Tag: LGBTQ+

Book Review

Gutter Mage by J.S. Kelley

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Gutter Mage by J.S. Kelley is a captivating urban fantasy set in a world run completely on magic…but at what cost? It’s a question worth considering, but not one for outlaw mage Rosalind “Roz” Featherstone, whose only concern is the next job that can line her pockets with coin, fill her cup with drink, or lure someone willing and eager to her bed. So when Lord Edmund’s infant son is abducted, and Roz is tasked with looking into the matter in exchange for the biggest payout of her life, she jumps at the opportunity. But as she works to solve the case, Roz uncovers a dark plot that could change her society—and magic—forever.

Book cover for Gutter Mage by J. S. Kelley.

At the risk of sounding conceited, I’d never met anyone better at solving magic-related crimes than me. It was the second biggest reason so many mages in Drusiel hated me. The biggest reason, of course, was because I’m an asshole.

J.S. Kelley, Gutter Mage

Roz is a dynamic main character with a few different levels to her, which makes her both relatable and exciting. She karate chops conventional gender norms in the face, actually karate chops baddies in the face, and has absolutely no filter—resulting in some of the funniest and crudest lines I’ve ever read. She proves several times over that you’d want her around when things get rough, but in spite of that, she’s a bit of a loner and doesn’t form many personal relationships outside the one with her partner and friend, Lysander. Roz has been outcast from her magical community as a result of a traumatic incident from her past, where a former mentor assaulted her, and then tried to use her to access a new form of magic. She struggles throughout the novel to process the lingering effects of that event since her mentor ended up dying, and Roz was the one who acquired the new magic. She essentially relives her trauma every time she uses it, and it becomes an interesting study of owning her trauma versus quite literally being controlled by it.

This is a character-driven book, and the plot moves forward with the introduction and interaction of new characters—a little like a video game. Secondary characters reveal information, help Roz and Lysander with details, or pose as obstacles they must overcome. Their NPC-like nature made Gutter Mage feel oddly interactive, like the reader is along for the ride as Roz and Lysander work on their case.

What I didn’t love so much was the main villain. His world-ending, apocalypse-producing actions were based merely on a hunch! It was a plot 15 years in the making, and in the end, it only takes one person to foil the entire convoluted thing. His motives are never really clear, and his actions simply don’t make sense. For all his monologuing, I thought the big bad villain arc would have more meat on its bones, and I thought it’d be a little bit harder to take him down!

So what if it was originally meant as an insult? Take it from them and make it your own. Show all those snobby mage assholes what us girls from the gutter can do.

J.S. Kelley, Gutter Mage

By the end of the story, many questions are still left unanswered: An especially prominent character simply vanishes without any explanation or concern, we never get a firm answer on Roz and the identity crisis she suffers about halfway through the book following a rather startling revelation, and we have no indication if there will be any lasting consequences resulting from the villain’s actions. In spite of the main arc involving Lord Edmund and his missing baby being resolved in this book, I felt the novel was missing a satisfying resolution and left entirely too many loose ends.

Overall, Gutter Mage is a quick and easy read, and I firmly believe that’s largely because Roz is so engaging. Kelley provides an intriguing introduction to a fascinating new world and characters, and I could picture future books really expanding Roz’s story—particularly the lore involving magical spirits. While there’s no news of a sequel on the horizon, don’t let that stop you from diving into this fantasy romp. It’s a great choice for those seeking something adventurous and fun with a dash of the unconventional.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery / Saga Press for sharing an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review

The Witch and the Vampire by Francesca Flores

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The Witch and the Vampire by Francesca Flores is a young adult, queer Rapunzel retelling set in a fantasy world where witches and vampires coexist. The novel follows Ava and Kaye, who used to be best friends until the fateful night when Kaye’s mother was murdered and Ava was turned into a vampire against her will. Struggling to overcome their own personal traumas, their relationship is tested when they must put aside their differences to confront a looming threat against their community. With its blend of romance, adventure, and suspense, this novel delves into a supernatural realm of magic made thorny by the prickly complexities of family loyalties.

