The Folk of the Air | Review

I know I usually write about each individual book in a series but I read The Cruel Prince, The Wicked King, The Queen of Nothing, and How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories in such quick succession that they have all blurred together for me. The fact that I read them all so quickly is probably more than enough of a review for some of you but I actually started and ended the series a little unsure, it wasn’t until I accepted that it’s mis-sold as purely enemies-to-lovers (this is a plot point but it’s such a small part of the plot!) and that it’s YA for a YA audience (Holly Black’s writing style is so brilliant I could have mistaken it for adult fantasy if not for the ages of the characters and some of the tropes) that I realised it’s actually pretty amazing. After I finished these books I really thought I’d just forget them in the same way I’ve sort of just let go of The Grisha Trilogy but Holly Black’s The Folk of the Air has stuck with me and I can’t stop thinking of it for a few reasons;

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The Fae

First of all, anyone who knows me will know I’m deeply obsessed with the Fair Folk, the Good Neighbours, the Hidden People, they are my jam, literally just look at my blog title, I wanna look at goblin men and Black delivers plenty of hobgoblin-y goodness for me to gaze upon. Black’s fae, or the Folk, are so close to real folklore they are horrific and believable and utterly inhuman. I know it sounds silly but I love that aesthetic of the fae in literature that isn’t particularly dark or light, evil or good, they are just a terrifying morally neutral thing that dwells in nature. For me Holly Black’s work is up there with books like Jonathan Strange and Me Norrell and Under the Pendulum Sun which are perfect examples of fae to me.

The story follows Jude Duarte, a human whose parents are murdered in front of her by her mother’s ex, the redcap and general of Elfhame, Madoc, only to be taken in and raised by him. Now Madoc isn’t the small redcap goblin we usually imagine; he is tall, but that’s the only real difference from folklore (and I’m sure there’s folklore of taller redcaps) he is green, goblin-like and does indeed have a red cap that he dips in the blood of his slain enemies. He is bloodthirsty, but he is also a father to four children, two of them human, who he raises with care and genuine affection and worry. If you couldn’t tell Madoc is my favourite character but he’s also the perfect example of how complex and interesting Black’s Folk are, they are just so genuine it’s hard not to become a little obsessed with them.

The Politics

Though I’ve spoken about the fae being morally neutral I mean that as a whole. They are not an evil race in the way orcs are in LOTR, but individually they are as morally complex as humans but without the ability to lie. How exciting is that?! Imagine Game of Thrones where no one can tell a lie except for Tyrion. That’s basically how the politics here work, everyone has to be underhand and clever with their words, except for Jude and her sister. Jude would rather live her life by the blade but her ability to lie pulls her into a tangled web of faerie politics that involves her with her arch nemesis Prince Cardan Greenbriar.

Jude and Cardan

Jude and Cardan could be the stuff of a ye olde folk ballad or a medieval epic. They are such strong and distinctive characters. Even without the enemies-to-lovers subplot their relationship is a wild ride. I can’t give away too much but every small progression of their relationship ties in so well with the rules of the Folk, their magical limitations, the relationship between the Folk and humans, it’s just brilliant. Although I wouldn’t say this series is explicitly enemies-to-lovers I can see why people focus on that arc so much Jude and Cardan are just a car crash character pair you literally can’t look away no matter how brutal it gets. I did feel like their relationship was a little rushed towards the end (in fact the whole last book felt rushed) but it was still compelling nonetheless and I think it’s a testament to Black and how she writes relationships that this small aspect of a massive plot captures everyone’s imaginations so thoroughly.

So I guess that’s my review/thought-vomit over, I loved this series and I can’t imagine any lovers of the fae or urban fantasy wouldn’t love it too. It’s probably some of the first YA I’ve read in a while that crosses over very well to adult readers too without relying on steamy romance to build that bridge, looking at you Maas!

Romance Wrap-Up | April-June 2021

Here comes three whole months of my romance obsession growing, I really can’t stop, especially with historicals.

I thought in this post I’d maybe start adding a few trigger warnings to books, can’t believe I haven’t been doing this already but it took me being slightly triggered to even think of it and I always hate having something pop up in a book I’m not ready for so here we go.

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Love is a Revolution – Renée Watson (TW: racism, parent-child estrangement)

