Book Review: The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields

Twenty-one-year-old Marigold Claude has always preferred the company of the spirits of the meadow to any of the suitors who've tried to woo her. So when her grandmother whisks her away to the family cottage on the tiny Isle of Innisfree with an offer to train her as the next Honey Witch, she accepts immediately. But her newfound magic and independence come with a price: No one can fall in love with the Honey Witch.

When Lottie Burke, a notoriously grumpy skeptic who doesn't believe in magic, shows up on her doorstep, Marigold can't resist the challenge to prove to her that magic is real. But soon, Marigold begins to care for Lottie in ways she never expected. And when darker magic awakens and threatens to destroy her home, she must fight for much more than her new home--at the risk of losing her magic and her heart.

I was able to read this ebook by borrowing it from my public library via Libby, and read it in the Kindle app since that's how Libby works. I'm always here for queer cozy romantasy, and was excited to read this. Overall, I'd describe this book as Chalice by Robin McKinley meets Bridgerton, but gayer. I'd recommend Chalice to people who enjoyed the honey magic and cottagecore stuff of this book, although its romance is heterosexual. 

The good: Shields writes beautifully most of the time, and I really enjoyed the Claudes' slice of life stuff, the cottagecore vibes, the lovely setting with the plants and bees, the magic, and the fact that it's gay. The yearning and chemistry between Marigold and Lottie is good, even if both are really slow to cotton on as to why they feel the way they do about the other girl. I liked the relationships between Marigold and her family (apart from her mother) and the friendships as well.

We're told this book is set in the 1830s, and the Isle of Innisfree is a real place (though uninhabited if Wikipedia is correct), but since the early Victorian norms are only vaguely held, and the fashion and hairstyles don't seem to add up (we're told Marigold's ballgown is huge and poofy, which would not have been the case in our 1830s, and that her hair was pulled back super tightly from her face, which ditto), then I don't see the point in giving the book a time setting if you're going to ignore the conventions and just go off vibes. This just confused me, especially since sometimes the language used is jarringly modern. People say "okay" and stuff. We're also told a lot, rather than being shown. Marigold has a lot of beliefs and sayings that she holds and says without telling us why or how she knows/believes them. 

I also got annoyed at the repetitiveness throughout the book. Marigold laments that she'll never be able to fall in love and have a partner because of the curse her family is under what felt like thousands of times, which, we get it. It's especially annoying because you just know what's going to happen. 

Stuff I want to complain about that is spoilery (highlight to read): the thing with tattoos that kind of goes nowhere. Like sure, having Lottie tattoo Mari with her clothes off is super sexual tension-y, but if there's such a huge taboo against tattoos then why would Mari get tattoos and let Lottie get into a situation where someone would see her tattoos and blackmail her for them? Marigold was able to resolve that by magically erasing the blackmailer's memory, but like. What was the point.

re: the anachronisms that were jarringly modern to me: I cannot believe that people in the Victorian era went around saying "good girl" to each other in bed. I just refuse to believe it, and it took me out of the book to read that. 

Also the whole "cursed to never fall in love" thing, but Marigold still falls in love with Lottie, and it's obvious that Lottie falls in love with her too. Although supposedly Lottie couldn't feel it until the curse was broken, but their connection felt like more than lust to me, so then what was the difference? My denseness and borderline-aromanticism rear their heads again. The girls screaming in pain for each other during the third-act breakup also seemed really dramatic to me. Per usual in these things, Marigold's reason for breaking up with Lottie made no sense. 

It was super obvious to me who Lottie was going to turn out to be: the evil ash witch's granddaughter. Not to be constantly comparing Chalice to The Honey Witch, but the romance in that book is also between a honey-magic-user and a fire-magic-user.  Once Marigold saw that something (obviously her good magic's evil counterpart) was turning the isle's magical guardians evil, the first thing she should have thought to do was check the magical honey wards around the island and see if any of them had been removed, but she didn't think to do that! Hello??? What a stupid way to lose against an evil enemy. I was really sad that the cottage and its library burned down, and that so many bees died. :( Overall the magical battle was too uneven and catastrophic for my liking. The first 3/4ths of the book is so cozy and sweet and slow-paced, so the violent heartbreaking climax is jarring to read after that, rather atonal. We're told (telling again) that Marigold is a powerful honey witch, yet she's no match for the immortal ash witch. It made no sense to me that the evil ash witch was destroyed by fire. Hello, she's an ash witch??? It would have made more sense to draw her out of the house then drown her in the river. But whatever, we get a happy ending for the girls.

Quick last complaint: Marigold's best friend and her little brother are soulmates, but they're 22? and 18 so I felt a bit uncomfy at the age gap. 

Overall, I guess I did mostly like this book despite everything I've complained about above, and would recommend it to anyone interested in sapphic cottagecore cozy romantasy with spice and dramatic stakes. Check it out from the library though. 

Score: ★★★.5 out of 5 stars (Blogger, return to me the half star special character! 😠)
Spice score: 🌶🌶/🌶 
Read in: June 11
From: my public library - borrowed via Libby, read in Kindle app

Spoilers past this point

Tropes: forbidden romance, star-crossed lovers, "we can never be together" stuff, grumpy x sunshine, character who can never fall in love does so anyway, character with a family x orphan, only one bed, third act breakup, a character has mysterious origins that turn out to be very important to the plot, characters don't recognize that they're into each other leading to this song from Wicked, enemies to lovers in a way, that Romeo & Juliet thing where their families are historical enemies but the kids from those families fall in love

Representation: bisexual/pansexual fmc and lesbian (I think) fmc in sapphic relationship, side mlm/achillean couple (one of which is also bi I think), queernorm society, I don't remember if everyone is white (British isles) or if it's also a race-blind society

Trigger warnings: murder, death, a child is burned severely all over her body (past), gore, magical degloving injury leading to lots of blood, violence, kidnapping, a character is imprisoned and starved, manipulation, memory loss (both magical and trauma-related), orphaned character with trauma, bees death, controlling parent who withholds information (out of fear rather than just sucking)

Book Review: Fire Spells Between Friends by Sarah Wallace & S.O. Callahan

London, 1813—fae and humans alike are abuzz whenever Torquil's Tribune drops a juicy new tidbit. At the center of the gossip is handsome fae, Emrys Wrenwhistle, heir to his family's fortune. As speculation over his prospects grows, the search for a suitable spouse begins.

The trouble is, Emrys can't find anyone who measures up to the person he's been secretly seeing for years: the Tribune's witty society writer.

Torquil Pimpernel-Smith is accustomed to using the force of gossip to pull the strings of social influence. So when they are offered a position as the Council's first fae-human member, they readily accept.

However, their first project plunges Torquil into upper class circles rife with snobbery. Facing prejudice head-on is hard enough, without having to hide their true feelings for the eligible Emrys.

As the line of suitors starts to form, the Wrenwhistle family is intent on making a worthy match. Emrys and Torquil's passion burns perfectly in private, but navigating society together will determine if their love is a blaze—or in danger of being extinguished.

