• ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    The Holiday Detour by Jane Kolven | ARC Review

    16th September 2020
    Cover of The Holiday Detour (Jane Kolven)

    The Holiday Detour by Jane Kolven

    Content warnings: misgendering from main character and minor character, car accident, recalling parental loss

    As someone who is both genderqueer and sapphic, The Holiday Detour is very difficult for me to review. I wanted to love it so badly but I didn’t. I appreciate Kolven writing a sapphic story featuring an f/gq relationship however, so I rounded up my rating. There are too many issues that kept me from fully enjoying the story, but it was nonetheless chaotically entertaining.

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  • Book Reviews,  Fiction

    The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

    15th September 2020
    Cover of The Gilded Wolves (Roshani Chokshi)

    The Gilded Wolves (The Gilded Wolves #1) by Roshani Chokshi

    The overall atmosphere Chokshi had created was gloomy, haunting, and breathtaking. She stated that the idea for this trilogy stemmed from hearing about the “human zoo” displaying Filipinos in 1904 World’s Fair. Then she came across another “human zoo” featuring “Negro Village” in 1889 Exposition Universelle. The Gilded Wolves series was never meant to be a cheery story. Set in the 19th century, Chokshi wanted to show the “beauty and horror” of La Belle Époque, The Beautiful Era. In her words, “When we revise the horror and sanitize the grotesque, we risk erasing the paths that led us here.” And I love how she managed to achieve telling an honest story with a magical twist in this first installment.

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  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    Presidential by Lola Keeley | ARC Review

    13th September 2020
    Cover of Presidential (Lola Keeley)

    Presidential by Lola Keeley

    Content warnings: shooting, off-page deaths, parental loss, spousal loss, biphobia from antagonists, uses of ableist language

    There have been a lot of discussions on how this book closely resembles Aaron Sorkin’s screenplay The American President. Since I have never seen the film, I decided to read Presidential first, rate it, then skim through the script. Therefore, the similarities between the two works do not affect my rating. I consider Presidential as Keeley reimagining a queer, female The American President.

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  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    Daughter of Fire: Conspiracy of the Dark by Karen Frost

    10th September 2020
    Cover of Daughter of Fire: Conspiracy of the Dark (Karen Frost)

    Daughter of Fire: Conspiracy of the Dark (Destiny and Darkness #1) by Karen Frost

    Content warning: death of minor characters, magical gaslighting, blood, kidnapping, minor character with cancer

    This is part one of Daughter of Fire. Though possibly unfair to rate now, it was indeed published as two separate books. I am giving a somewhat positive rating since the story is fairly good so far. With the knowledge of only 50% of the plot, this review might be a little spoilery but not much more than what the publisher’s blurb already stated.

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  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life by Dani Jansen | ARC Review

    2nd September 2020
    Cover of The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life (Dani Jansen)

    The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life by Dani Jansen

    Alison Green was partly tricked into producing a Shakespeare school play. Desperate to be valedictorian, she wanted everything to be in her control. But alas, mistakes happen and soon she found herself in the midst of a failing play, ruined friendships, strained romance, and much more.

    I am glad I have read A Midsummer Night’s Dream before reading this book. Otherwise, it would have been incredibly confusing.

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