“Her conviction, born of long days and longer nights, was that if the world contained magic at all, then it could not also contain their war.”
the warm hands of ghosts is a story set during world war 1, following a combat nurse who has recently returned home after the hospital she was working at was bombed. now, back in halifax canada, another explosion has happened and all she has left is her brother, who is still in german occupied france fighting in the forbidden zone. but when a package reaches her with some of his items and a note saying he is missing, she knows she must get back to france and see if she can find out any information about the only person she has left in this world. And a beautiful story, within two stories, is crafted about love, faith, and sacrifice as we switch perspective of these two siblings encountering a force this world has always known. (and the speculative element involving a magical inn that is described as a “faerie revels that end at sunrise”? yeah, 11/10 for me and my reading wheelhouse.)
i know a lot of you were really curious about my thoughts on this book, because the winternight trilogy is one of my favorite stories, and it really does mean a great deal to me. comparing that to this book feels so impossible, because the stories are so vastly differently, but i still really enjoyed this book and was completely swept away by katherine arden’s prose and storycrafting and heart.
i am just not the biggest historical reader, and i am also not the biggest fan of reading war stories, but i knew if anyone could make me enjoy a story with a backdrop like this, it would be katherine arden. but i did find myself very much enjoying laura’s pov of traveling and healing and discovering what was going on way more than freddies trapped within this war pov (which seems to be a very not popular opinion according to early reviews)! but even despite this book being very catered not to my tastes, there is just something so magical about katherine’s writing, and ability to tell a story. and the way she handled the different evils in this book was really perfect in my opinion. plus, you all know i love a good big sister and little brother story always!
i really don’t want to give away too much of the plot, because it really is cool to discover everything right alongside laura and freddie, but my favorite part of this book is actually the title. just this idea sparking that our own hands can become unusable because of the brutal acts of men (and how women are trying to heal from many of those acts against all odds), and how we can be having our hands guided by ghosts (some ghosts, some angels, some… a little bit of dark entities) was just really thought provoking and so very profound to me. very very galaxy brain. also the theme of how it is easier to blame one person, one thing, rather than a completely broken system that needs to be dismantled and rebuilt. i know this is a world war 1 story, but it feels extra heartbreaking how much of this felt so very relevant in 2024. maybe we need our hands guided a lot more by ghosts and not leaders who still don’t want to view human lives equally 100 years later.
“It was so much easier to hate a man than a system: vast, inhuman, bloodstained.”
this book also puts a very heavy emphasis on hope and how important it is to have a north star to keep that hope alive, keep you having faith, making it easier for you to believe in something and maybe, in turn, believe in yourself. This book really showcases that in a lot of ways - through anger, though sacrifice, though a never waning belief of hope back in that very same person. And also shows the beauty of realizing that you are able to hope in something new, which can also be a safe harbor when the world feels unnavigable by yourself.
also this book has a very big central theme of pairings within the characters. This old and new world that so many of these characters fall into and you can see them having a harder or easier time depending on what way they fall. i feel we (americans) are taught around 8th grade the literary juxtaposition of the 20s and of old and new with gatsby (and at such an annoying length), but this really made me think that maybe this was a heightened view that people were really discussing and feeling during and after the great war (pre jazz era/roaring twenties… listen, i am an sff reader and reviewer not a historical one hahaha but this really was thought provoking for me). but i just really love the element of pairings and how everyone kind of has a co-something counterpart within this story as well. i enjoy it as a reader and also as a type a virgo.
okay i think i am finally able to let you in on the secret reading of this book (i can’t even believe i am about to type this!) I was able to have the opportunity to buddy read this with katherine arden (and a bunch of amazing booksellers and book content creators!) and the amount of research and respect and heart that she put into this novel is so very felt, but i really was lucky enough to experience that so much deeper. i was speechless at how much she knew and how much she dug deeper to learn so many personal stories of families during this time. it allowed me to have an even deeper level of empathy and just taught me so much in regard to understanding what life was really like during this time period all around the world.
i also want to let you know because this was such a magical experience for me, there could potentially be some bias going on, or simply that i just read this book with a different lens compared to if i read it all by myself. You know, it feels a little fated to even write this because the reason i picked up the bear and the nightingale in 2017 was because it was gifted to me by the goodreads staff, which they all wrote sweet things in, and it is forever one of my favorite books in my collection. so maybe i am just destined to have really unique reading experiences with katherin arden.
overall, this was a really heartfelt story and an entire experience that meant a lot to me. it was a true honor reading this, and laura is a character who will stay in my heart forever. i absolutely am already begging for whatever katherine arden does next and this book really helped solidify her as a favorite author of all time.
trigger + content warnings: the whole setting being world war 1, a constant talk and imagery of war, halifax harbor explosion, battle of passchendaele mentions, mentions of chemical gassing warfare, prisoner of war, death, murder, gun violence, so many hospital settings, violence, gore, blood, blood transfusions, needles, surgery, talk of medical conditions and illness constantly, missing loved one, a lot of talk of loss of loved ones (including parents, children, partners, friends), captivity, claustrophobic scenes, extreme ptsd, extreme nightmares, smoking and drinking, crowd crush scene, talk of suicide, suicide ideation.
this was a reading experience, friends! after my content and trigger warnings, i will do a spoiler section of my thoughts because at this point in the sjm universe / maasverse, and this being the third book in the crescent city series, it is difficult to talk about anything without it being a potential spoiler!
i had a good time reading this. I really loved lidia and ruhn’s storylines and they really made the entire book for me. I am also still so very in love with hypaxia, and the things i would do to get her pov. speaking of, I felt a little bored at some povs in hofas - mostly ithian and tharion (i am so sorry to these men, i love them and feel so much empathy for them, but it is true). and bryce’s pov made me feel a range of emotions, that’s for sure, but most of the time it wasn’t the best emotions. ultimately, i think there were too many povs in this book and sometimes the switching between them felt very jarring and unbalanced. i also feel like there was just so much going on, which valid, but instead of it being information that we started to learn in the first two books, it felt like sjm was kind of just throwing out every plot she could think up. and i think this all made the pacing of this book a bit weird feeling. but i did love that baldur’s gate unexpected cursed dot storyline a lot.