I adore Sarah Wallace's Meddle & Mend series and also really liked the first book in this series (despite my criticisms lol), so I snapped this ebook up when it went on sale. (I reread Breeze Spells and Bridegrooms first before reading this one, of course.) This book takes place right after the events of BS&Bg, so you do need to read it first as Roger & Wyn and their rubrics feature heavily in this book (yay!). Emrys is Wyn's older brother, and Torquil is the gossip columnist/editor who, in book 1, was like:

you know what would be hilarious? and posts that [Wyn & Roger] are engaged. They of course visit the editor to demand they retract the engagement announcement, but [Torquil is] like "no + deal with it + you two are cute together :)"

Poor Torquil, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, faces so much racism (speciesism?) because they're half fae, half human. They and their parents were shunned from society and disowned by Torquil's fae mother's rich and influential family; both the human and fae schools refused to accept them or test their magic, so they're basically without status or prospects in this magic-based society. My first paragraph in my BS&Bg review talks about this world a bit more and includes my thoughts. Torquil is poor and used to being alone and looked down on/discriminated against. 

By contrast, Emrys is the heir to his rich, influential elf family, one of the most eligible gentlemen in society, and wants for nothing... except that he can't put off his enterprising mama who will accept nothing but the best (aka rich and from a good family) spouse for her son, and keeps setting him up and making him go on dates even though he's less than enthusiastic. I was sort of surprised at Emrys having grudgingly-yet-long-accepted that his marriage would be arranged for him, instead of hoping to marry for love (I guess that's pretty common in this era). The way Torquil and Emrys meet (plus a short backstory for Torquil) is detailed in a short story (free if you sign up for the authors' email newsletters); basically they've been hooking up for years in a no-strings-attached to friends-with-benefits situationship. They both know they're from different social classes and financial situations, and that there's no way they could marry. 

Torquil is asked to join the Fae-Human Relations Council as its first fae-human member, and accepts in order to hopefully better things for themself and other fae-humans. However, they have to deal with prejudice from several council members and society folk, as being on the Council gets them invited to society events (Wyn's grandma gets them  the invites and makes them join society, much like she meddles in Wyn and Roger's lives). Roger and Wyn's new human and fae magic (respectively)-measuring rubrics are accepted, and it is decided a new rubric is needed for children like Torquil who have one fae parent and one human parent. Consequently, Torquil, Wyn, and Roger are entrusted to test out Torquil's magic and figure out a rubric that is both similar to the fae & human rubrics and that will work for the magic abilities of human-fae people. 

There's that classic SW "a character is cared for/given gifts against their will" thing, and that thing from book 1 about a newlyweds' wedding spell showing how much they're in love/compatible is expanded on in an ~interesting~ way. Much of this book takes place during December/Yule/Generic Winter Holiday That Is Definitely Not Christmas (Except It Totally Is) and would be perfect for a cozy winter/winter holidays read. I think I'll reread this in December for that reason. 

Some spoiler-y thoughts I want to talk about (highlight to read): I thought it was sad how Torquil's parents had zero qualms about buying Toquil the press and bouncing. They left them alone! :( I was so happy for Torquil when they got letters from other fae-humans like them, showing how they weren't the only one! I was shocked by that bombshell that Torquil's grandma actually didn't want to disown her daughter for marrying a working-class human but had to pretend to go along with it and wait until her husband/Torquil's grandfather died to publicly accept them as their family! Poor Torquil grew up thinking their grandmother hated them and wanted nothing to do with them.  I think it was wrong of Torquil's mom to keep that from her child; at least, she should have told them before she and Torquil's dad left for the continent. But at least they're not alone anymore, and being part of the rich and influential Pimpernel family means they can marry Emrys after all! We love to see an alone/unloved character end up with so much love and loved ones. However, I did find it kind of ridiculous that even after Torquil is publicly part of the Pimpernel family again, they and Emrys are still like "we can never be together" because of Emrys' social standing-obsessed mother. Hello? Torquil is a catch now that they're a Pimpernel officially. Get it together, kids. I'm a bit sad that Torquil had to give up their gossip newspaper, but at least it's in good hands. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and rooted for the two romantic leads to end up together. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series!

Score: ★★★★.5 out of 5 stars (Blogger, return to me the half star special character! 😠)
Spice score: 🌶🌶 
Read in: May 14
From: B&N Nook

Everything from this point on is spoilery 

Tropes: forbidden romance, "society would never accept our love", rich x poor, outcast x rich/famous/society darling etc., proud poor character who won't accept gifts/money from their rich lover, catching feelings during what is supposed to be a sex-only arrangement, "this perfect-on-paper suitor leaves me cold but I can't stop thinking about my forbidden lover", "I'll hide how I'm in love with them because we can never marry, never", rags to riches, long-lost/previously unknown rich family/family member who shows up and makes the character part of their family and fixes their social/financial situation, hurt/comfort (sick/comfort?), that thing where one character collapses and their "secret" lover freaks out making it super obvious he's in love with them, secret couple think they're hiding their secret relationship/feelings successfully but their loved ones suspect something/become aware/totally know

Representation: nonbinary character who uses they/them pronouns, bisexual/pansexual characters including both main characters, I think Roger and his family are Hispanic/Latinx, probably some other characters of color, queernorm, non-sexist & racism-free society; poor character

Trigger warnings: racism/speciesism, including microaggressions and bigoted language;  classism, poverty, a man in his mid-thirties briefly courts an 18-year-old girl who is into him (he's not into her. Several people point out their age gap is gross and he breaks up with her), hunger/food insecurity. (the authors give trigger warnings at the beginning of the book)

Book Review: Oathbound by Tracy Deonn

 my book reviews for books 1 & 2 in this series

If you have not read the first two books DO NOT read this review, it's spoilery

Severed from the Legendborn. Oathbound to a monster.

Bree Matthews is alone. She exiled herself from the Legendborn Order, cut her ancestral connections, and turned away from the friends who can’t understand the impossible cost of her powers. This is the only way to keep herself—and those she loves—safe.

But Bree’s decision has come with a terrible price: an unbreakable bargain with the Shadow King himself, a shapeshifter who can move between humanity, the demon underworld, and the Legendborn secret society. In exchange for training to wield her unprecedented abilities, Bree has put her future in the Shadow King’s hands—and unwittingly bound herself to do his bidding as his new protégé.

Meanwhile, the other Scions must face war while their Round Table is fractured, leaderless, and missing its Kingsmage, as Selwyn has also disappeared. When Nick invokes an ancient law that requires the High Council of Regents to grant him an audience, the Order’s Merlins imprison him. No one knows what he will demand of the Regents…or what secrets he has kept hidden from the Table.

As a string of mysterious kidnappings escalates and Merlins are found dead, it becomes clear that no matter how hard Bree runs from who she is, the past will always find her.

I was thoroughly sucked in by the first two books in this series (reviews linked at the top) so obviously I had to read the next book when it came out. My Libby request for the Oathbound ebook was finally granted half a month after it came out, and I read it in a day. Literally why did I think this was going to be a trilogy? Basically nothing is wrapped up or resolved! This series is going to kill me. This book differs from the first two in that it's told from alternating points of view, not just Bree's POV.

Oathbound picks up immediately where Bloodmarked ended: Bree has stupidly just made a bargain with the Shadow King (who is also pretending to be a very high-up Merlin in the Legendborn Order), and it turns out that she's bound to him AND he erased her memories of everyone living that she's ever known. Has this wench never read a single work of fantasy? You don't make deals with demons! My god.

