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The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard
Sherlock Holmes with a space opera twist…it works! An entertaining novella! This is one of the most refreshing Sherlock Holmes-inspired tales. The space opera setting was such fun! The Watnsonesque character here is The Shadow’s Child, a transport ship that lost its crew in a traumatic experience and now earns a living by brewing drugs […]
3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, adventure, Aliette de Bodard, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, DETECTIVE, female authors, French American Vietnamese author, futuristic, LGBTQ+ Author, light reads, MYSTERY, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, published in 2018, read in 2022, RETELLINGS, SCI-FI, sherlockiana, SPACE, SPACE OPERA, spaceships, SPECULATIVE FICTION, The Tea Master and the Detective, Vietnamese inspired setting -
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh
The YA genre seems saturated by heroines who are (allegedly) neither beautiful nor intelligent but they are spunky and clumsy and bursting with goodness. Well, I have had my fill of these girls. Wholesome, vanilla, inoffensive, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is a relatively enjoyable YA read that tone-wise will definitely appeal to […]
1st pov, 3 STARS, adventure, Axie Oh, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, curses, FANTASY, female authors, ghosts/spirits, gods, HISTORICAL FICTION, korean american author, korean inspired setting, MAGIC, My reviews, myths, Not Like Other Girls, published in 2022, read in 2022, reading, RETELLINGS, ROMANCE, sea, spirit realm, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, weak worldbuilding, YOUNG ADULT -
Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan
In many ways Sex and Vanity was exactly the pulpy light-hearted read I was in dire need of. Kevin Kwan’s engrossing and entertaining storytelling made me speed through his book and I ended up finishing it in less than a day. As retellings go, this manages to be both (fairly) faithful and rather refreshing. What […]
1st pov, 2010s, 3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, America, American, asian american, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, cheating, class, Contemporary, dialogue heavy, drama, E.M. Forster, family, gossip & scandals, holidays, HUMOR, Italy, kevin kwan, LGBTQ+ Author, light reads, Long Island, male authors, MARRIAGE, My reviews, NEW YORK, new york state, PRIVILEGE, published in 2020, read in 2021, reading, RETELLINGS, rich people, ROMANCE, romcom, satire, Sex and Vanity, singaporean american author, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, summer reads, travel, wedding drama -
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
“But I have no faith in love. Love cannot save me.I choose vengeance.” Xiran Jay Zhao has written an ambitious debut novel that should definitely appeal to fans of Pacific Rim & The Hunger Games. Iron Widow is likely one of the most creative books that I’ve read this year (which is saying something given […]
1st pov, 2 STARS, action, alternate history, arc, battles, bi side characters, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, China, chinese author, chinese inspired setting, DEATH, dystopia, FANTASY, Iron Widow, LGBTQ+ Author, lgbtq+ side, m/f/m romance, My reviews, netgalley, Not Like Other Girls, polyamory, reading, RETELLINGS, revenge, SCI-FI, trying and failing @ feminism, violence, weak prose, weak worldbuilding, Xiran Jay Zhao, YOUNG ADULT -
Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi
In the last few weeks I’ve read two works by Oyeyemi (Peaces and What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours) and what I liked most about them was how funny, inventive, and unapologetically queer they were. So, naturally, I was somewhat surprised and saddened to discover that Boy, Snow, Bird lacks any of those qualities. […]
1950s, 1960s, 1st pov, 2 STARS, 20th century, abuse, Adult, America, American, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, doubles, evil stepmother, FAIRY TALES, FANTASY, female authors, female doubles, Helen Oyeyemi, HISTORICAL FICTION, jealousy, lgbtq+ side, Massachusetts, mothers & daughters, My reviews, NEW YORK, nigerian british author, problematic, published in 2013, RACE, read in 2021, reading, RETELLINGS, SISTERS, surreal, trans side characters -
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 -
How to Find a Princess by Alyssa Cole
“A princess and her lady knight—the kind of fairy tale she’d always wanted, if she had to be a princess.” Perhaps I hyped myself so much so that disappointment was inevitable. How to Find a Princess was one of my most anticipated 2021 releases and I can’t say that I loved it. It had its […]
3 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, Alyssa Cole, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Contemporary, drama, f/f, female authors, How To Find A Princess, HUMOR, ISLAND, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, light reads, My reviews, Neurodiversity, published in 2021, queer, read in 2021, reading, RETELLINGS, road trip, rom-coms, ROMANCE, royals, sea, ship -
Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim
“My stepmother had broken me. She’d cast me away from my brothers, my family, my home. Even from myself.” First things first: that cover. I mean….words cannot describe how beautiful it is.Ever since watching early 2000s Barbie movies reading Juliet Marillier’s spellbinding books I’ve had a soft spot for retellings and I’m happy to say […]
1st pov, 4 STARS, adventure, AMERICAN AUTHOR, arc, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, brothers, chinese inspired setting, curses, Elizabeth Lim, evil stepmother, FAIRY TALES, FANTASY, female authors, great storytelling, high fantasy, japanese inspired setting, MAGIC, My reviews, myths, netgalley, palace, published in 2021, read in 2021, reading, RETELLINGS, ROMANCE, royals, siblings, Six Crimson Cranes, the brothers who were turned into birds, YOUNG ADULT -
Sarahland by Sam Cohen
Kinky, offbeat, and playful, Sarahland is a madcap story collection. Most of the stories focus on queer Jewish young women who are named or rename themselves Sarah. Their quest for identity and love leads them astray from traditional notions of femininity and adulthood. They become entangled in parasitic relationships, lose and regain their sense of […]
Adult, America, American, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, cliques, collection of short stories, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), ennui, existentialism, f/f, female authors, feverish, HUMOR, identity, Jewish, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, MAGICAL REALISM, millennial, My reviews, prostitution, published in 2021, queer, read in 2021, reading, Religion, RETELLINGS, Sam Cohen, sapphic, Sarahland, sex, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SEXUALITY, short stories, surreal, trans side characters, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, unrequited love, weird -
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