The Bone Chamber

Starting out this book held so much potential. The first few pages had me sold and I was sure that I had found my next great read. Well, boy was I sure disillusioned! A common theme that became increasingly obvious was the lack of diversity. Which is already one of my biggest peeves, when it comes to modern fiction. It's 2019 at this point it is highly unrealistic that every character is heterosexual! Like come on now, it's highly unbelievable that given all the cultures within the book; that everyone is straight. Plus the blatant way the author has to point out that their straight is even more puzzling, as to why that is needed.

While there were some points within the stories that I enjoyed, such as learning about each character's background and the section with the Sea Witches and the Cut-Queen. The brief backstory is all we as the reader get, and there's not a lot more depth than that. I wanted to see more than just the base of what we got. A lot of the characters were just very bland, it feels like there was little to no character development. The pacing of the story was rather slow, but when it came to the action scenes everything was over too quickly and came too easily for the characters. Plus it takes half the book to get to the actual plot which is wrapped up just as quickly as all the rest of the scenes. I spent half of the book being so done with it all, but I was already that far along so I didn't want to drop it. By the end of it, I was just relieved to be done with it, and that is not a fun feeling upon finishing a book. 

Initially, I was pretty hyped to read this when I first learned about this book. All I needed to hear was that it has witches and that it has queer women. However, both elements weren't enough for me to care for this book. It's clear that inspiration was drawn from the movie version of Practical Magic. It held less whimsy and charm than what I was expecting from this book. Instead of focusing on the Fernweh women, there were only snippets here and there. Even when there was something it was just to mention this ancestor had this power without more elaboration. The dialogue was painful to read at times, it was very childish especially where the teenagers were concerned. The author didn't do a very good job of portraying how teens actually talk to one another. The way it's told it appears that it's just an impression of how teens converse with one another. Not to mention there were times when something would be described to the point of exhaustion. Which got old fast and I found myself zoning out, more often than not.

I also really don't care for the relationship between Georgina and her sister. For the first half of the book, their relationship was off-putting to me. Which is a shame because I am a sucker for strong relationships between sisters. As for the relationship itself it might as well have not have been there at all. There were very little scenes between Georgina and her love interest. The explanation for that, later on, was valid but poorly executed. Needless to say, I could take the romance or leave it, cause it wasn't really there, to begin with. As for the big reveal, it was predictable and I saw it coming a mile away.

While that is not always a bad thing for me on top of everything else; it just further added to my dislike for this book. What I did like was the last few scenes, during the big reveal and towards the end of the book. I can't say a lot because that goes into spoiler territory that I don't plan to get into. But I felt it was written well and held strong enough emotion to drive its point home. Even still it wasn't enough to warrant three stars in the end. I'm not saying it's a bad book in general, but I can certainly say this just wasn't the book for me. As it stand I'm not a huge contemporary fan and that's also the problem as to why I did not care for this book.

I was super excited to read this because there’s not enough queer lit featuring Asian women as the main couple. Not only that it promised a fantasy element which further had me hyped. So when I heard about this book and read the premise, I knew I had to grab a copy and read it. However, right off the bat, I was quickly confused and was put off by the author’s choice to write it the way she did. It starts off in Shizuka’s point of view (The Empress) and from my understanding, it switches back and forth between active an passive voice; which I wasn’t a huge fan of. I’m not saying it’s wrong, but the flow felt off. It comes to the point where she receives a letter, I didn’t think much of it until the letter just goes on and on. Then suddenly it is in Shefali’s point of view, and it is supposed to be read as a letter, but because it isn’t italicized, I’m quickly puzzled by this choice. It takes me a bit to figure out, but this is how the story is told with Shefali writing to Shizuka in letter form. With the occasional switch back to the present. This baffles me because the story then proceeds to go back through their entire childhood up to the point where they are now.

I wanna say like 70 to 80 % of this time Shizuka was right there with her; so I saw no need for Shefali to go back through all this. Yes, there were several exciting and enthralling parts, but it would have translated better if it was told as if it was happening at the moment rather than reading about something that already had happened. The only reason why I rated it two stars instead of one was for background between the character’s mothers. As well as a few parts with Shizuka and Shefali. That aside, in the beginning, it was a hot mess, it was hard to keep up with the honorifics and the world in general. The author drew inspiration from different Asian cultures; however, I don’t feel she did a good job of portraying that. There is no key in the back to explain the honorific system, the world, and there wasn’t a general description of where she drew inspiration and what sources she used.

At first, I was generally moved by their relationship; it was strong and steady. But it’s as I am over half way that there is an unneeded scene; that just cheapens it all. After something significant happens within the story, Shefali runs off and meets up with a courtesan who she feels desire for. While she does not sleep with her, I couldn’t help but feel like this was pointless? With all the pair had been through and to include that in there. It made absolutely no sense to me.

