Book Blog and Comments

A beautiful and tragic story about three siblings.

Genres: Historical fantasy, LGBTQ

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5.0)

Notes:

I don't quite know what it is about this book that draws me in so much. It's got quite a few lovable characters, and also some perfectly loathable ones.

I think the relationships between the three siblings are realistic in a way that fiction sometimes doesn't get. They love each other, but they're also each other's worst nuisance.

I definitely love having a mythology/history inspired story about a trans person, and I really like the way this book does it.

There's a bit towards the end of the book that made me go "what the actual fuck" even on rereading it - in the best way.

A queer horror story.

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5.0)

Notes:

If you have been subjected to conversion therapy or the "troubled teen" industry, consider yourself warned.

This book was horrible in the best ways. A group of queer teens who've been put into a conversion camp by their caregivers. Knowing what little I know about the horrors of those programmes already makes this all the more disturbing to read, because the worst horror isn't the supernatural. I was eagerly awaiting the start of the supernatural horror for a mental break from the all-too-real horrors.

I really liked the way the story was told, as well as the cast of characters, although I struggled a bit to begin with to tell all the characters apart.

I'd strongly recommend not reading especially the last quarter or so of the book in an environment that is distracting, because I kept being interrupted and it was quite frustrating.

Literary Fiction, featuring a transgender doctor, an AI expert (?), and a sex doll designer.

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (3.5)

Notes:

It was fun to read, and had very funny moments throughout. The characters and their opinions on AI/uploading human consciousness made me despair.

It being literary fiction is definitely the biggest reason I rated it so low, it is very rare that this genre really vibes with me.

Part 1 of the Clocktaur War Duology

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.5)

Notes:

I enjoyed this! Scary magic tattoo, fun (for the reader, not the characters) journey through the world, MC with annoying allergies to just about everything (so relatable!!)...

Second part of the Clocktaur War duology

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.0)

Notes:

Ooh the ending got me! I did not expect this! Once more a fun story! It did have the misfortune of falling victim to a massive reading slump of mine, so I took a 5 week break between starting and finishing it, which probably affected my rating a little.

Sad to say that they do not, in fact, polycule it.

A take on snow white

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.75)

Comments:

I really enjoyed this!! It was a really fun way to use the fairytale elements in a new and interesting way. The characters were loveable and the horror element fit the vibe of the story and was sufficiently creepy, although personally it wasn't one of the creepier ones for me. I felt the anxiety of the characters but I the reader wasn't anxious.

As usual with T Kingfisher books, there were multiple lines that made me actually snort-laugh while reading them.

The longest book I've read in a while!

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐(4.25)

Notes:

I did enjoy this book, but despite there being a lot of plot and interconnected storylines I still somehow feel like it was too long. One of the storylines (Tané) took me a long time to get into, but I did like it eventually!

A brief vent about it being called "feminist lord of the rings" on the back of my copy. Not everything that's high fantasy is like lotr. I found very few commonalities between the stories personally, both in style and in content. However, it was quite nice to have an epic fantasy tale of that length that casually features a pretty diverse cast and *gasp* even gay characters!

Following multiple characters in their respective parts of the world always has pros and cons for me, but what I enjoy about it and what this book did really well imo is having them overlap and change in interesting ways over time.

The explanations of the religious systems were something I mostly found interesting, but sometimes took me out of the story a bit I think. At other parts the exposition was done really really well though, I guess there is a limit for the complexity of unfamiliar things that you can just smoothly incorporate.

The Iron Widow sequel

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.75)

Comments:

The tone of this feels a bit different to the first book, probably due to the difference in struggles the characters are facing. It's heartbreaking, but also full of hope, and I can't wait to see what the next book holds for those characters.

A sci-fi story partly inspired by Chinese history

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5.0)

Comments:

I've read this before (about 3 years ago), and it hit even harder the second time! It's so good!! It's dark, full of rage (justifiably so!), queer, and pulled me in as much on the second read as it did the first time around.

A queer coming-of-age fantasy story

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.0)

Comments:

I really enjoyed this book! It was interesting to read and at times difficult to put down. I occasionally struggled with the POV character, but I think that was largely due to her age (she's 16).

I like how the author managed to strike a balance between the danger of being trans (including coming out or being outed to people) and a sort of casual acceptance that one may get from more people than expected.

I occasionally found myself wishing for a more active POV character, especially in the first bit of the book, but there was character growth and I think it ties well into her personal struggles, and my dislike of it might simply be a sign I'm not enjoying YA as much as I used to anymore.

Some parts towards the end felt a bit rushed somehow.

The third book in the sworn soldier series, which means Alex is back!!

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.75)

Comments:

This series is great! I love a good a nonbinary/genderqueer main character, and Alex is amazing!! I will say that I found this one quite a bit less scary than the other two, but it was still great!

It also gave me this super relatable quote:

On a T Kingfisher roll!

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.75)

Comments:

This book had me feeling like I was following a cast of characters who were navigating a horror story world, but the main cast were part of an adventure/heist story instead. Horror elements walked past and tipped their hats in greeting occasionally, but they didn't majorly sway the plot. And I fucking loved it!! It was so much fun?! Super loveable cast, great worldbuilding, excellent book really!! Still a very dark story, but weirdly cosy at the same time.

The book to finally let me read again.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐(4.5)

Comments:

I really enjoyed this!! As someone who visualises stories, this one hit! I could really see all the places the author took me, and it was amazing and horrible and so much fun!!! I've really enjoyed all the T. kingfisher books I've read so far, and this one was no exception!

Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys fantasy horror!

Some no spoiler quotes that amused me:

"I had never before contemplated the gender of my pancreas."

"Thanks, brain. That was a very helpful thought. I'm so glad I had it."

4th book in the Wayfarers series

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.25)

Notes/Comments: