T. Kingfisher’s A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking
Finishing off the year by rereading another favorite fantasy book! I can’t quite call it comforting, since there's a serial killer, reanimated horses, and corrupt politicians, but it is a sort of heartening read for These Troubled Times, as a teen girl with magical baking skills must save her city (with the help of a little pickpocket and her gingerbread cookie companion). I like the message of this book a lot, very timely indeed.
Victoria Goddard's The Return of Fitzroy Angursell
I periodically search on Amazon to see if there's a new Goddard book out, and it was a nice end of the year surprise this time to find one! This one is a sequel to Hands of the Emperor, and finds the Emperor off on his planned quest, to maybe find new friends....and old ones? I have one friend who also reads these and I admit to messaging her, first because the description of the book (and the title) confirms something that’s been hinted at, but also just to say “AAAHHH” several times, because I was EXCITED ABOUT STUFF. If you, like me, have been looking for gentler fantasy books to read, you gotta read Goddard. I love this world. I want to bathe in it like the Emperor does in his Imperial bathroom. A.
Martha Wells' Network Effect
The fifth Murderbot adventure is a full length novel, and it is action packed, full of mysterious alien technology and old friends and new friends and creepy hostiles! Not to mention loyalty and rescue efforts and bonding over tv shows. There is a lot going on here but it’s all totally compelling and I can’t wait to see where this series will go next.
Martha Wells' Exit Strategy
So it turns out Murderbot (reluctantly) cares about some humans, and is off on a rescue mission! I have to say, reading all four of these together works better than reading them like six months apart, because they really are one larger story and it’s better when all the details are immediate (like it is way easier to care about characters from book one/remember their significance when you didn’t read it over a year ago). That is to say that I love Murderbot and am greatly enjoying this reread.
Martha Wells' Rogue Protocol
In the third Murderbot book, our protagonist sends themself on a reconnaissance mission, but of course ends up helping a new crew of humans and their perky robot. I love how world-weary Murderbot is about saving stupid humans (but also secretly loves them). And I want to hug Miki! Robot pals!!
Martha Wells' Artificial Condition
In the second Murderbot novella, our protagonist takes on a new job, investigates their own past, and . . . makes a friend. HEART EYES. Murderbot has a whole gruff with a soft ol heart vibe that I love, and ART is one of my favorite kinds of characters, and their interplay and teamwork gets me every time!
Martha Wells' All Systems Red
Decided it was high time to reread some Murderbot! It’s hard not to love a bionic (maybe not bionic, but part human and part not human) security unit who is very sarcastic and just wants to watch some tv shows, dammit, except all these humans need rescuing all the time. This first novella is a great introduction to the character, full of action and badassery and humor.
Arkady Martine's A Desolation Called Peace
The second (and final?) book in Martine's super fun sci fi series is just as satisfying as the first! There are several more POV characters this time around—including a space admiral and the imperial heir—which helps keep things moving and expands the scope of the world a little bit. There is still a lot of politics, but even more tension this time around, due to a new threat. I still love all the characters and their interesting relationships; there’s a great new friendship to root for too. Just a really engaging read, all around. A/A-.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on March 2nd.
Arkady Martine's A Memory of Empire
Had to reread this so all the details would be fresh for the sequel! Plus I was excited just to reread it, because it is an awesome and satisfying story! There is a cat on me so I’ll just link to my previous review.
Anne Tyler's A Slipping Down Life
Well, I think I owe my book club an apology! I picked an Anne Tyler novel for us mostly at random—this one is set in NC, and though I read it years ago, I didn’t remember anything about it. But it’s an early Tyler novel, and it’s a little bit bleak (not to mention kind of racist and fatphobic). I actually see why I liked this reading it as a teen, because it’s about a shy and awkward teenager who becomes obsessed with a local musician and does something dumb (super relatable). Her character arc is really interesting, though, and it ends up feeling satisfying. I guess we’ll see if book club agrees! B+.
Patricia McKillip's Solstice Wood
So the reason I stuck it out with that last book is that I wanted to read /this/ one, which is a sort of sequel, though set a couple hundred years later (in current times). This one has more fairies and part-fairies, plus a local crafting guild that uses knitting and sewing to keep the fairies away! Great characters, and a few different POVs keep things moving along. I was kind of eh on how things wrapped up, but liked this one a lot more. A-/B+.
Patricia McKillip’s Winter Rose
I’ve really been enjoying reading McKillip’s books, but this one did not do it for me. It’s both really slow and also suffused with a sense of dread, so just really unpleasant to read. It’s one of those fairy tales that’s more on the horrific side of fairy, except nothing really happens in this book! A dude comes to town and stories of curses rise up, and the woods are weird, and the protagonist is lovelorn and her sister is lovelorn, and winter is full of bad things, and it all just goes in circles. Ugh. B-.
Elizabeth Knox's Mortal Fire
I really liked Knox's Absolute Book and wanted to try one of her other books, and this one was just an interesting! It’s set in a world very similar to our own, and the protagonist is a math genius teen in 1959, daughter of a famously heroic Indigenous mother. Oh yeah, and she can see things no one else does. She’s being sent away with her older stepbrother and his girlfriend, who are off on an academic research trip, but wants to stay behind to keep visiting her best friend, who is in an iron lung (polio). But when they arrive, things start to seem a little odd, and she's determined to solve it all. There's lots of magic and a little romance (which didn’t really work for me but whatever), and just when I thought things were going to be a big bummer, they got awesome. I will definitely be reading more by Knox. A-.
CM Waggoner's The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry
I’m not sure I liked this /quite/ as much as Waggoner's previous book, but it was still very enjoyable. This one is set in the same world, and involves a down-and-out fire witch getting recruited to a band of ladies to protect a young woman before her marriage. I liked all of that a lot, but the second half feels more like it’s spinning its wheels (though that does give the characters time to develop romances and begrudging friendships, all very fun). Bonus points for an absolutely unsettling mouse. A-/B+.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on January 12th.