like all sjm books, this could have been edited down a little bit (or a lot a bit). But i think what all sjm’s books do exceptionally well is discussion of trauma and grief and learning to live coinciding with those two very heavy things and also trying to heal from them, and how those healing paths can look very different for everyone. I feel like we can really see that in her crescent city series and it is always something that i will appreciate her putting out into the world.
overall, i had a lot of fun reading this and making connections between all the things. if you follow my reviews, you will know how much i love theorycrafting and connecting different universes together, and this book truly took this experience to a different level. each easter egg truly felt like a long awaited gift i was finally able to open. and once i finished this last page, well… and all the bonus chapters, the anticipation i felt for whatever sjm does next was very surprising and a little unmatched. plus reading a new sjm book when it drops, with what feels like half of the online book community, feels special each and every new release.
trigger + content warnings: death, grief, blood, captivity, slavery, extreme torture, a lot of violence, gun violence, maybe cannibalism / maybe just a lot of gore, battle, war, loss of a loved one in past (and a lot of talk about it), loss of sibling in past, defecation and urine mentions, self harm to get blood, sexual abuse, threat of rape, talk of forced breeding, talk of medical experimentation, talk of domestic abuse, talk of parental abuse, colonization, needles, bombings, a lot of talk and mentions of hurt children, vomit, a lot of talk of parasites, drugging / poisoning, self sacrifice / a lot of attempts at self sacrificing
this next section of this review will be filled with spoilers! please use caution! and please make sure you’ve read the entire throne of glass series and the entire a court of thorns and roses series!
us finally getting the throne of glass crossover moment we have all been waiting for? I was truly screaming. lidia cervos, the woman you are. the stag throne, the hidden flame powers, the ruby ring, the blatant descendant name drop of whitethorn galathynius. i am still losing my mind while i type this. obviously bryce and ruhn being somehow related to rhysand is pretty cool. and i truly believe Ithan is a descendant of dorian because of the ice powers (and by the end of tog dorian was a shifter). but lidia being related to aelin? i am just speechless.
lidia was the best character in this book for me, too. And she had the most heartfelt and empowering story going on throughout as well. and the naming of her one son brannon? truly, her and ruhn really were the stars of this third book and their povs were hands down my favorite. (that target bonus chapter? so good)
okay more throne of glass crossover screaming - the under king! full credit to emmahalbrook on tiktok! but my jaw is still on the floor. i am just so excited to read reviews and find more crossovers that i missed, and to see all the crossover content that is still to come!
my mind is still trying to process everything with theia and aidas (and helena and silene). i know rhysand is a descendant of theia and amren told him she was a prisoner of theia. But this book kind of makes it appear like amren was a captured “pet monster” of silene. i need to do more research but amren connecting all the gods and theia is really cool and something i think the fandom has been wanting more confirmation of for a really long time.
okay back to crescent city, hypaxia was amazing, as always! i just love my sapphic necromancer queen. i know i made the baldur's gate joke above, but wizards of the coast are quaking at her finding the antidote to defeat the parasites and still finding ways to make it more easily accessible and forever lasting. she is actually the real mvp of this book.
ruhn, hunt, and baxian going through some dark stuff and making jokes to keep light getting out of that dungeon. I actually really loved seeing their friendship in this book, even if… again, some dark stuff.
i don’t want to talk about this, but ultimately i know i need to because i feel like this is the reason i am giving this book three stars, so let’s talk about it - bryce wasn’t my favorite in this book, sadly. her leaving cooper was just so cruel to me. i know many other reviewers are saying this, but bryce did so many things that made readers question that maybe she is turning into the villain (which might have been a little cool actually). but her leaving him behind was just wild to me. ember and randall showing they are upset because of this and voicing that bryce was wrong for leaving him still (or maybe even enhanced) made me so upset at her. But there were so many other instances too, like when she called lidia’s kids baggage? like when she told hunt to get over himself when the man was really going through it in those dungeons? what was all that? she felt so reckless and so careless and even heartless. ahhh i dont know, i just feel like bryce is easily my least favorite of sjm’s main characters, and i just liked her less and less each book, which feels so bad to say, but it really is how i feel.
this is so random, but i also need to admit that i truly didn’t think cormac was dead dead, so i was so surprised when this book wrapped up and i guess that man really is! man oh man, i was truly waiting for that reveal and it just never came!
okay, the ending! i loved seeing those three fire sprites truly saving the day. and them working at griffin antiquities at the end? oh, i really loved to see it. i shed many tears at jesiba actually saving the day, and i shed even more at bryce seeing danika and connor and everyone she loves waiting for her. and i did actually like the blackhole portal teleporting as well. the last 100 pages of this book were very strong and very heartfelt.
and the very end? the way i truly wept at bryce's mom hugging and saying kind words to nesta. I actually felt insane with swollen eyes because of it. (the bam bonus chapter was probably my favorite of all the bonus chapters though. also, i just really want to live in the house of wind!) But yeah, i felt like this was a very strong ending to this book, and a very strong set up for whatever sjm does next! (probably with acotar now that nesta has the sword, dagger, mask, and a harp to potentially find bryce or whoever else whewwwww)
lastly, because i cannot write a spoiler section review and not bring this up: when azriel said nyx is waiting too. oh, it got a tear from me. and bryce telling nesta and azriel how a phone works got a giggle from me. i truly cannot wait for whatever sjm gives us next.
the acotar reread really came in clutch, especially acosf! But this whole reading experience just made me really want to reread tog asap! especially because (i can’t believe i am typing this) i think nesta is really making it hard for me to say that manon is my favorite sjm character!
there is something just extra cool and extra harrowing about all these stories taking place under the same ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss
there is something just extra cool and extra harrowing about all these stories taking place under the same moon on the same halloween night. very galaxy brain of these editors. Leyla Mendoza and the Last House on the Lane was my very personal favorite - it really meant the entire world to me. and Rocky Road with Caramel Drizzle is one i feel so thankful to have been able to read, and i know it will sit inside my heart forever. but here are my thoughts on all the stories in this collection, and i think so many people are gonna have a good time with this one, especially if you read this during spooky season.
