“A Very Beery New Year” was a delightful early gift from Lau to her newsletter subscribers. The short story features Kelsey, who we meet in The Profes“A Very Beery New Year” was a delightful early gift from Lau to her newsletter subscribers. The short story features Kelsey, who we meet in The Professor Next Door. She is Nicole’s cousin who lives with their shared grandmother of TikTok fame. While searching for a steadier job, she is bartending. On Thursdays, just after 5 pm, Gerald comes into the bar and sits for an hour, has a beer and reads a book. This is Gerald’s version of socializing. Slowly, they start talking to each other. And then phone numbers are exchanged. And then there is the penis shaped donut incident. There’s some pretty excellent mutual pining before Gerald and Kelsey have their first date....more
This book. From the cover until the very end, it was a delight. If you are looking for a fluffy romance and a fake engagement trope that features two This book. From the cover until the very end, it was a delight. If you are looking for a fluffy romance and a fake engagement trope that features two Black queer women, pick up D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding.
D’Vaughn has decided to audition for a reality show called Instant I Do as a way to force her to come out to her family. Kris has decided to audition because she wants to find love. Instant I Do is a reality show in which strangers are paired and the challenge is they have to convince their families that they are in love and getting married in 6 weeks. The couple who makes it to the alter is offered a choice of going through with the wedding or taking $100,000 prize money each. There were a lot of opportunities for Higgins to lean into the drama, but instead, she chooses to show adults talking through their feelings and conflicts. In 2021, this was exactly what I needed.
Kris is an out and proud Afro-Latina butch lesbian, with lots of tattoos, who works as a PE teacher at a high school in Houston and has a side gig as a social media influencer. D’Vaughn is proudly fat, but privately a lesbian. Both are delightful. With the security of a family that accepts her as she is, Kris is fully prepared to support D’Vaughn in coming out. While keeping the book fairly fluffy and light, Higgins acknowledges the nuanced ways homophobia and bigotry can show up in people we love.
Chencia C. Higgins gives supportive partner lessons in D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding. While Kris has D’Vaughn’s back, D’Vaughn is open and generous with Kris’s family. The two of them are refreshingly adult as they navigate the complexities of falling in love while being fake engaged on a reality competition.
I really loved this book, and think it will make a great start to a romance lover’s reading year. I hope to see it on all the “Best of” lists, next year.
I received this as an advance reader copy from NetGalley and Carina Press. My opinions are my own....more
What do you do when what you want more than anything is to get married, but your perfect man is married to the woman who set the two of you up on a blWhat do you do when what you want more than anything is to get married, but your perfect man is married to the woman who set the two of you up on a blind date? Mason has been dating a man who seems perfect, but they keep not taking the step from casual to serious. Meanwhile, his friend Claris has finally nagged him into agreeing to a date with her husband, a fashion designer named Diego. They are in an open relationship. While Mason is ok with one date before locking down his forever with Dr. Tim No-Last-Name, he can’t take Diego seriously, because Diego is already married. Without the burden of expectations, Mason and Diego have a wonderful time, and then another wonderful time. They click so beautifully, but Mason can’t see how he would ever be anything else but the guy on the side.
The Life Revamp is a lovely romance about expectations and connections. Most polyamory romances are about 3 or 4 people in a closed romantic group all having sexy times together. The open V relationship, where one person is in a romantic or sexual relationship with two people who are not romantically or sexually involved, is less represented, but very common in reality. I loved that Mason’s questions and insecurities are dealt with realistically. Mason is friends with Claris, but he is uncomfortable with her being the wife of the man he loves. It takes him a long time to believe that he could have the kind of life and love he wants with Diego. Diego is amazing. Diego and Claris are great together, and Diego and Mason are great together. Mason has wonderful friends and a pretty great life, once he gets out of his own way.
The Life Revamp is one of my favorite books I’ve read this year, and I’ve read some fantastic books this year. It’s funny and heartbreaking and cathartic. I want to spend more time with the Motherf*ckers, so I will be going back to read Kris Ripper’s The Love Study and The Hate Project. This hug of a book will be out in time to sooth your soul between Thanksgiving and the Winter Holidays.
I received this as an advance reader copy from NetGalley and Carina Adores. My opinions are my own....more
While I have read and enjoyed Ilona Andrews’ two largest series, the Kate Daniels world and Hidden Legacy, I haven’t explored their other series. WhenWhile I have read and enjoyed Ilona Andrews’ two largest series, the Kate Daniels world and Hidden Legacy, I haven’t explored their other series. When I got Fated Blades from NetGalley, I worried a bit because I haven’t read any of the other Kinsman Universe stories, but I knew I would enjoy it because it’s Ilona Andrews. It was no problem. The world explains itself well enough and I don’t think the other Kinsman Universe stories impact it too much.