Connie Willis' Take a Look at the Five and Dime
I did not /intend/ to read a Christmas story, but I’m not too mad about it. This novella centers on Ori, a college student who spends holidays with an assortment of former and almost-relatives, including a sort of grandmother who loves to regale everyone with stories of the Christmas she worked at Woolworth's. But now a relative's new boyfriend, a med student, is convinced that the stories about Woolworth's are indicative of a repressed traumatic memory, and wants to study grandma. This was a cute and light read, even if the romance needed a bit more development. Grandma was awesome. A-.
Diana Wynne Jones' The Time of the Ghost
I read an essay recently that made me want to reread this (for some reason my iPad isn’t letting me add links, so here https://www.tor.com/2020/12/07/making-the-metaphor-literal-fantastic-reality-in-the-time-of-the-ghost-by-diana-wynne-jones/). It was a lot darker and weirder than I remembered, but also had some great sister moments and an awesome dog. Definitely engrossing stuff, though not one of my particular faves by the author.
Well, 2020 has been a real mess, and I almost entirely stopped reading literary fiction and swerved even more into genre fiction for purposes of escapism. But who even cares, I am not trying to impress anyone with my reading selections, just read things that make me happy. So here are the ten books I enjoyed most this year!
Quan Barry's We Ride Upon Sticks
Victoria Goddard's Love-in-a-Mist
N.K. Jemisin's The City We Became
Micaiah Johnson's The Space Between Worlds
T. Kingfisher's A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking
Lydia Millet's A Children's Bible
Sarah Caudwell's The Sirens Sang of Murder
The third Hilary Tamar book goes a little heavy on the British tax laws, so is slightly duller than the others, though I still enjoyed the narrative voice (and all of the telexes from the silliest member of the lawyer group). B+.
Sarah Caudwell's The Sibyl in Her Grave
I accidentally read the fourth book third, but I don’t think it made a huge difference. There is not a lot of plot continuity from book to book, and the characters remain the same. The story here involves a small town, a fortune teller, insider trading, and more lawyers having long lunches. Another very enjoyable read, for sure. A/A-.
Sarah Caudwell's The Shortest Way to Hades
The second book in the Hilary Tamar series finds our Scholar (Hilary always capitalizes it bc of pretentiousness, this is not me being sarcastic) caught up with their lawyer pals in the doings of a family with a very complicated will and a potentially very rich heiress. I just think these books are really funny, even when the lawyers are having lengthy discussions of the law. A-.
Sarah Caudwell's Thus was Adonis Murdered
Always delighted to discover a new-to-me British mystery author! This series focuses on one Hilary Tamar (gender unspecified), a legal scholar at Oxford who I guess solves mysteries occasionally. In this first one, a young lawyer friend on vacation in Venice is arrested for murder! Can Hilary prove her innocence? The mystery here is fine, what really shines are the (hilarious, dry) narrative voice and the characters. Also, for a book written in 1981, everyone is surprisingly gay and/or libidinous. SIDE NOTE, the author's mother was apparently the model for Sally Bowles in Cabaret, except she was mad about that bc she was in actuality super political, whereas Sally is not. Anyway, an enjoyable read, I look forward to more of these! A-.
Olivia Dade's Spoiler Alert
This was a super cute romance that I straight up read in one sitting, involving the lead actor of a famous tv show who asks out a cute fat fangirl after jerks are mean to her on twitter. BUT ALSO he is secretly her best friend in fandom, because he writes fic about his own character due to frustration with poor scripts, and if anyone finds out his career will be in trouble! All of this requires the usual suspension of disbelief, but I genuinely loved both these characters and their relationship. (My summary may sound teeny boppery, but both characters are in their late thirties; our heroine is a super smart geologist!) It’s also a very funny book. I’m here for all these nerdy romance novels, for sure. A/A-.
Jenn Lyons' A Memory of Souls
This is the kind of series where so much happens that immediately after finishing, I'm like, wait, /what/ happened?? So I wont even try to summarize, I'll just say that I loved reading this, am here for the central romance(s), enjoy all the family squabbling and magic escapades, and am mad I have to wait months to find out what happens next! A-.
Jenn Lyons' The Name of All Things
The second book in the Chorus of Dragons series is a little more straightforward than the first, even if it is full of double crossing! There are two narrative voices, but they’re mainly telling the same story. I’m not sure the framing device works as well in this one, but the awesome new characters making friends with and/or fighting the awesome characters from the first book makes up for it. Great action, great friendships, great gods and goddesses. I’m looking forward to the next one (and also sad that this isn’t a completed series yet). A/A-.
Jenn Lyons' The Ruin of Kings
I’m honestly not sure I totally UNDERSTOOD everything that happened in this book (there is a lot of monkey business with souls and mysterious parentage), but it was just the sort of epic fantasy that you can get totally immersed in, and I was definitely totally immersed. It centers on a young man, imprisoned, and he and his jailer are narrating his story from two different points in time, which I thought worked really well as a narrative. Lots of adventure and interesting relationships and very interesting characters and gods and goddesses and demons etc. Anyway, on to the next one! A-.
Patricia McKillip's Alphabet of Thorn
It's hard not to like a book about a young girl of mysterious origins translating a magical book, and also there are various powerful sorcereresses and a new young queen and a bunch of historical research. This was a little slow, but was the kind of interesting and gentle fantasy I like, and it wrapped up in a cool way. A-.