━━♡ Welcome to the Hotel Paranoia by Vanessa Montalban ★★
“If you would've just waited for me to tell you I felt the same, if you would've never come here, I'd be yours. We'd be ours.”
i was obsessed with this sinking abandoned hotel setting, but sadly that was one of the few things i did like about this short story. i kept waiting for a different kind of revenge story to start because of the set up, but, sadly again, i was let down.
tw/cw: drinking, drugs, mention of bullying in past, brief mention of seizure in past (insinuating bc of overdose or excessive drug use), death
━━♡ The Visitor by Kalynn Bayron ★★★
“They were like beacons in an endless abyss of grief.”
this story has a few lines that made me tear up. this is a very sweet and spooky tale about a girl and her father celebrating halloween and honoring someone they lost. i feel like the author did such a good job conveying so many different emotions and feelings in the different scenes in this short work, i was really impressed.
tw/cw: loss of a parent in the past, grief
━━♡ A Brief Intermission by Sara Farizan ★★★
“Whenever someone talks about the "good old days," they forget to mention who it was "good" for.”
okay truly, drive in movies are just the perfect creepy setting, especially ones that are closed for halloween because of a generational secret being kept. i really liked both of our main characters in this one, and i liked seeing this secret unravel alongside them.
tw/cw: blood, gore, brief hospital setting, mention of fatal car crash in past, microaggressions, vomiting, animal death (rats)
━━♡ Guested by Rebecca Kim Wells ★★★
“Mrs. Choi thought Guested parties were white people nonsense or the work of the devil. Sometimes both.”
you all know a story about sibling love is always going to get me, and this being told in second person really amplified all the feelings. i will say, i just didn't enjoy the ending of this one, but the concept was really unique and smart, and the writing was very captivating - i would love to read more from this author.
tw/cw: very brief mention of parents divorcing + death of a parent, possession, depression depiction
━━♡ Rocky Road with Caramel Drizzle by Kosoko Jackson ★★★★★
“There is no God here tonight. Only me, and I am vengeful.”
this short story is worth reading the entire anthology for alone. this was truly everything for me and, even though it pulled on everything inside my heart, the very vulnerable, real, + raw feelings were just so powerful to me. this is exactly what i want in horror, because, at the end of the day, humans are more horrifying than any paranormal creature could ever dream of being.
tw/cw: needle imagery, toxic friendship, codependency depiction, chronic pain mention, homophobia, homophobic slurs, blood, abuse, ouija board, very brief mention of domestic abuse + parental abuse + loss of a parent + murder in past with a side character. this story has a central focus on a gay hate crime / gay bashing - please use caution while reading and make sure you're in the right headspace
━━♡ The Three Phases of Ghost Hunting by Alex Brown ★★★
“Terrifying Bob won't even mess with the Jollibee, which makes me sad on his behalf.”
my favorite part of this was just how filipinos really do normalize ghosts + spirits hahaha. but i really loved the set up of this one, and i felt like it's really different than anything else in this collection. i loved these characters instantly too, and the sibling relationship made my heart so happy in so few pages. i just really didn't love the end of this one and it left me more confused than anything else. but i would happily read a full-length story with this crew + their new friend!
tw/cw: talk of death + possession
━━♡ Nine Stops by Trang Thanh Tran ★★
“You can love something so hard that you hate it at the same time. Each shortcoming hurts more because you care. The city and my body are like that.”
ahhh, this one is going to be a bit hard to write feelings for just because this story is centered around one of those "if you dont do BLANK, then BLANK will happen" on the internet things - and i just loath those so much. but then it just got more and more gross and confusing, and added so much that just didn't need to be there, but felt like they were added because it was a halloween anthology. we got to see some heartfelt themes of grief and the helplessness you feel when you lose someone you love - and i loved that - but sadly everything else just overshadowed it for me.
tw/cw: asian hate crime, racism, loss of a loved one, grief depiction, graphic animal cruelty + death for a ritual, insect mention, blood
━━♡ Leyla Mendoza and the Last House on the Lane by Maya Gittleman ★★★★★
“The smell of sampaguita fills the air. It's coming from you, the magic that's always been you, that you've finally given yourself the ability to unlock.”
not only my favorite of the collection, but a brand new all time favorite short story. this was everything and so very powerful. i might be a little biased because i am fillipino (and i have a matching sampaguita tattoo with my cousin haha), but i think this story is truly just perfection, while being so deep in culture and so deep in heart. and i was weeping through the ending with a smile on my face. the author was so galaxy brain for this entire story, but the amount of hope it was able to evoke from me too. i really am speechless.
whatever this author does next, i will be in the publisher's emails begging for an arc, because these few pages truly made me feel not only seen, but like i am finding a brand new all time favorite author.
tw/cw: talk of loss of a parent in the past, mention of deaths, one sentence mention of whitening cream/treatment
━━♡ In You to Burn by Em X. Liu ★★
“Magic wasn't real, after all. There were better, more mundane ways to explain things.”
ah, i wish i would have loved this one more. i am not really sure what to say other than maybe the writing just wasn't for me. but the plot just seemed a little all over and i wasn't really sure where the story was going most of the time. it also felt very long to me.
tw/cw: fires, drinking, blood, death
━━♡ Anna by Shelly Page ★★★★
“I know that bone-deep loneliness that comes with being abandoned and the fear that it'll keep happening no matter what you do.”
okay i think this story was like exactly what i was expecting from this collection, and it just was really good and really halloween spooky. it was the paranormal scariest of them all for me, and i was really feeling the eeriness while reading (and while finishing). a good reminder why i love short story collections so much, because i am now very excited to read more from this author.
tw/cw: abandonment, child abuse in past, starvation, ouija board
━━♡ Hey There, Demons by Tara Sim ★★★★
“Halloween. One way or another, he was going to get rid of this poltergeist for good.”
oh this was just a good read all around, and so different in tone from the rest of the collection. and it just really made my heart overflow with happiness, while still being spooky. i know these are fictional characters, but i really wish them the best because they were able to get into my heart in so few pages!
tw/cw: ghost leaving scratches on children, blood, implied loss of a parent in past
━━♡ Save Me from Myself by Ayida Shonibar ★★★★
“Today, my outside resembles the way I feel within. ”
this really is the short story from this collection that is going to be the hardest (and most all over the place) to talk about. i loved this story, i loved what it was doing, i loved that i very easily could see how much this will mean to so many teens, especially queer bipoc teens, who i know are feeling these things, thinking these things, and seeing themselves like this main character. this is an important and powerful read, and was able to evoke so much emotion from me. but i just absolutely hated the end of this. i felt like it was for shock value and just felt terrible when the rest of this story was everything i could have hoped for for this collection. again, i feel like this is just a hard one to talk about, but it still is a bright, but heartbreaking, shining light in this collection for me.