Matias Baena and Ramona Adler don’t hate each other personally, but their families are longtime enemies and business rivals. So when Matias finds out Ramona is waiting in a conference room to talk to him privately, he knows his day is about to get bad. And then it gets worse. It gets even worse after that. Ramona and Matias have to team up to stop an invasion and probably a slaughter.
As they work together, cut off from their usual resources, they have to trust each other. They quickly learn the other is competent, smart and deadly. They have far more in common with each other than they do with most other people. As is shown on the cover, they can manifest blades and shields. The story moves fast with betrayals, corruption, chicanery and a couple of really good fight scenes.
I really enjoyed going into this knowing almost nothing. It’s short, it’s fun, I stayed up much too late finishing it. Having read the third book in the series, I plan to read every bit of the Kinsman Universe I can get my hands on. And then I’ll probable do yet another reread of Kate Daniels.
I received this as an advance reader copy from NetGally and Montlake publishing. My opinions are my own....more
The worst thing about Mike and Stephanie Le’s That Noodle Life is that it isn’t out until April of 2022. Everything else about it is fantastic. I loveThe worst thing about Mike and Stephanie Le’s That Noodle Life is that it isn’t out until April of 2022. Everything else about it is fantastic. I love it. I’ve never wanted to turn a cookbook into a huggable plushie before, but I absolutely want to hug this book.
Cookbooks are becoming more challenging for me because there are so many foods I can’t eat anymore. But, I have always approached cookbooks and recipes as more guideline than rule. While I was a vegetarian, I adapted recipes all the time. Here, the authors make it easy by writing a cookbook that encourages adaptation and playing with your food. Mike and Stephanie Le are the creators of iamafoodblog and if you haven’t explored the site it would be worth your time.
That Noodle Life has a distinctly US fusion vibe that skews more towards East Asian influences. Which is fine with me. I was very happy to get a breakdown of bun (Vietnamese vermicelli bowls), because I can’t try any of the super cheesy recipes (3 different mac and cheeses I will never eat *sob*). They also have sections on instant ramen, homemade ramen, pho, lasagna, and others. While there are plenty of traditional recipes, they also play with ingredients. The Yakiudon al Pastor and the the Philly Cheesesteak Mazemen (a ramen without all the broth) are two of those recipes and they look like fun to make. Just so you see the range of That Noodle Life, the Philly Cheesesteak Mazeman calls for instant ramen and Cheeze Whiz on page 65. On page 73, The Double Lobster is a date-night worthy cacio e pepe style pasta topped with lobster in a white wine garlic butter sauce.
If you want to get deep into noodles, they have recipes for making your own Italian and Asian noodles, making your own chili oil, making your own XO sauce, and making your own laksa paste, all without ever making me feel like I have to do any of that.
I really appreciated the colorful photography and the playfulness of That Noodle Life. I’m looking forward to getting my sauce covered hands on a hard copy next Spring.
I received this as an advance reader copy from NetGalley and Workman Publishing Company. My opinions are my own....more
Last year, Katie71483, MsWas and Prolixity Julien got together and ordered a copy of Allie Brosh’s Solutions and Other Problems for my birthday. When Last year, Katie71483, MsWas and Prolixity Julien got together and ordered a copy of Allie Brosh’s Solutions and Other Problems for my birthday. When it came, I was touched that these lovely people thought so much of me that they would go to the effort and expense. I also knew that I was not going to be able to read the book at that moment, and probably for many moments after that moment. In fact, it sat on my shelf for almost a whole year because I wasn’t ready to dive into the hard things I knew were in the book. The unread Solutions and Other Problems could have been a symbol of my guilt (and occasionally has been), but more recently when I have seen it on my shelf, it has been a talisman of friendship.
Solutions and Other Problems is Allie Brosh’s long awaited and much anticipated second book. After the release of her first book, Hyperbole and a Half, some unfair and bad things happened in Allie Brosh’s life. The sections in which she deals directly with her sister’s death, and other specific bad things are very short. Most of the focus is on the existential crisis she experienced and her efforts to be a better person. It is equally heartbreaking and hilarious and so very relatable.
