciding factors?

Honestly, despite being ridiculously organized, my TBR is not. I have a physical TBR that's a mixture of books I purchased with 100% intention of reading because they're by favorite authors or continuations of series and then I have physical books that were purely impulse buys that I have a very small interest in. My Goodreads TBR is a mix of what I physically own, new releases yet to come out, backlist books I want to get to but don't own yet, and random books I'm interested in but are on the backest back burner ever lol Now if you're talking monthly TBR, I don't really keep those. I'm too much of a damn mood reader or I'll be overwhelmed so I'll either make my husband pick or send a picture to my friend and have her pick.

5. Which book best describes the way you approach life?

Oh god. I honestly don't know. I don't really approach life in a certain way, at least I don't think I do. I'm stubborn as hell and have this undeniable need to prove myself. I guess now that I'm rambling about it, the one book that pops into my head is Anne of Green Gables. Anne was competitive, smart, and tenacious as hell. She kind of grabbed life by the reins and just went for it. While I may not be as fearless as her, I definitely identify with her unending need to prove herself to the world.

Free space!

2020 has been a shitshow of a year but I think it's been a great year for readers, at least for me. I've found two new favorites: The Starless Sea [by Erin Morgensten] and The House in the Cerulean Sea [by T. J. Klune] that I think everyone should read. They both left me feeling happy, satisfied, and yearning for more. I also learned through bullet journaling that while I love fantasy, I read far more contemporary which just blows my mind.

You can follow her at @coffeebooksorme and on her Goodreads.

---------------------------------------------------

Thank you, Whitney! I loved chatting with you.

Next interview: Wednesday, 28th of April

[jadelotusflower]

Roundup - September 2021

This month: Saving Fish From Drowning, Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass, Anne Boleyn, Cruella, The Chair

Reading

Saving Fish from Drowning (Amy Tan) - I've always enjoyed Tan's work (particularly The Joy Luck Club, both the book and film) - Fish is somewhat of a departure, following a group of American tourists in Myanmar, narrated by their recently deceased friend Bibi Chen. The novel begins with a preface in which Tan explains she drew inspiration for the novel based on real events chronicled by a San Franciscan psychic's "automatic writing" channeling Chen's spirit (in truth a complete invention on Tan’s part, both literary device and metaphor).

Bibi is a compelling narrator, full of wry commentary of her friends as they bumble their way through their trip, the tone of the novel quite light despite some of the dark subject matter around the political situation in Myanmar (the novel was written in 2005 and set several years earlier) and the nature of intervention - the title referring to fisherman who "save fish from drowning" by netting them. It was at times difficult to keep track of all twelve (!) of the main characters and who was who outside of the few who get the most attention of the narrative.

An interesting read, about the stories we tell ourselves and others, and the fictions we believe for comfort and hope.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass and what Alice found there (Lewis Carroll) - I've been making more of an effort to work on my novel lately, which makes some reference to these works so thought it was due for a re-read. It seems impossible to consider these separate novels given how conflated they have become in pop culture - even the Disney film takes elements from both - they act as either a duology, or alternatively a single story told in two parts.

I personally much prefer Looking Glass, perhaps because I imprinted on the 1985 miniseries as a child (which adapts both novels, but we only had the second part on tape) - best known for it's celebrity cameos in silly costumes - including Sammy Davis Jnr, Donald O'Connor, Ringo Starr, and Carol Channing, among others, and the danger of the Jabberwocky as a manifestation of Alice's fears quite a nice idea that isn't found in the original text.

Perhaps Looking Glass, while remaining absurdist, is more cohesive than Wonderland with the chess motif and central motive for Alice to reach the Eighth Square and become a queen. I do however find the constant poetry tedious, and wonder whether both Wonderland and Looking Glass are better remembered for the concepts rather than the actual text.

Watching

Anne Boleyn (episodes 1-3) - I didn't think we needed another film/show about Anne, but I was always going to watch it. This series relies upon familiarity with history as it begins with Anne's final, doomed pregnancy - opening with the haunting words “Anne is the most powerful woman in England - she has just five months to live.”

There's nothing especially new here; rather a mood and character piece as Anne's isolation and desperation grows. It is of course built around the central, compelling performance of Jodie Turner-Smith, in every single scene and not afraid to shy away from Anne's sharper edges while remaining profoundly sympathetic, surrounded by a court of whispers, her existence on a knife's edge. We know only what Anne knows, and we see the smaller, heartbreaking moments usually passed over in other adaptations - in her grief following the stillbirth, Anne sits up in bed almost catatonic, milk leaking from her breasts, her attempt to walk back the infamous “dead man's shoes” comment, and the long days of her imprisonment.

Then there’s the beautiful costumes - in a court of dark furs, Anne wears bold primary colours and velvets that catch the light, that them become more subdued prints once she is in the Tower.