tw/cw from author at start of this story: suicidal ideation, death tw/cw that i found additionally: mention of parent abandonment, loss of a friend, loss of a parent, and... so many intrusive thoughts
━━♡ Knickknack by Ryan Douglass ★★★
“And...how do we find a sacrifice worthy of his Clownliness?”
truly, very few things in this life are scarier than clowns. and a clown who is a ghost and kidnaps and kills children? like, i was unsettled from start to end! i also really enjoyed the queer rep in this because i think its a very relatable "is this person maybe queer too" highschool experience, and i know a lot of people will be able to relate. this was spooky and sweet and i had a good time with it.
tw/cw: murder in past, death in past, kidnapping, brief one sentence mention of parent alcohol addiction and cheating of a parent, just not the best parents in general, brief mention on bullying in past, mention of 4chan, ouija board.
“...Maryse had finally learned, after five years as a medium, what the dead spoke of.”
nghi vo is one of my favorite authors, so i knew i would enjoy this short story from this collection. it was spooky, unsettling, and truly all the vibes were exactly what i look for in horror. we follow two people posing as mediums traveling in historical illinois, where they find themselves stranded at a very isolated school for young girls, in a really creepy and unsettling town, with a river that is holding dark secrets.
again, vo is such a talented writer that i felt like i was barely breathing while reading this and watching everything happen. This a very high three star from me, but upon finishing it just really left me wanting more in a good way, but also in a way that really makes me think this story would be better in a longer and more expandable format. i still fully recommend and i am still very curious about this collection of short stories.
trigger and content warnings: racism, blood depictions, murder, death, gore, + maybe choking (the writing is so good and descriptive, it made me feel it a little hehe)
“Welcome home. Welcome back. We missed you. I missed you more than I should have, more than I wanted to. I went to hell for you. I’d do it again.”
a reminder that 3 star ratings aren't bad ratings hehehe! i enjoyed this, i just didn't love it the way i wish i did... but that's okay because i still had a really good time turning these pages! this is still such a powerful series, and i can't wait for whatever book three has in store! <3
trigger + content warnings: loss of a loved one, blood depictions, abuse, mentions of rape in past, murder, death, gore, panic attacks, fire, talk of attempted suicide, talk of suicide, self harm for blood for magic, possession and compulsion, bullying, brief mentions of overdosing, drugs, drugs use, police brutality, cancer mention, vomiting, heat attack mention, animal death, talk of electric shock therapy, mentions of bugs/maggots/spiders, and very bad and abusive relationships with people and with parents in the past. this book can get very dark at times and has constant themes of abuse - please use caution while reading and make sure you're in a good space for it in your life.
━━♡ Phantoms of the Midway by Seanan McGuire ★★★ a very beautiful, smart, sweet, and sapphic hades + persephone reimagining. ou➽ Robots vs. Fairies ★★★
━━♡ Phantoms of the Midway by Seanan McGuire ★★★ a very beautiful, smart, sweet, and sapphic hades + persephone reimagining. our main character lives with her mom among a traveling circus, but this current stop is going to be very different for them both. i didn't love this at first, but by the end i was emotional and invested.
tw/cw: mention of fire in past, mention of death of a child in past
━━♡ The Justified by Ann Leckie ★★ an interesting futuristic scifi reimagining of sekhmet/hathor. they just wanted to live a life of solitude, but mankind can be so annoying (very true). sadly, this one just wasn't for me.
tw/cw: blood, death, murder, gore, violence
━━♡ Fisher-Bird by T Kingfisher ★★ a reimagining of the labors of hercules, but it took me far too long to figure that out. this was supposed to be funny with mentions of different gods and stories, but it just really wasn't for me personally.
tw/cw: very brief mentions of cannibalism and animal deaths
━━♡ A Brief Lesson in Native American Astronomy by Rebecca Roanhorse ★★★ a very unsettling story, about a futuristic cyberpunk world where, if you're powerful enough, you can prolong lives + memories digitally... but at a cost for sure. deer hunter and white corn maiden legend
tw/cw: death, grief, unsettling imagery of decomposition
━━♡ Bridge of Crows by Neon Yang ★★★★★
"Sometimes, to undo all the wrongs you have to undo the entire system."
absolute perfection. this is a the cowherd and the weaver girl, but sapphic scifi masterpiece, reimagining. this is a new tale within old tales and it really just blew me away from first to last sentence. this is a mini quest, where our main character is going up a mountain to seek a powerful witch's help - which sounds amazing on it's own, but it's layered with so much more. from love + sacrifices, to broken + corrupt systems, to how we perceive stories being told to us + how they can be so much bigger and/or smaller... this was just everything for me as a reader and ended so powerfully. (also our mc is fae which you all know is always an added bonus for me!)
tw/cw: captivity, banishment, talk of war
━━♡ Labbatu Takes Command of the Flagship "Heaven Dwells Within" by Arkady Martine ★★★★ sumerian poetry, but make it a space opera. this was impressive and enthralling and i know i will be thinking about these origin stories for a long time to come. this is a story about how the greatest captain + thief captured a starship... while being brave, and charming, and empowering. i am even more excited to finally read a memory called empire soon (i promise)!
tw/cw: blood, talk of war, brief fighting/battle scenes. i see some reviews didn't like the more bold language used in this, but i think it just added to the power of inanna + the story! :)
━━♡ Wild to Covet by Sarah Gailey ★★ a modern historical story about thetis from greek mythos, who is most known for being achilles’ mom… and whose story ends when his story ends. this is all about identity and being more than just a vessel for childbirth, but i just didn't enjoy reading it. i feel like i should have loved this, but i just didn't.
tw/cw: blood, war, loss of a child
━━♡ ¡Cuidado! ¡Que Viene el Coco! by Carlos Hernandez ★★★★★ oh, this was heartbreakingly lovely. this is a story a little bit about el coco, the cuban boogeyman-like entity! but mostly this is a story about mental health, fatherhood, and navigating parenthood as a child who was abused. with a lot of themes of sacrifice, forgiveness, and love. We follow a man, on a ship alone with only his ai psychologist and his baby. we get to also see his relationship with his currently separated wife, and we get to see his past and his present living with BPD. this was able to evoke so much emotion from me, and was just a wonderful reminder of how much i love powerful, beautiful, quiet short fiction like this. (and finding new authors through anthology bindups!)
