Fantasy

Circe

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Title: Circe

Author: Madeline Miller

Year: 2018

Genre: Greek Mythology, Fantasy, 

Queer shit: none? It doesn’t make sense that mythology isn’t more queer because it all seems like it should be super queer and then they just procreate

Vibe Check: Greek Mythology, the dream and nightmare of living on an island alone, witch, revenge, toxic family drama, found family, finding/building your destiny

Pile of Opinions: I was not prepared for this book as I knew nothing about Greek mythology apparently. I need to read more descriptions of books before I read them. Also how do I not know more about Greek mythology? Anyways, definitely know the vague outline of the story or look up content warnings so you aren’t blindsided like I was. That was my bad. Circe is the daughter of a god and doesn’t have value to him or the family. She ends up being sent to an island as punishment and spends her days learning spells and witchcraft because she learns she is a witch. The story takes place over hundreds of years and is so well told and weaves the characters throughout the stories in a way that I was able to keep up with even though I usually forget who is who. I would recommend reading this over a few weeks or less unless you already know the characters already or you might get confused. The book can feel like a slow start since it spans so much time but if you look at it as the overarching collection of stories then it cruises along smoothly in my opinion. I enjoyed the humanness even from the gods and how the author explored power dynamics, perceived value, and abuse of power. Greek mythology is a whole ride. I did know enough about mythology to be prepared for the violence in the book and it actually wasn’t as prevalent as I thought it might be. Look up content warnings if you don’t know the stories. If you are prepared for this book, I think it really lived up to the hype and I really enjoyed it. If you’ve read it, let me know your thoughts in the comments. 

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Legends & Lattes

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Book Review (more just a pile of my personal opinions from my personal experiences)

Title: Legends & Lattes

Author: Travis Baldree

Year: 2022

Genre: Fiction, fantasy, gaslamp fantasy, romance, coffee shop

Queer shit: Yup! Lead character, also baked goods, tell me cinnamon rolls aren’t queer!

Vibe Check: Viv is done fighting beasts and ready to open a coffee shop in a new town, but first she has to build it (and teach people what coffee is)

Pile of Opinions: Viv is an orc ready to leave the violence of swords and quests behind and settle down into a new town and build a coffee shop and community. She faces obstacles and has to overcome some local trouble makers but this low stakes fantasy is as cozy as your favorite coffee shop. I recommend this to anyone who likes stories, liking fantasy or coffee is not a prerequisite. I don’t have much to say about this book other than you should read it and it immediately became one of my favorites so go read it then come tell me what you liked. The found family/community aspect of this absolutely melted my heart and the characters were all unique and delightful. There is a character that is nearly non-verbal, there is queer shit, and there is baked goods and coffee. Let me know if you’ve read it and what you thought.

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Blanca and Roja

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Book Review (more just a pile of my personal opinions from my personal experiences)

Title: Blanca and Roja

Author: Anna-Marie McLemore

Year: 2018

Genre: YA Fantasy/Fiction/Folktales/swans

Queer shit: Trans/non-binary, queer relationship, gender fluidity and expression, pronouns. 

Vibe Check: the vibe of this was kind of like panicked siblings left unsupervised. I really liked that set up though because it also was big about the complex nature of sibling relationships and how your siblings can be your best friends and your biggest enemies then back to your best friends in the same conversation. Sibling dynamics are very interesting and very sacred to me. Also big swan vibes. 

Pile of Opinions: Anna-Marie McLemore has quickly become one of my favorite authors the last couple years after a friend introduced me to their work. I love the folklore vibes of all their books (that I have read so far) and thoroughly enjoy how the stories are told. Blanca and Roja are sisters but their family has a dark curse; each generation always has two daughters, and one is always taken by the swans due to a questionable deal made with the swans generations ago. The sisters must work together to find a solution, but the sisters are also rivals because you don’t know who the swans will take. This book covered sibling bonds, exploring gender identity and expression, delicious apples, and teen shenanigans. I really enjoyed this story and wish I had all of McLemore’s books when I was younger. The way they keep mystery throughout the story and sweep you up in storytelling is beautiful and soul-healing. I find myself getting caught up in the characters and don’t try to predict the outcome, I just enjoy the storytelling. 

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The Brooklyn Brujas Series: Labyrinth Lost, Bruja Born, and Wayward Witch

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Book Review (more just a pile of my personal opinions from my personal experiences)

Title: The Brooklyn Brujas Series: Labyrinth Lost, Bruja Born, and Wayward Witch

Author: Zoraida Cordova

Year: 2016, 2018, 2019

Genre: YA Fiction/Fantasy, witches(bruja, brujo, brujex), 

Queer shit: Queer relationship, non-binary character (brujex)

Vibe Check: I…..confused myself (not uncommon) and accidentally read the third book first. The first book was all about the middle child vibes and explored wanting something different for your life than what your family chose, fighting with and against magical beings in another realm. The second book is about the oldest sister and explores outward beauty and its impact on our self-worth and identity, grief and loss, and was simultaneously my favorite and least favorite book of the series. I really didn’t like most of the plot because of reasons I’ll list below, and loved the overarching themes throughout. The third book is about the youngest sister and explores bonds with parents being different, personal power and identity, and includes more fighting with and against magical creatures in yet another realm.  

