Summer Sons, By Lee Mandelo ~ 3.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Coping With Loss and Grief, Horror, LGBTQ Relationships, Mystery, Southern Gothic, Talk of Suicide, Trauma

Thanks to NetGalley and Tordotcom for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: September 28th, 2021

384 Pages

Synopsis: Lee Mandelo’s debut Summer Sons is a sweltering, queer Southern Gothic that crosses Appalachian street racing with academic intrigue, all haunted by a hungry ghost.

Andrew and Eddie did everything together, best friends bonded more deeply than brothers, until Eddie left Andrew behind to start his graduate program at Vanderbilt. Six months later, only days before Andrew was to join him in Nashville, Eddie dies of an apparent suicide. He leaves Andrew a horrible inheritance: a roommate he doesn’t know, friends he never asked for, and a gruesome phantom that hungers for him.

As Andrew searches for the truth of Eddie’s death, he uncovers the lies and secrets left behind by the person he trusted most, discovering a family history soaked in blood and death. Whirling between the backstabbing academic world where Eddie spent his days and the circle of hot boys, fast cars, and hard drugs that ruled Eddie’s nights, the walls Andrew has built against the world begin to crumble.

And there is something awful lurking, waiting for those walls to fall. (Goodreads)

I want to say at the onset that Summer Sons is receiving mostly rave reviews, so my slight disappointment may be due to me just being in the wrong mood(?) My biggest complaints concern the characters and molasses-like slowness of the first half. I struggled with connecting to any of the characters, especially Andrew, who I really didn’t like until the last third of the book, when I began to understand him more. The story also tackles a lot: loss, drugs, relationships, car racing, competitive academia, curses, etc. and at times there just seemed to be an excruciating amount of minutiae to plow through. I freely admit I resorted to skimming some of the longer chapters, especially the sections that were like The Fast and the Furious. But there were also some things that I loved about this including: the uniqueness of the story, the diversity of the characters and their relationships, the Southern Gothic tone, the ultimate direction of the central mystery, and the final resolution, which much to my surprise had me tearing up a little. Ironically, given that I’m usually such a nut for horror, is that for me, the strengths of this book lie more in its thoughtful exploration of trauma, grief and loss, not the supernatural aspects, which until the last few chapters left me frequently confused as to what was happening.

I really hate writing reviews like this because I’m all over the place with it. I’d like to say that Summer Sons still has me thinking about it three days after I finished, so that’s another plus. In the end, if you’re a horror fan who’s looking for something different and the premise intrigues you, I’d say give this a try. And as always, don’t just go by my opinion. Please check out the other reviews on Goodreads.

Under the Whispering Door, By T.J. Klune ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Diversity, Fantasy, Grief, Humor, LGBTQ Relationships, Romance, Suicide

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: September 21st, 2021

384 Pages

Synopsis: Under the Whispering Door is a contemporary fantasy with TJ Klune’s signature “quirk and charm” (PW) about a ghost who refuses to cross over and the ferryman he falls in love withWhen a reaper comes to collect Wallace Price from his own funeral, Wallace suspects he really might be dead.

Instead of leading him directly to the afterlife, the reaper takes him to a small village. On the outskirts, off the path through the woods, tucked between mountains, is a particular tea shop, run by a man named Hugo. Hugo is the tea shop’s owner to locals and the ferryman to souls who need to cross over.

But Wallace isn’t ready to abandon the life he barely lived. With Hugo’s help he finally starts to learn about all the things he missed in life.

When the Manager, a curious and powerful being, arrives at the tea shop and gives Wallace one week to cross over, Wallace sets about living a lifetime in seven days.

By turns heartwarming and heartbreaking, this absorbing tale of grief and hope is told with TJ Klune’s signature warmth, humor, and extraordinary empathy. (Goodreads)

Last year I saw numerous rave reviews for T.J. Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea, and while I still haven’t had a chance to read it, I did finally purchase it. I’ve also enjoyed the first two books in his Extraordinaires series, so I was quite excited to be approved for an eARC of Under the Whispering Door. I’m writing this review after just finishing it and I am happy to say this ticked off all of my boxes.

The characters were wonderful, starting with Wallace. Before he died he was a cold-hearted, selfish man who didn’t appear to have an empathetic bone in his body. But after his death, when he meets sassy Mei, a reaper, and she brings him to Charon’s Crossing Tea and Treats, where he’s introduced to Hugo, a ferryman, his road to redemption begins. Also residing in this strange weigh station are Hugo’s deceased dog, Apollo, and his grandfather, Nelson. It’s a quirky little family and they take hold of your heart almost instantly. The Manager is a little more frightening, as he’s very much an unknown, although near the end even he undergoes a transformation of sorts. The setting of the tea shop and its quirkier attributes is very visual and I could easily picture it in my head. This isn’t what you’d call an action-packed story, but then it’s not meant to be. By turns it’s a whimsical, heartbreaking, and thoughtful exploration of death, grief, and letting go. It’s quite unlike anything I’ve read and I can honestly say I fell in love with both the characters and the story.