tw/cw: mention of suicidal thoughts, mentions of child abuse + abusive parents in past, self harm, dissociation, scary imagery
━━♡ He Fell Howling by Stephen Graham Jones ★★★★★
"I don't bite holes in the world because I dislike the world, I bite holes in it because I have these teeth."
oh, i know this is going to be a polarizing one because of the darkness to this story, but this was insanely well crafted and told - i loved it. this is a imagining of what happens to lycaon after zeus curses him for feeding him his own child. this is a very unsettling story as we see lycaon become a wolf (think werewolf/lycanthrope... get it), where his hunger for power and vengeance and cruelty does not stop in this new animal body. this is very much a story told in the pov of a villain gaining strength at any cost to take down another villain... oh, and he is personally telling the story to you so it's even more chilling and haunting. this is not going to be for everyone, but this is short form horror perfection for me.
tw/cw: cannibalism (and... as a wolf eating his own wolf pups too), human sacrifice, human death, animal death, animal sacrifice, blood depiction, mention of spiders, implications of sexual assault
━━♡ Curses Like Words, Like Feathers, Like Stories by Kat Howard ★★ this was so beautifully + lyrically written rendition of the children of lir, but it also analyzes how that story feels disjointed, almost as if it were two stories combined, maybe as if someone else wrote the ending. this also discusses how stories are passed down, and how things can change over time, and this author does a beautiful job honoring her attachment to the story. i personally didn't love this one, but i loved the writing and what it obviously meant to the author.
tw/cw: grief depiction
━━♡ Across the River by Leah Cypress ★★ a story about a jewish poet, living in germany, who can see a magical river that most people cannot. then a sorcerer comes to town killing jewish people with just a touch, and our mc asks the river for help. this is a retelling of the sambatyon, but also inspired by a real life man who was cited to have some of this water from the story trapped in a glass. sadly, this one just didn't work for me as a reader.
tw/cw: antisemitism, unwanted touching, talk of death + murder
━━♡ Sisyphus in Elysium by Jeffrey Ford ★★ this was for sure the one that felt most like a retelling for me. this is the story of sisyphus, who is being punished, by hades for cheating death, by pushing a huge bolder up a hill, until it crashes and disappears. we get to see him ponder about life, think of his mistakes, realize what is important in life. and i feel like it makes the reader think about life and eternity, but it didn't leave me feeling anything and i just didn't really enjoy this one.
tw/cw: talk of death, mention of cannibalism, isolation depiction. fighting
━━♡ Kali_Na by Indrapramit Das ★★★ inspired from a hindu goddess but also by the microsoft ai bot who was corrupted by racist online trolls. this was a very smart, but very heavy on the heart to read story. we get to see this vr world being ruled by myths and religion and all things social media, while also seeing that our actual world is ruled by the very same. and how evil people will profit on all three of these things simultaneously, if they are able. especially when the backdrop of both worlds are filled with hate, racism, and misogynistic views. and the people are able to be very bold, very loud, and very proud to be anonymously hateful.
tw/cw: online harassment, verbal abuse, colorism, + just harmful and scary online bullying and abuse
━━♡ Live Stream by Alyssa Wong ★★★★★ if you've read my anthology reviews in the past, you might know that alyssa wong is my favorite short story writer of all time. this was, hands down, the story i was most excited for, and i really did love it a lot, even if i read it with such a heavy heart. being a women who puts herself into online spaces that are mostly populated by cis men can be such scary experience in general, but i feel like anything involving the video game community is ten times amplified. this is a reimagining of artemis and actaeon, but told from the pov of a twitch streamer who is facing unmeasurable online harassment because of a man in the industry with immense power. and sadly, this is such a reality for so many people who i personally know. it just hit hard for so many reasons, but hit harder knowing this is something a favorite author of mine has also dealt with. (cis men marvel stans can be pretty horrible too!) but this story is very powerful, and also talks about surviving, and finding support systems, and taking back your own agency and communities and power. ahhh, i dunno... i just love alyssa a lot a lot. i bet this one resonates a lot with people reading this review, too!
tw/cw: sexual assault, stalking, pictures being taken and shared without consent, harassment, online abuse, power imbalances, vomiting, blood mention, anxiety depictions, maybe agoraphobia
━━♡ Close Enough for Jazz by John Chu ★★ this one just was not for me whatsoever. this is a "reaction" to idun, goddess of youth, where we see a tech startup pitching those magical apples, but these can change your body autonomy... kinda. this is also about how society and corporations will always try to capitalize off the very deep discussion on body image, but i just felt like this wasn't very well done/could have been done better.
tw/cw: mechanical spiders, power imbalances, and lots of themes of body image
━━♡ Buried Deep by Naomi Novik ★★ one of my favorite things in literature is a good big sister + little brother relationship, so i feel like this reimagining of ariadne and the minotaur really should have worked for me, but it just didn't. i loved seeing this tale told from ariadne's point of view, and i adored reading the unwavering unconditional love she had for her brother, but it was just so long and dare i say everything else but the sibling relationship was boring.
━━♡ The Things Eric Eats Before He Eats Himself by Carmen Maria Machado ★★★ carmen maria machado is one of my favorite short story writers of all time, so i was very surprised that i didn't love this modern day reimagining of demeter's revenge curse on erysichthon. but maybe i just wasn't in the mood for body horror. probably just wrong short story at the wrong time kind of thing. but a solid story on how some men will truly grow up learning only how to take, and continue to take, regardless of the cost, until it consumes everything.
tw/cw: gore, self mutilation, cannibalism, lots of food descriptions, murder, death, animal death
━━♡ Florilegia; or, Some Lies About Flowers by Amal El-Mohtar ★★★★
"There are so many flowers, and so many birds, and so many women in the word and they all deserve to be more than set dressing in men's stories."
oh, what a beautiful way to end this anthology. a powerful, sapphic, blodeuwedd reimagining that was so heartfelt and just so lovely. and a good reminder that we really can be anything that we want to be, while growing however we want to grow.
trigger + content warnings: loss of a loved one, trauma, alcoholism, extreme alcohol withdrawals,, vomiting, seizures, grief depictions, anxiety, abusive parents/bad parents, grey area cheating, blood depictions, violence, gore, homophobia, misogyny, self harm, mention of loss of a child in the past, possession (against one's will), enchantment (against one's will), insect horror, kidnapping, harming of a baby (kind of spoilers but… (view spoiler)[a rune put on a baby forcefully) (hide spoiler)]...more
“All the time you've spent playing in the dark — is this what you were waiting for?”
this was the best romance i've read... in years. it can be a b“All the time you've spent playing in the dark — is this what you were waiting for?”
this was the best romance i've read... in years. it can be a bit darker at times, so please make sure you check out the authors warnings below, but this book just completely worked for me. i loved the main characters, i loved the set up, i loved the queer rep, i loved the steamy scenes, i loved the spooky setting, i truly just loved it all. i cant wait to read everything by this author now.