So this was my first time picking up contemporary YA romance in a loooooong time. I’ve not really read this subgenre much since I was a teenager (boy am I feeling old) and I haven’t been too keen to revisit it for several reasons: the worst of which being that I crave the steamy scenes in adult romance (I refuse to be ashamed about this, they are good!) and most mature of which being I’m an adult and the love lives of children feel a little weird for me to pry into even fictionally. But after my success re-reading Howl’s Moving Castle I decided that YA and KidLit need to be more of a priority for me now, especially as they inspired my love of books and cause I have kids now I guess. But anyway, onto the book!
Love is a Revolution focuses on Nala, a young fat black girl growing up in Harlem, New York, who is not quite into the passionate activism that her cousin is. But when she meets a boy named Tye at one of these activist events she decides to pretend she does engage with activism to impress him. And hoo, boy, dear reader, cringe is not the word. I spent most of this book feeling the same deep embarrassment and stress that Nala did. The inevitable reveal of her secret is so much worse than I expected and I found myself projecting all this embarrassment right back onto my teenage self, but what I really enjoyed was Nala’s and Tye’s exploration of what it means to be black and what it means to perform your blackness in a political way versus and private way. The two characters were extremes of each example and they really balanced each other out well. Oh and it never hurts to see a fat heroine being loved and adored without having to change herself or her body.
Renee Watson has made me feel a right fool for assuming YA romance no longer had the emotional punch I needed, clearly I was just trying to escape my teenage self by stepping away from it, but my teen self is still in there somewhere and she still loves reading and she must be satiated, expect a lot more YA of all genres coming soon from this goblin.

To Sir Phillip With Love – Julia Quinn (TW: suicide, post partum depression, child abuse)

Finally made it to Bridgerton book #5! I was so disappointed in #4 I wasn’t sure I’d pick it up, but I already had it on my kindle and wanted something light and sweet to read on my phone while up all night with a baby who dislikes the sound of turning pages (is she even mine?!) and so I turned back to the series. This was not the light fun book I was expecting. Julia Quinn really lured me in with the quaintness of the first four books just to throw some real cruel and much too relevant stuff at me. Eloise is the most fun character in the Netflix series so seeing her deal with a hero who is still reeling from the suicide of his wife who hadn’t been the same since their twins were born and who emotionally neglects his children who are suffering at the hands of a nursemaid who beats them was all just a LOT. But I’ve said it before, Quinn has been brilliant throughout this series at character perception. In her sibling’s stories Eloise was a fun, blue stocking spinster with not a whole lot going on but no one really is how their siblings perceive them and in this story Eloise really comes into her own and we see a whole wealth of emotional depth that Quinn is so good at.

When He Was Wicked – Julia Quinn (TW: spousal death, miscarriage, sickness)

Once again Quinn decided to really attack me on this one. Bridgerton #6 follows Francesca, who, up until this point, has been a minor character only briefly referenced as living her widowed life out at her late husbands estate in Scotland, so the emotional punches on this one were a lot less of a surprise but no less powerful for it. Eloise decides, four years after losing her first husband and miscarrying their baby, that she wants a husband, not for love, but because she wants to attain motherhood, but at the same time her husbands dashing rogue of a cousin, and the new Earl, returns from his trip to India after leaving to escape his pure guilt at being in love with his cousin’s wife. My god, the drama. I could barely take it. The problem is though that this is a lot of emotion to set up and it kind of all fell flat in a heap in favour of focusing on steamy sex scenes and rushing to that HEA. My guess is Quinn got very into writing a bit of darkness in Bridgerton #5 and went all out for this one, but there wasn’t enough of a pay off for me after sitting through all that depressing grittiness. Quinn really had a chance to make me cry my heart out and she kind of dropped the ball, but still I liked it enough to carry on to the last two books.

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega – Crystal Maldonado (TW: fatphobia, parental death, possible eating disorder, weight loss)

So I won’t lie I picked up Fat Chance because the girl on the cover looks a lot like me, I didn’t really know what I was getting into but it was a beautiful and wild ride. The titular Charlie is fat and she is a POC and she is insecure, like all teenagers, and these things inform all her decisions. Especially because her thin, confident friend Amelia seems to be living a perfect life in comparison. So when Charlie finds out that her new boyfriend asked Amelia out first igniting all her insecurities. This book was frankly brilliant, it was everything YA romance should be, Charlie’s voice was clear and real and her struggles were real and all too relatable. I’m excited to see what else Maldonado writes because I’m certain I will love it, I need all the fat rep in my romance books, and all my books really so I always love adding a body positive author to my list.

It’s In His Kiss – Julia Quinn (TW; parental death, estranged parents, sibling death)

This is easily my favourite of the Bridgerton series! This instalment follows Hyacinth, the youngest Bridgerton who has been mostly overlooked having been a child for most of the series, but her story is definitely the best! There’s a mystery, puzzles to be solved, a wonderfully realistic romance, and loads more Lady Danbury. I almost don’t want to read Gregory’s story because, other than Anthony, the male Bridgerton’s pale in comparison to their much notes interesting sisters.

The Wicked Wallflower – Maya Rodale (TW; familial death)

This one took a while to get going for me, I picked it up because the plot is very similar to My Darling Duke by Stacy Reid which I love; Lady Emma accidentally announces that she is to marry Blake, the Duke of Ashbrooke, a rogue she has never met, and Ashbrooke goes along with the ruse to compete in the annual games held for his aunts fortune. At first I wasn’t very into Blake, he wasn’t very likeable but as the story progressed and he grew I kinda grew to like him, the ending was lovely and I got swept up in the last third of the book but until then I didn’t feel it. I’ll definitely carry on with the series though.

