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The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri
well, my expectations were destroyed so i guess i got what i wanted 🤡 The second book syndrome was strong in this one. If you’ve read my review for The Jasmine Throne you know how much I loved that book (i think i described it as one of the best fantasy novels out there)…sadly I…
2 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, ANGST, battles, british indian author, court intrigue, DEATH, f/f, FANTASY, female authors, high fantasy, indian inspired setting, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, myths, political intrigue, published in 2022, queer, read in 2022, revenge, ROMANCE, royals, sapphic, siblings, TASHA SURI, temples, The Oleander Sword, war -
The Red Palace by June Hur
“I wanted to love and be loved. I wanted to be known. I wanted to be understood and accepted.” The Red Palace makes for a fairly suspenseful read, one that will definitely appeal to fans of YA mysteries where the lead girl goes all Nancy Drew trying to figure out who the culprit is. And…
18th century, 1st pov, 3 STARS, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, canadian korean author, class, court intrigue, doctors, female authors, HISTORICAL FICTION, June Hur, Korea, MURDER, murder investigation, murder mystery, My reviews, MYSTERY, palace, PRIVILEGE, published in 2022, read in 2022, reading, The Red Palace, YOUNG ADULT -
Tithe by Holly Black
“It was one thing to believe in faeries; it was totally another thing if you weren’t allowed to even have a choice about it. If they could just walk into your normal life, then they were a part of normal life, and she could no longer separate the unreal world from the real one.” Holly…
2000s, 3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Contemporary, court intrigue, dark fantasy, FAERIES, FAIRY TALES, FAIRYLAND, fairytalesque prose, FANTASY, favourite authors, female authors, gay side characters, HOLLY BLACK, lgbtq+ side, MAGIC, Modern Faerie Tales, My reviews, new jersey, PARANORMAL, published in 2002, re-reads, read in 2007, read in 2016, read in 2021, reading, ROMANCE, Tithe, URBAN FANTASY, YOUNG ADULT -
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
“Desire is the cause of all suffering. All Zhu had ever desired was to live. Now she felt the pure strength of that desire inside her, as inseparable as her breath or qi, and knew she would suffer from it. She couldn’t even begin to imagine the awful magnitude of the suffering that would be…
14th century, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, Adult, ALIENATION, anti-hero, Asian Australian author, battles, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, China, court intrigue, f/f, FANTASY, friendships, gender identity, ghosts/spirits, HISTORICAL FICTION, identity, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, loneliness, MAGIC, monasteries, mongolia, myths, netgalley, political intrigue, published in 2021, queer, read in 2021, RETELLINGS, revenge, sapphic, She Who Became the Sun, Shelley Parker-Chan, terrific prose, war -
The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
“Trust me, her face said.That was the problem with making allies. At some point, inevitably, there came a moment when a decision had to be made: Could this one be trusted? Had their loyalty been won? Was their generosity a façade for a hidden knife?” I more or less inhaled this 500+ page novel in…
3rd pov, 4.5 STARS, Adult, big books, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, british indian author, court intrigue, DEATH, f/f, fantastic worldbuilding, FANTASY, female authors, high fantasy, indian inspired setting, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, MAGIC, morality, myths, netgalley, political intrigue, published in 2021, queer, re-reads, read in 2021, read in 2022, revenge, royals, sapphic, siblings, TASHA SURI, temples, THE JASMINE THRONE, violence -
A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine
“Trust is not an endlessly renewable resource. Loyalty might be. For longer.” With A Desolation Called Peace Arkady has achieved something quite rare in a sequel. In fact, I liked A Desolation Called Peace so much so that, when I looked back to my review for A Memory Called Empire, I found much of…
3rd pov, 4 STARS, A Desolation Called Peace, Adult, ALIENS, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Arkady Martine, court intrigue, cultural dissonance, f/f, female authors, language, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, morality, netgalley, philosophical, political intrigue, politics, published in 2021, queer, read in 2021, sapphic, SCI-FI, SPACE, space battles, SPACE OPERA, spaceships, SPECULATIVE FICTION, Teixcalaan, terrific prose, war -
Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard
I was intrigued by this novella’s premise—The Goblin Emperor meets Howl’s Moving Castle in a Vietnamese inspired setting—by its cover and of course by the promise of sapphic love story. Sadly, I can’t say that Fireheart Tiger was a particularly good read.As per usual, if you are thinking of reading this I recommend you read…
1st pov, 2.5 STARS, Aliette de Bodard, court intrigue, f/f, FANTASY, female authors, Fireheart Tiger, French American Vietnamese author, high fantasy, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, MAGIC, netgalley, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, palace, published in 2021, queer, read in 2020, ROMANCE, royals, sapphic, Vietnamese inspired setting -
Queen of Coin and Whispers by Helen Corcoran — book review
Queen of Coin and Whispers is a very generic YA fantasy novel. While it is not necessarily badly written, its story, setting, and characters are both forgettable and lacklustre. What initially drew me to Queen of Coin and Whispers was its F/F romance. Once I began reading this book I quickly realised that the queer…
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Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel — book review
To simply define Wolf Hall as being a historical narrative seems unfair. The word ‘historical’ conjures a sense of events that happened a long time ago. Wolf Hall, unlike most historical fiction, struck me for the immediacy and urgency of its narrative. While the events Hilary Mantel writes have occurred nearly half a millennium ago,…
1500s, 16th century, 3.5 STARS, anne boleyn, big books, BOOK REVIEWS, booker-prize, Booklr, British author, british history, court intrigue, england, female authors, Henry VIII, Hilary Mantel, HISTORICAL FICTION, LONDON, philosophical, political intrigue, politics, psychological, published in 2009, Putney, read in 2020, Religion, royals, Thomas Cromwell, tudor period, Wolf Hall -
The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black – book review
Court intrigue ahoy! “We have lived in our armor for so long, you and I. And now I am not sure if either of us knows how to remove it.” Holly Black’s sensual and lush writing style perfectly complements the menacing world her heroine inhabits. Black’s silvery prose brims with lavish descriptions: she renders the…
1st pov, 4 STARS, AMERICAN AUTHOR, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, BOOKWORM, court intrigue, ENEMIES TO LOVERS, f/f side, FAERIES, FAIRY TALES, FAIRYLAND, FANTASY, favourite authors, female authors, HOLLY BLACK, HYPED, lgbtq+ side, MAGIC, PARANORMAL, queer side characters, READ IN 2019, REVIEW, ROMANCE, sea, THE CRUEL PRINCE, the folk of the air, the queen of nothing, URBAN FANTASY, YOUNG ADULT
luce [is reading] 