Content Warnings from the author: This book contains graphic sexual scenes, violence, kink/fetish content, horror elements, and depictions of hard kink/edgeplay. This book is strictly fictional and is not meant to represent realistic expectations of BDSM or kink. Kinks/Fetishes Within: consensual non-consent (CNC), breathe play/choking, bloodplay, spit, needle play (body modification fetish), pain play, fear play, public play, bondage, restraint, spanking/impact play.
other cw/tw i found while reading: captivity, enslavement, death, murder, human sacrifice, self harm to get blood for magic, needles, mention of insects, mention of cannibalism in past, anxiety depiction, trauma depiction, gore blood depiction, drugging, vomiting, scenes that i believe could be trigging for claustrophobia, torture, and cults.
“Nothing is fair, except that we try to make it so. That’s the point of humans, maybe, to fix things the gods haven’t managed.”
all year, i have be
“Nothing is fair, except that we try to make it so. That’s the point of humans, maybe, to fix things the gods haven’t managed.”
all year, i have been trying to find a five star t kingfisher book and i am so very happy to report back that nettle & bone was finally that for me. this really had so many elements that i loved and it really just completely worked for me and my reading tastes! but please use caution (and check my trigger and content warnings down below if needed). everyone always just says how this is about a sister getting revenge on a prince who has caused harm to her two older sisters, and that is very true, but this book really goes to dark places and lets you see the horrors humans can be capable of very descriptively - so please use care if you need to! because this book really is a dark fairytale about abuse, and the things that not only abusers do, but the way in which they also abuse power so that nothing can seemingly stop all the cycles in the world. how there are many different kinds of abuse, and how they all can feel strangulating in their own way, with all their many different strings and threads.
but i just really loved this book with my whole heart. the themes, the atmosphere, the traveling, the quests, the goblin market, the revenge, the demonic chicken… it was just all perfect to me. And the characters were really phenomenal. our main character, marra, who is willing to do anything to save her sister, with the help of her magical bone dog. fenris, a knight who just wants to do what is right this time around. the dust wife (demonic chicken’s owner), who is the coolest character and has lived a life of solitude tucked away in a hard to reach graveyard, until marra needs her help and proves she is worthy of it. and agnes, the sweetest godmother who will really make you think about blessings and curses and how kindness can sometimes really go a long way, especially to people who haven’t known much kindness.
i just loved this, it was perfect for me and my reading tastes, and i hope more of t kingfsher's fantasy stories feel like this to me, because she will really have a fan for life if so!
trigger + content warnings: blood, starvation, cannibalism, incest mention in royal families, talk of animal deaths, child birth depictions, mention of child dying in labor, mention of mother dying in labor, miscarriages, murder, death, domestic abuse, loss of a child, loss of a sibling, torture, talk of rape, slavery, captivity, teeth horror, suicidal thoughts and attempts, anxiety, self deprecation, and scenes that i think could feel claustrophobic.
“When you love a thing too much, it is a special kind of pain to show it to others and to see that it i➵ The Empress of Salt and Fortune ★★★★★
“When you love a thing too much, it is a special kind of pain to show it to others and to see that it is lacking.”
oh, this was a complete and utter masterpiece. 128 pages of power and perfection. not only a love letter to love, but a love letter to stories being told through generations and the power of stories being audibly passed down. and how those stories get distorted over time when others write them down, sometimes trying to make them fit in boxes they never belonged in.
and if you all are looking for sapphic yearning, and angst, and one liners that you will physically feel in your heart and soul, i recommend this story with everything. truly unforgettable, and the layers and depth to it all is so expertly done. nghi vo is actually out of her mind for these novellas, and i am blown away way passed the point of coherent words. but i can't wait to see what stories our cleric experiences next!
“Being close to her was like being warmed by a bonfire, and I had been cold for a long time.”
impoh, such a powerful first read of 2022 !!
“Being close to her was like being warmed by a bonfire, and I had been cold for a long time.”
impactful, lyrical, and so so so powerful. truly a masterpeice of a novella and the story is told in my absolute favorite way - where we get to see a character be told the story alongside the reader. the memories were beautiful and haunting and everything in-between. and the last line had me gasping for air! truly i loved this with my whole heart, and lake scarlet is now one of my favorite settings in literature.
"If I could read humans’ minds, I wouldn’t have ended up trapped inside a little girl’s finger bone."
I have enjoyed everything that Margaret Rogerson has written thus far, but I do think Vespertine may possibly be my favorite of them all.
Artemisia is a Grey Sister, working alongside nuns at the convent, preparing dead bodies for their final rest. Before the convent, and when she was only a child, she was forced to use the most extreme measures to purge a revenant who was possessing her, and now has disabled hands. But because of her past, she likes to keep to herself and live a quiet life with very few friends. But when an army of possessed soldiers come to destroy the only place that has ever made her feel like home, she is forced to use a saint's relic that allows a very powerful revenant to share a body with her once again, while also protecting the monastery. But Artemisia quickly realizes these soldiers are not the only ones being possessed by so many different spirits of different powers, and the only hope for this world could be her and the spirit that is currently inhabiting her own body.
Word quickly sweeps across all the lands of a Vespertine who has the power to cleanse and save them all, but there are many who will stop at nothing to ensure she does not come into her full power with her revenant who remembers the past these people are trying to hide very well. But Artemisia must learn if she can even trust this spirit, especially because she has his relic which she must protect because if it is destroyed, the revenant will be destroyed with it.