How to Catch a Wild Viscount – Tessa Dare (TW; animal attack, injury, war mention)

This was a cute little gothic romance novella. It was apparently Dare’s first published work and it was so wonderfully written it’s nice to know she’s been super talented from the start even if it’s made me feel very inadequate. It’s only a teeny little story but Dare packs a lot of feeling into it. I’ve read another of her novellas before and enjoyed it just as much, I’m accepting I might just have to read everything she’s ever written.

On the Way to the Wedding – Julia Quinn (TW; kidnap, blackmail, gun violence, childbirth)

The first half of this book was cute fluff, all about falling for the best friend of the girl you think you’re into, cute as hell. Half way through it gets wild, suddenly it verges on being a romantic thriller. I got whiplash from the plot twist but damn was it good. I’m really going to miss this series, I think some of them are definitely re-readable, especially the post-Whistledown books.

Howl’s Moving Castle Trilogy | Review

Whenever I think about Diana Wynne Jones I think about my favourite story about her: that she (and one other) was all that was left in Tolkien’s class at Oxford after he purposefully gave terrible lectures in the hopes that no students would mean more time to write. She found even Tolkien’s attempt at being shite too interesting and I kind of love that about her. You can tell in her books that she has such a strong interest and a keen eye for storytelling in the best kind of way. DWJ could find magic in anything and I definitely think these books speak to that.

Now I will admit I haven’t read any of DWJ’s work as a child, I found her as an adult unfortunately and feel like maybe my childhood was deprived because of it (what a young me would have done to have Sophie Hatter in my life) but it’s all too easy to appreciate these books as an adult too, maybe more so. Initially I picked up Howl’s Moving Castle because I so loved the Ghibli adaptation, but wow the book is something else.

The trilogy with a mug that is so Sophie Hatter I just love it

Howl’s Moving Castle
The first book in the trilogy follows Sophie Hatter, an eldest daughter of three who believes she is bound to a boring life never to go and seek her fortune due to being the eldest, but when she crosses the Witch of the Waste and is cursed to live as a ninety year old woman she becomes the cleaner to Wizard Howl who is more of a massive Welsh mess than he is the feared sorcerer of legend.

For me this book, as well as its first sequel, were just perfect for any Discworld fans. The same attention to detail, the same subversion of fantasy tropes, and the same sort of humour rang through it. DWJ has a mastery of story, she weaves our most primal and familiar stories into something so wonderful and fresh and yet unlike Pratchett’s work it doesn’t feel like crossover fiction for me. Though this book is mostly about adults it’s entirely for children I wouldn’t dream of recommending this to an adult unless they already had a big interest in kidlit. This might not seem a particularly strong opinion but I so rarely read children’s lit that it’s strange for me to come across something that is entirely childlike, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Castle in the Air
Despite being a lot shorter than Howl’s Moving Castle I think I read this one a lot slower. It follows Abdullah, a carpet merchant from Zanzib who meets his true love, Flower-in-the-Night, only to see her snatched away by an evil djinn who he then sets out to challenge. I wanted this book to be my favourite (and it was still brilliant, but was also the low point of the trilogy I think) weirdly, I think I didn’t enjoy it quite as much because it focused almost entirely on two male characters. Something about reading children’s lit turned me back into a kid and suddenly I don’t want to read about boys that’s stupid! Hilariously though, like with the first book, it was the female characters who shined through.

What I did love about this installment was the look at Eastern myths and tropes rather than Western. DWJ claims she even wrote it because she realised she hadn’t covered all the fairy tales available to her after she discovered the stories of the djinn. I’m a big lover of djinn in any fantasy story so it was really refreshing to see it in children’s lit not bogged down by adulthood politics or racism or identity crises in the way they usually are. The way DWJ made her fantasy cultures (clearly based on our own) clash ever so slightly was just wonderful too; there was a beautiful scene where Abdullah was angry with one of his travelling companions and grunted in response to a question, something that was a massive slight in his culture but to the soldier he was travelling with it was just more talking. It was these little attentions to detail that I really enjoyed, and even though this was my least favourite of the trilogy it was still an absolutely brilliant read.

House of Many Ways
The absolute best part of the trilogy if you ask me. This book follows Charmain Baker, a sheltered, bookish young girl who lives mostly off the pastries her father makes in his bakery, who is made to look after her great-uncle-by-marriage’s house whilst he recovers from a mysterious illness. This uncle also happens to be the Royal Wizard of Norland and his house happens to have (you guessed it) so many ways, despite only having one door. Whilst watching the house Charmain becomes entangled in a mystery that is plaguing the royal family and comes across some worrisome creatures whilst discovering her own powers.