I am grateful that at some point in my weird and chaotic childhood, I learned that the universe is not fair, everything is pointless, but keep trying anyway. A major motivator for me has often been that the universe is unfair, making it my job to bring things closer to fair. It’s a big job and I fail at it every single day. The corollary to that is the universe is unfair and random, so make that work for you. Chapter 14: Fairness might be my favorite chapter. I laughed so hard I may have peed a little and it spoke to me on a cellular level. So much of my life can be explained by the thesis of the chapter: “If you can’t win, start playing a different game and score just as many points.” I can’t recommend you follow my path in this. I am the proverbial cautionary tale....more
I haven’t read any of Jenny Holiday’s books before, but it sounded interesting, so I put it on my TBR and then Goodreads offered a giveaway, I enteredI haven’t read any of Jenny Holiday’s books before, but it sounded interesting, so I put it on my TBR and then Goodreads offered a giveaway, I entered, I won, and then I waited for weeks. It finally arrived, just as a cold front brought the temperatures down to the low 70’s. I made some celebratory hot cocoa with oat milk and sipped it while still wearing a t-shirt and perusing Duke, Actually.
Max and Dani meet in A Princess for Christmas. Their respective best friends are getting married and they are the Best Matron and the Man of Honor. Max, heir to a Duchy in Eldovia has decided that he and Dani are going to be friends, so he starts texting her. Dani, a literature professor who is trying to get her cheating ex to finalize their divorce, is post love, post men, and has a list of everything she will never do for a man. Initially, she isn’t interested in having anything to do with Max outside of the wedding. The threat of an evening in the company of her ex and his very young new girlfriend prompts her to invite Max to join her as her plus one. From there, they build a friendship that surprises them both.
Holiday builds a great acquaintances to friends to friends with benefits to lovers romance. Dani and Max have good banter and develop a level of trust and emotional intimacy that was lovely to read. Both have had their expected futures upended, and their usual best friends are swooningly in love and not as available as they have been in the past. Max woos Dani into friendship mostly by listening to her, but also with Nutcracker tickets and falling in love with her Yorkie, also named Max.
I enjoyed Holiday’s deft handling of tropes, feelings, family dynamics, and bucking of tradition.
I received this as an advance reader copy from Avon. My opinions are my own....more
I remember the moment when I realized that white women, as a whole, are not crusaders for social justice, but enforcers of white supremacy. I had beenI remember the moment when I realized that white women, as a whole, are not crusaders for social justice, but enforcers of white supremacy. I had been working towards it for a while. It happened a lot later than I’d like to admit, and the realization took a while to sink in. I’d like to say I’ve given up my illusions about the role of the white woman in the world, but the things we absorb subconsciously as children are the hardest to root out. My eyes started opening in 2008 when Tina Fey and Amy Poehler co-anchored Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update and tried to persuade Democrats in Texas and Ohio to nominate Hillary Clinton instead of Barak Obama because, yes, she is a bitch and that’s a good thing.
TINA FEY: Maybe what bothers me the most is that people say that Hillary is a bitch. Let me say something about that: Yeah, she is. So am I and so is this one. [Points to Amy Poehler]
AMY POEHLER: Yeah, deal with it.
TINA FEY: You know what, bitches get stuff done. That’s why Catholic schools use nuns as teachers and not priests. Those nuns are mean old clams and they sleep on cots and they’re allowed to hit you. And at the end of the school year you hated those bitches but you knew the capital of Vermont. So, I’m saying it’s not too late Texas and Ohio, bitch is the new black!
Excerpt from Salon.com By TRACY CLARK-FLORY PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 25, 2008 5:10PM (EST)
“Bitches get stuff done” and “bitch is the new black” were everywhere. I happily chirruped the first, but the second one bothered me. It very clearly pitted (white) women against Black people and that’s way too…accurate. I don’t think I ever said it, but I also didn’t know how to explain why it felt ugly to me. Yes, a white woman and a Black man were competing for the nomination, but “bitch is the new black” wasn’t about Clinton versus Obama. It was about us versus them and even then I could see the only winner in that fight was white men.
I’ve spent the last few years learning and unlearning so that I can move from a surface level “racism is bad” to an active anti-racism. Jessie Daniels’ Nice White Ladies is a piece I needed. It explains me and the world I have moved in to me. Daniels is a few years older than I am, and we had fairly different upbringings, but like me, she is from Texas and we had similar American history as presented by the State of Texas educations. Reading Nice White Ladies felt like talking to an old friend who is much smarter than I am, who kindly lays out their arguments brick by brick. I always knew where she was going, but she helped me walk with more confidence. It is a must read if you are white and want to evolve past white feminism in a meaningful way.
Nice White Ladies is deeply personal. Daniels uses examples from her own life and her family to illustrate how white womanhood is entrenched in white supremacy, how we are rewarded and incentivized to maintain it, and how it is killing us.