"On this day, we honor her by denouncing the Raven King, bringer of the Sorrow, ruin of the Age of Kings. May his face remain forgotten. May history scorn his name."
I know the premise of possession can be a little questionable, but Artemisia and her revenant (and their banter) was truly my favorite part of their book. And their friendship, and their trust in one another, while also learning boundaries, was really enjoyable to read. Also, her having that relic and power over the revenant was very important for me, as a reader! And I think the author does a really beautiful job also always remembering and discussing Artemisia’s trauma from her past, while allowing her room to grow but to also decided for herself how she wants to heal and grow, regardless of how linearly the healing is throughout the story and throughout Artemisia’s life.
Artemisia is also very inspired from Joan of Arc, who was also believed to be a saint under divine guidance from a higher power to save her people, even though she was “just” a young and poor girl. Since this is the first book of this duology, I do hope Artemisia does not meet the same end, but the parallels were very subtle and loud at the same time, but always very beautiful.
"I wondered if I should pray. But the stars were gone, the Lady’s gaze obscured. I had no sign save the hundreds of voices chanting my name outside."
I also really loved this whole entire world and magic system. The different castes and hierarchy of spirits and discovering all their different levels and powers was so absolutely fascinating. Even how the cause of death would impact what kind of spirit manifested! I also loved every stop Artemisia and her revenant would make on this journey, and all the new things about these spirits we, as the reader, would learn alongside Artemisia. If you’ve read the author’s previous works, you know that they just really excel at world building and crafting the most beautiful settings, and Vespertine was no different. And I was happily exploring cities and inns, and cathedrals and crypts, with Artemisia.
Overall, I just really loved this and it was a true joy to pick up each time. The side characters were also very amazing, and each friendship that Artemisia chose to start really was beautiful. And I loved seeing Artemisia realize that she is deserving of safety and happiness, regardless of what happened to her in the past. And also seeing her realize that the family you choose will always be more important than the family you were born into. I really recommend this one for so many reasons, but I also think most of you know I just have a really big soft spot for magical fighting nuns always, too. Happy reading!
Content and Trigger Warnings: abandonment, child neglect + abuse in past, possession (the mc uses self-harm in the past + threats of suicide to get spirits to leave her body - both very brief mentions), brief mention of animal abuse, mention of animal deaths, blood depictions, vomiting, drugging, anxiety depictions, talk of plagues, loss of a loved one in the past, mention of spiders, talk of suicide, death, and please note this is a book about sharing a body with an ancient spirit, so i can see that making some people uncomfortable, please use caution!
"...like some kind of sacrament that I had forgotten to take."
a queer asian-american main characte[image] ARC provided by Tor - thank you so much!
"...like some kind of sacrament that I had forgotten to take."
a queer asian-american main character great gatsby? i knew i needed this in my life. i will be honest, i have never been the biggest fan of the great gatsby, so i do believe this impacted my enjoyment a little bit, because this book does very much still hold true to the original work! but i still thought this was a beautiful reimaging, with such lush prose and one liners, that left my heart beating so very quickly so many times. the magic was also so hauntingly perfect and i know it's something i'm going to think about constantly for quite some time. the themes of identity within the story were also very important, and how no matter how much you feel like you fit in, people will always remind you that you will never truly be one of them. and the themes of identify outside the story, and how we deserve to carve out our own spaces, we deserve to be the main protagonists of beloved classics and modern day lit, and our voices deserve to not only be told, but to be amplified really was everything to me as a queer asian reader.
i can't wait to read more by this author, and i'm very thankful that the chosen and the beautiful is a book that exists.
content and trigger warnings: a lot of talk of drinking, talk of war, talk of loss of loved ones, death, murder, racism, microaggressions, a lot of cheating, abuse / domestic abuse, mention of suicide, mention of slavery, mention of blood.
Vampires of Portlandia is an ownvoices Filipino story about a young adult named Percival who is soon going to be in charge of taking care of his family, while also becoming the leader of what is left of the Filipino vampires! Right now, it is only him, his lola, his younger brother Roger, and their even younger twin siblings and they all fled the Philippines to hopefully have a safer life where they can live in hiding without anyone knowing what they are. But that becomes harder and harder when murders are happening more and more frequently, and it becomes easier and easier to tell that these acts are not being committed by mere humans.
We also get to see the Philippines in the past too, where in this story people are scared of children carrying a chromosome that spreads this disease. This very much impacted the poor during this time of panic and because of this, and the dire and sad means to control it, there are not many aswang vampires. This story also talks about Filipino politics from the past that mirror a world we live in today, where men of god wouldn’t mislead their country and their people, right? (And I’m always here for a story with a Manny Pacquiao manananggal joke, because valid.) But this past story laced throughout is how we get to learn about how Percival’s lola, Leones, is forced to leave the Philippines and becomes the leader of the vampires. And seeing her life and history is so important to understand what Percival is going to face while carrying this legacy. Especially when a civil war starts breaking out between the aswangs in Portland because of these murders.
Aswang generally means “Filipino monsters” and there are a vast different array of creatures that can fall under that word! But in this book we get to see five different types of aswang all coexisting in the same city, but trying to remain hidden. Vampires, werebeasts, ghouls, witches, and viscera. But we also get to see another kind of creature and let me just say there are few things scarier than the manananggal. This take for sure depicts them spooky, but I grew up hearing much darker tales that still give me goosebumps until this day. Hands down one of the scariest parts of Filipino mythos, and for sure one of my favorites ever. And with my full chest I am here to say that western vampires could never.
My favorite aspects of the story were the Filipino values and culture always at the heart of the story. Family means so much to Filipinos and the story always shines a bright light on that and what it means to respect your family members and being willing to do whatever it takes to help them and care for them and love them. Responsibility is also a big part of this story and something that very much also resonated with me because I am the oldest sibling (and cousin) of my Filipino family! I also really liked the depiction of grief in this story and how it can take so many forms. And how the weight of grief can feel so very heavy to carry, especially when you’re trying to carry it alone.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story and it made my heart very warm to read it and give it a 3.5 star rating! Also, it made my tummy hungry for chicken adobo, pancit (my personal #1 comfort food), lumpias, and just miss home a lot. Oh, and I also really enjoyed the queer brewing side relationship in this book too! My only real complaint is that I felt like the pacing was a bit wild at times (like for the main romantic relationship and ending) and it made the events feel like whiplash at times! Also, there is a lot (and I mean a lot) of talk about the homeless and drug users in this story because they are the victims in this book and it just felt very repetitive and very bad, even when it was the villains doing it. But I still enjoyed this one and I feel very honored to have read and reviewed it!