Anyway, we meet some new characters, including cambion twins (a Black teen? trans girl and cis guy) Zoelle and Elijah, and Sel's mom???? who is trying to help her son, who if you recall is like nearly fully demon now after sucking up Bree's magic root (not a euphemism). Bree's friends are trying to find her. Nick, who has been imprisoned by the Order, makes them let him go on a quest. Bree has to go on a heist into another demon's mansion; this dovetails into Nick's quest and they meet up accidentally and have to pretend to be an engaged couple who are guests at the demon's auction event party. Bree doesn't remember Nick but he obviously does and they have to share a bed and there's tons of sexual tension. Oh and there's missing Black girls who have root powers; naturally the authorities don't care but Bree knows she needs to find them and save them from whoever is probably stealing their root. And of course Bree has to figure out how to get herself free from the Shadow King and get her memories back.

Some spoilery stuff I want to talk about (highlight to read): 

Sel's mom runs into Bree (she of course does not recognize her), and just from her standing 2 feet away from her, Sel is able to get a whiff of Bree's scent off his mom and goes ferallllll. reaction gif  I was initially not fully on board with this ship (I hate love triangles) but like JFC I am living

Remember the Only One Bed stuff? Once they're done with the quest/out of the demon's house and back with Bree's friends who have the magical underground railroad safety house, Bree and Nick end up hooking up (I think?) on the roof of that house. Girl and guy. You were just in a really swanky mansion room with an expensive king bed. I know you weren't *there* yet mentally but that would have been way better then doing sex stuff on the roof of your friends' house. Yikes. 

Poor Alice :(((( She's my favorite besides Bree and Valec, and I picture her like if Paris and Lane from Gilmore Girls were one person. In Bloodmarked she was struck hard by King Arthur!Bree (he possessed her) and was like on the brink of death, and Bree let the Shadow King kill Alice to get her (Bree's) memories back DDDD: my shaylaaaaa 😭😭😭 I hope she doesn't actually die; I love her and Bree has lost too many people already!

That ending! Sel is the son of the Shadow King??????? He (SK) must have pretended to be/took over Sel's human father's body! WTFFF

Also how do we think the love triangle is going to play out. I know that's not the most important thing (Bree's health and safety is) but I have no idea. I feel like Nick is endgame, but Bree x Sel is so compelling. idk.

Anyway, read this series and scream about it with me. I am not okay lol

Score: ★★★★ out of 5 stars  (like still really good but too sad and scary for more stars)
Spice score: 🌶 I guess? maybe half a chili
Read in: April 15
From: Amazon via Libby via my public library

Tropes: all the previous tropes I listed, evenly matched battle couple fighting each other, there's only one bed, that's all I can think of for now

Representation: secondary/minor Black trans girl character, same as listed before

Trigger warnings, which of course are spoilery: past rape mentions, murder, physical violence, death, blood and gore, racism, kidnapping and imprisonment of teens, slavery mentions, grief, parental loss, fantasy violence, supernatural horror, memories are wiped/manipulated magically, spirit possession (past)

Book Reviews (ish): The Meddle & Mend series by Sarah Wallace redux

I heard about the Meddle & Mend series by Sarah Wallace from a bookstagrammer I follow who loves and promotes the books almost more than the author does. The first one was free, and as it was billed as a Regency cozy queer romance, I obviously downloaded it. I read them during my big summer East coast trip where I went from my annual conference to visit my aunt in Maryland and then stay with my sister and her family for a week during their trip to New York. Reader, I loved the book so much I immediately downloaded the next ebook, and repeated this (read & downloaded the next) for each book in the series. I almost never do that! The rapidity with which this became one of my favorite series is remarkable, as is them becoming one of my comfort series despite only having read them once. Since last July I've been fighting the urge to reread the series at least once a month, which also never happens. Here's a meme I made depicting my monthly struggle: 

I finally gave in to the urge last month because the sixth book in the series was released! I reread all five M&M books over the weekend, and then (after a struggle with stupid B&N who had put a hold on my account for no reason) downloaded and read the sixth book. I thought I'd do a mini rundown review (such as it is) of each book since I didn't have time or space to do so last time I reviewed them. All of the books take place in the same world: a sort of alternate Regency England that has magic and is queernorm, racism-free (and consequently racially diverse), and mostly free of sexism. Classism and poverty still exist, and birth order has replaced patriarchy: firstborns take the place of eldest brothers in terms of inheritance and heading the family after the parents die, plus having more freedom re: reputation. I appreciate the lack of sexism and homophobia etc. as a socially conscious reader, but at some point the genre (Regency historical romance) stops being what it is, plus it raises questions* about the world-building.

Mild spoilers throughout because that's who I am as a person

Letters to Half Moon Street - (synopsis) The first book in the series is an epistolary novel, consisting mainly of letters between Gavin Hartford, who is lonely and bored in London, and his sister Gerry, who is visiting family in Tutting-on-Cress (a country village), plus a few between Gavin and his new friend Charles Kentworthy, who Gerry thinks may be interested in her brother... Gavin is very introverted, shy, antisocial, and terrified of other people (mood), so it is up to charming extrovert Charles to make the friendship happen and make Gavin leave the house and do stuff around London. I enjoyed watching their relationship develop, but I didn't see why Charles needed to be so pushy (why make Gavin take up boxing when he hates it? Why didn't Gavin stand up for himself and say no?). Charles basically made the entire relationship happen himself, and he had to force Gavin every step of the way. Despite my frustrations with the characters, I really liked this book. The story is a bit slow-moving, but in a nice calm way; it's an enjoyable world to live in for a bit. Gay and pan rep, I believe. ★★★★, 0 chili peppers as there's no spice, just kissing and sex work mentions

 

One Good Turn - (synopsis) The second book is written in third person limited (I think), as is most of the rest of the series. Poor, barely-working-class Nell protects a rich man (Charles) from being robbed, kicking off a series of events that change her life. The crimelord, not happy that Nell's sympathy cost him money, sends her and her best friend Pip (who is the crimelord's lover) to steal a magical artifact from a viscount who happens to be Charles's best friend Bertie (we meet him in book 1 but he's not a big part of it). Bertie recognizes Nell's and Pip's magic abilities and offers them a chance to live and study magic with him. Nell jumps at the chance, and begins the life she always dreamed of. She also has to figure out her relationship with her friend with benefits (whose name I of course forgot), a single mother who has no time to go out with her (Nell is ridiculously slow at understanding this). Nell is, as far as I can tell, an aromantic lesbian who is allosexual; the representation is on-page but of course those terms are not used. She's also fat but I didn't pick up on this while reading the book; it may just be a throwaway mention. This book talks about sex much more frankly and frequently since it's from Nell's POV and poor people are not protected from reality the way upper-class people are (there are sex worker characters). This book is sadder and more angry-making than book 1 (it's implied that Pip was groomed into being the crimelord's lover; he basically raised Nell and Pip so that skeeved me out). There is a list of trigger topics in the beginning of the book, plus you can ask me for specifics. ★★★.5 (affectionate), 🌶🌶

