My full review of "Metal From Heaven" This book is an excellent fantasy book about empowering the working class against capitalism. It's perfect for reMy full review of "Metal From Heaven" This book is an excellent fantasy book about empowering the working class against capitalism. It's perfect for readers who enjoyed the political aspects of R.F. Kuang's Babel and the beautiful prose and complex character dynamics of Tamsyn Muir's Gideon the Ninth. It is relentlessly revolutionary in many different ways and yet still a very fun, rip-roaring read at the same time. This isn't the book for those of you who are looking for a fantasy story with deep magic systems or in-depth worldbuilding, instead, this is for readers who are desperate for a political fantasy revenge story that is written in a conversational yet lyrical prose....more
My full review of Ghost of the Neon God a quick read but in the best possible ways. usually sff novellas can feel too short or underdeveloped, but thisMy full review of Ghost of the Neon God a quick read but in the best possible ways. usually sff novellas can feel too short or underdeveloped, but this was perfect in terms of the length. it's a cyberpunk story about AI so a lot of the worldbuilding is done by the fact that the readers have probably read other cyberpunk stories before, so this book didn't need to explain much. The three main characters are really compelling especially considering how short the book is. And while the story doesn't contain anything particularly new or revolutionary, almost everything felt well-executed. ...more
This is a short story collection about solastalgia, a type of grief caused by changes in the natural world (which are mostly caused by climate change). It's a fascinating concept that the author delved really deep into in these short stories, some of which are written in really unique styles that are closer to things you'd find in an epistolary novel than normal short stories, making them feel unique. the stories themselves can vary a bit in quality but that's just how most short story collections are. There's enough cohesion shared by them all because of the uniting concept (solastalgia) and so even if there are very few (if any) connections in terms of the plot and characters, these stories still feel like they belong together. It's a good work of speculative fiction that feels both realistic and imaginative in the best possible ways....more
3.5 My full review of "We Need No Wings" This is a magical realism novel focused on the main character's grief and how the setting of Ávila (and its peo3.5 My full review of "We Need No Wings" This is a magical realism novel focused on the main character's grief and how the setting of Ávila (and its people) can help her process all the emotions that come with that grieving process. This book isn't perfect, as the side characters can be a bit shallow, and the pacing is quite slow, even for books of this type. But it's written really well (other than the fact that there were too many Marvel references that really broke my immersion) and features a very compelling main character. We Need No Wings isn't for readers who are looking for an eventful magical adventure, but if you're looking for a slow-paced character study about a grieving sixty-year-old woman who's trying to find herself, then this might be for you ...more
This book tells the story of Cordelia Mai Yin, an aspiring fashion designer who's struggling with finding a job as she gets disowned by her family after a fight, but at least she manages to find an apartment, with roommates who all happen to have the same middle name. They all got the apartment after being helped by a guy named Callum, who seems helpful for no particular reason. And not only that, but Callum is helping them even more by teaching them some magic in order to overcome their financial woes, little did they know that when it comes to magic, everything has a price.
So this is a historical urban fantasy taking place in 1950s Los Angeles, mostly around the Chinatown area of the city. This is one of those books that starts pretty weak but becomes quite good by the end. The writing style (both for the narration and dialogues) does feel a bit juvenile, but not so much that i had to stop reading, and I got used to it later on, even if this also means that the characters feel juvenile too. But at least they're all really distinct from each other and the main character does have a lot of developments. The plot of the book is nothing special. At the beginning, it's quite underwhelming, with everything being so predictable, but that changed near the end, and things became a lot more interesting. The actual ending itself is also quite a bold and somewhat unexpected one, even if it's hindered by the fact that the magic system became so complicated that the resolution of the story became a bit convoluted. Still, it's definitely an improvement over the start of the book. Overall, a decent read that still kinda worked even if it might not be exactly for me....more
This is technically a sapphic romantasy story about a monster falling in love with a human, but it also kinda feels like a sci-fi story that just happens to take place in a fantasy setting, just because the monster main character feels so alien (by the end, she still retains that monster/alien-like qualities, but in a much more endearing way). Some parts of this book (particularly near the end) feel like cozy fantasy, but there were still a lot of action and tense sequences in the middle of the book. The cozy parts are done so well in order to build and develop the characters and their relationships. The tense parts of the book aren't as good, but still done well enough for me to not complain. The writing is funny in a non-annoying way, and on sentence level, it's clear that there were a lot of effort put into it. Combine those things with the brilliant observations from the non-human main character, the result is a really engaging and personable writing style, even though it's a third person pov. The worldbuilding is probably the part of the book that feels the most lacking, but that's fine by me as it's never really the focus of the story anyway. Overall, just a truly delightful read with a really interesting main character and relationship....more
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
"These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart" is a Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
"These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart" is a technothriller story that's not only very queer, but also very anarchist in its philosophy. It's about Dora, a trans woman who'd left her commune a couple years back after some arguments about its philosophy. Now Dora must return to the commune as her ex-girlfriend Kay was murdered, so she must investigate and make sure nobody else has to die. As she investigated more and more, she was attacked by clones of her pre-transition self, and she realized that she (and the commune) was stuck in a war between two big merciless corporations, and she must find a way to get them out of that problem, while also solving the murder.