This is definitely one for fans of Terry Pratchett’s Tiffany Aching. Despite her naivete Charmain is practical, angry, and ready to fight, though instead of a frying pan she has stern words and a stray dog. What struck me most about this book though was the outright body horror! Without spoiling too much Charmain encounters a creature called a Lubbock that will lay its eggs in you when you’re not looking and the most horrific things will hatch from those eggs and kill you. This might not seem particularly horrible and honestly I found it kind of funny until I remembered that this is a children’s book. Had I read this as a child it would have been on par with Coraline in terms of fears instilled in me. It might still given that I can’t stop thinking about it!

Overall it was refreshing to read some middle grade fantasy instead of my usual depressing reads. I read them quite slowly, but mostly because they were like a literary comfort blanket, I didn’t really want them to end. Luckily now I’ve finished them I still have everything else Diana Wynne Jones has written left to read.

The Grisha Trilogy | Review

Given that the Grishaverse is getting a Netflix series this year I thought I should finally make myself read The Grisha Trilogy. I read it so quick I figured I’d just review them all together and maybe even start fantasy wrap-ups at some point the way I do with romance but more on blog housekeeping another time, when I’ve actually had a chance to plan.

So I won’t lie I wasn’t too pumped to pick this trilogy up. Don’t get me wrong I adored Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom to the point of near obsession, they are excellent books and Leigh Bardugo is an excellent writer who pretty much redefined YA for me and probably a lot of people. But I’d always heard that the Six of Crows duology was her best work and that the trilogy that came before it wasn’t quite as good. Sadly, after reading them all, I sort of have to agree.

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Now don’t get me wrong, I didn’t hate the Grisha Trilogy not even a little bit, in fact I loved it. It follows the story of Alina Starkov who becomes the first Sun Summoner, a type of Grisha (magician, witch, magic user in the Grishaverse) who can summon and manipulate light, who ends up being trained by the Darkling, a Grisha with the exact opposite of her power, someone who can summon darkness. That in itself is a little heavy handed but, I won’t lie, I live for light magic/phosphoromancy/shadow summoning etc. in any kind of fantasy so I was pretty thrilled. But after the first book, Shadow and Bone, it still didn’t reach the glorious heights of Six of Crows. Still, I carried on, because, as with most trilogies, I figured it would get better as I went.

However, I forgot that, in my opinion anyway, most trilogies dip a little in the middle and the second book Siege and Storm felt pretty slow and awkward to me. The ending of Siege and Storm drew me back in though, I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone wanting to read the series before the adaptation, but the second book brings Alina very low and I found myself needing to know what happened so I persisted.

Ruin and Rising is where it paid off though, finally I got a taste of the SoC Bardugo I had come to love and respect. The writing picked up, the plot pacing was spot on, and my investment in the story just skyrocketed. It was absolutely fascinating to read through what was essentially a writer learning how to become the best they can be. It was also really inspiring, the improvements seem sort of minimal in hindsight but they made such a difference to the reading experience. There’s no way for me to tell if a casual read would evoke the same feelings in the reader, I read them all pretty much in a two week period and have the added curse of always judging the writing in what I read because of how I was taught (don’t do creative writing courses if you want to enjoy things folks) but I actually did really appreciate seeing Bardugo grow as a writer.

This comes across as a pretty negative review but believe me I really did enjoy the trilogy. I was dreaming in the Grishaverse for a couple weeks, it became that much a part of my life. It’s made me want to read more YA again and has renewed my love for Leigh Bardugo and her work. If you haven’t yet read Six of Crows read this first, and if you have and are just excited for the Netflix adaptation and fancy an enjoyable YA experience then this is for you!

Dread Nation | Review

I had some trepidation about picking up a zombie novel. I can handle most things; ghosts, vampires, possession, and about any real thing you’d think to attach a trigger warning to (in fiction anyway) but zombies… fuck no. Even looking at a Walking Dead poster will have me dreaming about being chased by undead hordes. But with Dread Nation Justina Ireland came up with a concept so much better than just “we are surviving” that I couldn’t say no.

Jane is Wonder Woman don’t @ me

Dread Nation follows the story of Jane McKeene, a young black girl in post-civil war America. Whilst traversing the strange new world in which she is free but still bound by the past Jane is also learning at Miss Preston’s School for Combat, a school for Negro Girls to learn how to fight the undead plague that began after the battle of Gettysburg. Whilst there she uncovers the beginnings of a mystery and as you follow along with it you start to wonder if the real plague is the undead or just plain ol’ racism.

There was a hell of a lot going for this book; the world building, the rich historical background, the treatment of racism, race, sexuality, but the most thrilling thing about it was Jane herself. The story is told from Jane’s point of view and it really is mind-boggling how perfect her voice is and how well it comes across. Jane is honest about how much she lies but even then you don’t feel for a moment that her narration is unreliable despite that. Everything she hides from the reader comes to light eventually and Ireland is so skillful you realise that the truth was there all along all the reader needs is Jane to help tease it all out.