The Education of Pip - (synopsis) Don't worry, Pip is rescued from the awful crimelord who groomed him into a sexual relationship after having basically raised him and, it turns out, forced him into sex work. Pip is thrown in jail, which gives Bertie an opportunity to whisk him away from London and his abuser, and takes Pip to live with Charles, Gavin, & Gerry in Tutting-on-Cress (Bertie has a house there too). Like Nell, Pip is taught to read and write and about magic, but he has a lot of healing to do. The T-O-C gang and their staff are so gentle, patient, and understanding with Pip; for him to finally be treated with care and love after everything he went through is so important to me! Part of the reason for Pip being in T-O-C is for him to be Gerry's assistant at her spell shop, which was very interesting to read about. Pip's relationship with Bertie slowly begins to develop as well. This book is pretty heartrending but it does have a happy ending. Gay rep as well as PTSD from everything Pip went through. There is a list of trigger topics in the beginning of the book, plus you can ask me for specifics. ★★★.5 (affectionate), 🌶🌶

Dear Bartleby - (synopsis) Gavin and Gerry have a younger brother, Sebastian; we meet him in the first book when he writes to Gavin to ask him for a loan for his gambling debts. Unsurprisingly, Seb's wildness and pranks cause him to be pulled from Oxford and sent to live with his older siblings and brother-in-law in Tutting-on-Cress. His father gives him a journal to encourage reflection; Seb christens it Bartleby so he can pretend he's writing to a friend so journaling will feel less boring. These journal entries make up the book, which I guess makes this book an epistolary novel despite epistle meaning letter and not diary entry, but whatever. Seb writes about his day, being bored, his pranks, and his attempted seductions. He's kind of annoying at first, but his older siblings and brother-in-law learn how to best love and support him, and he matures, even getting a love interest of his own (a wonderful trans man named Laurence). Also in this story is Bertie's search for a new Royal Magician; he hires Seb as his assistant, so he's very involved in the process. Some of Pip's past comes up as well, so trigger warnings for that. I also really enjoyed this book despite the sad parts. Gay and trans rep. ★★★★, 🌶🌶

The Spellmaster of Tutting-on-Cress - (synopsis) It's Gerry's turn to have a book, a love interest, and her family and friends' meddling. Gerry took over the Tutting-on-Cress spell shop when the previous spellmaster retired, and she's very happy despite it being a step down in society. Everyone in her life thinks it's high time she met someone and settled down, so they all force her to endure blind date teas and, you guessed it, meddling. Basil Thorne has just moved to T-O-C after losing his father to step in as the new head of the family to his much-younger half-siblings (who are just delightful) and stepmother. He's never been part of a big, loud family before, and, on a sibling-demanded trip to the village, has his head turned by the kind, pretty spellmaster...

Skip this part if you don't want to read spoilers or my rants. I ranted about the lack of consent and amatonormativity from the meddling in this other blog post:

everyone kept trying to set up the heroine with this guy she obviously liked even though she explicitly asked them all to not do that and respect her wishes re: not being set up because it's cringey and embarrassing. The whole "it's for your own good! otherwise you'd be single forever!" excuses being used to ignore said wishes just felt gross. It's the lack of respect and ignoring of consent for me. 😠 The lack of apology and/or realization that the setting-up was being pushed on people without their consent is very annoying to me. And the whole smug "see? I was right!" thing when the couples invariably ended up together used to justify it! Ugh. It's not cute or funny, and it smacks of amatonormativity. Not everyone needs to be paired up, and single people aren't tragic! 

The reason it bothers me to read about this amatonormativity and lack of consent is because this series is so otherwise respectful, queer- and trans-friendly; it throws me for a loop. You expect this sort of thing from regular cishet romance novels, you know? In book 2 Nell's aromanticism is respected, although they kind of have her "end up" with someone too. Gerry is basically the sole straight in the series, but she discusses maybe being demi-romantic with her friends and family since she likes Basil (who is pan and in love with her) but doesn't feel a romantic spark and isn't swept off her feet like she expected. They kind of lost me there, since the chemistry between her and Basil was swoony, and reading about how she interacted with him and felt about it didn't feel that different than the way reading about other romantic pairings have felt. Shit, Gerry and Basil have more romantic chemistry and cute interactions than Gavin & Charles and Bertie & Pip combined! Am I on the aromantic spectrum? Who even knows. 

Another sublot is that the Kentworthys host the eldest Hartford brother John and his wife Veronica (and their child who we never see because Veronica believes children should be unseen and unheard???). They are the worst and I hate them. Charles starts his signature loving psychology on John and he starts to improve. Literally how did the Hartford parents fuck up their kids so much that Gerry is the only one who doesn't hate herself and/or is a jerk in the beginning??? Shoutout to Basil's transfem bestie Modesty who is one of my favorite characters in the entire series; she's so awesome and I hope SW writes a book about her or at least that she shows up in all future books. I loved all the kids, even if some of them were written a bit too old and a bit too young sometimes; maybe we'll get a spinoff series about them finding love after they grow up?  This review has gotten way too long so I'll end it here. ★★★.5 (affectionate), 0 chili peppers (just kissing)

The Viscount Says Yes - (synopsis) This book wraps up Pip and Bertie's love story, which started in book 2 (1GT) when Pip flirted with Bertie after being caught trying to steal from him, and Bertie fell in love with him immediately. Their relationship developed very slowly over the next few books, each one giving us a little glimpse into how they felt about one another (how is them just looking at each other without touching in the garden at dusk so gd romantic??). The slow pace was necessary due to Pip's sad history that he needed to heal from (this book takes place about 2 years after TEoP). Bertie and everyone else had always taken great care to avoid touching Pip and asking for consent before doing so etc., and Pip decides he's ready to start initiating physical acts of affection with Bertie as he (B) never would initiate out of respect, and starts thinking about proposing to Bertie for the same reason... Charles, now that he has seen all his other friends and relations settled or about to be, sets his sights on Pip and Bertie, but at least his meddling is proportionally gentler due to Pip's history. I like Charles a lot but with all the meddling, he's basically as controlling as Veronica. Like just let your friends find love their own way and on their own timelines, dude! Anyway, with that title you can guess what happens in the book. Wallace wrote a little note at the end saying they've burned themself out writing the M&M series so they're wrapping up the series with this book. I hope it's a pause and not a full ending, and that she heals from the burnout soon because I need like 1000 more books in this series! ★★★★, maybe half a chili pepper due to sex mentions? dealer's choice

I know I've complained a bunch about the characters and their decisions, but I really do love this series. The magic is very interesting to read about. All the books are kind of slow, but in a nice cozy way; I enjoyed all the time we spent with the characters. If you like cozy fantasy and Regency romance books, especially ones with lots of LGBTQ+ rep, give this series a try!

*If it's a mostly non-sexist and queernorm society, then why do they still care about reputations (basically a code word for virginity)? What does reputation even mean/matter for people/couples who can't get pregnant? Why the heavy emphasis on birth order when being the oldest sibling doesn't automatically mean you're the most responsible and reliable? (I'm the oldest and my siblings are all more responsible and reliable than me. I should NOT be the head of my family.) Why should the laterborn spouse in a firstborn-laterborn marriage take on the 'wife' role (running the household, raising children, etc.) just because they're a laterborn, while the firstborn spouse takes on the 'husband' role (being in charge of the family and finances etc.)? Shouldn't it be based on personality and interests, and/or shouldn't the roles be shared? Why are there still social classes and poverty? How does capitalism still exist without white supremacy and the patriarchy there to support it?

Book Reviews: Legendborn and Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn

I had bought these two Legendborn series ebooks by Tracy Deonn last year because they were on sale and I had heard good things about them, and finally read them this February for Black History Month.

Legendborn (first book)'s summary, which gives away quite a lot of the plot:

After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.

A flying demon feeding on human energies.

A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down.