Trigger and Content Warnings: murder, death, loss of a loved one, grief, blood depictions, and some very sus sentences about homeless people (even in a negative light).
"I would destroy a thousand heart to find you, again and again."
Sapphic enemies to lovers ro[image] ARC provided by the author
"I would destroy a thousand heart to find you, again and again."
Sapphic enemies to lovers romance, queer bodyguard and royalty romance, dark fairytale setting! Magic, gender and sexual fluidity, yearning! Demons, dragons, unicorns, lots of cute tiny creatures to love! Atmospheric, lush, purple prose perfection! Are any of these keywords getting you? Because I’m still ready to sell my soul for Tessa’s deleted scenes and notes! Okay, how about the Howl's Moving Castle comparison that completely is 100% accurate? This book is the book of my heart and dreams. Easily the best book I’ve read in 2020, so far.
At the very start of this story, our main character realizes the prince is missing and chooses to set out on a quest with another to try to locate them. Meanwhile, there is a witch who lives in seclusion in the Fifth Mountain, except when she needs to kidnap beautiful girls to steal their hearts, never stopping until she finds the most beautiful girl of them all.
I feel like I should just make a mini paragraph about demons, because this book is very demon heavy! There are so many kinds of demons in this book (from little ones, to big ones, to part demons like one of our characters), but greater demons live in places of power in this world! There is one in the Fifth Mountain and one living in the palace too! Also, there are other mountains (Second, Third, etc) where other powerful sorcerers live! But let’s get into our actual cast of characters!
➽ Nothing – queer, orphan who can’t remember anything from her past, not even her name, and the only thing she has as a reminder is a scar on her chest. She lives in the royal palace, where she is best friends with the prince. ➽ Kirin – non-binary, queer, crown prince, recently kidnapped ➽ Sky – queer, bodyguard for the royal family, demon-kissed ➽ The Sorceress Who Eats Girls – queer witch who lives in a mountain and waits and won’t give up
"Everyone is capable of being bound. By duty or love or blood."
And Tessa is being very deliberate in naming our MC Nothing (and the love interest the Sorceress Who Eats Girls)! Words have power, names have power, reclaiming things has immense power, what you choose to give to people has power! We are all products of our surroundings and circumstances, but ultimately only you get to decide who you are, and you get to choose all the parts of you, every single part of you. Sometimes it’s easy to just be nothing or a wicked witch, sometimes picking your own name is the most powerful thing in this whole wide world.
"Everyone can be bigger than they seem, hold more than their bodies are capable of holding. You have always chosen to grow."
Tessa normally doesn’t use actual terms in their books, but always shows constant multiple gender attraction and a lot of non-binary feels throughout. Honestly, everyone always feels pan in their books to me, but it could be me completely projecting. But we have main sapphic relationship (that is truly to die for), and a male and non-binary / gender queer character relationship (which also made my heart very, very full). But truly everyone reads queer and/or gender fluid, and we all know that gender and sexuality can be so very fluid, and we just love it here a lot. Also, like in true Tessa fashion, there are hints of polyamory and a constant beautiful light of how romantic and platonic relationships can be equally as important and… Tessa’s worlds >>>
"You decide what you are. You."
Also, all of these characters are flawed and make mistakes and can look villainous! There is a lot of ownvoices rep between these pages, and I think that Tessa perfectly executes villains who just also happen to be queer, instead of… queer villains, if you feel me. There are a lot of questionable actions throughout this book, maybe even some villainous acts, but it’s just done in a very realistic way from these characters and their circumstances. (Okay, maybe not Sky, who is a perfect angel always, imo!
This book does very gently talk about abuse and toxic relationships and how those things can be very hard to see when the word love is involved. Codependency is also something felt in this book, and how that can also be something that is very unhealthy. We also get to see a lot of power dynamics and power imbalances and how those things are not okay and can easily also become dangerous. But people who really love you, unconditionally love you, will not only wait for you on your journeys, but they will support you and respect your boundaries, too.
"I love you," the sorceress said. "What you are now."
But seeing Nothing become the person she wants to be? Despite her past, despite her current situation, despite an unknown future? So very beautiful. And to have someone showing her that she is worth the wait, that she has always been worth the wait, that she never has to be alone, and that she has never and will never ever be nothing. Please, hold me. Forever preferably.
"How strange, how thrilling, to be told your heart is half of someone else’s. A gift from a woman who loved you once."
The romance in this book is out of this world. The perfect one-liners that Tessa has laced throughout this book? Makes me a bit speechless to even think about. All of you who constantly say you love enemies to lovers, who want to viscerally feel yearning, who want the characters to go through hell and back together, and you want it sapphic? Pick this up! I promise you, Tessa has some of the most gorgeous prose to every exist, and the way they weave these lines together is something of magic. Also, I’ll never eat a pear the same again, on all the higher powers.
My only complaint is that some characters in this world can change their appearance magically, and in the ARC I realized that in the past one character had lighter skin, and now her skin is dark because she altered it that way. I am a biracial person with white skin, but it for sure made me side-eye a bit. But every other aspect of this book was absolutely perfect for me.
Overall, I truly believe this will be my favorite book of 2020, just like how Strange Grace was my favorite book of 2018. Tessa and their worlds, and their characters, and their writing just makes me feel so seen in a way that no other author does. This book means so much to me. Tessa truly gave me the romantic, sapphic, whimsical, love story of my dreams. This story is everything I’ve ever wanted, and I feel like I’ve wanted it for so very long. I also feel like Tessa maybe redefined the word “yearning” and their power is just unmatched. I just want to spend the rest of my life reading their stories over and over again and feeling seen, and happy, and in love. Forever.
"Everything poured into Nothing."
Trigger and Content Warnings: gore, violence, murder, death, blood depictions, self-harm, magical coercion, kidnapping, incorrect use of pronouns upon meetings someone (is immediately corrected and the character learns and corrects themselves) and war themes.
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