There’s so much I want to say about this book but really all I can say is READ IT. It has amazing representation there are black, white, and Native American characters as well as bisexual and aroace rep. It tackles race, religion, sexuality, familial relationships, dishonesty, corruption, politics, mass media, and every true touchstone of personhood and society. It’s an absolute marvel. It might be classed as YA but I think that’s simply due to Jane’s age and narration, this is a book for all ages, it’s definitely a must read for anyone interested in science fiction, fantasy, horror, history, race, or even just plain old zombies. Before reading this I really didn’t think that a book could have everything but it DOES.

The best part for me, personally, and I mean really personally, is the way it tackles the racism felt by white-passing POC. I’m a white-passing woman of colour myself and it really was the best (and probably one of the only?) representations of that precarious place between privilege and oppression and all the fear and guilt that goes along with it. Again this is purely personal, but this is my blog so there, but I found myself crying at certain points, I won’t spoil which, but it tackled what it means to have people be comfortable in their racism around you because they believe you are something you’re not and that really hit hard.

There was so much to this book, it was so well done, so artfully crafted that I can’t believe I’ve not picked up Ireland’s work before. And I didn’t even have any zombie filled nightmares so it’s a definite win for me.

A Blade So Black | Review

I picked up A Blade So Black because I LOVE LL McKinney’s twitter presence, I figured if I love her tweets this much a whole novel of her words is gonna be a treat, and folks it was.

A Blade So Black is primarily an Alice in Wonderland retelling. It follows Alice, a young black girl living in Atlanta with her mom who, after the death of her father, becomes a Dreamwalker, humans destined to slay the Nightmares fuelled by human fears that come from Wonderland a place fed by humans dreaming. It’s marketed as the Alice books meet Buffy and boy is that marketing on point.

There will be some SPOILERS AHEAD but there are three main things I wanna talk about; the Nightmares, the love interests, and the Black Knight. The most spoilery bits will be about the boys so I’ll do that bit last. Here we go.

Firstly, the Nightmares. This concept completely blew me away but it was the execution of concept that really brought it together. The Nightmares are born from bad dreams and ill feeling from the humans, and can be fought by Dreamwalkers with the power of their Muchness. There is one in particular that Alice struggles to fight and extinguish due to her own fear of it; the Nightmare born from the fatal shooting of a young black girl Brionne. Her failure to truly defeat this Nightmare sets the narrative in motion. The real question it poses is how can any individual black person have enough Muchness or enough stamina to really fight off institutional racism, especially when after every fight the fucker keeps coming back? It’s such a powerful metaphor that I found myself fuming on Alice’s behalf, on my behalf, on the behalf of every black girl out there, McKinney really knows how to get under your skin. And so does the Black Knight…

The Black Knight is a figure who wields a Vorpal blade and can make Fiends, a particularly horrible Nightmare. The Black Knight turns up and attacks Alice seemingly out of the blue. He is described as wearing “some sort of high impact body armor” (ch. 7) and unleashes a Fiend on Alice demanding he pass on a message for her. Now the Black Knight as a character is incredible to me. He is literally a cop; his identity is hidden by riot gear and he has safety in anonymity, he attacks a young black girl in the dark when he could have just used his big boy words, he he wields a weapon of insane power and runs pretty much unchecked with it, he creates pure fear, and his both infantilising and sexual nicknames he gives Alice make him all the more sinister. Basically, the Black Knight scares the shit out of me. But as with all cops he’s not the first and he, sadly, will not be the last. But more about that in a moment onto the love interests.

SOME MORE BIGGER SPOILERS AHEAD!

There are two main love interests in the book; Hatta, from Wonderland, and Chess, who is human. Both of them come to represent fear in some way for Alice. It is revealed that Hatta was the original Black Knight, basically making him a reformed cop, throughout the story he withholds information and is fairly physically affectionate with Alice which, him being her mentor and much older (being immortal), I found a little dodgy. Chess starts off in a stronger place; they go to school together, he doesn’t put Alice in situations of danger, but Alice puts him in danger and Chess ends the book being turned into a Fiend – other things happen to him but they’re not relevant to my analysis so I won’t spoil for no reason. When fighting off Fiend-Chess Alice’s fears from Brionne’s murder resurface, she is essentially being attacked by a white man she trusted and is close to death, horrifically, in the same place Brionne was shot.

McKinney uses a truly brilliant reimagining of a classic to remind us that being black and facing racism is a truly surreal and nonsense experience. Being a black woman is being down the rabbit hole trying to make sense of the racist bullshit around you, but unlike the original Alice black women need to be armed and ready to face it, there are no caterpillars or rabbits to help them only their own Muchness.