I will be recommending this to almost everyone I know. I’m pretty sure some of my friends are going to find it uncomfortable, while others will feel the relief that I felt in seeing our half understood discomforts explained so clearly.
I received this as an advance reader copy from NetGalley. My opinions are my own....more
I loved this book so much. Between the cooking, the yearning, and the characters who have so much going on in their heads, Anita Kelly hit a lot of myI loved this book so much. Between the cooking, the yearning, and the characters who have so much going on in their heads, Anita Kelly hit a lot of my happy buttons. Love and Other Disasters will probably be on a lot of best of lists and most anticipated lists next year. So, plan your pre-orders accordingly.
London and Dahlia have been selected to be contestants on a tv cooking competition show for home cooks (not professionals). There is a substantial monetary prize, and for each of them it would make a big difference in their lives. Dahlia is recently divorced and struggling with the guilt she feels about her failed marriage. London is about to introduce themselves to the world as non-binary. Dahlia thinks London looks interesting and tries to strike up a conversation. London is initially irritated by Dahlia and her hair, and then fascinated.
They strike up a friendship and then a romantic relationship as the reality competition swirls around them. Other people bump into their world, but Kelly keeps it largely focused on Dahlia and London. It felt like a comfy chair in a cozy nook.
Heat levels can be tough to convey and what’s hot is so subjective. The emotion that Kelly conveys in her romantic scenes felt so intimate and steamy to me. London and Dahlia are so sweet and tender with each other, and they come into the relationship so bruised from the world that I could feel the exquisite pain of being touched lovingly.
Anita Kelley has two other books out right now that I’ve heard good things about, Sing Anyway and Our Favorite Songs. I’m so glad I have a little bit of a backlist to dive into because I loved their writing and I want more of it.
I received this as an advance reader copy from the publisher via NetGalley. My opinions are my own....more
Kristina Cho’s Mooncakes and Milk Bread is a spectacular cookbook. It has gorgeous photography, clearly explained recipes, and threads that tie her upKristina Cho’s Mooncakes and Milk Bread is a spectacular cookbook. It has gorgeous photography, clearly explained recipes, and threads that tie her upbringing in Cleveland, Ohio to the greater Chinese diaspora.
Cho grew up in her family’s Chinese restaurants. Initially, she wanted to be a chef, like her grandfather, but instead studied architecture, eventually creating a food blog as a release for her love of cooking. Mooncakes and Milk Bread works as an introduction to Chinese baking (and steaming and pan frying). She clearly explains ingredients, techniques and methodologies so that an interested learner doesn’t feel lost in the unfamiliar. She provides some foundational recipes like the Mother of All Milk Bread Dough and then riffs off of them throughout the book, in ways that make me feel like I could take that basic recipe and apply my own creativity.
There are so many bun recipes in this book. steamed buns, baked buns, plain buns, sweet buns and savory buns. Some buns are traditional (Pineapple Buns and Char Sui Bao), use traditional Chinese ingredients in in non traditional forms (Milk Bread Donuts with Salted Egg Yolk Cream), or incorporate other American ingredients into traditional bun styles (After School PB&J Buns and Thanksgiving Leftovers Gua Boa).
I became absorbed in the bun recipes, but the book is stuffed with cakes, pastries, tarts, cookies (no fortune cookies), dumplings, and breakfast. I loved that Cho showed how to make a variety of mooncakes, including how to makes some adorably shamed mooncakes without a mooncake mold.
My only frustration was that I wasn’t able to test recipes. A combination of health issues and work demands ruled out a trek to the store and playing with recipes. I can’t wait to get my hands on a paper copy and my self into the H-Mart.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Horizon for the advance reader copy. My opinions are my own....more
There’s a special feeling when you pick up a book by an author you’ve been reading for a while and you just know that they have relaxed into writing. There’s a special feeling when you pick up a book by an author you’ve been reading for a while and you just know that they have relaxed into writing. In With You Forever, the fourth in the Bergman Brothers series, Chloe Liese feels like she’s hit her stride. The book is relaxed and confident. There were no moments when I felt like she had added something to the story because she thought it was required. It made reading this book like sinking into the most comfortable reading chair with your beloved pet snuggling you in just the right way, with occasional extra good hugs from someone you love.