Maxine Kaplan's Wench
This was a fun book full of magic and adventure, though it didn’t one hundred percent work for me. It starts off with almost an Ursula Vernon vibe, as a tavern owner dies, and the teenage girl who basically runs the place (the titular Wench) discovers it's been requisitioned by the Queen, and goes off on a quest to take ownership. Of course things go wrong pretty quickly, magical artifacts ensue, the friends we made along the way, etc. I actually really liked the very end of this, but the last third needed more character moments for me to totally buy into it (all of the romance is just like, there all of a sudden) and the climactic action stuff felt kind of rushed after all the buildup. Still, I am here for a practical heroine, and this book has a few of them! This seems ripe for a sequel but doesn’t /need/ one, which is always a nice feeling—I’d like to see where these goofs end up next. B+.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on January 19th.
Patricia McKillip's The Bell at Sealey Head
Well, this book was a DELIGHT. It has a great cast of characters—an innkeeper who only wants to read; a young woman who wants to be a writer but whose aunt is trying to get her married off to the local rich guy; a housemaid in a house where doors open to another world; a scholar coming to town in search of MAGIC in the form of a mysterious bell that rings every night at sunset, etc. It's funny and sweet and action packed and has some good mystery elements. Great stuff. A.
Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca
We're reading this for book club this month, but I feel like I need to preface my comments with a little bit of backstory. So, I've read this once before, in seventh grade English class. I believe we were doing a unit on Gothic literature and read this after Jane Eyre; I imagine this is the book where I learned what FORESHADOWING is. Sadly I did not TAKE IN said lesson on foreshadowing, because one of those awkward memories that haunts me thirty years later is of me not reading the end of this book closely and assuming they were driving into the sunset (clearly I also hadn't read the first several chapters closely, because on this read it's pretty clear that Manderley is no more). This is to say that I went into this read harboring resentful feelings toward the book. And I can guess that 12-year-old Alicia found the endless descriptions of trees or whatever super boring, and definitely skimmed the end, because forty-something Alicia also thought it was a bit dull. The problem is that I read a lot of reviews of the new Netflix movie, because they were hilariously scathing, but then all the major plot points were fresh in my head, which really lowered any suspense the story might have had. But also, everyone in this book sucks (except Beatrice—narrator lady, accept her invitation! She will set you straight and help you!). Like, the narrator sucks for being a sad sack and never having an honest conversation with her husband, Maxim sucks for marrying a girl less than half his age and not at all preparing her for Society and also not having any honest conversations with HER (and also being a murderer), Frank sucks slightly less but he could have certainly set Maxim straight about the narrator's fears, and Mrs Danvers obviously is a stone-cold bitch, but not in a fun way. Anyway this book is a classic but I didn’t like it much, my bad. I am psyched to discuss it, though! B, I guess?
Elizabeth Wein’s Code Name Verity
I did mention the other day that reading the latest prequel just made me want to reread the original, so I did, bawling for the last several chapters. Just one of the most gutting books of all time, while also being the story of the awesome friendship between a girl spy and a girl pilot in World War II. Lots of adventure and heart etc, and a reminder that Nazis are bad.
Laura Lam and Elizabeth May's Seven Devils
I’d seen a couple of sci fi fans raving about this book, and I’m here for action packed feminist sci-fi, so picked this up. And parts of it were really fun, but a lot of it dragged. It just had too much going on and didn’t come together. Part of the problem is that there are five POV characters who all have present day stories AND flashbacks, and some of them are more effective than others. But also like, there are diminishing returns for the number of heists in a single book. It just kind of feels like it’s spinning its wheels. Also, this is the first of a duology, so the end isn’t really satisfying. A lot of this is very grim (like genocide grim) and I don’t think I’m going to bother with the second one. B/B-.
Lois McMaster Bujold’s Masquerade in Lodi
The latest Penric and Desdemona novella is actually set earlier than the last few, but while I was a little disappointed not to see Penric's family, I did like it a lot. It finds Penric, accompanied by a wry young Saint, on the trail of a possessed man. Solid plot and great characters. I always enjoy the Penric-Desdemona interchanges. A-.
Elizabeth Wein's The Enigma Game
I don’t know why Wein keeps expanding the Code Name Verity-verse, but this is a fairly strong outing in the series. It focuses on Julie's brother Jamie and her friend Ellen, stationed near each other in 1940, and a new character, Louisa, a biracial girl from Jamaica who's taken a job an an aide to an elderly woman. This is a pretty solid story full of wartime action and intrigue, code-breaking, and identity (Ellen is a Traveler, the old woman is originally from Germany, and many people are racist to Louisa). It took me a little while to buy Louisa's narrative voice (I buy that she wants to help in the war effort but her fascination with planes is just Wein being obsessed with pilot ladies, her usual MO). But eventually it all comes together to a mostly satisfying end. It just makes me want to reread Code Name Verity though. A-/B+.
Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman's The Fall of the Kings
This is kind of more depressing/more sinister than I had remembered--I think I just remembered all the academic politics, and not so much the other politics, the spies, and the creepy professor who gets too into his research on ancient (bloody, horny) rituals. I did like how things wrapped up but it does feel ripe for a fourth volume, lots left hanging.
Ellen Kushner's The Privilege of the Sword
The sequel to Swordspoint is set a few decades later, and focuses on the Mad Duke inviting his niece to live with him—and train with the sword. Obviously political intrigues and duels ensue! My favorite part of this is how all the teen girls are obsessed with a tragic romance novel, so real. And of course the triumphant ending! So good.
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Content warning for mentions of rape.
Ellen Kushner's Swordspoint
I’m glad I remembered that I own this book, because it’s just the sort of thing I was in the mood for. It’s about a young man who makes a living sword-fighting, who gets caught up in some political intrigue. It’s basically set in historical Europe, except everyone is way more gay. I recall liking the other two books in this series a lot more, though this one is also an engaging read for sure. B+.