And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.

The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.

She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.

WOW HOLY SHIT THIS BOOK!!! Run, don't walk!! This book is so so so good! It combines the typical teen chosen one learning about a secret magical society story with Arthurian legend and the Southern Black American experience, creating something so amazing and unique. Fascinating and exciting and magical and scary, grounded with history, grief and pain; I'm going to be thinking about these books forever. 

Bree is grieving and angry and flawed; I felt for her and rooted for her all the way. I loved learning about the magic and the Legendborn stuff, even if the groups and titles and hierarchy were confusing. There's a chart explaining them all at the end, which of course I didn't realize until I finished the book, but it was not formatted for ebook so it wasn't really readable anyway. 

There's also a touch of folklore that was folded in; I'm not precisely sure whether to categorize it as Southern, American, or Black; it may be 2 or all of the above. I liked all the representation (lots of side/minor LGBTQ+ characters) and found it funny that there's an in-world explanation as to why they're all teenagers/in their early 20s. As if Bree doesn't have enough on her plate, there's a cute teen boy love interest (or 2). I personally would be way too busy and stressed out to crush/flirt/fall in love, but book teenagers will be teenagers. It's basically inevitable.

I decided to put all the representation, tropes, and trigger warnings for these books at the end of this post, so scroll down for those.

Score: ★★★★★ out of 5 stars (yes, all five! That hasn't happened in ages)
Spice score: 0
Read in: February 9-10
From: B&N Nook

Bloodmarked (second book)'s summary, which is rather spoilery:

All Bree wanted was to uncover the truth behind her mother’s death. So she infiltrated the Legendborn Order, a secret society descended from King Arthur’s knights—only to discover her own ancestral power. Now, Bree has become someone new:

A Medium. A Bloodcrafter. A Scion.

But the ancient war between demons and the Order is rising to a deadly peak. And Nick, the Legendborn boy Bree fell in love with, has been kidnapped.

Bree wants to fight, but the Regents who rule the Order won’t let her. To them, she is an unknown girl with unheard-of power, and as the living anchor for the spell that preserves the Legendborn cycle, she must be protected.

When the Regents reveal they will do whatever it takes to hide the war, Bree and her friends must go on the run to rescue Nick themselves. But enemies are everywhere, Bree’s powers are unpredictable and dangerous, and she can’t escape her growing attraction to Selwyn, the mage sworn to protect Nick until death.

If Bree has any hope of saving herself and the people she loves, she must learn to control her powers from the ancestors who wielded them first—without losing herself in the process.

This is a continuation from the first book (which doesn't end on a cliffhanger but is definitely not resolved), so most of my feelings and thoughts are the same. This one adds to the series' demonology, which I found interesting, and there are some new characters. Kind of more horrifying in how Bree is treated by the society. This book stressed me out so much I developed stomach pain, lol. Worth it. I loved these books so much I don't even care about there being a love triangle. You blew my fucking mind; sure you can have a little cliché love triangle as a treat.

The third book doesn't come out until March 4 which I am so impatient for despite that not being much of a wait. Still tho! I'm going to try to borrow it from the public library but there'll probably be a huge waiting list for it, which I'm a bit worried about (I don't want to waaaaaaaait).

Score: ★★★★⯨ out of 5 stars  (I took half a star off for being too sad)
Spice score: 0
Read in: February 18
From: B&N Nook

Tropes: young protagonist loses a parent then learns they have magic, "I had no idea magical power ran in our family", chosen one, "we'd never thought YOU could be our chosen one", secret magical society that hides themselves and the truth about magic/magical creatures etc. from regular people, typical straight love triangle, girl is torn between blond nice boy and dark-haired bad boy, "this magic/power is unlike anything we've ever seen", battle teens, oppressive highly structured hierarchical institution/organization, snarky demon with golden eyes (well it's a trope to me)

Representation: Black/African American (specifically being Black and Southern), Asian lesbian side character, nonbinary side character, white-passing biracial Hispanic & white side character, several side characters are LGBTQ+ including one teen/college-age lesbian couple and one nonbinary teen whose pronouns are always respected

Trigger warnings, which of course are spoilery: past rape (it's clearly rape and named as such but not described), murder, slavery, physical violence, death, blood and gore, teen is imprisoned, drugged, and interrogated; racism, newborn baby is abandoned to die (it lives), kidnapping, grief, parental loss, fantasy violence, supernatural horror, memories are wiped/manipulated magically, spirit possession, police encounter (no one is hurt), childbirth

Book Review: More to Love by Georgina Kiersten

An Unexpected Love

For Jamir Cunningham, a relationship is the last thing on his mind.  After inheriting his grandparents' bookstore, Jamir has been completely focused on running the business. And if he's lonely, that was between him and the books. Yet, from the moment Emmy Park walked into his life, Jamir was immediately captivated by the plus-size Korean.

A Fresh Start

After his recent divorce, former Olympic wrestler Emerson "Emmy" Park moved to Texas to get a fresh start. After taking a job as an assistant wrestling coach at a nearby university, he stumbles across Jamir's bookstore. Emmy is instantly attracted to Jamir.  Unfortunately, he is big and burly with a resting bitch face and thinks he has zero chance with the gorgeous Black man. However, when a sudden encounter shows them how good they can be together. Is the simmering attraction between them enough for them to see past their differences and finally give in to their desires?

This was my first read of February. As it's Black History Month no matter what anybody says, I specifically tried to choose books with Black characters. I bought this ebook during one of those "stuff your ereader" sales last year. 

The leads meet because Emmy likes to sit in Jamir's bookstore and read during his lunch hour. Jamir is instantly attracted to Emmy and kind of follows him around the bookstore trying-to-be-stealthily; Emmy thinks Jamir stares at him because he's a big, tall Korean. I found the manner in which they get to talking rather contrived; Emmy forgets his beloved copy of Pride & Prejudice at Jamir's bookstore (he really takes his own book to read at a bookstore? ok...) so he goes there during a rainstorm (just wait til the next day??) and Jamir urges him to dry off  in his apartment above the store, sparks fly, etc. 

I found the romance cute, and I liked the relationships the men had with their family and friends. Both men have their own problems to deal with in their jobs and personal lives, but there really wasn't much in the way of an obstacle to their relationship apart from some silly contrived drama towards the end. 

Weirdly, I found the non-romance writing to be kind of awkward while the ~romantic~ writing wasn't; usually it's the other way around. There were also several editing errors and typos in my ebook (and in the summary, which I had to fix). The line in the summary calling Emmy a plus-size Korean, plus the way Jamir's attraction to Emmy's size was described (slightly/borderline chaser-y), made me a bit uncomfortable; those sensitive to how fat characters are described may not like it. No fatphobia though.

Sometimes you just want a simple fluffy romance book, and the fact that there's a bookstore is the icing on the cake. Overall I liked this.

Score: ★★★½ out of 5 stars
Spice score: 🌶🌶🌶 out of 5 chilies
Read in: February 1
From: B&N Nook

Tropes: idk what it's called but that whole "the weather makes the romance/encounter" happen, forced proximity, close proximity, "he's probably staring at me because I look strange/my odd looks", athlete x nerd, "no, [family member], I'm giving up on YOUR dream", the ex tries to get them back in the third act

Representation: Black man MC, Korean man MC, fat MC, I think both are bisexual so bi4bi

Trigger warnings: the author has a list at the beginning of the book so I'll just redirect you to what I wrote in the second to last paragraph about the way the fat MMC was talked about, also I didn't like how Emmy's boss was such a jerk and yelled all the time

Arrowmount Books series, books 1 & 2

I bought these ebooks during one of those free/on sale [genre] ebooks blowout sales that I hear about on bookstagram every so often. These two books are cozy fantasy stories set in a cute, closely-knit seaside town in a sort of D&D universe with lots of different fantasy races plus humans. They are both by J.A. Collignon.