Rooney is Willa’s best friend, and has been adopted into the larger Bergman clan. The Bergmans are pretty sure that Rooney and Axel, the eldest Bergman brother, have feelings for each other and have tried to nudge them along. Rooney has Inflammatory Bowel Disease, a chronic illness, which has flared up badly. She needs a break, so Willa and Ryder offer her the use of the family A-frame in Washington State. Except, and Willa knows this, it’s Axel’s time at the cabin. What Will doesn’t know is that the A-frame is in need of significant and immediate repairs that Axel wants to take care of without the family finding out.
Rooney stays at Axel’s small cabin, and some other things happen that I don’t want to spoil. They spend time together, gradually and carefully showing each other their most vulnerable pieces. Long before they get to the penetrative sex, they are talking about how touch feels to them, and what works or doesn’t for their bodies and their libidos. Rooney’s IBD is a chronic condition that impacts her body all the time. Axel’s autism impacts not only the way he experiences and processes feelings, but also the way he responds to touch. Part of the sexy steamy in this book are the conversations about communication, wanting, and even the stuff that makes them feel unsexy. It’s makes me wish I could go back in time and renegotiate a lot of my own past experiences. It’s just so swoony.
There is a third act break up here. I am not averse to them if they make sense. They can be quite cathartic. In this case, it did make sense and it was cathartic.
The Bergman family make enough appearances that I am ready for Viggo’s book (which is probably not next). He is both very lovable and also love is going to kick him in the pants in ways he can’t imagine.
CW: grief, IBD flareup, difficult parental relationships, abandoned animals (they are all safe and healthy), internalized ableism.
I received this as an advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review....more
I loved this book so much. I have enjoyed Rebekah Weatherspoon’s Cowboy’s of California series. I wasn’t at all sure how she was going to top the amazI loved this book so much. I have enjoyed Rebekah Weatherspoon’s Cowboy’s of California series. I wasn’t at all sure how she was going to top the amazing middle book, If the Boot Fits, but she did. A Thorn in the Saddle is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It has a man with a temper, a daughter defending her father, and a couple who face their fears to be brave for one another.
Jesse has been the brother hanging out in his younger brothers’ books being quietly interesting. He shines in A Thorn in the Saddle. He was already a great character, but he makes himself even better for Lily-Grace. Jesse starts the book off in a bad mood and makes some poor life choices when he comes across his grandmother and Lily-Grace’s father having a romantic moment, He angers his grandmother, upsets his family, and puts himself in Lily-Grace’s cross-hairs. She storms into an important meeting, chews him out, and steals his dog. At that moment, Lily-Grace also stole Jesse’s heart (and mine).
One of the things that Weatherspoon does incredibly well is create women with an enormous range of vulnerability and strength. Like other great Weatherspoon women before her, Lily Grace knows her own worth. She knows who she is and what she likes. However, she has been through a difficult few years and is burnt out from work. Others including a man with whom she was in an intense long term sexual relationship, have not seen Lily Grace’s value and that has wounded her. She has returned to Charming, California tired and unsure of what she wants next, but quite certain that Jesse Pleasant will apologize to her father and take steps to atone for his behavior. Jesse does know Lily Grace’s value, and he is happy to show it.
Rebekah Weatherspoon is always a good read and A Thorn in the Saddle might be my new favorite of her books. Everything about this book was perfect and I will not hear different. It’s full of family, community, dogs, going to therapy, banter, love languages, sex lessons, swimming lessons, and horseback riding lessons. I felt so good after I finished that I have read it a few more times.
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an advance reader copy. My opinions are my own....more
Cat Sebastian is always good, but Peter Cabot Gets Lost is a whole other level of Cat Sebastian goodness. She says in her author’s note that she wroteCat Sebastian is always good, but Peter Cabot Gets Lost is a whole other level of Cat Sebastian goodness. She says in her author’s note that she wrote it in March 2020, just after the US went into lockdown. So she wrote about a cross country road trip. It makes perfect sense. For all that Peter and Caleb are on the open road, there is a sense of isolation. They interact with very few people apart from each other. For as many miles as the car goes, a lot of the story takes place in internal dialogue, conversations, and small motel rooms.
Peter Cabot Gets Lost is more vibe than plot. The plot is that Peter and Caleb drive from Cambridge, Massachusetts to Los Angeles, California in 1960 in a 1956 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz (you should image search the car, they are gorgeous). Peter and Caleb have just graduated from Harvard. Peter is running away from the suffocating disappointment of his family. Caleb is running towards a job in Los Angeles, and away from being poor. When Caleb’s money to buy a bus ticket falls through, Peter impulsively offers him a ride. Anything to avoid joining his father’s Presidential campaign. Caleb has always resented Peter’s wealth and the way it smooths his path.