Diana Wynne Jones' Howl's Moving Castle
The epitome of a comfort read! I’ve actually reread this a little bit too recently to love it as much as I ought, but obviously it’s still great. Still mad Miyazaki took out all the funny stuff with the sisters and the love interests etc.
T. Kingfisher’s Paladin's Grace
Still rereading comfort reads (necessary today more than ever), and what is more comforting than one of Ursula Vernon's cute fantasy romances? I mean, minus the severed heads and all. But the likable hero and heroine and all the entertaining secondary characters balance that out!
Victoria Goddard's The Hands of the Emperor
Did I reread this book once already this year? Yes. But is it reassuring right now to read a book about a guy working from within the government to make the world a better place for everyone? Also yes. I mean does this book need three lengthy scenes about the protagonist's family not understanding what his job actually is, no, the first two would suffice, but it is awesome to read about how everything comes together in terms of insider/outsider culture. I also like that this is about a bunch of middle aged dudes who care about each other. Perfect thing to get lost in right now.
Sharon Shinn's Unquiet Land
Once again, I like that although there is an interesting romance in this book, the focus is on the protagonist (the spy from the last book) returning to her homeland to confront her past—and meet the daughter she gave up. I mean there is also a lot of action and intrigue, but I just really like that this series is about women figuring out what they want from life and going for it.
Sharon Shinn's Jeweled Fire
The third book in the Elemental Blessing series is right up my alley, as it involves a princess dealing with the politics of a foreign court, making friends and allies, and also maybe there's a murderer? Plus the romance is sweet and mostly on the back burner (the second POV character here is another young woman, a spy from the princess' home) while the princess tries to figure out what she wants from life. Good stuff.
Sharon Shinn's Royal Airs
The second book in this series is more of a straightforward romance, since the male love interest also becomes a POV character and has his own lil story arc. But there are still a lot of interesting politics and relationships between all the characters (very complicated intertwined families) and I enjoy spending time in this world.
Sharon Shinn's Troubled Waters
I'm rereading some gentle fantasy novels for the next couple weeks, because I just don't have the mental capacity for new books, and it's not fair to the ones I keep giving up on. This is the first in Shinn's Elemental Blessings series, set in a world where everyone is aligned with one of the five elements, and also there are blessings that have meaning regarding their fate, and there are slow building romances, but mainly the stories are of young women figuring themselves out. Satisfying all around.
Jaclyn Moriarty’s The Stolen Prince of Cloudburst
Moriarty’s latest is the third in her Kingdoms and Empires/Bronte Mettlestone series, and the protagonist/narrator here is the middle of Bronte's three girl cousins (who have a fairly terrible mother and a slightly absent minded academic father). She’s excited to start a new year at her boarding school, but there’s an odd new teacher, her best friends are both gone, there are mysterious new girls, and she's having a recurring dream about the rain. I will say that I love Moriarty and I loved how this wrapped up, but I did find parts of this to be really stressful! Poor Esther! A-.
AJ Lancaster's The Court of Mortals
This was a pretty fun read, lots of mortal politics and fairy politics and amusing relations. It does take the characters way too long to figure out who has it out for them, but otherwise I liked this one a lot. I have faith the author will wrap this up in a satisfying way (including a happy ending for the protagonist’s brother!) in the fourth book, which sadly isn’t out yet. B+.
AJ Lancaster's The Prince of Secrets
I liked this second volume a little bit less, because the love interest is added as a POV character and he’s not as interesting to me. To be fair, the book does mention that he is melodramatic, which is exactly my complaint! Things do pick up and get a lot more fun like halfway through. It looks like this series is going to be more about Fae politics than amusing squabbling relatives, which isn’t exactly what I wanted but I’ll still read the next one. B/B+.
AJ Lancaster's The Lord of Stariel
I'm still seeking out new fantasy series to read, and this one was definitely up my alley. It's set in your usual old-fashioned-version-of-England-with-magic (or anyway somewhere England-ish, I think the author is from New Zealand). Our heroine left home years ago to study magic and work in the theatre, gasp, scandalous! but now she is heading home because her father has died and a new Lord must be chosen (magically). Lots of secrets and mysteries and hijinks and a lil romance ensue, which is just how I like it. There's also a lot of good (and funny) family stuff here, which I look forward to seeing more of in the rest of the series. A-.
Jaclyn Moriarty’s A Tangle of Gold
Definitely a satisfying and charming conclusion to this series; it is a little bit of a slower start than the others, but once the plotlines start to come together, it gets great (and in the meantime, everything with Keira is a delight). And I love every single thing about the ending. So good.
Jaclyn Moriarty’s The Cracks in the Kingdom
This is such a good volume two of a trilogy—raises the stakes, answers some questions and introduces some others, has a totally great cliffhanger ending, and is also really satisfying in of itself. I really love Moriarty’s characters and their relationships, and I especially love her sense of humor. I mean, even her discussions of physics manage to be interesting! (Maybe you already like physics, even better!) This series is perfect escapism.
Jaclyn Moriarty’s A Corner of White
Just rereading one of my favorite series because I wanted to be sure I was reading something great and magical and full of mystery and friendships and family etc. Not to mention a lot of conversation about Lord Byron and Isaac Newton. And general humor and adventure and great characters. You know, an awesome book.
TJ Klune's The House in the Cerulean Sea
This book is a good example of why sometimes you need to be in the right mood or headspace to enjoy something: I got it from the library months ago and read the first few pages and felt very MEH about it for whatever reason. But I kept seeing people talk about how sweet it was, so decided to give it another shot, and this time I connected with it. It’s the story of a caseworker for the government department who deals with orphanages of magical children, and what happens when he’s sent to inspect some very special children indeed. It’s all predictable and a little bit cheesy at times, but it is also very sweet. I was partial to Talia for sure. There are some great funny moments, which help balance the sometimes heavy-handed moral lessons. B+.
