Magical cities are one of my favourite tropes in fantasy novels. I think I could read nothing but magical city fiction for a while and take a long time to feel sated or bored; there is so much room for variation. Camorr from The Lies of Locke Lamora is an example that readily springs to mind, but this is a very old trope. As its title implies, City of Strife is very much a story…
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Yes, hello, hi, someone asked nicely on Twitter and got an eARC of City of Betrayal and that someone was me, but then I went and didn’t read it until near the publication date anyway because … busy … and not wanting to sit on my review, but also wanting to hype it up closer to publication. So, although this is an honest review, it most certainly is biased, because I liked City of…
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What's better than a magical mystery? A magical mystery featuring baked goods, you say? Sign me up! Baker Thief is a conventions-busting, inclusive, fun alternate world urban fantasy novel with mysteries and thrills and no small amount of underdogs taking on the corrupt underbelly of corporations.
It is, in short, a good read.
Adèle is a detective recently relocated and transferred to a new unit. Shortly after moving in, a masked, purple-haired thief named Claire…
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Full disclosure: I was a Kickstarter backer for this book. I was very excited for Common Bonds, because I am aromantic, but that’s an identity that isn’t well-represented in mainstream media (and when it is, it’s usually conflated with/paired with asexuality—I am also asexual, but I like the split attraction model because it helps me discuss my experiences with nuance). A great deal of this review will be me talking about the importance of…
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Sometimes you just want to find your place in the world. But what if that place proves to be a quest to help someone regain their memories? And that someone can also turn into a tree? Such is the dilemma of the protagonist of Awakenings, the first novella in a new series by Claudie Arseneault. I received a copy in exchange for a review.
Horace, described in the dramatis personae as an “embo extraordinaire,”…
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What’s worse than not having a place in the world? Finding your place only to feel like it might be ripped away from you. Claudie Arseneault dangles this prospect in front of readers with Flooded Secrets, the second book in her Chronicles of Nerezia series of novellas. I was impressed by Awakenings because it felt so cozy. This book builds on that success while also revealing the first layer of even more potent themes…
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How do we choose who we are? Or are we simply born to be something, our fate fixed from the start? The Sea Spirit Festival tackles weighty questions for such a brief novella. Claudie Arseneault continues The Chronicles of Nerezia with a high-stakes, dramatic story that centres Aliyah even Horace continues to grow into the hero e hopes to be. I received an eARC in exchange for a review.
Our intrepid adventurers have made it…