• ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust | ARC Review

    Cover of Girl, Serpent, Thorn (Melissa Bashardoust)

    Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust, read by Nikki Massoud


    AUDIOBOOK REVIEW

    Content warnings: kidnap, torture, murder

    This is a breathtaking and artful retelling of Persian mythology and fairy tales. From the beginning of story, I fell in love with Bashardoust’s writing and Massoud’s narration.

    Yeki bood, yeki nabood. There was, and there was not a cursed, poisonous girl named Soraya (18, bi+). She was the young shah’s twin sister, but kept away from everyone because of her venomous veins, deadly upon touch. When the shah captured a div—parik Parvaneh, Soraya knew she owed herself to seek answers of her own curse from the prizoner. And then there was Azad, a young man who understood her, giving Soraya the unconditional acceptance and love she craved the most, despite her poison. As she learned that the only way to undo her curse was to put her family’s lives at risk, would Soraya exchange their safety—a family who were ashamed of her monstrous quality—for her own human self, or keep herself tucked away for the rest of eternity?

  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    Presidential by Lola Keeley | ARC Review

    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.

  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    The Unexpected Dream by Nicole Pyland | ARC Review

    Cover of The Unexpected Dream (Nicole Pyland)

    The Unexpected Dream (Sports #3) by Nicole Pyland


    Content warnings: divorce, biphobia

    The Unexpected Dream is a softball romance, which should totally be a trope.

    Mia Landis (30, bisexual) accidentally got pregnant and misses her chance of playing at Tokyo Olympics. Used to be a prodigy pitcher on the national team, her life now revolves around handling her divorce, caring for her two-year-old daughter Hazel, and coaching softball at her old high school. When a player mentions tryouts for a professional league, Mia decides to give it a try. Skylar Donahue (25, lesbian) also wanted to play at Tokyo but had injured her wrist weeks before the games. She ends up being the pitching coach when all she wants is to be a player. With her lingering injury, she cannot pitch but just might make the team in the new league as a catcher.

  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    We Go Together by Abigail de Niverville | ARC Review

    Cover of We Go Together (Abigail de Niverville)

    We Go Together by Abigail de Niverville


    CW: off-page rape, abusive relationship, (possible) PTSD, off-page transphobia, off-page pregnancy, off-page incarceration

    This was heavy. The narrative tone is somber and reminiscent. With its main theme being Kat dealing with an abusive past relationship, the story is less about what is happening in the physical world but more about what goes on in Kat’s mind. That being said, the many events during Kat’s time at Grand-Barachois are so sweet they made me slightly emotional again and again. In We Go Together, we follow her journey of healing as she begins to acknowledge what she has gone through, relearns to trust others, and finds her own voice again.