Caleb is surly, prickly and pretty much at the end of his rope. He has no more energy to hold his camouflage together. Peter is all polished façade and facing a future he does not want with people who make him feel unwanted. The poetry in Caleb’s head is a stark contrast to his terse manner with Peter. Peter, whose safety has always depended on being able to read the people around him, is able to interpret Caleb’s gruff love language.
It’s a lovely and short read. Expansive and intimate.
The two are always aware of the homophobia in the air and in the laws, but they aren’t confronted with it directly. Caleb has some memories of being bullied for being different as a child.
I received this as an advance reader copy from the author in exchange for an honest review....more
Jackie Lau’s books continue to be a place of refuge for me. Lau’s characters always feel grounded in a reality, whole people more than devices to carrJackie Lau’s books continue to be a place of refuge for me. Lau’s characters always feel grounded in a reality, whole people more than devices to carry a plot. Lau uses food sometimes as a love language, and sometimes as a safe place where characters can come together.
Bidding on the Bachelor is Lau’s first m/m romance, even so, it’s classic Jackie Lau. Cedric Fong is the last unpartnered Fong brother and has come out to his family as bi. His Po-Po (grandmother) bribes him with dumplings to enter a charity bachelor auction. Brian Poon is happily watching the drunken bidders behaving badly during the auction. He takes pity on both Cedric and a young woman whose parents are bidding on him for her, bidding an outrageous amount to win a date with Cedric. It’s a little awkward. During their playboy days, Brian was Cedric’s brother’s best friend (see Pregnant By the Playboy). Brian and Cedric end up having a good time together (as friends, no sexy stuff). Eventually, they become roommates because Cedric needs a new place and Brian has the space. It’s such a lovely acquaintances to roommates to lovers romance.
Cedric is struggling to write his second book of very serious literature and Brian is trying to find a purpose for his life. Brian does one of my favorite Jackie Lau things, he takes up baking as a way of taking care of Cedric. As a step towards finding his own sense of purpose, Brian tries to create an environment conducive to writing. I could go on and on about how lovely I found Brian’s service love language. Cedric has to let go of a lot of ideas about who he is supposed to be in order to write again and to allow for the possibility of love....more
Earth’s crust and mantle have been peeled back by the Architects and shaped into a beautiful flower. A beautiful, uninhabitable flower.
Maybe this is aEarth’s crust and mantle have been peeled back by the Architects and shaped into a beautiful flower. A beautiful, uninhabitable flower.
Maybe this is a reflection of my age, but I kept thinking about how clean spaceships were in science fiction when I started reading. The governments were huge global or galactic entities demonstrating how humans had unified, and often how they had integrated into a system of many alien species. There was an orderliness to science fiction worlds, even if the protagonists were rogues or the ruling government was evil. I also remember that when the protagonists got their hands on a MacGuffin someone would say, “we need to get this into the right hands!” and there were right hands for it to go to. We don’t live in that world anymore. There are no objectively right hands, just better or worse hands, depending on where you stand.
In Shards of Earth, humans, with a lot of help from alien species, were slowly colonizing other worlds. The Architect showed up and sculpted Earth as they had many other inhabited worlds, forcing people to flee in anyway they were able. Millions died unable to get off the planet or in spaceships not designed to carry so many people safely. Humans and aliens banded together to fight a desperate war for survival, and won. Or survived, because the Architect disappeared. Decades later, humanity is even more fragmented with a growing Nativist movement that narrowly defines human and rewrites history, as such movements do. Shards of Earth follows Solace, Idris, and the crew of the Vulture God, a salvage ship for hire. Rounding out the cast is Havaer Mundy, a spy.
Idris and Solace are survivors of the last battles against the Architects, heroes of the war. Idris Telemmier is a human whose brain was modified to fight Architects. He is one of the last of his class and has lived for decades, unsleeping, not aging, desperately trying to stay free of the various factions that see him as a commodity (yay, capitalism). He travels with his own knife wielding lawyer. Myrmidon Executor Solace is a human who was grown in a vat with other women exactly like her – a Partheni soldier, a clone. Solace has been put into long sleeps, waking a different points. She can see how the fractures between groups of humans has widened.
“We were the shield and sword of the Colonies,” the Partheni went on. “And then, when the war was over, you started asking why we had to keep on being different to you.”
Space hasn’t been kind to a lot of humans. Malnutrition and lack of gravity have had long term impacts on bodies. Travel through unspace is a constant mental trauma for Idris, but he can survive the trauma and the others cannot. The tension between the wealthy and the rest of humanity lies underneath everything. Tchaikovsky stops short of glorifying the make do mindset of the Colonials, or the genetic perfection of the Partheni. Instead they are all good, bad, and fully human.