Romance Wasn’t Built in a Day | 2020 Romance Reads (so far)

So, I’ve read a few romance books now in my newfound love of all things lovey dovey, but I don’t feel like I’ve read enough of them to do really big chunky reviews like I do for SFFH, I know nothing about the genre yet and no one wants to read another “it’s a bit like Pride and Prejudice” take so I’ve decided to do a sort of listicle review of the few I’ve read so far this year. So here we go, my romance reads of 2020 so far:

Adult Romance

Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore – ♥♥♥♥

This first one follows Annabelle, an Oxford student whose way is paid by the suffragists as long as she campaigns for them, and she seems to keep running into the same very sexy duke during her campaigning who just happens to be their political enemy! This book is the first adult romance book I’ve ever read and it was an incredible experience so it’ll probably stay a favourite for me. It has literally everything; suffragists, castles, the fucking queen, dramatic horseback rides, amazing sex scenes, brilliant characters, and, my fave, realistically harsh feedback from a university tutor. I feel like it didn’t sweep me up that much, but as I was new to the genre when I read it I might return to it and see what I think.

My Darling Duke by Stacy Reid – ♥♥♥♥♥

The second of my adult romance reads I think my love for the genre really started with this book. It’s about Kitty Danvers, a woman who needs to make sure her sisters find good matches and are comfortably married, and she decides to ruin her own reputation to do it. She pretends to be engaged to a reclusive duke to bring her sisters up in society and marry them off, but then her duke (scarred and disabled in an accident) reenters society and sparks start flying. This is a loose beauty and the beast retelling and the series (Sinful Wallflowers) focuses on women who have been put on the shelf by society getting into all sorts of scandals so they basically don’t end up alone and bored forever. It’s pretty amazing, and though I know there’s nothing terribly out of the ordinary for romance I started to really appreciate the tropes and feelings and just really fell into it. I love this book.

Surrender to Sin by Nicola Davidson – ♥♥♥

Surrender to Sin is about Grace, a young woman about to be forced into an unwanted marriage who decides to ruin her reputation by creating a public scandal with a renowned brothel owner Sebastian AKA Sin. This book was more erotica than romance, but I thought I’d give it a go and although I LOVED the sex scenes (Nicola Davidson really has a gift) I didn’t feel like the romance was based on much else other than mutual kinks. Which would have been fine had it not been a little less marriage plot-y but I didn’t believe the true love too much. Still, a pro sex work erotic novella with actual plot (I’ve only read plotless porno erotica before now) and a high speed carriage chase! Yes please, I’ve already bought the second book in the series!

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston – ♥♥♥♥♥

The first contemporary romance and the first MM romance on the list, RW&RB is about the son of the president, Alex, and a prince of England, Henry, falling in love. It’s pretty much beautiful, and it’s the first political novel I’ve ever been interested in without any dragons in it. This book really surprised me, I had been clinging to my comfy historical romance blankie (and I still am) but this was just lovely. My favourite thing about it was these two characters who are literature and history nerds writing each other love letters through email and signing off with excerpts from famous love letters it completely melted my heart.

YA Romance

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han – ♥♥♥♥

This one, as we all know (and if you don’t watch the Netflix films because they’re amazing) is about Lara Jean, writer of secret love letters, whose love letters get sent out to all her various crushes. In order to make one recipient jealous she fake dates even hotter love letter recipient, Peter Kavinsky, and sweet jesus is this adorable. I read it in like a day. It didn’t entirely blow my mind, I’ve read this sort of YA before but I really enjoyed it.

 

PS. I Still Love You by Jenny Han – ♥♥♥♥♥

This was my favourite book in the trilogy. This never happens, I never love the middles of trilogies, except for High School Musical 2. In this one a much better, much more handsome letter recipient, John Ambrose McClaren, turns up just as Lara Jean is getting super jealous of Peter’s ex-girlfriend. This book was incredible. It rekindled my love triangle obsession. I have no notes, good job Jenny Han, keep it up.

Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han – ♥♥♥

Okay, final book here. This one is a little bittersweet, young high school loves are preparing to go off to college and they don’t get into the same schools, shocker. I didn’t feel the same enjoyment with this one, I really dug the college narrative and the growth of the characters, but the romance felt a bit dead to me, hence the bittersweet. I still enjoyed it, but anything would be a let down after the incredible PS I Still Love You.

Heartstopper Vol. 3 by Alice Oseman – ♥♥♥♥♥

The first graphic novel and the second MM romance on this list, I read the first two last year and I’d give them both 5 hearts too FYI. This installment is all about Nick and Charlie going on a school trip to France together. It’s honestly the purest, fluffiest, happiest read of my life. Of course I’ve read the novellas in this series and I know this is sort of where it starts to get a little dark for Charlie and that began towards the end but Oseman spared me the heartache this time and didn’t shine too harsh of a light on it. Probably the most diverse romance books I’ve ever read. Everyone needs these comics.

There were a couple other romantic reads this year, but they were related to Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series which is a sort of romantic paranormal steampunk alt history saga of whimsical brilliance that deserves its own novel length post so I will definitely come back to Gail Carriger when I have about a year free to rant about how much I love her.

To All the Books I’ve Loved Before

Recently, in my own writing, I’ve hit quite a few walls plot wise. These were not small garden walls that can be stepped over or rested on like a spare seat, it was a little more Fort Knox than that, and I recently figured out why; I’m trying to write fantasy romance without the romance. I was trying to push the elves and magic to the forefront and ignore the human element, so to speak but why?

