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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 -
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
“He spoke the spell under his breath, still a little uncertain after the agonies he had endured. But magic came, ever his friend—magic answered his call.” Written in a playful pastiche style Sorcerer to the Crown will certainly appeal to fans of Susanna Clarke, Neil Gaiman, and Diana Wynne Jones. Cho’s bombastic prose, characterized by…
1800s, 1810s, 19TH CENTURY, 3rd pov, 4 STARS, academia, Adult, adventure, all girls school, alternate history, bombastic style, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, curses, DRAGONS, FAERIES, FAIRYLAND, FANTASY, FANTASY OF MANNERS, favourite authors, female authors, HISTORICAL FICTION, HUMOR, MAGIC, magic school, Malaysian author, My reviews, playful style, published in 2015, re-reads, read in 2016, read in 2021, reading, Regency era, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, Sorcerer Royal, WARLOCKS/WIZARDS, WITCHES, Zen Cho -
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
“There was no one clear point of loss. It happened over and over again in a thousand small ways and the only truth there was to learn was that there was no getting used to.” Boasting her signature writing style State of Wonder is a captivating and thought-provoking read. Ann Patchett’s quiet yet graceful prose…
3rd pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, Adult, age gap, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, ANN PATCHETT, beautiful prose, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, brazil, doctors, Dreams, favourite authors, female authors, GRIEF, identity, latin america, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, MAGICAL REALISM, minnesota, morality, motherhood, My reviews, nature, published in 2011, re-reads, read in 2016, read in 2021, reading, restrained prose, science, scientists & co, State of Wonder, summer reads, travel -
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 -
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Secret History lives rent free in my head. It is a masterpiece. A thing of rare beauty. A tour de force. A literary triumph. “One likes to think there’s something in it, that old platitude amor vincit omnia. But if I’ve learned one thing in my short sad life, it is that that particular…
1980s, 1st pov, 20th century, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, academia, addiction, Adult, ALIENATION, AMERICAN AUTHOR, anxiety, beautiful prose, beauty, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, California, campus, class, cliques, Contemporary, CRIME, dark, dark academia, DEATH, donna tartt, ennui, existentialism, female authors, friendships, gay side characters, GUILT, HISTORICAL FICTION, identity, incest, introspective, it’s about the *yearning*, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, MEMORY, modern classics, morality, MURDER, My reviews, MYSTERY, obsession, philosophical, PRIVILEGE, psychological, Psychological thriller, published in 1992, queer undercurrents, re-reads, read in 2016, read in 2021, reading, rich people, SUSPENSE, terrific prose, the secret history, THRILLER, toxic relationships, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, unrequited love, Vermont, whydunnit, WINTER -
Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
That I choose to re-read this confirms that I do indeed have masochistic tendencies. “I did not want him to know me. I did not want anyone to know me.” In a striking prose, James Baldwin unfurls a disquieting tale of cowardice and self-deception. In many ways, Giovanni’s Room reads as a confession of sorts,…
1950s, 4 STARS, ALIENATION, ambiguous protagonist, America, American, american classics, beautiful prose, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, CLASSICS, existentialism, favourite authors, forgiveness, FRANCE, gay, Giovanni's Room, GUILT, HISTORICAL FICTION, identity, introspective, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, lgbtq+ classics, m/m, male authors, masculinity, modern classics, My reviews, Paris, psychological, published in 1956, queer, re-reads, read in 2016, read in 2021, reading, ROMANCE, SEXUALITY, terrific prose, tragedy -
The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin
“Alas: in the Stillness, destroying mountains is as easy as an orogene toddler’s temper tantrum. Destroying a people takes only a bit more effort.” Now this is how you write a sequel.Jemisin has done it again. This series is simply spectacular. “It’s not hate that you’re seeing. Hate requires emotion. What this woman has simply…
5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, afrofuturism, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Black & Black heritage authors, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), environmental, fantastic worldbuilding, FANTASY, favourite authors, FOLKLORE, high fantasy, lgbtq+ side, MAGIC, morality, mothers & daughters, N.K. Jemisin, nature, philosophical, POWERS, published in 2016, queer side characters, re-reads, read in 2016, read in 2020, SCI-FI, SPECULATIVE FICTION, survival, The Broken Earth, The Obelisk Gate, trans side characters -
Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater
“This thing they were doing. This thing. Gansey’s heart was a gaping chasm of possibilities, fearful and breathless and awed.” Blue Lily, Lily Blue is probably my second favourite book in TRC series. Bittersweet and magical Blue Lily, Lily Blue is a truly enchanting novel. Like its predecessors, this instalment in TRC series is characterized…
3rd pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, academia, adventure, ALIENATION, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, blue lily lily blue, boarding/private school, class, cliques, Contemporary, curses, dark academia, dreamers, Dreams, fairytalesque prose, FANTASY, favourite authors, female authors, friendships, gay, ghosts/spirits, great storytelling, henrietta, HIGH SCHOOL, it’s about the *yearning*, lgbtq+, loneliness, Longing, m/m, Maggie Stiefvater, MAGIC, MAGICAL REALISM, MYSTERY, PARANORMAL, published in 2014, queer, re-reads, read in 2016, read in 2020, read in 2021, rich people, ROMANCE, SMALL TOWN, strong sense of place, tarots, terrific prose, the raven cycle, TRC, YOUNG ADULT -
The Charioteer by Mary Renault — book review
“He was filled with a vast sense of the momentous, of unknown mysteries. He did not know what he should demand of himself, nor did it seem to matter, for he had not chosen this music he moved to, it had chosen him.” This is the fifth time I’ve read The Charioteer and once again I’ve been…
1930S, 1940s, 20th century, 3rd pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, academia, beautiful prose, bildungsroman, boarding/private school, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, British author, british classics, CLASSICS, coming of age, england, existentialism, family, favourite authors, female authors, first love, friendships, gay, greek myths, HISTORICAL FICTION, HOSPITAL, identity, introspective, it’s about the *yearning*, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, lgbtq+ classics, LITERARY FICTION, Longing, love triangle, m/m, male friendships, Mary Renault, masculinity, modern classics, morality, mothers & sons, My reviews, philosophical, psychological, published in 1953, queer, re-reads, read in 2016, read in 2017, read in 2018, read in 2020, read in 2021, ROMANCE, SEXUALITY, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, The Charioteer, unrequited love, WWII -
American Gods by Neil Gaiman — book review
“Gods die. And when they truly die they are unmourned and unremembered. Ideas are more difficult to kill than people, but they can be killed, in the end.” It isn’t surprising that American Gods is regarded as one of the genre-bending novels of all time. Over the course of 500 pages Neil Gaiman deftly blends…
2000s, 3rd pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, Adult, adventure, affairs, afterlife, ambiguous protagonist, America, American, American Gods, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, British author, Chicago, Contemporary, DEATH, Dreams, FANTASY, fathers & sons, favourite authors, FOLKLORE, gay side characters, gods, great storytelling, heist, HISTORICAL FICTION, history, Illinois, lgbtq+ side, MAGIC, MAGICAL REALISM, male authors, minnesota, MYSTERY, myths, Neil Gaiman, PARANORMAL, prison, published in 2001, re-reads, read in 2016, read in 2020, Religion, road trip, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, SPECULATIVE FICTION, story within a story, Storytelling, SUPERNATURAL, tennessee, URBAN FANTASY, violence, Wisconsin, zombies & undead
luce [is reading] 