Book cover for The Witch and the Vampire by Francesca Flores.

I can’t accept it as coincidence that Ava disappeared that same day, and I saw her with blood on her chin a few days later.

Francesca Flores, The Witch and the Vampire

While the premise is compelling, the pacing and worldbuilding is where this novel falls short. The story feels rushed and formulaic at times, with pivotal events unfolding too quickly, and plot twists being entirely too predictable. The combining of vampire and witch lore was initially intriguing, but I was constantly confused as to why only Ava was a vampire who retained her witch powers. Her mother keeps it a secret to use for her own benefit, but it’s never quite clear if Ava’s an anomaly, or if it’s common knowledge that she would have retained her powers due to how she was turned into a vampire.

I often found myself craving more details, especially when it came to why vampires and witches hate each other. I was looking for nuanced conversations or metaphors about the racial and species prejudices in this world, but all I got was a “fantasy” where those prejudices just get to exist without question. For instance, Kaye, who was told her mother was murdered by a vampire but has no other evidence to prove it, sees her best friend Ava in a tower with blood on her face a few days later and somehow decides Ava did it. She…allegedly murdered her best friend’s mother and just didn’t wash her face for days. And that’s all it takes to rewire Kaye’s entire personality. Uh…what? Make it make sense!

And speaking of Ava’s mother — the woman murders her own daughter and turns her into a vampire against her will, keeps her imprisoned, siphons off her power, and emotionally manipulates her. All that sounds incredibly traumatizing, especially since Ava makes the brave decision to run away and rescue herself from this life; however, Flores’ treatment of this storyline is flippant. It’s simply a passing detail, and is yet another aspect of the novel that I really would have liked to see fleshed out. What was her mother’s motive? Were there no warning signs for the first sixteen years of Ava’s life?

Had she stared at the same moon those long nights and wished to be with me too?

Francesca Flores, The Witch and the Vampire

On a positive note, I enjoyed Flores’ accessible writing, and particularly the beautiful prose as Ava and Kaye pine for one another. Whether it be for their lost friendship or their budding romance, it’s easy for readers to relate to the yearning and inner turmoil each girl experiences. Flores excels at illustrating this sapphic romance, and I especially enjoyed the parts in the first half of the book when the girls travel through the forest and skirt around each other after two years apart. However, I constantly had trouble telling Ava and Kaye apart! Maybe it’s just me, but I felt their personalities and voices often blended together, and the girls lacked the depth needed to truly resonate as fully developed characters.

The Witch and the Vampire is a one-dimensional, predictable sapphic romance, and the worldbuilding and pacing leaves much to be desired. I really wanted to love this book, but it was a letdown in almost every way. So much potential was left on the table, and the Rapunzel foundation of this retelling is almost an afterthought! (Honestly, it seems more like a Tangled retelling, though just barely.) A standalone novel simply doesn’t have the room Flores required to successfully weave the rich tapestry of the world she created. The potential for something truly immersive and captivating is there, but the execution simply is not.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for sharing an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review

Keya Das’s Second Act by Sopan Deb

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Keya Das’s Second Act by Sopan Deb is a poignant novel about grief and forgiveness that follows a Bengali American family reeling from the sudden loss of their daughter and sister, titular character Keya Das. Each member of the family regrets not being more supportive when Keya came out, and now it’s too late to do anything about it…or is it? The novel picks up when Shantanu, Keya’s father, discovers a box containing a play Keya was writing with her girlfriend. It briefly brings Keya back to life for them, so her family embarks on a mission to stage the play to honor her memory and make amends.

Book cover for Keya Das's Second Act by Sopan Deb.

Rejection is often a much more powerful emotion than acceptance.