Pile of Opinions: 

Labyrinth Lost: I feel like this book would have had a bigger impact on me if I had read the books in order. I enjoyed the adventure and relationships and setting the scenes with family and traditions and normalcy, I just loved the 3rd one so much more that reading this one after the 3rd felt like a step back. I highly recommend reading these books in order as the author intended and not doing what I did haha Read the order of books in a series before you start reading, learn from my mistakes! I did enjoy this book and would recommend the entire series if you like witches and family and adventures. 

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Bruja Born: This was my least favorite of the series because it was about zombies. Something turns like the entire high school into zombies and hearts are being ripped out and eaten and it was just not for me at all. It was a great story and well told, I just really hate zombies and concepts surrounding fighting zombies.

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Wayward Witch: This is the third book in this series and I accidentally read it first because it happens. I loved this one the most out of the three. Maybe I am biased because it was about the youngest sister and I am the youngest sibling in my family. Also maybe because a non-binary character shows up. I enjoyed the adventure and the relationships of this one as Rose learned to use her powers and fight forces when she and her dad end up in a magical realm that traps her dad in a tower and sends her on a quest to fight powers destroying the realm. This book explained enough back story throughout it as a review that I wasn’t that confused reading this one first.

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Forestborn

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Book Review (more just a pile of my personal opinions from my personal experiences)

Title: Forestborn

Author: Elayne Audrey Becker

Year: 2021

Genre: YA fantasy fiction/super adventure/siblings 

Queer shit: gay characters in main circle, character in passing described as ‘androgenous’ and ‘they’ pronouns used (it was like 4 sentences and it mattered so it is here)

Vibe Check: Wow. just wow. This book is an amazing adventure and I now care too deeply for all the characters and need more people to read this book so I can talk through my feelings and cry with someone about it.

Pile of Opinions: This is book one, book 2 comes out this year (2022) maybe in the fall? The story is about a magical plague making people sick and a brother and a sister getting caught up in the king’s court trying to help solve the problem since no one really knows what the disease is or why it’s happening. The siblings are shape shifters but can’t shift into just anything, they each have a specific set of options that show up throughout their lives. I think this book has a really interesting way of acknowledging trauma in a fantasy context which I really appreciated. Trauma happens in like every fantasy book (‘like every’ is not a statistical measurement, merely an observation based on my own experience reading books) and is rarely talked about. I understand characters are usually in the middle of a whole situation and don’t really have time to stop and be like “wow, you just went through a lot and it may be impacting you, do you want to talk about it?” because they often still have stuff to get done before they are safe. This author did a really amazing job of describing characters’ reactions to traumatic experiences in a way that is honest and human (I know they are magical creatures but you know what I mean). Giving character reaction to trauma in a fantasy novel without interrupting the flow of the story or adventure does not sound like an easy task and I love how this author handled it. I found myself rationing out the pages of this book because I was enjoying it and didn’t want it to end. When I found out there was a part two I finished the book very quickly, taking comfort in the fact that my new friends will be back with more stories. I also love books about siblings who (mostly) get along because I also like my siblings and if we were sent on a quest we would absolutely get into arguments but we would also not have it any other way and we would make a great team. Please go read this so we can talk about it.

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Edie in Between

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Book Review (more just a pile of my personal opinions from my personal experiences)

Title: Edie in Between

Author: Laura Sibson 

Year: 2021

Genre: YA Fiction/fantasy? grief/loss, magic

Queer shit: Lead character is a a queer girl who likes girls

Vibe Check: witchy stuff, cursed house, boats haha 

Pile of Opinions: The short summary is a girl loses her mom and when someone in their family dies their ghost still hangs around. Edie has to move in with her grandma and learns about her family’s history with magic and the family home that is a little (a lot) cursed and the adventures that go with learning where you come from and who you get to be. I liked how this book approached grief and I read the book as a bit of a metaphor for grieving. I’m not sure if that’s what the author intended but since I had just recently lost someone close, grief was heavy on my mind. I really connected to Edie’s grief and how losing someone so close can rock your identity and also create a push to take root in who you are. The magic was throughout the book, though the fantasy was really only in the last hundred pages. I did like the cursed house though and am possibly too intrigued by it. It’s best I stay home as much as I do, my radar for danger is not great haha If my life were a book I would be making smart ass comments about my decisions regularly. Ok, I already do. I also really loved the cover of this book a lot!

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The Witch Haven

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Book Review (more just a pile of my personal opinions from my personal experiences)

Title: The Witch Haven

Author: Sasha Peyton Smith 

Year: 2021

Genre: YA Fantasy? Paranormal Fiction (according to google), witchy, historical fiction

Queer shit: Supporting character is implied lesbian

Vibe Check: Kinda murdery, very witchy, nice and empowering. Don’t read before bed.

Pile of Opinions: This is a book I chose purely based on about 80% judging it by its title and cover and 20% actually reading the description and being interested. I’ve found I like doing it this way sometimes, knowing nothing about the book or the author other than what the book’s sleeve tells me. This book was dark and sad and had way more murder than I was comfortable with or prepared for. I also could not put this book down! I connected with the characters quickly and it was no time at all before I was speaking out loud my smart ass commentary of whether or not I think someone is trustworthy or up to no good and asking why people make stupid decisions. This is when you know I am sucked into a book. The quick summary is that this book is about a school for girls who find out they have magical powers. The school works to help them train their skills and of course people get into some adventure and shenanigans. Book 2 (I think there are only two books) comes out later this year (2022) and I am looking forward to it. Maybe #2 will be less murdery? Haha I doubt it. I enjoyed the storylines of finding our community and nurturing friendships through whatever life throws at you. I found this a very sweet and authentic view of the complications of friendship.

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