Despite the length, this book managed to not only pack a fast-paced plot that feels complete (novellas sometimes feel like they're meant to be longer, not the case here) while also having some really interesting commentary about transness and self-determination. The book also uses the concept of clones in a way that I found really interesting and I've never seen before. It's done in such a way that it also explores the idea of identity especially in the context of being transgender. A lot of people will probably see this part of the story as being problematic, but as the author said in the afterword, queer characters should be able to be problematic too, just like everyone else, and this was a good way to go about it....more
3.5 Full review here. Sometimes the pacing/writing/political discussions can get a bit tiring/repetitive, but for the most part, this is a fun read. One3.5 Full review here. Sometimes the pacing/writing/political discussions can get a bit tiring/repetitive, but for the most part, this is a fun read. One of those books that contains so much despite not being that long. It has something for everyone, from steamy romance, engaging spy thriller, to a deep dive into the evils of the British empire. Interesting main character, and the love interest Graham is probably an even more interesting character, but I'm not sure if that's such a bad thing in this case. ...more
3.5/5 Full review here Beautifully written, compelling and distinct main characters, a very vividly-described world, and yet another scathing critique o3.5/5 Full review here Beautifully written, compelling and distinct main characters, a very vividly-described world, and yet another scathing critique of capitalism in a time of ever changing climate. The plot meanders at times, and sometimes things happen without any foreshadowing whatsoever, but still a pretty decent read.
Thanks to the author/publisher for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ...more
Full review here. Thanks to the author/publisher for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley in return for an honest review. This was a really nice and qFull review here. Thanks to the author/publisher for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley in return for an honest review. This was a really nice and quick queer romantasy read. It's not that long, and it reads quickly because of the simplicity of the plot (though sometimes I wish it wasn't so simple). The characters and their relationship are definitely the focus though, not the plot, and those two things are done well enough even though sometimes I wish the story would explore the characters a bit more thoroughly....more
3.5 Full review here. An entertaining futuristic crime thriller that tackles some pretty heavy topics. The futuristic setting threw me off a bit, becaus3.5 Full review here. An entertaining futuristic crime thriller that tackles some pretty heavy topics. The futuristic setting threw me off a bit, because I thought it was going to be a science fiction story, but turns out the story probably could've been set in the present day, so if you're looking for scifi, the setting might make it seem like a missed opportunity that the book didn't really capitalize on. But otherwise it was mostly a good read. Most of the characters are likeable, interesting and not two dimensional, the story is mostly thrilling, and the writing is mostly perfectly adequate, never sticking out in a bad way....more
Thanks to the author/publisher for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley for an honest review. Full review here. Simply put, this book is about a man Thanks to the author/publisher for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley for an honest review. Full review here. Simply put, this book is about a man who's trying to find someone he'd lost, encountering unexpected things and people along the way, after having to go away from a place that can be considered a small pocket of goodness in a world that is quickly unraveling.
This book takes place in the not so distant future, in various places around Lake Superior. I like how the worldbuilding is vague, not a lot is explained about the hows and whys of the current state of the world, because they're not necessary information.
I also liked the story's peaceful beginning, which doesn't really have a strong hook, but i kept reading anyway, partly because of the beautifully lyrical prose, and also because of the main character and one of the side characters, both are written really compellingly, which I can't really say about the other characters.
I think the ending of the book is one that might seem anticlimactic to some, but it fits really well. However, a lot of the things between the great beginning and end of the book left much to be desired, or maybe I'm just not the target audience of the book. The middle part of the story often felt aimless, with wandering plot lines that don't seem to go anywhere. Which causes the book to feel much longer than it actually is. I just kept reading because of the prose mostly. In a similar way, a lot of the side characters just don't feel very real so it's difficult for me to connect to them.