Shards of Earth very nicely sets up a universe on the brink of going from not great to worse. I loved the complicated characters and their conflicting loyalties. I don’t know exactly where Tchaikovsky is going with the series, but I’m looking forward to finding out. A lot of conflicts have been set up and it will be interesting to see which ones are in the foreground in the next book. It has a banger of an ending and I can't wait to see what happens next.
CWs: deaths of characters, violence, torture, physical and mental trauma.
I received this as an advance reader copy from NetGalley and Tor in exchange for an honest review....more
Ok, so yes. I finally accepted that I needed to finish this book and begin the wait for the second book. As always, Moira Quirk is an amazing narratorOk, so yes. I finally accepted that I needed to finish this book and begin the wait for the second book. As always, Moira Quirk is an amazing narrator. Thank you to Cannonballer Aquillia for the recommendation. Luca Fontaine and his tight pants, indeed.
My actual review:
I started listening to the audiobook, narrated by Moira Quirk, after reading Aquillia’s review. When I got to somewhere near the end, I realized that I did not want this book to end and I did not see any information about a release date for book 2. I stopped listening, because I couldn’t bear for it to end. On Sunday I finally gave in and finished the last 2 1/2 hours. And now I’ve restarted it.
The downside of delaying the end of this book, is that I only have a vague memory of some parts of the book.
Lysande’s journey of grief for Seralin, her mentor, and reckoning with Seralin, the queen, was so good. Lysande owes her position to Seralin. The queen heard about her brilliance and pulled her out of the orphanage and took an interest in her training. Lysande has been one of the queens closest confidants and advisors and is with her when she dies – poisoned. After the queen’s death – Lysand is named the Councillor tasked with the duty to pick the next ruler. She tasks herself with discovering who assassinated Queen Seralin so that she doesn’t award the crown to the assassin.
EJ Beaton luxuriates in the grey areas. She builds a wonderfully complex world with complex characters and unfolds it slowly through Lysande’s eyes. Lysande has her own complexities (see Aquillia’s review). She starts to see the late queen’s policies through her own eyes, and starts to have ideas about how the nation ought to be run. She comes recognize Seralin’s weaknesses and blind spots, but maintains her love for the person, if not the queen.
One reason I am so looking forward to the second book is seeing how Lysande inhabits true power. Throughout The Councillor, her power is largely borrowed from Seralin. Will she truly come into her own? Will she use her power wisely or poorly? Will the silver bloods, Eliria’s elite and ruling caste, allow her to hold power.
Luca Fontain remains a compelling mystery.
It has been a long time since I’ve been this excited about the sequel to a non-romance book.
If you do go the audiobook route, Moira Quirk is always an excellent narrator....more
I have read other Roan Parrish books and I still wasn't expecting how much this one would wreck me. Full review to come. I have read other Roan Parrish books and I still wasn't expecting how much this one would wreck me. Full review to come. ...more
In 2020 I devoured Jessie Mihalik’s Consortium Rebellion series, Polaris Rising, Aurora Blazing, and Chaos Reigning. Mihalik writes a banger of a sci-In 2020 I devoured Jessie Mihalik’s Consortium Rebellion series, Polaris Rising, Aurora Blazing, and Chaos Reigning. Mihalik writes a banger of a sci-fi romance with compelling characters, action, intrigue, and found family. As soon as I heard she was starting a new series with Hunt the Stars, it rocketed on to my most anticipated of 2022 list. It was as good as I thought it would be, and it looks like the second book, Eclipse the Moon, will be out in the summer. I love not having to wait a year for the next instalment.
The Consortium Rebellion focused on three sisters – daughters of one of the ruling families. Even on the run, their wealth made their adventures more possible. In contrast, the new series focuses on a crew of bounty hunters, led by Tavi Zarola. Tavi and her crew are former soldiers in the Federated Human Planet’s army, and their newest client, Torran Fletcher, is a Valovian general, and a squad of his soldiers. The war between the Federated Humans and the Valovians has ground to an uneasy peace/stalemate, and the enmity between Humans and Valovians is sharp. Despite the distrust and hostility, Torran desperately needs Tavi’s crew’s expertise, and Tavi desperately needs Torran’s money.
I’m a bounty hunter. I hunt criminals and murderers; I don’t work for them.”…
His piercing gaze seared me. “I know you. Lieutenant Octavia Zarola, hero of Rodeni,” he said with mocking reverence before his expression hardened. “Slaughterer. You are worth a lot in Valovian space.”