Under the Whispering Door is an absolute treasure of a book that by turns will have you laughing out loud, and sobbing into a tissue. Most of all, it will leave you sad when you’ve come to the end and will remain in your mind even after you’ve moved on to other books.

A Master of Djinn (Fatma el-Sha’arawi #1), By P. Djèlí Clark ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Historical Fantasy, LGBTQ Relationships, Mystery, Romance, Steampunk, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Tordotcom for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: May 11th, 2021

400 Pages

Synopsis: Nebula, Locus and Alex Award-winner P. Djèlí returns to his popular alternate Cairo for his fantasy novel debut A Master of Djinn.

Cairo 1912: Though Fatma el-Sha’arawi, is the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, she’s certainly not a rookie, especially after preventing the destruction of the universe last summer.

So when someone murders a secret brotherhood dedicated to one of the most famous men in history, al-Jahiz, Agent Fatma is called onto the case. Al-Jahiz transformed the world 50 years ago when he opened up the veil between the magical and mundane realms, before vanishing into the unknown. This murderer claims to be al-Jahiz, returned to condemn the modern age for its social oppressions. His dangerous magical abilities instigate unrest in the streets of Cairo that threaten to spill over onto the global stage.

Alongside her Ministry colleagues and her clever girlfriend, Siti, Agent Fatma must unravel the mystery behind this imposter to restore peace to the city—or face the possibility he could be exactly who he seems… (Goodreads)

Although P. Djèlí Clark’s first full length novel is a little slow to get started, as a first time reader of his fiction, I’m hooked! First and foremost is the storyline itself, which is a spellbinding mashup of steampunk, historical fantasy, and suspenseful mystery. I fell completely in love with the alternative 1912 version of Cairo, and thanks to all the exquisite details that were included, I easily imagined myself there. The mystery itself was interesting and kept me guessing through a good portion of the book. The characters are diverse and colorful, particularly Fatma, Siti, and Hadia, all strong and independent women, yet still having to struggle for society’s acceptance. Overall, A Master of Djinn is a thoroughly entertaining and creative tale. While it’s not strictly necessary to have read the two previous short stories in this series: A Dead Djinn in Cairo and The Haunting of Tram Car 015, I recommend you do so instead of being like me and having to go back. I suspect as quickly as I became immersed in this magical world, that probably would have happened even sooner if I was already familiar with the setting and characters.

Poison Priestess (Lady Slayers #2), By Lana Popović ~ 3.5 Stars

Tags

France, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ Relationships, Supernatural, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Amulet Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: April 6th, 2021

304 Pages

Synopsis: In 17th-century Paris, 19-year-old Catherine Monvoisin is a well-heeled jeweler’s wife with a peculiar taste for the arcane. She lives a comfortable life, far removed from a childhood of abject destitution—until her hind spendthrift of a husband lands them both in debt. Hell-bent one returning to a life of poverty, Catherine must rely on her prophetic visions and the grimoire gifted to her by a talented diviner to reinvent herself as a sorceress. With the help of the grifter Marie Bosse, Catherine divines fortunes in the Ille de la Citee—home to sorcerers and scoundrels.

There she encounters the Marquise de Montespan, a stunning noblewoman. When the Marquise become Louis XIV’s royal mistress, with Catherine’s help, her ascension catapults Catherine to notoriety. Catherine takes easily to her glittering new life as the Sorceress La Voisin, pitting the depraved noblesse against one another to her advantage. The stakes soar ever higher when her path crosses that of a young magician. A charged rivalry between sorceress and magician leads to Black Masses, tangled deception, and grisly murder—and sets Catherine on a collision course that threatens her own life. (Goodreads)

Poison Priestess is the second book in the Lady Slayers series, but as it has entirely new characters, you needn’t have read Blood Countess to enjoy this. Each book in this series is a fictionalized account of real life historical murderers of the female persuasion. Sounds delicious doesn’t it? Blood Countess looked at the relationship between Anna Darvulia and serial killer Countess Elizabeth Báthory. In Poison Priestess the story details the rise of Catherine Monvoisin, a jeweler’s wife and fortune teller who is brought into the French Court of Louis XIV, the Sun King. Once there, her skills at prophecy develop into a side business of providing poison to those in the noblesse who wish to get rid of their enemies. What I found fascinating about this were the real life characters who wound up embroiled in the infamous L’Affaire des Poisons which was a major scandal in the court involving accusations of witchcraft and murder. What didn’t work for me were the way the characters were depicted. It wasn’t just that they were unlikable, I usually find flawed characters intriguing. No, these were all rather flat, cardboard cutouts, which made forming a connection with any of them an impossibility. Despite this, there was much I enjoyed, including the supernatural details added to the history. Overall, Poison Priestess wasn’t perfect, yet I’m still glad I read it. If there is a third book in the Lady Slayers series I will definitely give it a try.