A Second Story

After falling for one another as adventurers, Arileas Damaris and Finnean Goldmark begin a life together traveling around the realm. Almost a year later, they decide to take a vacation in a town called Arrowmount, where the sea and sun calls to them. Once there, they fall in love with the place and its people. Ari and Finn take a leap together and buy the local bookstore and start a life amidst the sun-soaked cobblestones. From water damage and renovations to Finn's old life haunting them, life in Arrowmount is not quite as calm as they thought. However, with some help from the locals, Ari and Finn might just find their place along the sea.

Michelle buys a book about a bookstore; water is wet. We get a bit of Arileas and Finn as adventurers, where they are in love with each other unknowingly but don't think the other person does/could ever love them. Then we skip ahead to when they are an established couple, enter Arrowmount and fall in love with the town and decide to buy the bookstore. The book is mainly them meeting the various townspeople and renovating the bookstore with local artisans/craftspeople's help. It's very slow-paced, and the only tension is the couple's fear that the king will realize Finn, his shadow assassin, faked his death and is still alive, plus an argument about adventuring vs. settling down. Finn and Arileas are cute together, but I couldn't help but wish we got more of their "getting together" story. Also, with how nice and sunny Finn is, I couldn't connect that with his previous life as an assassin for a corrupt king. Wouldn't that affect him, harden him? I felt that we swept past that and the method Finn used to fake his death (which affected Arileas) fairly quickly. That stuff didn't really mesh well with the otherwise cozy, nice story. Not being familiar with D&D and their fantasy races, I struggled to picture what some of the people in this book looked like. I liked this book, though, and would recommend it to people who like cozy books where not a whole lot happens. ★★★⯪ (3.5 stars)/🌶 (don't remember much if any spice)

 

A Little Luck

After the biggest job of her life goes sideways, magical artifact thief Lottie Luck is out of, well, luck. With no job on the horizon and only the clothes on her back, she makes a snap decision to head to Arrowmount, where her estranged sister lives, to regroup and figure out where she's going next.
Kirandir Dulra, a favored Arrowmount town bard, is happy enough with the way her life is. By day, she's a dishwasher for the local bar, and by night she performs for the regular townsfolk who frequent the Old 'n Narrow. The routine works, but she dreams of more: a life in arcane lights with crowds calling her name.
However, everything is turned upside down when these two strangers get thrown together to organize the entertainment for an upcoming festival as emergency replacements one month out.
As the two try and find a rhythm together, Lottie unearths truths about herself and Kir's dream starts to become more realistic. In a story full of chilly autumnal nights and the golden glow of lantern light, these two women might just find more in each other than they bargained for.

This one had that romantic "getting together" story that I like, plus much more action. Lottie and Kir are instantly attracted to each other, but Kir's shy and Lottie isn't planning on staying. She also has someone after her due to an artifact she stole, and she's not sure how she's going to wiggle out of that one. Kir's not sure how to tell her family she wants to leave and travel the world as a bard, and isn't sure if Lottie actually likes her or is just flirting. Lottie also has to find a way to make up with her sister after not talking to her for 10 years. Oh, and some old ladies corralled the two of them into being in charge of the autumn festival's entertainment, which means spending a lot of time together... This story was also soft and cozy even though way more happened. We see Arileas and Finn again, plus a lot of the townspeople from the first book (duh, same town). I enjoyed this one even though we barely saw the bookstore. ★★★⯪/🌶 (kissing and sex mentions)

Book Review: Breeze Spells & Bridegrooms by Sarah Wallace & S.O. Callahan

Fae and humans alike are returning to London for the Season, but the excitement is marred by the growing poverty rate among humans with low magical scores.

Tenacious Roger Barnes proposes a new rubric for testing magic to the Council, hoping to resolve the predicament for his fellow humans. But when he is paired with Wyndham Wrenwhistle, a dashing fae who has disliked him since childhood, the project seems destined to fail. Even after reaching a tentative truce, their fragile partnership crumbles due to malicious lies.

Adding to the disarray, a popular gossip column unexpectedly announces that Roger and Wyn are engaged. Obliged to go along with the falsehood to save their families from scandal, they are forced to reconcile their differences for the sake of the rubric — and for their impending marriage. As the project bleeds into their wedding plans, the pressure to flawlessly execute both mounts even higher.

Together, they have the chance to solve a crisis decades in the making — but they'll need more than magic to succeed.

One of this book's co-authors wrote the Meddle & Mend series, which I adored, so I snapped this book up when it went on sale for 99 cents.  It's set in a similar universe as the Meddle & Mend series (Regency England but magical & queernorm as well as non-racist) but with the addition of a fae population probably around the same size as the human population. They coexist fairly well, but rarely intermarry. Magical ability is very important, and inheritance goes to the child with the highest magical score rather than going to the oldest son (oh yeah, the society is non-sexist too). Humans with low magical scores are usually ignored by suitors and passed over for jobs. Low-magic humans are sometimes kicked out to starve by their parents as soon as they reach adulthood. This is very sad and pretty jarring for an otherwise-cozy fantasy book. Roger is trying to change this by implementing a new scoring rubric so children are less likely to score low, but to me it's the society that needs to change. They should stop caring how people score on a hugely important magic test they take once at age twelve that determines the rest of their lives. Roger scored low because he was nervous, and to me the test and its grading are hugely unfair. It was kind of whiplash-y to read about such a prejudiced society and then have the rest of the book basically be like "anyhoo, on to the cute romance!!"

Roger is paired with former classmate Wyndham Wrenwhistle, a fae who also scored rather low on the fae magic test, which is supposed to be similar/analogous to the human test, hence why they have to work together. They don't like each other, mostly because Wyn is and has been a huge jerk to Roger, but Wyn's grandma (who is on the fae-human relations council with Roger's dad) makes him do it. It's obvious that she did that because she thinks Wyn's into Roger. They're trying to work on the rubric but keep clashing, and in their anger both write disparaging letters about the other to the gossip paper. The editor of the paper is like, you know what would be hilarious? and posts that the two are engaged. They of course visit the editor to demand they retract the engagement announcement, but they're like "no + deal with it + you two are cute together :)"

Since it's Regency England, the two dummies can't say they aren't engaged because Wyn made the huge mistake of gifting Roger a nice teapot since he only has one non-cracked one, and you can't bring gifts to boys you're not engaged to, the scandal!!! Also almost everyone is super into them being together because a fae-human marriage is So Good For Our Society since historically fae-human marriages were/kinda still are frowned upon. Imagine being forced to marry your childhood bully (sort of) because It Will Change Society For the Better. Yikes. Don't worry, they start falling in love for real! 