Emily M. Danforth's Plain Bad Heroines
This is a pretty solidly creepy October read full of lesbians, so fairly up my alley. It’s about a girls' boarding school in 1902, where a group of girls are obsessed with the diary of an unconventional girl (apparently a real book), and where mysterious deaths start to happen. And it’s also about three young women in modern times making a movie about said school and its supposed curse. I was a little more invested in the latter plotline; the historical plotline has a lot going in and doesn’t feel fully resolved. Actually, the ending of this is kind of disappointing in general. I liked the very last scene but it felt like a whole section leading up to it got chopped. Good spooky atmosphere though, this book furthers my resolve to stay indoors as much as possible. B+.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on Tuesday.
Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl
I’m partway into two different perfectly fine fantasy novels, but I got volume one of the manga version of this (it's cute) which of course made me want to put those other books down and revisit this one. And it’s such a satisfying story to revisit. I really love these characters, and I think this still holds up even as fandom is much more in the public eye than it was ten years ago. I mean, a lot of people will relate to a super anxious person going to college and being freaked out even if they don’t think it’s weird she writes fic. Rainbow Rowell is one of those writers who writes nice people trying to figure out their shit, and I love it.
Victoria Goddard’s Love-in-a-Mist
I think I would have felt much more bereft about being done with the epic fantasy series I spent the last month on if I didn’t have this book to look forward to! This is the fifth Greenwing and Dart book, and it’s just as funny and full of magic and adventure (and a wee bit of romance) as its predecessors. After the events of the last book, our intrepid duo and their friends are finally heading home, when a storm finds them waylaid at a mysterious manor. There is a UNICORN! And also a MURDER! So basically everything I love in one story. I can’t wait to see what happens next in this series, it looks like a lot of stuff is going to come to a head soon (and perhaps there will be a ball?). A.
Robin Hobb’s Assassin's Fate
Well, I’ve spent basically all of the last month reading this series, and here it draws to a close. And Hobb sticks the landing, bringing all of the various characters and storylines together for an epic finale. I was bawling for like the last four chapters. It was really satisfying as a conclusion and it was also really satisfying to be able to really immerse myself in another world for so long. I need more giant epic series! A.
Robin Hobb's Fool's Quest
Look, it's not like a plot summary of the 15th book in a 16 book series would make sense anyway, but this book is a lot of "hurry up and wait around." I mean obviously I still enjoyed it, as I'm super into all these characters at this point, but it takes way too long for all the inevitable stuff to happen, plus there is a lot of rape. Way too much rape. And then the last couple chapters get so good and it ends! What the hell, Robin Hobb. B/B+.
Robin Hobb’s Fool's Assassin
Sometimes even the most responsible adult gives in to the urge to stay up too late reading because you’ve just GOT to find out what happens. And the first book of the final trilogy set in this world is a doozy. I mean, I enjoy spending time with Fitz and his compatriots, but the introduction of Bee really had me hooked. (She is great, and Fitz is frustratingly stupid about her.) And then that ending! So glad I only have to wait till tomorrow to start the next one! A/A-.
Robin Hobb’s Blood of Dragons
So the conclusion to the Rain Wilds series is /pretty/ satisfying, though perhaps not as totally satisfying as I wanted. I did enjoy one hated character's demise, and the dragons are still awesome in this one. I guess the wrap up just felt a little YA-ish to me with its focus on romance (though I should note that there are some cute gay couples in this series, which is nice). Anyway, I imagine all of this will play into the FINAL TRILOGY, omg, only three books left in this world, crying emoji. B+.
Robin Hobb’s City of Dragons
This was another one that felt like the first part of a book and not a full story on its own. I was glad to see some of my favorite characters make a return, but again, there’s no conclusion here! Not satisfying, really. I do have faith the fourth book will wrap things up well, though. B/B+.
Robin Hobb’s Dragon Haven
Now, /this/ has a conclusion that’s satisfying but still makes me eager to see what will happen next! Lots of good character development, lots of awesome dragons, and a fun little side plot with the developing relationship between two messenger-bird keepers (I love an epistolary story). I really liked this one. A/A-.
Robin Hobb's Dragon Keeper
This is the start of Hobb's Rain Wilds Chronicles, a series of four books that follow on the Liveship Traders trilogy (though obviously the other trilogies are also relevant), with mainly a new cast of characters. I mean, obviously some of the earlier prominent characters make appearances, but I definitely wanted more Malta and missed Amber (AMBER) a lot. Anyway, some of the characters here are a young Rain Wilder girl, recruited to help escort the unhealthy dragons away; a Bingtown woman who wants to study the dragons (and also prove something to her cruel, secretly gay husband); her husband's secretary (and secret boyfriend); a barge captain; one of said dragons, etc. This is all pretty entertaining and interesting, but it ends super abruptly. Like I know this is a series, but normally Hobb kind of wraps things up in some way or another. I thought I was missing chapters! Well, it doesn’t really matter, as I’m obviously about to immediately start the next one. B+.
Beth O'Leary's The Flatshare
Taking a brief break from epic fantasies to slide in this month's book club book under the wire! This is sort of a romance/women’s fiction-y thing, but it’s British, and I always like those. This centers on a woman, an editor at a craft book publisher with an eclectic personal style, who has to move out of her Extremely Bad ex's apartment, and winds up flat sharing with a (male) night nurse. So they have opposite schedules and communicate via post-it notes. That part is all very cute. There’s also a whole plotline where the heroine realizes she has ptsd and deals with that, and another plotline with the nurse's brother in jail for a crime he did not commit. Much of this was a little bit too on the nose, but I think the side bits about the gay WWII vet and the crochet designer becoming an Internet celebrity help balance things out. A-/B+.
