3.5 stars Wen, a young woman, whose family were clearly of a higher social status before her mother got sick and died, now works as a doctor’s apprentice for her father. Wen and her father are Itanyai. They both live in a large factory complex, Gochan One, treating to the workers of a large slaughterhouse. In the same larger compound, there is a factory producing textiles and one making advanced war machines, to further the military might of their country. Most of the workers at […]
Not as great as the first one, but still a fun read
Disclaimer! I was granted an ARC copy of this through NetGalley. That has in no way influenced my review. Spoiler warning! This is the second book in The Kingmaker Chronicles and as such this review may contain mild spoilers both for the first book in the series, A Promise of Fire and for the beginning of this book. If you’re new to the series, start with book one. If you like going in not knowing anything, come back and read this review once you’ve finished […]
Where the Devil’s Always Watching
East of the Mississippi and as far west as they eye can see, right up until you hit the mountains themselves, is the Devil’s territory. And he protects his own.
Pride and Prejudice and Practical Magic
When I first discovered historical fantasy (or mannerpunk, or whatever you want to call it), I felt the way I imagine a person does when stumbling upon a hitherto unknown sexual kink. Oh wow, I did not know this was a thing, but I LIKE it! Marissa Doyle’s debut novel, Bewitching Season, is a light and frothy confection that (if I’m being honest) wasn’t quite as good as I remember it. This book and its sequel, both published in 2009, follow the stories of the […]
Tudor royals, books, shapeshifters and all manner of complications
According to history, when King Edward VI, Henry VIII’s son died young and childless, certain noblemen who wanted to make sure a ruler of the Protestant faith ruled the country put his young cousin Lady Jane Gray on the throne. She ruled for nine days, before Mary Tudor arrived with her armies, removed the poor girl and had her beheaded. This book bears a vague resemblance to that story. In the England of this story, the conflict in England isn’t between Catholics and Protestants, it’s […]
This is what it means to be a woman in the world. Every step is a bargain with pain.
From the blurb: From New York Times bestselling author Catherynne M. Valente comes a brilliant reinvention of one of the best known fairy tales of all time. In the novella Six-Gun Snow White, Valente transports the title’s heroine to a masterfully evoked Old West where Coyote is just as likely to be found as the seven dwarves. A plain-spoken, appealing narrator relates the story of her parents – a Nevada silver baron who forced the Crow people to give up one of their most beautiful […]