I love how delightfully domestic they get as the two groups, forced together by proximity and mutual dependence, bond. They form relationships through shared dinners, watching shows, and adoring the telepathic cat-fox who always wants food. I loved all the food scenes, there isn’t nearly enough cooking in sci-fi. There is, of course, a conspiracy that may go all the way to the top and the imminent threat of restarting the unwinnable war. Hunt the Stars was a fun read and I am probably going to go reread it again right now. Jessie Mihalik is an autobuy author for me.
I received this as an advance reader copy from NetGalley and Harper Voyager. My opinions are my own....more
At 2:15 this afternoon I posted in a discord chat: “I was surprised to get an arc of Jackie Lau’s newest, The Professor Next Door, this morning and noAt 2:15 this afternoon I posted in a discord chat: “I was surprised to get an arc of Jackie Lau’s newest, The Professor Next Door, this morning and now 3 1/2 hours later I have finished it, have a sore neck from reading without moving, and I wish I could gorge on cheese. I really liked the book.” The response was: “Welcome to the Jackie Lau experience.” Accurate. The Jackie Lau experience is a reliably enjoyable read, with excellent food and good sex. Anyway, I’m moving to Toronto and getting a new digestive system because I need all of this cheesy food.
In the decade since ending her first and only major relationship, Nicole has been very happy being single and having a variety of men she sleeps with. She wants the convenience of a regular lover without the complication of a relationship. David can hear his neighbor (Nicole) when she has sex, and while it bothers him, it also turns him on. He’s determined to not make it weird though. After they get stuck in an elevator together on Nicole’s birthday, he brings her a cake from a bakery around the corner and they start a friendship. Eventually, he does confess he can hear her having sex, and after she checks to make sure he isn’t a creep, their friendship adds benefits.
Nicole is at a point where she has become so invested in a certain idea of herself that she is having trouble making the changes she wants in her life. David isn’t what she thought she wanted. David loves making Nicole happy, whether with good food, playing with her sex toys, or making tiktoks with her grandmother. David has a little stern professor daddy energy, but he is fundamentally kind, thoughtful, and respects Nicole’s boundaries.
There are no incidents of slut-shaming, racism, or homophobia in the book, but both Nicole and David have removed people from their lives for being racist. There’s also no pandemic, which is nice.
If you happen to be in Toronto, please go get a cheese tart or some cheesy udon noodles and tell me all about it.
I received this as an advance reader copy from the author in exchange for an honest review....more
I think Alyssa Cole is really up there with Courtney Milan (5 steps ahead of me for sure), in thinking about and wringing all the juice out of romanceI think Alyssa Cole is really up there with Courtney Milan (5 steps ahead of me for sure), in thinking about and wringing all the juice out of romance tropes. How to Catch a Queen uses the arranged marriage trope to dive into toxic masculinity, patriarchy as governance, and recovering from the harms of Colonialism. I can always count on Cole for excellent mental health rep, and she brings it here.
Shanti Mohapti might be my very favorite character created by Alyssa Cole, and that says a lot. She decided at age 7 that she wanted to be a queen and has geared her life towards becoming a queen. She even created a book she calls her “Field Guide to Queendom.” Why does she want to be queen? She wants to help people by building strong, inclusive national systems. No country needs strong inclusive national systems more than Njaza. Once a colony of Liechtienbourg, Njaza reinstituted it’s monarchy when it earned independence, but also isolated itself from other countries for fear of becoming a dependent nation again. When she is contacted on RoyalMatch.com about a last minute wedding to Njaza’s heir to the throne she thinks her destiny has come at last. It hasn’t though because it’s a four month trial marriage to a man who ignores her and she is queen in a country where she is barely allowed to be seen, and definitely not heard.
Sanyu does not want to be king, has never wanted to be king and after the death of his father, has completely shut down. Trauma, anxiety, and crippling self doubt are preventing him from being the king he would like to be. He has effectively ceded authority to his father’s top advisor, Musoke. It isn’t until Shanti challenges Musoke that Sanyu approaches Shanti for help. Fortunately, we get the story from Sanyu and Shanti’s perspectives, because Sanyu has a lot to do to be worthy of Shanti. Shanti is great, and Sanyu really does try and often fail to rise to her level. Sanyu really does need to be led by the hand to emotional intelligence, because he was raised without a model for a good relationship.
Cole does so much good stuff in this book with privilege, responsibility, and the dynamic relationship between head and heart, and the strength in being compassionate. I could write essays, but you should read it for yourself. I did see that someone complained there wasn’t much running away, and literally, no there isn’t. But Sanyu shows that you can run away even while physically present....more