Good job for not cheating, but excuse me? You went through hell and back, and suddenly you’re looking at other women? It just came out of the left field and made no sense to me. If a character flaw was needed, it’s in poor taste to have your character desire someone else. Within the letter, Shefali talks about how Shizuka must have moved on and that she is okay with it. When it switches back to the present, it’s confirmed that Shizuka has, in fact, sought other company out. It put a bit of a sour taste in my mouth but seeing how it was clear that Shefali wasn’t with her; I presumed they broke up. SPOILER ALERT! Towards the end, you find out that they were actually married and still married. With the author being queer, I don’t see why she chose a timeless trope; that literally a lot of people within the queer community are trying to change within media.

Later on because of something that Shefali does gets her exiled and she isn’t allowed to return until she brings back a phoenix feather. While Shefali didn’t wish that life on Shizuka; I am very puzzled as to why the latter didn’t go with her. After all, they had gone through, and all that Shefali did for Shizuka she wasn’t willing to go with her. Here’s the other kicker that puzzles me that after she assumes the throne; Shizuka doesn’t void the exile. Clearly, she has the power to overrule that and she just doesn’t? This had the makings of a really good book, but after reading all that I did it fell very flat for me.

This isn't really an in-depth review so there won't be any spoilers involved, just me spraying feels after freshly finishing this book!

When I first heard about this book and read the overall premise I was instantly sold. To the point that I immediately purchased it off Amazon. Like I do I tend to hoard books that I'm excited to read so it sat on my shelf for a few months. But recently I've gotten into the habit of just reading what I want to read when I want to read it. I was not at all sorry for picking up Sawkill Girls when I did. Because it is Pride month I definitely wanted to read more books with queer representation. Not only was their Bisexual representation that actually used the word bisexual; there is also Ace representation which I've been seeing more and more lately. So already it got major props in that department add in spooky elements and multiple perspectives and you have me sold!

Having never read one of Claire Legrand's works before I was thoroughly impressed with her writing style. There was just enough purple prose without going over the top. It was very clear to me that she knew each character and showed how they differed from the next. But what most impressed me was the opening scene dealing with grief and the phrases people say to the grieving. I instantly latched onto Marion as a character, because I saw myself in her. Being someone who could relate to what she was going through.

As a reader that highly impressed me, plus it was very touching. The lore within this story had me thoroughly intrigued and had me wanting more! It was very interesting to learn about what the creature was and the generational tidbits here and there. I would say I wish more had been expanded on, but that's mostly the lore geek in me. I hope maybe we might see a sequel, even if it's not involving these characters directly. Because there's definitely more to be explored there. All in all, though there was never a dull moment for me while reading Sawkill Girls. If I hadn't been busy it would have been eaten up sooner, lol.

Going in, I knew I was either going to really enjoy this book or really dislike it. While it did get a three-star rating, it was on the higher end. The author did a great job of conveying the best sides of fandom and the worse sides of what fandom can bring out in people. Being in several fandoms myself, I could relate to several instances throughout the book. Such as seeing a lack of representation within series; that just merely hint or outright queerbait. Because it's something that continues to happen, and that is highly problematic. I could appreciate the author touching on this issue.
On the other hand, while likely intentional Claire, one of the main protagonists in the story took things way too far. Especially when it came to making sure her ship happened no matter what. It was seen as an overall duty to the fandom, so much so that she pushes her to be love interest out of the picture. Seeing her as a distraction. Which was very off-putting and made it hard to root for Claire when she became obsessed with her goal. She even goes so far at some point to write a fanfiction that involves the actor and his costar as themselves.

That in itself is a massive violation, in my opinion, and a breach of trust. Which all the issues that happened do get wrapped up and dealt with. From memory, I don't think there was anything that was left unresolved. There weren't any holes for the most part, which I was very impressed with the writer for drawing things to a close. As for Forest, the other main protagonist, he's an excellent example of someone who's clearly ignorant but doesn't choose to stay ignorant throughout the entire book. To be honest, I think watching him grow was my favorite part about the entire book. It was very satisfying to watch as someone whose closeminded to the situation around them slowly begins to get it. As for the romance in this book, it was cute, albeit, but there were times where I could have taken it or left it. Mainly because most of the book it's Claire is obsessed with making her ship canon. While equally trying to push her feelings for Tess away. I'm definitely not trying to invalidate how anyone feels about coming out.

I guess I just didn't understand why Claire was so freaked out about coming out. Considering her parents were very liberal and stated numerous times that they were okay with it. Plus it didn't seem like she was worried about the backlash from her peers. So I am honestly stumped by that one. Like I get not wanting to be loud and proud. But the fact that she was uneasy about even telling her parents; I guess I don't get it. My main issue was when Tess to get back at Claire for telling her friends that she liked fandom things was to take it upon herself to out Claire to her mother. Yes, she later apologizes for it, but that is not something you do at all. That is highly unsafe and frankly shitty whether the situation is dangerous or not. It's not a person's place to say anything, regardless of who they are and certainly not over something so petty as anger. That for the most had me feeling just meh at the relationship, despite the fact that Tess apologizes.

