Welcome back! To myself as well as you I guess. I’m not going to get into why I was gone or if I’m back for good because I don’t know. This is for fun and I’ve always been one to cycle incessantly through my hobbies, switching out every few months.
There were several books I read before I left (and in the in between time) that I never got the chance to review, and looking back at my Goodreads I was surprised to realize that there are still things I want to say about them. I figured it would be fun to wright up mini-reviews and see how much I actually remembered about these books six months to a year later. (Full transparency, I did have some unpublished notes written up for several of them.)
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
Black Sun cemented Rebecca Roanhorse as one of my top favorite fantasy authors, despite being only the second book of hers I’ve read. Even though it’s been eight months since I read it, many of the scenes and characters still feel incredibly vivid to me. I could rave about the characters, world-building, plot, themes, and more, but really the entire package is phenomenal and, unlike much epic fantasy, felt like something I hadn’t read before. So here are just a few of the things I loved:
- the time jumps between past and present are masterfully handled, allowing us to come to know the characters and their histories more deeply over time
- the characters are queer!! unapologetically so, but it’s not a plot point
- Roanhorse doesn’t shy away from explicit gore and violence but it doesn’t become gratuitous
- it’s not all that often you find fantasy book with a disabled protagonist whose disability isn’t completely rectified by their magic. and I daresay he’s my favorite character, though truly it’s hard to choose
The sequel, Fevered Star, is without a doubt one of my most highly anticipated releases of 2022.
By Sea & Sky by Antoine Bandele
I came to this book for pirate fantasy and flying ships and that is in large part what I got. If I’m being honest, I never entirely picked up on the intricacies of the politics and geography in this world, but part of that might have been because I was only listening to the audiobook. Contrary to the entertaining romp I was expecting and despite the amount of action scenes I was fed, By Sea & Sky felt rather slow paced, at least for the first half. I kept waiting to get further into the plot and wishing I hadn’t read the blurb which gives away pretty much the first third of the book. Thankfully it did pick up and truly grab my interest in the latter part of the book.
On the plus side, I really did enjoy the characters, finding them distinct and full of personality, which was only added to by the narrator’s performance. Zala, our main character, was a strong lead, and others had complicated motives as well. In fact, one of the most intriguing parts of the book for me was that we had viewpoints on both sides of the conflict, and Bandele did a fantastic job of invoking my empathy for both factions, even if I’m much more naturally inclined to root for pirates than the navy. The magic and the world at large was also refreshing. There’s a lot more about this universe that I want to know, which has me looking forward to the next book.
Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust
If I’m being honest, the intricacies of the plot of Girl, Serpent, Thorn are lost to me now, a year later. (It doesn’t help that I’ve read another YA with the same premise, a girl poisonous to the touch.) I do remember that this book felt like a fable, that it went to places I wasn’t quite expecting, and overall impressed me with its nuance. It’s not a book where you’ll necessarily be blown away by plot twists, but it deals with growth, self-discovery, and gray moral areas in ways I really enjoyed. It’s also inspired by Persian history and mythology, as evidenced by the well-researched author’s note, and has interested me in reading more of such stories. I wasn’t completely on board with the romance – as someone who prefers a slow build, there just simply wasn’t enough time to pack that in along with everything else and make me invested – but I did appreciate the bisexual rep and that it didn’t end up how I thought it might.
Local Star by Aimee Ogden
There’s a lot packed into this little novella, including a generous amount of world-building, multiple relationship developments (both romantic and familial), and a bit of a mystery. If I’m being honest, I’m pretty sure I picked this one up purely from the phrase ‘polyamourous scifi,’ but I don’t regret it at all. If you’re down for Star Wars vibes but a hell of a lot gayer, I think you’ll enjoy this quick read. (And I didn’t notice until the end, but there is a glossary to help with all the jargon, though I didn’t find it all that overwhelming.)
Not only is this poly scifi, it’s polynorm and queernorm. That is to say most relationships are triads or quads and the world (for example the space station housing) is built around that. There’s also an interesting conversation around cyborgism/body augmentation that I only wish could have been further explored. I’m keeping my eyes peeled for another book, hopefully a full novel or even series, in this world. So far as the plot itself, there were no huge surprises and several moments of suspicious convenience, but I didn’t mind because the characters and setting were such a blast.
I Hope You’re Listening by Tom Ryan
For a bit of a change of pace, we have a contemporary sapphic YA mystery. As you can probably tell, this isn’t my typical choice of genre, and that’s made it harder to review for me than I thought it would. I Hope You’re Listening was certainly easy to keep reading and had an unexpected reveal, but I’m not sure I followed it all the way there. In other words, I prefer the solution to be something I’d be able to reasonable guess and I didn’t feel like that was the case here. But it’s possible that I missed some clues.
As for the positives, the flashbacks were well-implemented, and Dee felt realistic as a narrator who was a teen with trauma in her past. The setting of a small town haunted by tragedy (and now hounded by media journalists) was immersive. I’m glad Dee’s parents weren’t absent, and the romance was cute if (as is always my complaint) a bit rushed. There was one side character Burke who Dee had a complex relationship with and I actually wished he got more page time. All in all, I Hope You’re Listening delivered well on what it was offering, it simply didn’t impress me beyond that.
In the Ravenous Dark by A.M. Strickland
In the Ravenous Dark is the most recent of these reads, and I absolutely devoured it. So many aspects felt like they were perfectly tailored to what I enjoy. I’d say it reads like fanfiction (in a great way), and though I listened on audiobook I’m looking forward to picking up a physical copy. (Just look at that cover! How could I not?)
My singular complaint is that I wish it was longer, mostly just so I had more to read. The magic system is super cool and makes for some very vivid scenes. It also get surprisingly dark, which I loved. The characters are incredibly queer. If ‘polyamorous pansexual bloodmage’ strikes your fancy, you should absolutely give this one a go. And (unfortunately) it’s a standalone, so you don’t even have to be worried about picking up a new series. Out of all the books on this list, this is the one I’m most likely to reread, simply because I know I’ll fly through it a second time.
natrosette 