I dislike the "it's okay when people set you up/force you to spend time together with someone because they think you like each other/would be cute together and because they think it's in your best interest" sentiment of this book. It also showed up in Wallace's latest book The Spellmaster of Tutting-on-Cress, where everyone kept trying to set up the heroine with this guy she obviously liked even though she explicitly asked them all to not do that and respect her wishes re: not being set up because it's cringey and embarrassing. The whole "it's for your own good! otherwise you'd be single forever!" excuses being used to ignore said wishes just felt gross. It's the lack of respect and ignoring of consent for me. 😠 The lack of apology and/or realization that the setting-up was being pushed on people without their consent is very annoying to me. And the whole smug "see? I was right!" thing when the couples invariably ended up together used to justify it! Ugh. It's not cute or funny, and it smacks of amatonormativity. Not everyone needs to be paired up, and single people aren't tragic!

Anyway, I really enjoyed this book and found the romance to be very sweet. They're very gentle and kind to each other (even Wyn once he mellows out). Sarah Wallace is an insta-buy author for me, and I'll have to check out more of what S.O. Callahan has written. 

Score: ★★★★ out of 5 stars
Spice score: 🌶🌶 out of 5 chilies
Read in: October 24-25
From: B&N Nook

Tropes: close proximity, betrothed against their will/we have to get engaged to avoid scandal, assigned engaged by gossip column (is that a trope?), fake dating (sort of), "we have to sell this relationship/act like we're in love", rivals to lovers, rivals to friends to lovers, childhood bully romance (sort of), opposites attract, everyone ships them, family/friends meddling, being meddled into a relationship, slow burn, height difference (smol & tol), I'll Take Care of You, socialite x academic, fashionista x academic, popular x nerd, flirty x flustered, whatever it's called when they knew each other since childhood and one or both of them kinda liked the other ever since then, the magic of love/love makes magic stronger or whatever

Representation: gay MMCs, demisexual MMC, nonbinary character who uses they/them pronouns, sapphic minor character, neurodivergent MCs (both ADHD and autistic vibes imo), anxiety rep, fat MMC, Roger looks Hispanic to me but that might be due to his passing resemblance to Harvey Guillen, I think there's other side characters of color but the physical descriptions are a bit lacking, aesthetic attraction is mentioned

Trigger warnings: prejudice built into the unequal system that leads to othering & poverty, a prejudiced character is vocally negative about a human and fae marrying, mild stalking by an ex

August ebooks

It is bugging me, but I can never figure out how to capitalize ebook/s. Ebook looks too boomerish, and eBook seems pretentious. Ah well.

After that fantastic reading month, I naturally reverted back to my normal "not reading, and when I do, it's ebooks" status. 

Making Waves by Joane Rock (summary) ★★★  🌶🌶🌶/🌶

Has this happened to you? You download a free romance novel ebook that promises to be steamy, but instead you're forced to read about the two leads bickering and having relationship drama for basically the entire book. Typical dramatic lustiness, and the characters were little more than cardboard. They used to date when she was 20 and he was 25 or 26, which skeeved me out. Not only was everyone in their lives was okay with this, they all actively thought they were perfect together and should get married, but then he dumped her out of the blue without telling her why (it was to go into the army as it was the 2000s). There's one scene where they go at it in a first class airplane sleeper room which makes no sense to me because I think first-class sleeper sections of airplanes aren't enclosed? Like they're not sleeper cars in a train? I have no real idea; my only knowledge of flying first class is watching Crazy Rich Asians. The hero also has some sexist alpha-ness, which is typical for the genre (not as much as others though) and always annoying. Is anyone else sick of reading about contemporary romance novel heroines who are simultaneously virginal and sexy, girlish and a mature woman? I am. I think I need to stop reading contemporary het romances. Trigger warnings: trauma involving a family member kidnapped by terrorists in I think Afghanistan (past), army veteran hero, the aforementioned age gap, that's it I think

Cinder Ella by S.T Lynn (summary) ★★★.5 

I really enjoyed this author's The Little Mermaid retelling, so I was excited to buy this ebook on sale. Like that one, this retelling has a Black trans woman as the lead. There are some Brandy Cinderella vibes. The beginning is as usual, with the step-family's awfulness and abuse including transphobia towards Ella. The ball invite comes from the princess herself, who likes Ella's dog and chats with her for a while. It's very cute. The fairy godmother is a mysterious dress seller whose dress shop-carriage is bigger on the inside. For some reason there's no magic to make her unfamiliar to her step-family at the ball, and, enraged at "him" for "his" transgressions, they drag Ella out, kick her out of the house and drop her off at the farthest part of town. Why not encourage Ella's interest in the princess so they can be in-laws with the royal family? The step-family is so stupid. The whole "whichever woman can fit into this shoe" thing makes sense in this telling as the princess first met Ella when she was presenting as a man, and she was presenting as a woman at the ball. Ella grows roses, which is nice but also a bit out of the Cinderella lane; they are important to the plot. There's this whole thing about Ella working for/as a baker and making a life for herself that felt like it was starting to go somewhere, but then it didn't, which was, like, 'why, then?' to me. The ending is a bit rushed and fairy godmother ex machina, but it's a nice little retelling that I enjoyed. I'll probably end up buying the other book in this series later.  Trigger warnings: transphobia, transmisogyny, physical and verbal abuse, forced servitude/slavery as is usual in Cinderella

Book Reviews: The Flowers and Keyboards series by Emmy Engberts

I read the first and third books in the Flowers and Keyboards series by Emmy Engberts as my first two reads of June. I think I saw the free ebook (for Pride month) being advertised on bookstagram. Colour Her is the first one I read, and it turned out to be the third in the series, which is slightly annoying to me since I prefer to read series books in series order. The Flowers and Keyboards series is a trio of books about a neurodiverse and queer group of teen friends in the Netherlands who like makeup and/or gaming and/or cosplay. Each book in the series focuses on each couple in the friend group.

Colour Her is about two girls who meet in a makeup store and bond over a pride month collection from their favorite brand. Amber is a semi-famous makeup influencer YouTuber and Mya is a fan of hers, but she doesn't know how to tell Amber (who she has a crush on) that she watches her YouTube channel and sent her a gift of a big box of makeup because she doesn't want to come across as stalkerish. Amber agrees to tutor Mya (or maybe it's the other way around?) and they become close. The slight deception around the YouTube/fan thing is built up in the book summary as being a big thing that could keep them apart, but it's resolved pretty quickly. Amber is autistic and feels shame about this, not wanting anyone to know; Mya has ADHD, if I remember correctly, and her other friends are neurodiverse. Their main issues in the book is them struggling to let the other in while dealing with their neurodiversity; it's pretty internal. They don't deal with any homophobia, not even internal despite I think Amber not having dated a girl before. The author herself is Dutch, and while her English writing is very good, there's still some jerkiness/weirdness to the language/word usage that took me out of it throughout the book (probably due to mental translation of Dutch terms to English). For instance, a teen girl would never refer to a girl she liked as her lover (they had perhaps barely held hands at that point). In terms of pacing, there was almost no transition from both girls liking the other but not sure where she stood to them holding hands and making out. Each girl narrates alternating chapters (Amber/Mya/Amber/Mya etc.) but I found it almost impossible to distinguish which one was which; their voices were basically identical. I did find it interesting that each chapter started with a makeup item and its definition. Overall, however, I enjoyed this book and the neurodiverse rep. I think also one of them may have been on the ace spectrum? 3.5 stars. Trigger warnings for off-page ableism, internalized ableism, anxiety

