In a land where the only path for a girl is to marry well, Maia dreams of becoming a great tailor like her father. She fights for her chance when she takes her father's place when he is called to the summer palace to compete for the Imperial Tailor position. Part Mulan, part Project runway, will Maia win, keep her identity secret, and attain her dream?
What if The Great Tasby was set in a magical, alternate American Jazz age? Where magic reigns supreme in the upper echelons, deals are made with literal devils, and relationships are still dramatic. Told through the eyes of Jordan, Daisy's best friend, a Vietnamese adoptee who has a magic and a love story to find of her own.
Finally! This book has given me the depiction I've wanted since I was child, that of a mermaid gnawing on raw viscera. Its an ashy and melodic tale that packs an impressively rich world into so few pages. Honk if you love mermaids! *HONK HONK*
This novella is a beautifully told fable that will stay with you long after you've read the last page. If you need a break from door-stoppers, but still want an impactful fantasy with immersive world-building - this is the book for you!
Trust when I say this is the cottagecore fantasy you have been waiting for! Clara's story is rife with romance and magic, but the heart of it all is a young woman just trying to save her father and regain control of her life.
It is rare for me to find a book both darkly funny and euphorically hopeful. When I think of TJ Klune, I expect a cozy, queer hug feeling while reading. This is true of IN THE LIVES OF PUPPETS and also there's something more happening. There's a new feeling unfurling as Victor, Gio, Nurse Ratched, and Rambo discover how much lies beyond the forest. It heightens as they face risks and dangers together. Whatever this new feeling, I want to stay in it as long as the story lets me.
A customer told me about Spear. She loved Griffith's novel Hild as much as I did and said that Spear is a substantial novella. This epic is set in the 6th century, following our hero, Per, all the way to the court of King Arthur. In her own words, Griffith calls this Camelot "queered six ways from Sunday" yet, that is largely "peripheral." Griffith is a local author, and clearly enjoyed her research - there are some wonderful words: gralloched, geas, bog butter, shaving coins like a thief, skystone. The magic here is unlike anything else, it's fresh and sweet. Even though shorter than a novel, it's rich in detail: a fly is "hurrying by;" there are "skeins of geese" in the sky; midges that "darn the air."
What an absolute delight! I will be sharing this cozy story of found family and new beginnings with many friends. Legends & Lattes is a single sitting read that is best paired with a steaming hot coffee and cinnamon pastry (trust me, you'll get it).
I don't know how to talk about Nettle & Bone without gushing. It's a hero's journey. It's a retold fairytale. It's dark and grim and terrible. It has a bone dog and cackling elders and so many clever lines. It perseveres and gives you hope, at its most improbable moments. It is somehow tender. And I just want more in this world because while Marra's particular tale is complete and perfect, the rest of the world is so expansive that I want more.
"The first nice thing I ever did to my body was tear it open."
Reading this book wasn't the first nice thing I've ever done for myself, but it may be among the best. Jarboe's writing is queer and unrepentant, gay and unashamed. These stories gnawed on me, and I came away feeling holy--or maybe just full of holes, hard to say.