Robin Hobb’s Fool's Fate
The final book in the Tawny Man trilogy does feel like an ending, except I know there are two more series left to go! Anyway, fairly satisfying stuff, though I did have some issues with the way a thirteen year old girl was portrayed. But yeah, totally great epic wrap up for sure. A-.
Robin Hobb’s The Golden Fool
The second book in the Tawny Man trilogy has a lot going on but also not much going on? Which was fine, because I enjoy reading about these characters (even though Fitz still acts like a sulky teen while being in his 30s). This one had more homophobic characters and also characters being pretty rude about a guy who I think is supposed to have Downs Syndrome, so that was somewhat unpleasant. Anyway, it’s all setting up an epic journey of adventure in book three, so I’m looking forward to that. A-.
Robin Hobb’s Fool's Errand
This is the start of another trilogy in Hobb's world, once again focused on Fitz, set fifteen years after the first trilogy. Fitz has been chilling as a hermit, but he's called upon to use his unique skills to track down a missing prince. Adventures and magic ensue, but this was overshadowed for me by the very bad timing of having to read the deaths of beloved animal companions just a week after the death of my own beloved animal companion. Sob city. SOB CITY. A-.
Robin Hobb’s Ship of Destiny
The conclusion to the Liveship Traders trilogy is a satisfying one, as all the story strands come together, secrets are revealed, dragons are revealed, etc. There are a lot of rape threats and an actual rape, which obviously I would have preferred to do without. This is kind of balanced by the extremely interesting and awesome women characters, who continue to have a lot of personal growth to become even more awesome. A-.
Robin Hobb's Mad Ship
More magical ship adventures ahoy. This one ramps up the political intrigue, adds more characters (including one familiar one!), has some romance and a bunch of interesting women (unfortunately it also has some rape). Gradually all the pieces are coming together and making sense in the larger context of the universe here, and I have faith Hobb can stick the landing with volume 3. A-.
Robin Hobb's Ship of Magic
This is the start of a new trilogy set in the same world as the ones about Fitz; I was psyched to start because these characters sail around on LIVING SHIPS! Yes, some boats are magically alive and have personalities and feelings!! I mean, there are also a lot of interesting humans in this one. It has a lot more POV characters—Althea, the daughter of a ship captain, stuck with a horrible sexist brother in law; her father's first mate; her nephew, in training to be a priest; various other of her relatives; an extremely unpleasant sociopath who wants to be King of the Pirates; a couple of living ships, sea serpents etc. I liked the first three and all the ships a lot but wanted someone to kill the two awful dudes. Smash the patriarchy! Parts of this I read with dread (including the ending) and parts have me rooting for romance and friendship and happy living ships. Only two more 800 page books to go to see how it wraps up! A-.
Robin Hobb's Assassin’s Quest
While I don’t at all mind a slow paced fantasy novel, I don’t love fantasy novels with interminable road trips (or whatever the version of road trip is where a group of people is marching inexorably forward for hundreds of pages), so I was a little frustrated during this book. Still, I was invested in the characters and their relationships (even when they were being stupid), and really liked how things wrapped up. Content warning for a brief discussion of rape. A-.
Robin Hobb's Royal Assassin
This one starts a little weird, because it feels like it negates a lot of the ending of the first one, but eventually I got into it. The pace is slow, which at times I really enjoyed, and at other times was frustrated by (someone stop that bad guy already!!). Good animal pals and interesting women in this one, and I remain invested in all the various characters and their relationships. A-.
Robin Hobb's The Assassin's Apprentice
Well, I wanted more fantasy series to read, and it turns out Robin Hobb is a woman, and this series has like 16 books and thousands of pages, so let’s go! In this first one, a little boy, the bastard son of the king's heir, is growing up, mainly raised by his father's stablemaster, and then apprenticed to the king's assassin (as the title indicates). Also he can psychically talk to animals!! I really liked this, though there are some rough and heartbreaking parts. Great narrative voice, and kept me interested (I woke up this morning like “I gotta get back to reading to find out what happens to Verity!”). I’m looking forward to reading more! A/A-.
C.L. Polk's The Midnight Bargain
I love a historical fantasy, which this isn’t, because it’s explicitly set in a fantasy world (the fancy rich people are Black!), but it has a real Regency/Austen kind of feel. So our heroine is on the marriage market, but is determined to avoid marriage and use her magic to become a sorceress, because married women are prevented from using magic until menopause. Except her family reallllly needs her to marry well because they are deep in debt. And the richest guy in town is super cute and sympathetic, and his sister stole a magical book she needs, and maybe they should band together to solve their magical problems caused by patriarchal societies? I liked the relationships between the main three a lot, but did think the story spun in circles for a chapter or two too long (I love him! But I don’t want to lose my magic! Etc etc). Still a really fun read, and reminds me I’ve been meaning to check out Polk's Witchmark series. Nadi 4-eva! A-.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in October.
Tracy Deonn's Legendborn
This YA debut has been getting a fair amount of buzz, and I was mildly intrigued by the concept—a teenage Black girl and modern day Arthurian knights fighting demons or something—but often I find YA fantasy annoying so was planning to pass on this. And then I discovered IT IS SET IN CHAPEL HILL. The protagonist, Bree, is in an early college program at UNC! Well, of course then I was dying to read it. The author clearly went to UNC and her details are spot-on (I am not sure we needed so MANY descriptions of the campus, but obviously I was here for it). Anyway, so the deal here is, Bree's mother died in a car accident, and when she sees magic stuff at UNC, she realizes she saw magic stuff the night her mom died, so maybe it wasn’t a simple hit and run? And also Arthurian secret societies? And a cute boy? And a million queer teens! (I can’t tell if the series is setting up a love triangle or a throuple, but honestly, hardcore rooting for the latter.) Not to mention literal Black Girl Magic, laying bare some truths about racism in the South, and basically telling Julian Carr to go eff himself??? Some really powerful writing about Black pain. Y’all, I went into this a skeptic and it proved me wrong on every page. Even if it didn’t talk specifically about UNC (one of my alma maters), I would think this book was AWESOME. Freakin' A.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on September 15th.