The other notable feature is the casting - described as "identity conscious" rather than colour-blind, representative of the othering of Anne and her relatives. Another standout is Thalissa Teixeira as Anne's cousin Madge Shelton, fleshed out as her confidant and the only one who remains true to her. It's a fresh perspective and a worthwhile watch, particularly for Turner-Smith's performance.

Cruella (dir. Craig Gillespie) - Spoilers. I wasn’t planning on bothering with this, but my sister wanted to watch it and I’d been told by several people that it was actually quite good. Look, I'm not saying they lied, I just think they were able to look past things that I was not.

Because actually, the core story has potential and the film has enjoyable elements (notably Emma Thompson), but simply falters every time they try and shoehorn references to the source material, and there are some truly egregious attempts - Roger is the Baroness’s lawyer for some reason? And writes the familiar Cruella De Vil song about how awful she is when she's just given him a puppy?

It doesn’t work as a prequel, or villain origin story, or even a reboot, since Cruella’s character journey is over by the end of the film (I have no idea what the purported sequel is going to be about) - in fact "Cruella" is just a persona Stone's Estella adopts (complete with a terrible affected accent), and there is no conceivable way for her to become the wannabe puppy murderer we know from the book or any of the film adaptations. Oh, and Pongo and Perdita are siblings! Well done, Disney. Slow clap for you.

Also, with a runtime of 2 hours 16 minutes it is Interminable and the whole thing is saddled with a terrible, unnecessary voiceover. Seriously, they should show this in film class to demonstrate when v/o hinders not helps.

They were likely going for a Maleficent-style re-imagining, but where that succeeded (somewhat) in a completely new retelling right down to a different ending to the source material, this wants to have it's cake and eat it too - it wants to have the Cruella aesthetic (the car, the hair, Hell Hall, the camp accent) but doesn't ever let her be a villain, or even the beginnings of a villain, but that's that's reason she's so memorable in the first place. It puts all the pieces in place for the story we know, and yet that story simply cannot happen with this version of Cruella.

In the end, it's a story of a fundamentally decent person who maybe goes a bit overboard in retaliating to bullies, and swindles a sociopath to reclaim what's rightfully hers. Cruella De Vil! I just couldn't get over this fundamental misapplication of the source material.

In many ways, it almost feels as if this was pitched as a sequel, with Cruella in the Baroness role. It would have fit a lot better with the aesthetic, the time period, and the concept of punk disruption of classic fashion. Or, it was a completely unrelated story of a plucky orphan who rises in the fashion world, that at some point was grafted onto the Dalmatians property. Either one would have worked better, frankly.

I am probably being overly harsh. If you switch off your brain and enjoy the clothes it’s fine. But honestly, if you want your live action Cruella fix, just watch the Glenn Close version, because it is superior in every way.

The Chair (season 1) - I watched this for Sandra Oh, and I was not disappointed, because I got to watch Sandra Oh. On the other hand...it's not that I didn't like it, I just...wish it had been better?

The story revolves around Ji-Yoon Kim, the first woman (let alone woman of colour) to become Chair of English at a "minor Ivy" university, as she tries to juggle the clash of old style academia and new, raise her daughter as a single mother, and deal with a series of controversies caused by one of her professors (and love interest). It's the latter I feel sucked up way too much time and was ultimately unsatisfying - particularly the end, which was played like a moral victory but really rubbed me the wrong way. If this gets a season 2, I hope they dump Jay Duplass' fuckup sadsack because hoo boy, am I sick of that kind of male character.

But Sandra Oh is wonderful.

Writing

The Lady of the Lake - chapter 5 posted, 4215 words (10,261)

Against the Dying of the Light 1954 words (11,976)

Here I Go Again - 414 words (12,948)

Novel - 1039 words (1484)

Total this month: 7,622

Total this year: 48,435

[orlissa]

Getting ready to the Netflix show, I just read Shadow & Bone. And like...

I enjoyed the worldbuilding--it was really nice, interesting, and detailed. I liked Alina. I found the Darkling... intriguing, at least in the beginning. But the whole book felt rushed, as if it was supposed to be way longer, only, I assume, the publisher had it cut. And also...

About a month ago, I read Rebecca Ross’s The Queen duology (which, after a slow start, I enjoyed immensely). Admittedly, its worldbuilding was simpler, and in some ways more childish, but when we look at the deepest core of the plot, it’s very similar to Shadow and Bone: unsuspecting orphan girl* is found to have a power, and so she is brought into a conspiracy to topple a tyriannical monarch.

The difference was that in The Queen duology, Brienna finds a family in the conspirators. She is an active agent in the story, she has a number of people to rely on, and those people listen to her. And this is what made that book such a great read to me. In Shadow and Bone not only Alina mostly has things done to her, but by the end of the story, she barely has anybody to rely on--save from Mal, whom I couldn’t care less about. As I was reading the book, Mal was really rubbing me the wrong way, and it took me some time to realize why: Mal had no personality. He had attributes. And in the end I was actually rooting for him to die, because gosh, he is so dull. 