I’ve had a problem with romance my whole life – in books at least in reality it’s all a little easier and less dramatic. But when I started using, or rather misusing, romantic tropes in my writing I decided to ask why I disliked romance so much. The answer is I don’t. I love romance. (Please picture me declaring that I love love in the rain or something for dramatic effect.)

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han; Loved this trilogy so much

Almost all the books I love have romantic elements. I’ve adored Uprooted and Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik, A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet was the perfect mix of sci-fi and tenderness, even my favourite part of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell was Jonathan Strange driven to insane magics in the search for his faery-led wife. Cassandra Clare, Sarah J Maas, Gail Carriger, Maggie Stiefvater, every book I’ve truly loved and found comfort in and returned to over and over has had a strong romantic subplot. Some of them are just plot, in a lot of them the fantasy falls into the background. And let’s be honest, as much as I love vampires they weren’t why I was reading Twilight.

My Darling Duke by Stacy Reid; I devoured this book, Stacy Reid is the answer to my prayers

All these books are things I’ve called my “guilty pleasures” a phrase I’ve come to despise over the past few weeks. What I have been a little happier declaring I enjoy is romantic films and shows, which is why when I was stuck indoors with a cold-ridden baby and no desire to read I decided to watch To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before on Netflix, and let me tell you Lara Jean’s completely unembarrassed love of romance novels got me. So I went on Goodreads to have a look for some romance books and lo and behold it was Romance Week!

So since then I’ve read a few romance novels. I’ve read the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before books (PS I Still Love You is easily the best in the trilogy, but that’s another post) and I’ve read a couple historical romances and devoured them way quicker than anything else I’ve read recently. It’s a brave new romantic world, so why didn’t I visit it before? Why do I feel guilty for reading a genre with diversity, drama, brilliant writing, and maximum entertainment factor? The answer is simple; internalised misogyny.

Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore; Suffragists and romance! The perfect book!

After just some small research into the genre (which for me basically means listening to podcasts and browsing for new books online) romance seems to be one of the few genres dominated by women and read predominantly by women too, which seems to be one of the only reasons I can see for why I didn’t like it. There are so many romantic genres it’s impossible not to find one you like, there’s fantasy romance, sci-fi romance, historical romance, time travel romance, western romance, LGBT romance, interracial romance. Even just within historical there’s Victorian, regency, Scottish (?? I assume because of Outlander the romance world thinks Scotland is a thing of the past), American civil war, and even underground railroad romance.

What I’m saying is this is a vast and intense genre and despite the fact that I’m just scratching the surface I’d call it insta-love. Or more likely enemies-to-lovers given my previous aversions. Basically if anyone is actually reading this and I’m not just talking to myself (which I’m very okay with believe me) there will be a lot more romance on this blog in the future.

The Deathless Girls|Review

The days are shorter, nights are darker, and I’ve got vampires on the brain. So when Kiran Millwood Hargrave advertised a giveaway for her new vampiric YA novel The Deathless Girls on Twitter I decided to enter. I won! (I’ve got to brag because I never win these things I was PUMPED) So about a week or two later when the book arrived in the post I devoured it.

The Deathless Girls follows two young Traveller women Kizzy and Lil, twins, who have a run in with the great vampyre himself, Dracula. The book is basically an explanation of sorts of the origin of Dracula’s brides, at least the two dark haired brides, and it is thrilling. Despite knowing the outcome I became so attached to the characters I convinced myself that it might change, they might be saved, it all might turn out right. It didn’t.

This dark ending was so refreshing, not a lot of stand-alone YA books have bleak endings. There’s always a comfortable feeling that there will be a happy ever after (even The Hunger Games did this and that was pretty bleak) but this book really leant into the tragedy.

What struck me in reading this book was that Dracula’s brides are never really confirmed to be his actual brides. It is the easiest and most sexist reasoning for their being in the castle but as always banishing assumptions makes for a much more interesting and diverse story, which is an interesting thing to consider in retellings. Most retellings I’ve read are just the same story in a different time or in space or with magic or zombies etc, but this is the first I’ve sought out that looks at a minor character and tells a story much more interesting behind the scenes, barring Jane Eyre probably.

As well as taking a slightly more feminist view of Dracula’s alleged brides Hargrave places them in a racial minority, being dark-skinned travellers, and the one twin Lil is also LGBTQ and has a strangely satisfying romantic tragedy that has nothing to do with coming out or being rejected, only with the frustration of star crossed lovers and annoyingly Shakespearean fuck ups.

Anyone who likes Dracula should read this book. Even if you’re not into YA or retellings or any of it Hargrave really examines the political climate around the history of the famous Vlad Tepes that lead to the Dracula tale. She has also written the first positive and even loving example of travellers in a book I have ever read. I love this book so much I’ve gone on a vampire reading spree to satisfy my need for more, so expect some more vampiric reviews coming up.