K. Eason's How the Multiverse Got Its Revenge
This sequel to Rory Thorne is .... fine. I maybe would have liked to have more spaceship adventures before being thrust back into intergalactic battles and diplomacy. The non-Rory parts were a lot more interesting than the Rory parts, here. I mean, a sentient bioweapon is some good stuff. I’m not sure if the end implies a third volume is forthcoming, but if so, it needs to sound a lot more compelling. B/B+.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in October.
K. Eason's How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse
Rereading this because a sequel is due shortly, and also because I remembered it being fun and satisfying! And it was! It’s a fun mix of fairy tales and science fiction, with a great heroine and secondary characters. Our protagonist is the descendent of Sleeping Beauty and her prince, also gifted/cursed by fairies as a baby, and now as a royal teen has to deal with political machinations and plots and the media and maybe marriage. Great stuff, and I especially love her relationship with her bodyguards. Can’t wait to read the sequel.
Diana Wynne Jones' Dogsbody
Decided to reread some Diana Wynne Jones as a palate cleanser, but I forgot how much casual animal cruelty is in this book. People just beating on dogs (and occasionally children and cats). If you have not read this,most the story of the star Sirius, on trial for a crime he didn’t commit, sentenced to live out the lifespan of a dog on earth (and hopefully find the Macguffin that will restore him to his rightful place). Lots of excellent dogs and cats in this one, and a couple of excellent humans (mostly horrible humans though).
Lois McMaster Bujold’s Brothers in Arms
Despite all sorts of assassination attempts, this one has a slow start. I am just not interested in Miles whining about his love life. Plus, I was promised a clone, and he takes forever to show up. But once he does things get pretty interesting, lots of plots and adventure and assorted mishegas. I might take a break from these for a few books, I am starting to get burned out on Miles and his shenanigans are beginning to feel repetitive. B.
Lois McMaster Bujold’s Cetaganda
In this Vorkosigan book, Miles and his cousin go as diplomats-in-training to a planet they have an uneasy alliance with, and of course immediately get embroiled in a murder mystery/political plot. There are some really interesting women in this one, and the action and pacing are great. I liked this a lot. A-.
Lois McMaster Bujold’s The Vor Game
This volume deals with the start of Miles' military career, such as it is. It has some good outer space adventures and manages not to be rapey for a change. This book has a real anti-toxic masculinity vibe, which rules. I liked a lot about this, but don’t want to be spoilery, I’ll give it a solid B+.
Lois McMaster Bujold’s The Mountains of Mourning
God, why are these books so GRIM. In this one, Miles is sent to solve a murder—a murder of a little baby with a birth defect. It’s a novella and not really satisfying as a mystery (it’s not like there are a lot of suspects), more of a story meant to show Miles learning to take leadership and solve problems and be a good paternalistic overlord over the local people. B-.
Lois McMaster Bujold’s The Warrior's Apprentice
This book focuses on the teenage son of the couple from the previous books, who I gather is really the main character in the series. Because of an attack before his birth, he’s physically handicapped, but he’s determined to be an army man like his father and grandfather. I liked this character a lot (aside from his lovelorn advances to his girl friend), and it’s really fun to see him think his way out of one mess, only to find himself in a bigger mess. This was written in I think 1986, so be warned that there is some business about characters who are hermaphrodites (I have the impression Bujold was trying to be progressive with this, but she calls them “it” which is gross). The main character also has to deal with a lot of people calling him names and being rude because of his disabilities. A good and satisfying wrap-up, though. B+.
Natalie Zina Walschots' Hench
OK, I am probably the target audience for this book, but like OMG THIS BOOK!!! It's about a young (bisexual) woman who gets by doing data entry jobs for a Henchman Temp Agency, working for whatever villain comes along. And then a job goes wrong and she's badly injured--by a beloved hero. And then things really start cooking. I loved this. The narrative voice, the pacing, I could easily have read this in one sitting. I will say the ending is kind of .... unsettling .... and there are a few unresolved plot points (especially regarding the best friend character), which makes me wonder if (hope!) a sequel is in the works. This is a good companion to the Harley Quinn tv series (which I also love). A/A-.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in September.
Lois McMaster Bujold’s Barrayar
This is actually the seventh book in the Vorkosigan series, but since it picks up where the first one leaves off, I decided to read it second. Maybe I should have left it for later though, because I felt like there were some continuity issues (particularly with the character of the sergeant). Anyway, I still love Cordelia, and this is full of political intrigue and assassination attempts and worrying about a pregnancy on a less-scientifically-advanced planet. Also still a fair amount of discussion of rape/rapiness, like, PLEASE STOP. In retrospect this is really more of a “heroic/magical backstory to the actual main character of the series” and not necessarily “badass lady doing stuff” kind of story. I mean a badass lady does DO stuff, but only because of her kid. On the other hand, how often does a mom get to be badass for mom reasons? Is this retrograde or not? I honestly can’t tell. B+.
Lois McMaster Bujold’s Shards of Honor
I am still seeking out series to read, and having enjoyed the author's fantasy books, decided to try out this sci-fi series of hers, which has a billion books. I liked this one a lot; it’s about a thirty-something scientist, commander of a mission to do scientific research on a planet, and what happens when she encounters a man from a much more militaristic society. I enjoyed both these characters and their interactions, lots of humor and adventure to be had. Content warning for a very unpleasant attempted rape and a lot of mentions of other rapes, which makes me downgrade this to a B+.