So, yeah, I didn’t like how the book ended. It basically went upholding the faulty status quo is better than to actively trying to change it in a way that is morally ambigious. I’d like to point out: the problem is not how the characters act. The problem is how Bardugo frames it.

*Technically, Brienna’s father is alive, but she is a bastard and doesn’t even know who her father is in the beginning of the story, and after the death of her mother, she is first raised in an orphanage, then in a boarding school.

[rockislandadultreads]

Shady Ladies: a historical fiction reading list

Lilli de Jong by Janet Benton

A young woman finds the most powerful love of her life when she gives birth at an institution for unwed mothers in 1883 Philadelphia. She is told she must give up her daughter to avoid a life of poverty and shame. But she chooses to keep her. Pregnant, abandoned by her lover, and banished from her Quaker home and teaching position, Lilli de Jong enters a charity for wronged women to deliver her child. She is stunned at how much her infant needs her and at how quickly their bond overpowers her heart. Mothers in her position have no sensible alternative to giving up their children, but Lilli can't bear such an outcome. Determined to chart a path toward an independent life, Lilli braves moral condemnation and financial ruin in a quest to keep herself and her baby alive. Confiding their story to her diary as it unfolds, Lilli takes readers from an impoverished charity to a wealthy family's home to the perilous streets of a burgeoning American city. Lilli de Jong is at once a historical saga, an intimate romance, and a lasting testament to the work of mothers. "So little is permissible for a woman," writes Lilli, yet on her back every human climbs to adulthood."

The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye

The year is 1921, and “Nobody” Alice James is on a cross-country train, carrying a bullet wound and fleeing for her life following an illicit drug and liquor deal gone horribly wrong. Desperate to get as far away as possible from New York City and those who want her dead, she has her sights set on Oregon: a distant frontier that seems the end of the line. She befriends Max, a black Pullman porter who reminds her achingly of Harlem, who leads Alice to the Paragon Hotel upon arrival in Portland. Her unlikely sanctuary turns out to be the only all-black hotel in the city, and its lodgers seem unduly terrified of a white woman on the premises. But as she meets the churlish Dr. Pendleton, the stately Mavereen, and the unforgettable club chanteuse Blossom Fontaine, she begins to understand the reason for their dread. The Ku Klux Klan has arrived in Portland in fearful numbers–burning crosses, inciting violence, electing officials, and brutalizing blacks. And only Alice, along with her new “family” of Paragon residents, are willing to search for a missing mulatto child who has mysteriously vanished into the Oregon woods. Why was “Nobody” Alice James forced to escape Harlem? Why do the Paragon’s denizens live in fear–and what other sins are they hiding? Where did the orphaned child who went missing from the hotel, Davy Lee, come from in the first place? And, perhaps most important, why does Blossom DuBois seem to be at the very center of this tangled web?

The Taming of the Queen by Philippa Gregory

Why would a woman marry a serial killer? Because she cannot refuse... Kateryn Parr, a thirty-year-old widow in a secret affair with a new lover, has no choice when a man old enough to be her father who has buried four wives – King Henry VIII – commands her to marry him. Kateryn has no doubt about the danger she faces: the previous queen lasted sixteen months, the one before barely half a year. But Henry adores his new bride and Kateryn's trust in him grows as she unites the royal family, creates a radical study circle at the heart of the court, and rules the kingdom as regent. But is this enough to keep her safe? A leader of religious reform and a published author, Kateryn stands out as an independent woman with a mind of her own. But she cannot save the Protestants, under threat for their faith, and Henry's dangerous gaze turns on her.The traditional churchmen and rivals for power accuse her of heresy - the punishment is death by fire and the king's name is on the warrant... From an author who has described all of Henry's queens comes a deeply intimate portrayal of the last: a woman who longed for passion, power and education at the court of a medieval killer. (less)

The Moon in the Palace by Weina Dai Randel

There is no easy path for a woman aspiring to power. . . .

A concubine at the palace learns quickly that there are many ways to capture the Emperor’s attention. Many paint their faces white and style their hair attractively, hoping to lure in the One Above All with their beauty. Some present him with fantastic gifts, such as jade pendants and scrolls of calligraphy, while others rely on their knowledge of seduction to draw his interest. But young Mei knows nothing of these womanly arts, yet she will give the Emperor a gift he can never forget.

Mei’s intelligence and curiosity, the same traits that make her an outcast among the other concubines, impress the Emperor. But just as she is in a position to seduce the most powerful man in China, divided loyalties split the palace in two, culminating in a perilous battle that Mei can only hope to survive.

The first volume of the Empress of Bright Moon duology paints a vibrant portrait of ancient China—where love, ambition, and loyalty can spell life or death—and the woman who came to rule it all.