Sopan Deb, Keya Das’s Second Act

With loss of a child and implied homophobia at the forefront of this novel, this is an emotional read. Grief impacts different people in different ways, and that makes Deb’s cast of characters even more important as they are vehicles through which readers can experience the central themes in this story. Following Keya’s death, Shantanu isolates himself from his family, his wife Chaitali tries to move forward with her own life, and their eldest daughter Mitali tries to distance herself from her sorrow — all very relatable coping mechanisms. But because their journeys are so disparate, it’s a little challenging to keep up with the various side characters that help to bring the family back together. None of them are developed enough, which sometimes makes their heavy influence on our key characters a little difficult to understand. The ultimate message is to encourage leaning on community to help assuage and process the big feelings that occur during times of grief, but the poignancy of that takeaway sometimes gets lost in Deb’s delivery.

I particularly enjoyed the Bengali words interspersed throughout otherwise English language sentences. As a Bengali American who grew up in a bilingual household within a diaspora community, that is exactly how we speak! I’ve seen criticism about the lack of a glossary or sufficient context clues to decode the meaning of select Bengali phrases in other reviews for this novel; however, I like to view this creative choice as a postcolonial resistance to the residual effects of Orientalist policies that defined English as the medium of instruction and the language of knowledge itself. Deb’s language choice — his refusal to translate, sanitize, or suppress the story he wanted to elevate — empowers him to seize back control of how he defines himself in a postcolonial reality still very much influenced by the lingering aftereffects of imperialism.

But more than anything, they each blamed themselves. In their own ways, they had made Keya feel unseen.

Sopan Deb, Keya Das’s Second Act

The one thing I really struggled with in this novel was lack of LGBTQ+ representation. Yes, Keya is gay, but her identity felt like a plot device for characters who didn’t want to accept her sexuality when she was still alive. They took her manuscript, interpreted it for the stage as they saw fit, and essentially used it for their own devices. For lack of a better term, the allyship after the fact felt performative. I realize with a tragedy like this, catharsis just might be the best we can hope to achieve since it’s too late to apologize to Keya or treat her the way she deserved. Still, I expected to see more positive and normalized representation. Keya’s lack of voice in this aspect of the novel has me going back and forth with classifying this novel within the LGBTQ+ category.

For all the heavy themes that form the foundation of this novel, it is surprisingly heartwarming and hopeful. Keya Das’s Second Act begins with characters weighed down by grief, regret, and trauma, and Deb navigates them through a healing journey that leaves them in a better place. This novel reminds readers it isn’t too late for us to take the time to listen and carefully consider how our actions affect the people in our lives. And even if it is too late — like it was for Keya — her family demonstrates it’s never too late to learn and grow from mistakes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for sharing an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review

Among Thieves by M. J. Kuhn

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Among Thieves by M. J. Kuhn is a high fantasy adventure featuring a merry band of queer misfits who must work together to pull off an impossible heist. Sounds manageable enough…unless they’re all scheming to double-cross each other the entire time. Brought together by a common enemy — the Guildmaster who rules over the five kingdoms of Thamorr — Ryia Cuatella and this plucky group of outsiders must carefully tread the line that glimmers between monster and menace to dismantle an oppressive magical system that could change life as they know it.

Book cover for Among Thieves by M. J. Kuhn.

Long after gold had lost its charm and men no longer had a taste for bread and wine, words would still hold their value.

M. J. Kuhn, Among Thieves

From the summary, I expected Among Thieves to focus solely on Ryia, but each chapter is told from a different character’s point-of-view. Ryia, Evelyn, Nash, Ivan, and Tristan all come with their own motives and backstories, so initially, it was difficult to understand who we’re supposed to be rooting for. I kept muddling through chapters that weren’t about Ryia because I was waiting to return to the story and character that initially sparked my interest. Fortunately, I was able to appreciate the storytelling format as I got further into the heist plot, but the alternating chapters meant it took a long time to get my bearings.

Kuhn’s ability to develop characters and personalities that can blend well together and stand apart is the driving force behind this novel. It’s a delight to witness this ensemble cast transition from enemies to reluctant allies to something like friends. There are so many comforting found family moments balanced by thrilling fights and blindsides that make for a gripping story that isn’t too easy to predict. Character foils Ryia and Evelyn are my favorites, but I have to admit I have a soft spot for Tristan, too!