I can see why people would love this book, but I'm certainly not among them, if you're looking for a more low key dystopian read with slow pacing and well written prose, you should consider picking up this one....more
4.5 Full review here. This was a really good steampunk-ish high fantasy that I recommend to anyone who loved the TV show Arcane and is looking for somet4.5 Full review here. This was a really good steampunk-ish high fantasy that I recommend to anyone who loved the TV show Arcane and is looking for something that kinda feels similar to that. There are similarities in both the worldbuilding and the broad strokes of the story, but never to the point that it feels derivative. On the contrary, the book feels unique, partly because of the many different races inhabiting the world (so nothing like the usual dwarves and elves). The romance is set up but feels incomplete without the sequel, but it's not really a problem because both characters are really compelling on their own. I think the prologue would be better if it was placed where it is chronologically (near the end of the book), but it's not that big of a deal because the story as a whole is really well-constructed still. Just a great read overall.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily....more
This is one of those books that is a bit difficult to talk about, because I don't really know what I think about it, because it's just so unique and unlike anything else I've read recently. There are two halves to the story. The first one is the perspective of Rowena, a sort of curator from the 24th century working on curating things from the primitive internet of the 21st century. And she stumbles upon this strange text from 2024 called "The Dance of the Horned Road", which is the other half of the book (though it occupies more than half the space).
This strange text is about Fairly, a teenage girl from a village who takes on this quest that other young people do when they come of age. She is chased by "the breathing man" along the way. The story just gets weirder and weirder as we get to see more of this quest. And Rowena's thoughts about the text (and how her life is affected by it) are written as footnotes. The first thing that fascinates Rowena about this text is the fact that she can't figure out whether this text is autobiography or some sort of fantasy fiction, and after that it's like going down a rabbit hole.
The story that takes up most of the book, "The Dance of the Horned Road" is both weird and really normal at the same time. On one hand, it's just a regular quest narrative, one that often times seems very straightforward, but other times, there are things that make you wonder if we're following a reliable narrator or not. And not only that, the way it's told is sometimes normal, but other times it would just randomly change from 1st person perspective to second or third (and in the other directions too) within a sentence.
I kept thinking that by the end, things are gonna make complete sense, and it really didn't, and yet that was kinda fitting so it didn't bother me that much, which is just kinda how I feel about the book as a whole. It certainly isn't for everyone, and it will probably end up being polarizing (like around 3.5 average on Goodreads) but I didn't regret reading this book, even if I'm not wholly sure how I feel about it....more
This was a really good read. The way it's structured is perfect for the story that is being told. It's like a collection of short stories with different main characters, and there's a bigger story going on in the background of the short stories. And with that structure, it managed to be character focused while still having a thrilling plot. Yes, sometimes maybe it gets a bit carried away at being character focused, but it's not that big of a deal. The prose is a joy to read from start to finish, really playful without being annoying. It reads a lot like cozy sci-fi, but it's actually quite high stakes, and I just love that contrast....more
This one was a bit of a mixed bag for me. About half of the stories didn't really impact me as much as they probably should've. Many of the stories just feel too short to really be good, especially when the subject matter revolves around AI. Often, I understand what the author wanted to achieve, I just didn't think it worked, or sometimes, I just didn't think what the author tried say is anything special. And a couple of times, I just didn't understand what the point of the short story is, perhaps I'm just not smart enough to understand those stories. But there are also a decent amount of these short stories that might stick in my mind for a while, where the authors managed to really create something special, one of those stories happened to be the longest story here, which makes sense. Overall, I think it's still worth reading just because of the varied nature of the stories (despite the fact that they're all about AI and art in some ways)....more
I really wanted to love this one because I like the friends-to-enemies trope, but no matter what I just couldn't love the book.
The two main characters are great and compelling on their own, and they're central to the story so the book has got that right at least. But their dynamics with each other often feel a bit weird and unnatural.
The writing and the worldbuilding were okay, certainly not bad, but they made it a bit difficult for me to get immersed in the story. The prose feels a bit repetitive at times, and the world and magic feel generic and underdeveloped.
Overall, I thought it's an okay read but one that I likely won't revisit in the future....more
This is a book about a group of people who got stuck inside a library as thousands upon thousands of owls descend on the library and attack anything moving outside of the library. It's a simple but fascinating premise, made even more fascinating by the fact that almost half of the book is a fictional middle grade/YA fantasy book that the main character liked, and one that happens to be in the library, so the people who got stuck there read the book too, as they're waiting for the owls to go away.
Aside from the owl stuff, it's a book about a lot of things, from connecting with people who you think you've betrayed, to facing your traumatic past (and how to navigate a currently traumatizing present event). There's always something going on even if the characters are just waiting for the birds to go away.
And then there's also the side story which is the main character's favorite childhood book, which is the book titled "The Silent Queen". This is a part of the book that I thought would drag the book down, but at the end, it really didn't. Sure, there are some things about it I would personally change, but as a whole, it worked as a companion to the main story. It never feels forced, and there are clearly good reasons why the author bothered to include it in the book the way it is.
If there's one more thing I didn't think was done perfectly is just the fact that sometimes, it feels a bit difficult to differentiate between one character and the other, just because of the amount of people stuck in the library, but that's not that big of a deal, Overall, still really enjoyed it and one that I would recommend to anyone looking for a thrilling story....more
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