Malice, By Heather Walter ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Abuse, Bullying, Fairytale Retellings, LGBTQ Relationships, Mystery, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: April 13th, 2020

496 Pages

Synopsis: Once upon a time, there was a wicked fairy who, in an act of vengeance, cursed a line of princesses to die. A curse that could only be broken by true love’s kiss.

You’ve heard this before, haven’t you? The handsome prince. The happily-ever-after.

Utter nonsense.

Let me tell you, no one in Briar really cares about what happens to their princesses. Not the way they care about their jewels and elaborate parties and charm-granting elixirs. I thought I didn’t care either.

Until I met her.

Princess Aurora. The last heir to Briar’s throne. Kind. Gracious. The future queen her realm needs. One who isn’t bothered that I am Alyce, the Dark Grace, abhorred and feared for the mysterious dark that runs in my veins. Humiliated and shamed by the same nobles who pay me to bottle hexes and then brand me a monster. Aurora says I should be proud of my gifts. That she…cares for me. Even though it was a power like mine that was responsible for her curse.

But with less than a year until that curse will kill her, any future I might see with Aurora is swiftly disintegrating—and she can’t stand to kiss yet another insipid prince. I want to help her. If my power began her curse, perhaps it’s what can lift it. Perhaps, together, we could forge a new world.

Nonsense again.

Because we all know how this story ends, don’t we? Aurora is the beautiful princess. And I—

I am the villain.

Malice is a master class in how to create a fairytale retelling. With her debut novel, Heather Walter has taken the beloved tale of Sleeping Beauty and embroidered it with gorgeous and unique embellishments that drew me in immediately from the first chapter and didn’t release me for hours after I finished. You all know how I endeavor not to include any spoilers in my reviews if I can help it, and I’m even more determined in this case because this is a tale you need to experience on your own with no preconceived notions or expectations. It’s both character-driven and plot-driven, with each perfectly complementing the other. This first book mainly concentrates on Alyce, and how she and her dark magic become a force to be reckoned with. While her relationship with Princess Aurora plays a role in who she becomes, their romance doesn’t truly factor in until the latter half of the book. I do warn that there’s a pretty passionate scene between Alyce and Aurora, so this is definitely not for younger YAs. A few of the secondary characters are molded from familiar characters, both from the original story and the Disney adaptation, but they all take on completely original characteristics of their own. The world building is visually detailed and helps bring the kingdom of Briar to life. While there’s not a lot of action in the first part of the book, I was so enthralled with Briar, its history and inhabitants, that I didn’t mind at all. The final few chapters though fairly explode, and the climactic ending has left me impatient for the sequel in this planned duology. I HIGHLY recommend this for older teens and adults who are looking for diverse fairytales with complex characters, rich world building, and engrossing storytelling. 

Be Dazzled, By Ryan La Sala ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Comic-Cons, Humor, LGBTQ Relationships, Romance, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: January 5th, 2021

384 Pages

Synopsis: Who’s ready to sparkle?

Project Runway goes to Comic Con in an epic queer love story about creativity, passion, and finding the courage to be your most authentic self.

Raffy has a passion for bedazzling. Not just bedazzling but sewing, stitching, draping, pattern making—for creation. He’s always chosen his art over everything—and everyone—else and is determined to make his mark at this year’s biggest cosplay competition. If we can wow there, it could lead to sponsorship, then art school, and finally earning real respect for his work. There’s only one small problem…Raffy’s ex-boyfriend, Luca, is his main competition.

Raffy tried to make it work with Luca. They almost made the perfect team last year after serendipitously in the rhinestone aisle at the local craft store—or at least Raffy thought they did. But Luca’s insecurities and Raffy’s insistence on crafting caused their relationship to crash and burn. Now Raffy is after the perfect comeback, one that Luca can’t ruin.

But when Raffy is forced to partner with Luca on his most ambitious build yet, he’ll have to juggle unresolved feelings for the boy who broke his heart and his own intense self-doubt, to get everything he’s ever wanted: choosing his art, his way.