The days are shorter, nights are darker, and I’ve got vampires on the brain. So when Kiran Millwood Hargrave advertised a giveaway for her new vampiric YA novel The Deathless Girls on Twitter I decided to enter. I won! (I’ve got to brag because I never win these things I was PUMPED) So about a week or two later when the book arrived in the post I devoured it.

The Deathless Girls follows two young Traveller women Kizzy and Lil, twins, who have a run in with the great vampyre himself, Dracula. The book is basically an explanation of sorts of the origin of Dracula’s brides, at least the two dark haired brides, and it is thrilling. Despite knowing the outcome I became so attached to the characters I convinced myself that it might change, they might be saved, it all might turn out right. It didn’t.

This dark ending was so refreshing, not a lot of stand-alone YA books have bleak endings. There’s always a comfortable feeling that there will be a happy ever after (even The Hunger Games did this and that was pretty bleak) but this book really leant into the tragedy.

What struck me in reading this book was that Dracula’s brides are never really confirmed to be his actual brides. It is the easiest and most sexist reasoning for their being in the castle but as always banishing assumptions makes for a much more interesting and diverse story, which is an interesting thing to consider in retellings. Most retellings I’ve read are just the same story in a different time or in space or with magic or zombies etc, but this is the first I’ve sought out that looks at a minor character and tells a story much more interesting behind the scenes, barring Jane Eyre probably.

As well as taking a slightly more feminist view of Dracula’s alleged brides Hargrave places them in a racial minority, being dark-skinned travellers, and the one twin Lil is also LGBTQ and has a strangely satisfying romantic tragedy that has nothing to do with coming out or being rejected, only with the frustration of star crossed lovers and annoyingly Shakespearean fuck ups.

Anyone who likes Dracula should read this book. Even if you’re not into YA or retellings or any of it Hargrave really examines the political climate around the history of the famous Vlad Tepes that lead to the Dracula tale. She has also written the first positive and even loving example of travellers in a book I have ever read. I love this book so much I’ve gone on a vampire reading spree to satisfy my need for more, so expect some more vampiric reviews coming up.

Some Announcements and Some Spring Cleaning

Hi guys, I’ve got a few quick announcements to cover including my first publication, meeting a hero, and my blog’s new look so get ready for some rambling.

Science Fiction for Survival: An Archive for Mars

So my short story ‘A Young Person’s Guide to Colonising Mars’ (which is available to read on this blog) has been published in an anthology! Science Fiction for Survival: An Archive for Mars is a publication from the genius behind the Terra Two Project, Leisl King, and her co-editor Rob Edgar.

The anthology contains work from the project which analyses the ethical, philosophical, and artistic takes on terraforming and colonising other planets. Through short stories, essays, and imaginative illustrations the anthology examines humanity’s place in space.

If you do want to check out the anthology (as it does have six new pieces not featured on the website) it is available from Valley Press and the proceeds go to the Rwandan charity We Are Limitless, so you can perform a good deed and read some great work.

V.E. Schwab

This next announcement isn’t so much of an announcement as my own personal excitement. Basically I went to a discussion and signing with V.E. Schwab that was held at the central Waterstones in Nottingham and it was possibly one of the greatest experiences ever. She has been touring the UK to promote the re-release of her first ever book The Near Witch.

Anyone who’s even glanced at this blog casually knows I love V.E. Schwab’s work and it turns out she’s a wonderful person. There’s nothing more inspiring for a wannabe writer than hearing that one of their heroes struggles sometimes too, and Schwab certainly touched on that concept when she discussed how her career has changed since the release of her first book to now. I felt inspired and ready to get back to writing with the knowledge that it could actually take me somewhere as long as I stick with it.

Spring Cleaning!

So The Trouble with Triffids is no more folks! I’ve decided, after much deliberation to change my blog up a little, though not much I’m not really one for change. The biggest change is really the new name: Let Us Look at Goblin Men, my content will remain the same, but I will no longer feel irrationally guilty for posting anything non-sci-fi based. Anyone who’s followed this blog from the start knows it started out very heavily sci-fi, but I want to explore all speculative fiction including fantasy, horror (which I have already been doing) and even some poetry and film, and I want the blog to reflect that a little more.

So why did I pick this new title/url? There’s a few reasons really so let’s get into it. I first came across the Rossetti poem ‘Goblin Market’ when it was quoted in the Doctor Who episode ‘Midnight’, in which the alien threat is never seen and cannot truly be looked at. The quote reads:

We must not look at goblin men, 
We must not buy their fruits:
Who knows upon what soil they fed
Their hungry thirsty roots?

Now I love this poem, but the fact that I found it through Doctor Who means I always read it slightly in reference to sci-fi and the intensity of looking at the true horrors of the universe. Along with sci-fi I feel the quote embodies fantasy, poetry, folklore, and horror all in a nice little bundle, so it feels like an accurate representation of the sort of things I want to explore here.

So if you want to look at some goblin men stick around.