I bought Bloom probably a year ago, but never got around to reading it until last night--when I read it in one sitting. I don't know why I let it languish on my shelves for so long, but I'm glad I read it when I did. I needed something to lift my spirits, and Bloom did exactly that. Not only is this graphic novel a heartfelt, LGBT+ romance, it is also a very affirming account of navigating that scary time gap between graduating high school and whatever comes next.
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Today, I’m reviewing one of the most important YA fantasies that I’ll probably read all year: Girls of Paper and Fire, by Natasha Ngan. This sweeping, lyrical YA fantasy left me in a book coma for days.
TW: this book contains sexual assault and violence I’ve developed a habit of deciding I’m going to love a book before I even pick it up--especially if it’s written by an author I follow on social media. I can’t help it. After seeing the years of buildup and hype from the authors and their friends, it’s difficult not to get a little starry-eyed when you finally see their book on the shelf.
Or, you know, giddy scream inside because you’re the bookseller who gets to gleefully shove aside other books to make room for this sparkly, gorgeous new book you’ve been salivating over. The book in question is Once and Future, a queer, feminist, futuristic retelling of King Arthur. Readers, it made my little queer heart sing. Here I am, back with another review of a L.A. Ashton book! I’ve loved Echoes since I first read it when Ashton self-published it on Amazon. I was so excited when I found out that Ashton is having it re-published by Ninestar Press! Reading it a second time for this review was just as engrossing as the first time I picked it up.
L.A. Ashton is an author I’ve been following since I first found their fanfiction on Archive of Our Own many moons ago. I fell in love with the way they craft complex and gripping relationships between characters, and the sensuality of their writing stunned me. Ashton recently tweeted that they were looking for reviewers for their recently-released novella Valhalla, and of course I had to throw my hat in the ring. A chance to read more of Ashton's gorgeous writing and gush about it? Sign me up.
I received an advanced reader’s copy of Rule several weeks (or months?) ago from Julianne Daly, a lovely book blogger and freelancer I follow on Twitter who does book giveaways. I finally managed to get to Rule after several bookish detours, and, as promised, I am giving it my honest review.
Let me be clear about something: I wasn’t intending to write and post a review so soon after posting my last one. I really wasn’t. I've been lazy about writing reviews lately, and I struggled a lot to make myself finally buckle down and review The Brilliant Death, a book I adore and will happily recommend to anyone I meet.
After posting the review, I told myself, “Okay, review done. I finally have permission to sit down with another great book and read to my heart’s content. I am not going to review this next one. Nope. Need a break.” The problem is, the next book I read was What If It’s Us, a book cowritten by one of my favorite queer authors, Adam Silvera, and Becky Albertelli, author of Simon Vs the Homosapien Agenda (you know, the book that got adapted into the film Love Simon). I started the book mid-afternoon on December 26th, and finished it at 1:09 AM on the 27th. So uh. I have no chill, and I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about this book. I’m writing this review as much for myself as anyone else. It’s been like six months since my last review, but hey friends! I’ve been wanting to review this one for months, so better late than never! I’m hoping I can get back to doing at least one or two reviews a month to spread more book love.
I picked up Adrienne Young’s debut novel Sky in the Deep about a week ago because the cover, featuring a beautiful young warrior wielding a battle axe, caught my eye. I thought to myself, Gee, if this book is good, I bet my friend would love this, what with her Viking-inspired dnd character. I told the dnd group chat of my find, and I agreed to read the book and let everyone know if it’s any good.
I finished it in three days, and promptly alerted the chat that this book is fantastic and well worth reading. Claire Legrand’s latest novel Furyborn is one of the most anticipated YA fantasy releases of 2018. Set in a world rich with magic and mythology, Furyborn is the story of two young women who live centuries apart, whose roles in an ancient prophecy about two queens could leave the world in ruins—or be humanity’s salvation.
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AuthorWriter, reviewer, bookseller, book nerd extraordinaire. Fiction reader at Waxwing Magazine. Archives
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