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The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett
Quietly meditative yet incredibly evocative. I find it difficult to pick favorites when it comes to Patchett’s work but The Magician’s Assistant has my heart. Published in 1997 Ann Patchett’s third novel, The Magician’s Assistant is her most underrated work to date. Like with any other novel that I hold dear to my heart, I…
1990s, 3rd pov, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, abuse, Adult, aids/hiv, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, ANN PATCHETT, atmospheric, beautiful prose, California, Contemporary, DEATH, dreamlike quality, Dreams, f/f, favourite authors, female authors, friendships, gay side characters, GRIEF, illness, introspective, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, Longing, los angeles, m/m side, MAGIC, MAGICAL REALISM, magicians, melancholy, MEMORY, Nebraska, published in 1997, queer, re-reads, read in 2016, read in 2017, read in 2022, restrained prose, sapphic, SLICE OF LIFE, SMALL TOWN, strong sense of place, The Magician's Assistant, travel, unrequited love, WINTER -
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Usually, when I read a book I know how I feel about it—whether I loved it, really liked it, thought it was just okay, or disliked it—and I have an idea of how to articulate my feelings. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is one of those rare books that has me really torn up and…
1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 20th century, 3 STARS, abortion/miscarriage/bodily autonomy, academia, Adult, age gap, America, anxiety, asian american, big books, books that make me mad, California, cambridge (us), class, coming of age, Contemporary, DEATH, DEPRESSION, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), disabilities, drama, female authors, friendships, Gabrielle Zevin, gay side characters, GRIEF, growing up, GUILT, Harvard, HISTORICAL FICTION, horrible friends, Jewish, korean american author, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, los angeles, m/m side, Massachusetts, mental health, nostalgic reads, Not Like Other Girls, orphans, published in 2022, queer side characters, ROMANCE, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, toxic relationships, trauma, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, unrequited love, videogames, work culture -
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
This makes for a very wholesome read that will definitely appeal to fans of T.J. Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea. Set in Britain, we follow Mika Moon, a witch who has learnt to live an isolated life in order to successfully hide her magic from others. Like other witches, she is an orphan…
3 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, british indian author, cheesy, Contemporary, cozy mystery, england, FANTASY, female authors, found family, gay side characters, grumpy/sunshine dynamic, HUMOR, lgbtq+ side, light reads, m/m side, MAGIC, NORFOLK, orphans, playful style, published in 2022, queer side characters, read in 2022, ROMANCE, Sangu Mandanna, sitter/au pair/governess, teachers, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, WITCHES -
The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope
In many ways The Monsters We Defy delivers on its premise: we follow a ‘ragtag’ crew as they prepare and execute a heist to save themselves and their community. It did manage to hold my attention and even delivered some fairly entertaining scenes and/or dazzling descriptions, and I can see this appealing to fans of…
1920s, 20th century, actors, Adult, adventure, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Black & Black heritage authors, FANTASY, female authors, ghosts/spirits, heist, HISTORICAL FICTION, insta love, Leslye Penelope, lgbtq+ side, m/m side, MYSTERY, occult, PARANORMAL, POWERS, published in 2022, queer side characters, read in 2022, ROMANCE, seances, spiritualism, The Monsters We Defy, URBAN FANTASY, Washington DC -
The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova
When she left Ecuador for good, she learned how to leave pieces of herself behind. Pieces that her descendants would one day try to collect to put her back together. In The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina, Zoraida Córdova combines an intergenerational family drama with magical realism, and the end result will certainly appeal to fans…
20th century, 3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, America, American, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Contemporary, curses, DEATH, drama, Ecuadorian American author, fairytalesque prose, family, FAMILY SAGA, FANTASY, female authors, gay side characters, HISTORICAL FICTION, latin america, latin american, latinx author, lgbtq+ side, m/m side, MAGICAL REALISM, My reviews, published in 2021, read in 2021, reading, The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina, Zoraida Córdova -
The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen
“My American adolescence was filled with tales of woe like this, all of them proof of what my mother said, that we did not belong here. In a country where possessions counted for everything, we had no belongings except our stories.” The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen is a collection of short stories centring on…
1970s, 3 STARS, Adult, America, American, American dream, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, collection of short stories, Contemporary, conversational style, cultural dissonance, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), family, gay side characters, HISTORICAL FICTION, identity, intergenerational, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, m/m side, male authors, migration/immigration, My reviews, PUBLISHED IN 2017, read in 2021, reading, short stories, social issues, The Refugees, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Vietnam, vietnam war, Vietnamese American Author -
Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King
“You become a creature I can’t understand, my mother sometimes said to me.” Having loved Lily King’s Writers & Lovers I was looking forward to reading more of her work and I can happily say (or write) that her first-ever collection of short stories did not disappoint. More often than not I find short story…
4 STARS, Adult, age gap, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, books about writers, collection of short stories, Contemporary, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), family, favourite authors, female authors, holidays, introspective, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, m/m side, rich people, short stories, sitter/au pair/governess, Summer, summer reads, unrequited love -
The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould
“Ghosts are death, but maybe death can mean different things.” Spooky, sapphic, summery, The Dead and the Dark delivers on all of these. Fans of YA paranormal YA novels like Beware the Wild or Stiefvater’s TRC or even graphic-novels such as The Low, Low Woods, should definitely consider giving Courtney Gould’s debut a shot. The…
3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, America, American, atmospheric, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, creepy setting, f/f, family, FANTASY, female authors, gay side characters, ghosts/spirits, HORROR, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, m/m side, missing boys, MURDER, My reviews, MYSTERY, Oregon, PARANORMAL, published in 2021, queer, read in 2021, reading, sapphic, secretiveness, SMALL TOWN, Summer, summer reads, The Dead and the Dark, THRILLER, YOUNG ADULT -
Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby
aaaand Cosby’s done it again! “Tears ran from his eyes and stung his cheeks. Tears for his son. Tears for his wife. Tears for the little girl they had to raise. Tears for who they were and what they all had lost. Each drop felt like it was slicing his face open like a razorblade.”…
3rd pov, 4 STARS, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Contemporary, CRIME, DEATH, fathers & sons, favourite authors, forgiveness, gay side characters, GRIEF, grit lit, GUILT, lgbtq+ side, m/m side, male authors, MURDER, My reviews, MYSTERY, Poverty, prison, published in 2021, RACE, read in 2021, reading, revenge, S.A. Cosby, social issues, Southern America, summer reads, terrific prose, THRILLER, trans side characters, violence, virginia -
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo
“He wanted something agreeable, something sweeter around the edges, but I was never very good at sweet.” This is one of those rare cases where I ended up preferring a retelling to the original. I’ve only read The Great Gatsby once and at the risk of incurring the wrath & contempt of Fitzgerald aficionados, I…
1920s, 1st pov, 3.5 STARS, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, beautiful prose, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, cheating, class, drama, FANTASY, female authors, HISTORICAL FICTION, it’s about the *aesthetics*, jealousy, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, Long Island, m/m side, MAGIC, MAGICAL REALISM, My reviews, NEW YORK, obsession, published in 2021, queer, read in 2021, reading, RETELLINGS, rich people, The Great Gatsby, unrequited love
luce [is reading] 