Magic was something to be feared, not bought and chained.

M. J. Kuhn, Among Thieves

Among Thieves is full of twists and turns and doesn’t read like a typical debut. Kuhn’s worldbuilding is impressive, full of intricate details that make for a memorable romp in this high fantasy world. I love a good anti-hero story, but the one thing that’s a bit of a speed bump with this one is it’s challenging to keep up with a plot that’s constantly stretching in at least five different directions. Still, the suspense ramps up as the novel progresses, and that ending is going to leave you begging for the sequel!

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books/Saga Press for sharing an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review

Forestborn by Elayne Audrey Becker

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Forestborn by Elayne Audrey Becker, the first book in a duology, is a young adult fantasy that features the enemies-to-lovers trope, mythical creatures, and an impossible quest. When a magical sickness targets all the humans in the realm, Rora, a shapeshifter and spy for the kingdom, is tasked with finding a cure. Flanked only by her older brother, the only person in the world she trusts, and a surly prince who doesn’t trust her at all, Rora must traverse a mysterious forest and come to terms with a past that haunts her in order to understand why magic has turned on them and how to restore balance before it’s too late.

Book cover for Forestborn by Elayne Audrey Becker.

Violence gets its wings by choice, not by nature, and I am no more monster than they.

Elayne Audrey Becker, Forestborn

As a shifter who lives among people who fear magic, Rora makes for a fascinating main character because she is neither human enough for the people in her kingdom nor creature enough for the magical beings with whom she identifies. It’s an extended metaphor for the hybrid existence many readers also experience, which makes Rora especially relatable and refreshing. Even better is how Becker allows her to agonize over her fears and anxieties but never actually forces her to change who she is in order to be accepted. Instead, Weslyn, the human prince who starts out detesting Rora’s very existence, is the one who must evolve his mindset. I adore both characters and their journey in this book. They’re frustrating and funny and both gentle and strong, and they’re everything you want to root for in an epic fantasy romance.

In addition to character development, Becker excels at world building. There is so much that readers need to learn—rules for a magic system even the characters find difficult to grasp at times as it’s part of the core mystery, shapeshifter logic, politics and alliances, relationships and backstories—but it never feels as though Becker is info-dumping. The pacing is perfect, and I never found myself thinking about issues with show vs. tell. Also, Becker’s beautiful prose is absolutely captivating and is the first thing that drew me into this novel. Her words paint a picture of a forest both easy to imagine and impossible to find in real life. This balance is absolutely vital to setting the tone in a novel that relies on the stark contrast between nature and civilization in order to illustrate the transformative magic of green spaces and how in our world, too, we are all “forestborn” to some extent.

Forestborn also features great representation, from both platonic and romantic relationships (m/f and m/m), old and young partners, sibling bonds, and parental love. I love it when authors understand fantasy means you can give the characters we love an inclusive world that doesn’t discriminate based on sex, sexuality, or gender. I’m especially drawn to Helos, Rora’s older brother, and his love story with Prince Finley, Weslyn’s younger brother. We don’t see enough of Helos or Finley in this book, but their love for each other underscores the main quest and, therefore, is a central part of the plot. We start to see more of Helos’ personality at the end of this book, and I have a feeling we’ll see more of him and Finley in the next installment.

Fear is just a story waiting to be told. Learn the story and remember every part of it so you can tell me.

Elayne Audrey Becker, Forestborn

Growing up, The Merlin Saga by T.A. Baron and The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander were among the books I checked out over and over again at the library. I loved the epic quests and world building, the grueling treks across unknown terrain, the mysterious magic and creatures, the packs of equipment and food (and tunics!), and the camaraderie around the fire each night. I’m always looking for stories that can measure up to the adventures that made me love books in the first place, and Forestborn absolutely scratches that itch. I couldn’t stop thinking about these characters for days after I finished the book, and I can’t wait until the next one is released. If you love old school epic fantasy adventures like I do, Forestborn is a must-read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan/Tor Teen for sharing an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.