Her Elysium (the first book in this series) is about two girls who meet and start to fall for one another while playing a MMORPG (online video game where people play together). However, because Alex's name is gender neutral and her avatar is male and has a strong fighting role, Fleur thinks that her online friend is a boy. I found their conversations to be very perfunctory/basic and not at all flirty, so I couldn't really get why they were blushing and giggling about it when it was shit like this: A--thanks for healing us. F--sure, no problem. 🥱 When they meet at a local gamer meetup, Fleur is surprised and disappointed, and Alex is devastated that the girl she likes thought she was a boy. Luckily they get over this pretty quickly. Unlike Colour Her, Her Elysium has much stronger and external issues. Fleur's parents are classist and make her be friends with the daughters of their society friends because they're "the right kind of people", scolding her and giving her a hard time when she doesn't want to hang out with them. They hate that she plays video games and are also controlling because Fleur has ADHD. This made me angry, per usual. Alex (who also has ADHD) had an ex who denied being not-straight and was really homophobic to her, I think outing her to their classmates. Because of this, she has trauma and is terrified to be another straight girl's experiment and get her heart broken because of this again. Fleur hadn't fallen for a girl before, so Alex has to deal with that fear. Spoiler, highlight to read: Fleur tells her 'friends' that her parents make her hang out with about her new girlfriend, and despite being okay with it, one of them immediately blabs this to her parents, who unsurprisingly immediately call Fleur's and the other friend's parents about it. Fleur's parents are homophobic and freak out. Alex's mom is a child therapist and she reads them the riot act, thankfully. Alex breaks up with Fleur because she doesn't want to experience the heartbreak (obviously, heartbreak happens anyway for both of them because of this). Luckily all is resolved. This book had the same issues re: writing and word usage, but because of the more external and pressing issues, I was more invested. The girls also alternate chapter POVs, and each chapter starts with a video game concept definition which was interesting. 3.5 stars. Trigger warnings: homophobia, ableism, controlling parents, characters are outed, classism

The second book in the series is about the other couple in the group, a genderqueer boy and queer and/or neurodiverse girl who both do cosplay and also play the MMORPG, but since their ebook wasn't free, I didn't download it.

On another note, Blogger stopped letting me add photos via url for some stupid reason. Ugh. If you think I'm going to download online photos just to upload them for my blog posts, think again. Fix this, Google.

short book reviews for ebooks I read in May

The Case of Barton Manor by Emily Queen, read on May 9

This is a murder mystery set in England in the 1920s. Rosemary Lilywhite used to help her late husband run his private investigator business, but she decides to put that all behind her now that he's gone. However, an old classmate comes to her for help after her father receives a death threat. In order to help her, Rosemary must reenter society, putting up with her mostly annoying family and everyone's scrutinizing eyes. She has help from her best friend, a scandalous flapper, and the detective in charge of the investigation for the murders, a friend of Rosemary's and her late husband's who is secretly in love with her. Additional motivation to solve the murders comes in the form of Rosemary's brother being the main suspect! I enjoyed this freebook (free ebook) and it really helped pass the time at the reference desk. I liked Rosemary and her flapper bestie and found the 1920s high society stuff interesting, but the author would jump from Rosemary's POV into a side character's head in order to tell us what they were thinking in a jarring way that is telling rather than showing. I would read the rest of the books in this series if the ebooks are free. 3.5 out of 5 stars. Trigger warnings for murder, blood, violence, attempted kidnapping, guns, sexism, alcohol and drunkenness/blacking out, classism

 

Dirt-Stained Hands, Thorn-Pierced Skin by Tabitha O'Connell, read on May 28

This novella is a Beauty and the Beast retelling with a nonbinary protagonist. The storyline closely follows the first half of the Disney Beauty and the Beast movie, except that "Belle" is dating "Gaston", and the inventor father is now the inventor mother. You can read the book summary here. The castle from the story is now the fabled castle of mythic mages, who are still talked about in fables told to children. No one even knew the castle existed. Worried about eir mother being trapped there with an injury, Heron leaves to go to her. The castle is just as cool and mysterious as other tellings' castles have been. Instead of the original (?) invisible servants or their floating hands (or Disney's anthropomorphized furnishings), there are automaton servants built by the mages. The "Beast" is the mysterious Theomer, who is not a beast or a mage but a quiet man hiding behind a cape and a wild mane of hair. The curse is hinted at in the title. Heron gets a job at the castle working as a gardener so ey can make some money to help eir mom and have time and space to think about what to do about eir partner Thiel, who keeps pushing em to move in with him. However, Heron and Theomer grow closer, and Theomer draws em in more than Thiel ever did... Overall, I enjoyed this book very much, but it left me wanting more. I wish the author had written a full-length novel instead of a novella so the relationship between Heron and Theomer as well as the curse could be fleshed out and dwelled on more. I highly recommend this book! 4 out of 5 stars; 1 chili pepper 🌶 for spice simply because there are off-page sex mentions and some kissing. Nonbinary (with neopronouns), queer, and gay representation. Trigger warnings for body horror, blood, uneven/controlling relationship dynamics, characters refusing to have adult conversations and running away from their problems

Book Review: The Thread that Binds by Cedar McCloud

At the Eternal Library, books are more than the paper, ink, and thread they're made from--they're full of spirits. Only a handful of people will ever be invited to the Bindery to learn the craft of Illumination: the magical creation of intricate illustrated manuscripts, bound with a secret that will make them last forever.

Tabby is a dreamwalker, a witch who escapes into the stories of sleep to avoid a birth family that's never loved em enough. Amane is a cartomancer, a medium who speaks for the Unseen, but doesn't know how to speak her own needs. Rhiannon is a psychic, an archivist who can See into the past, but only has eyes on the future.

Their stories intertwine as they discover the secrets of Illumination, the Library's archives, and those of their mentors--the three of whom are competing to be the next Head Librarian, the Speaker for all the books. How do you know who's truly worth being part of your family? Sometimes we must forge connections in order to heal; other times, those bonds must be broken...

I bought this ebook from Nook/Barnes & Noble when they were having a sale. You know I'm a sucker for any kind of book about a library and/or books, and this one sounded really interesting. I read it for the Trans Rights Readathon. 

The world this story is set in is a queernorm one, with LGBTQ+-ness being completely normal and most people not having a gender at all. Eir/em pronouns are used for a lot of characters, which takes a bit of getting used to. Just about every letter in the acronym is represented, including aroace rep. The worldbuilding is very well done, with fairytales and folklore from the countries being a theme. The world felt real and lived-in, and I really want to visit the Eternal Library. The magic system is varied and interesting, and the idea of magical books is so cool. You know I enjoyed all the bookbinding etc. stuff. 

Trust, healing, and relationships (especially found family) are big themes in this book. While it deals with some heavy topics, it still feels somewhat cozy. Overall I really enjoyed this book, and would definitely read more books by this author, especially if they were set in the same world.

Score: 4 out of 5 stars
Spice score: 0.5 out of 5 chilies 🌶 (just kissing)
Read in: March 29
From: Barnes & Noble/Nook  

Representation: just about every letter in the QuILTBAG, nonbinary, asexual, aroace, polyamory, Black characters, queerplatonic relationship, racial and body diversity

Trigger warnings: domestic abuse, abusive parents, controlling parents, emotional manipulation, magical torture, that's all I can think of. Cedar McCloud has a list of trigger warnings in the beginning of the book