Oh my goodness! Are you looking for the perfect escape? Are you looking for a book that will cause uncontrollable smiles even after you’ve finished? Are you looking for a book that will give you ALL the feels? Do I sound like a car salesman? Ahem. Anyway, if you answered yes to any of those questions I enthusiastically suggest you mark your 2021 calendar for January 5th. That’s the day Ryan La Salla’s Be Dazzled is coming out, and I can’t think of a better way to kick off what will hopefully be a better year, than reading this adorably whimsical romance.

What can I say? Some kids do drugs. Some kids start fires. I embroider in the dead of night, for the attention of strangers.

Raffy is a seventeen-year-old misfit who you just can’t help falling in love with. While his artist mother, Evie, has no issues with him being gay, she is horrified at his proclivity for crafting and cosplay, feeling it’s completely beneath him. There are some genuinely funny moments between them, but underneath that is an intriguing layer of familial discord. On the surface, Luca is an all American jock, yet he’s so desperate not to let down his parents, he keeps his sexuality a secret from them. There’s a sweet odd couple chemistry between both boys, and the chapters alternate between present day and the past which details how they met, and what led to their initial breakup. The supporting cast is wonderfully fleshed out, and the main setting of a Comic-Con adds to the fun. Be Dazzled is a delightful, heartwarming love story, that’s screaming to be adapted to film. If you’re looking for a book that will charm your socks off I can’t recommend highly enough, particularly to fans of books like Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda. 

The Belles, by Dhonelle Clayton ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Diversity, Fantasy, LGBTQ Relationships, YA Fiction

Thanks to Disney-Hyperion for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: February 6th, 2018

448 Pages

Synopsis: Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orleans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orleans, the people are born gray, they are born damned, and only with the help of a Belle and her talents can they transform and be made beautiful.

But it’s not enough for Camellia to be just a Belle. She wants to be the favorite—the Belle chosen by the Queen of Orleans to live in the royal palace, to tend to the royal family and their court, to be recognized as the most talented Belle in the land. But once Camellia and her Belle sisters arrive at court, it becomes clear that being the favorite is not everything she always dreamed it would be. Behind the gilded palace walls live dark secrets, and Camellia soon learns that the very essence of her existence is a lie—that her powers are far greater, and could be more dangerous, than she ever imagined. And when the queen asks Camellia to risk her own life and help the ailing princess by using Belle powers in unintended ways, Camellia now faces an impossible decision.

With the future of Orleans and its people at stake, Camellia must decide—save herself and her sisters and the way of the Belles—or resuscitate the princess, risk her own life, and change the ways of her world forever.

First, is that cover not exquisite? It perfectly fits the image of Camellia that I had in my mind. And to my delight, Belles not only lives up to the hype that’s surrounded it for months, but it is without a doubt one of the best debuts I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading! 

Everything in this story is meticulously developed and detailed, from the characters to the world-building. I actually had my doubts about Camellia in the beginning, because I thought she was a bit self- absorbed and full of herself. But almost before I knew it, I found myself admiring her self-confidence and gutsiness. I also loved the bond she shares with her fellow Belles. These girls are basically sisters, and while they may fight occasionally, at the end of the day they’re there for each other. As most of the story revolves around Camellia, I’m looking forward to getting to know the others more, although I can already tell that Edelweiss, the rebel, is going to be my favorite.

There’s a hint of a love triangle between Camellia, Remy (her personal guard), and August, who is one of Princess Sophie’s suitors. But while relationships do grow, there really isn’t a lot of time spent on the romance element, which I was quite happy about.

While there is a clear cut villain, what’s truly scary is Orlean’s dangerous obsession with physical perfection. The lengths they go to attain their perceived ideas of beauty are insane and cringeworthy. It had me thinking of our own society’s fixation on physical appearance, and I have no doubt that we would do the some of the same things if such magic or science existed. 

Dhonelle Clayton does a wonderful job creating this world where everything is so glittery and beautiful at first look, but underneath there’s a sordid darkness. I cannot stress enough that it’s all these descriptive details that really make this book. I was completely immersed while reading and more than once felt as though I was in the mythical world of Orleans. 

What I also loved about this book was the vast diversity of the characters and the very strong message it sends about not only our never ending pursuit of physical perfection, how other people shape our own personal beliefs. It also brings up the questions of how far would you go and how much is too much?

The plot itself is fast-paced and captivating and I feel like we’ve only scraped the surface of this intriguing world. The ending was absolutely perfect and wonderfully sets the stage for the next book.

Belles will definitely be in my top ten 2018 favorites list and I HIGHLY recommend it for older teens and adults who love fantasy and are looking for something completely different than anything they’ve ever read before. There one scene which features a sexual assault though that I want to warn you about. It’s brief, but some readers might have a problem with it. Otherwise, my only disappointment is that it will probably be at least a year before the next book is released. Oh, and if you do pick this up, Dhonelle Clayton’s Afterward where she talks about how this book took form is an inspirational must read!