Naomi Novik's A Deadly Education
AAAAHHHHHHHH this is everything I ever WANT in a book!! I mean I assumed I would like it bc it’s by Novik, but I loooooooved it. It’s narrated by a surly girl in an extremely dangerous MAGIC SCHOOL, and she is a secretly powerful loner, but eventually she makes friends and has dangerous magical school adventures, and also the resident hero boy is hanging around. It reminded me of a less queer In Other Lands or Carry On. The protagonist is half-Indian and two prominent secondary characters are Indian and East Asian, and there's lots of diversity rep in the more minor characters. Best of all, this is the first in a series and it ends on a dramatic note that makes me very eager to see what'll happen next. Ugh, I cannot properly convey the entertaining awesomeness of this book, but I am very sad I can’t read the whole series right now.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in September.
Jacqueline Woodson's Harbor Me
I’ve been mainly reading books for pure escapism, but this is the book club book this month and it’s due back to the library tomorrow. I mean obviously it was great! It’s Woodson! But it’s also heartbreaking! Because Woodson! And thoughtful and gorgeous. Because . . . Woodson. Anyway, it’s the story of a group of six middle schoolers who have to get together and talk once a week, with no grownups, and it’s the story of how they become closer and more confident and it’s great and sad. But like it is a reflection on the current suckiness of America so if you can’t handle that right now, wait till you feel stronger to give this a go. A.
Corinne Duyvis' The Art of Saving the World
So when this book's protagonist was born, an interdimensional rift opened up on their family farm, and government scientists moved in to study it—and her. Now she's 16 and trying to figure out life, whether she's into girls, etc, but the rift has gone haywire and a bunch of versions of her from alternate dimensions have popped out of it. Also, a dragon. And together they have to save the world! What I liked about this: queer teens, a good depiction of anxiety, the relationships between the girls. What didn’t really work for me: the government stuff, the Powers That Be, an all-over-the-place ending. Great characters, slightly less good plotting, overall a fun read and recommended for teens. B+.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on September 15th.
Susanna Clarke's Piranesi
Clarke's first novel in yeeeeaaaars is weird, and sad, and wonderful. It’s told through the journal entries of a man in a mysterious world, about his explorations and his scientific researches with the only other person there. And I’m not going to say anything else about the plot, because I knew nothing going in and I was totally caught up in the narrative. I am just like AAAAHHHHHH about all of this. I recommend it highly! A/A-.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on September 15th.
Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows' My Lady Jane
One of my friends recommended this to me when I said I was looking for more sff series to read, and I hadn’t actually known this was a fantasy! I think based on a cursory reading of reviews and on the cover, I thiught this was one of those CWish “sexy” historical books. Ha. Anyway, it’s England, the main character is Lady Jane Grey (who ruled for nine days before Mary Tudor beheaded her), but instead of Protestants vs Roman Catholics, the conflict here is between people who can shapeshift into animals and those who are anti-shapeshifter. This was a super fun read, good adventure, good romance, and a good sense of humor. I’ll definitely be checking out the companion books. A-.
Micaiah Johnson’s The Space Between Worlds
AAAHHHHHHHH I FREAKING LOVED THIS BOOK. I mean it was totally my jam and also EXCELLENT?!? It’s about a young (Black, bisexual) woman employed as a traverser, someone who can travel to alternate worlds, but only to worlds where no version of her exists. But she had a rough life and so only exists on like out out of over three hundred worlds. Also, she has a total crush on her handler, an uptight (rich, Japanese) lady. This book is so good on racism and classism and capitalism and power dynamics, but it’s also a totally exciting and gripping read. Romance, action, mystery, family, traveling to alternate worlds . . . this book has it all. Seriously, this is GREAT, read it now. A.
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Content warning for domestic abuse.
Juliet Marillier's A Dance with Fate
I loved the first book in this series, and there was a lot to like in this one, but it was waaaaay dark. Like, a sadistic guy torturing animals and people dark. So like . . . ugh. Still, I love the two main characters and their relationship. The brother character's storyline in this one is not as interesting, but it might get interesting? I guess I read the next one? I love Marillier's relationships. B+.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on September 1st.
Hilary McKay's The Time of Green Magic
This middle-grade book focuses on three step-siblings with overextended parents, whose new house has some magical stuff going on. I liked the characters here a lot, but found parts of this mildly stressful to read. Still, I liked how it wrapped up, and I think this will be really popular with its intended audience. B+.
Wendy Palmer's The Frog Prince's Daughters
Well, I liked this very much! It’s playing with fairy tale troops on a way I found to be more interesting than usual. The protagonist is the cousin of a princess descended from the famous frog prince, and they're busy waiting for her fairy tale prince to come for her—but instead, a wizard comes. Magic and adventures ensue, with great characters and some cute romance. It’s not as fluffy as it sounds; I loved the narrative voice here and also loved how things wrapped up. Perfect escapism. A/A-.
Seanan McGuire's A Killing Frost
Look, this is like the fourteenth book in this series, a plot summary won’t even begin to make sense. Suffice it to say Toby is off on one of her usual reckless quests that will somehow change the game in Faerie. Actually, that sounds more sarcastic than it should, because I actually liked where this one ended up. I do think this series needs to have an endgame planned, though, instead of spinning its wheels forever. A-/B+.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on September 1st.
Sarah Jean Horwitz's The Dark Lord Clementine
This was a SUPER cute book about a twelve year old girl who is the daughter of a Dark Lord, and is trying her best to be a proper dark heiress. And then her father is cursed and she has to run things and it’s not exactly easy . . . I loved the characters in this and really liked the narrative voice. It’s not as funny/irreverent as say, Ursula Vernon, but it kind of scratched the same itch for me. A-.