All that aside, I did enjoy this read even if I had issues with several points of the book. The fact that the matters were resolved and done so in a strong way made me enjoy this story. You could also see growth in Claire's character, and that was equally enjoyable to experience. I think many people can relate if they are in fandom, especially a fandom that may be guilty of queerbaiting on the regular. I would recommend this book for the sheer fact that it's a short, fun read, and the author clearly gets both sides of the fandom.

Its taken me far too long to finish this wonderful book but I finally completed this trilogy! I am so very happy that I did, because it was so worth it from start to finish. This book was a roller coaster for me filled with so much emotion, that it didn't seem quite possible for one book to hold. There were many laughs and so many more tears both happy and sad. My heart broke for so many characters in this world. Throughout this series I can't say enough about the author's ability to create such diverse, and powerful characters. So much so that they seem crazy real and that is truly awe inspiring. It's so refreshing to read about powerful women, who can still fall in love and get the job done. This journey of mine throughout each book has been long and thoroughly enjoyable. Its definitely one that I will revisit several times over, once I get the chance to work through some of my other books. It's been a wild and crazy ride and I can't wait until I can dive back in. But until then A++++!

I am a big fan of Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows series its one of my favorite young adults from the recent years. I was very eager to finally start this series, based on the fact that I loved her later works. Sadly this one didn't invoke the same feelings as I had when I read Six of Crows. To be fair this is one of her earlier works, so I can give it some slack in that regard. However had I read this first I do not know if I would have read her other works. The writing in this book is not so much the problem, the author can tell a story there's no doubt about that. But my main gripe with it was that I felt that the Darkling was made the villain for the sake of being the villain. It felt very light is good, dark is bad kind of vibe and that felt very tropeish to me. Already he was seen as someone to be feared, so people feared him. I was hoping that while he could do terrible things, it wasn't necessarily because he was evil down to his core.

The building chemistry between him and Alina really had me looking forward to that being the angle. When its revealed suddenly that he is the one, that created the Fold in the first place. Outside of wanting my ship to happen, it just felt very forced and just kind of dropped into the lap of the reader half way through the first book. If something was like this revealed later, it might have had a bigger impact on me. But with it being right in the middle of the first book it created this bland feeling. I wasn't surprised or shocked, mostly just disappointed because it didn't have an impact on me. Even the way its revealed was just sort of made no sense to me. Baghra is revealed to be the Darkling's mother, and she tells Alina of his true identity. Its never shown until later, that Baghra was right. It just bugged me that the protagonist is able to be convinced by someone, without witnessing the truth until much later. Now onto the romantic pairing I was obviously not a fan of this ship. But that's because I loathe childhood friend tropes, its overdone and when one is involved nearly every time you already know who the protagonist is going to get with. 

It was clear the two had a connection, and the feelings were one sided for a while. That aside it felt like the ship was being made to fit, where it didn't make a whole lot of sense from Mal's side. He only came to the realization after the fact, that Alina was taken into the Little Palace that he had feelings for her. Before that he didn't seem that romantically interested in her, considering its stated numerous times that he was known to go out and be with other women. Which that is not something that bugs me, but its clear he didn't feel on the same level for Alina as to what she did for him. It felt more like a brother sister relationship, perhaps akin to a twin bond. Clearly the romance factor regardless of everything else that is going on is more pushed to the front, unlike Six of Crows.  My gripes aside I do love the Grishaverse its ripe with interesting lore, and I love all the different powers that Grishas have. Its a unique and very vivid world.

I just wished I could have felt that sense of awe in this book that I got from Six of Crows. To be fair because it did not have the same feel, as her later works it is likely that I am judging it more firmly. Its not a bad book but the reasons I stated are why I did not enjoy the first book. I intend to finish the other two books  in the series and I do look forward to seeing how the series grows. Because it does deserve a chance, but if the theme continues on its likely my stance will not change much.

*Possibly spoilerish!!!!*

Starting out I felt this book had the potential to be really good. The first chapters weren't all that bad, so I was really rooting for it. But along the way, it just quickly became dull and an overall hot mess. I ended up putting this down for several months and picked it up again last night.  Right away it became clear as to why I had set it aside in the first place. While the premise of the story appealed to me, it didn't feel like the plot was really going anywhere. Often time other than a random action point, it felt more about the attraction of the protagonist (Adalyn) and her intended love interest, (Samarra).  It felt like there was the neverending loop of  'I know she's not looking for a serious relationship, but I want her to be mine.' trope. It got old fast when I just wanted to see where this plot was going to go! Personally, I wasn't really big on either of the characters, there wasn't anything interesting about either.

Nevertheless, I decided to power on, since I was already halfway through it. I really wanted to like the book, because I am always up for discovering new queer romances. The prospect of a book with lesbian shifters interested me, as I had mainly seen books with male shifters. But there was barely any lore or how they came to be within the world. Part of what makes supernatural/paranormal elements interesting to me is when the author actually includes defining information in the story. For the author to just plop it in there, without explaining much of Samarra's world, made it not that interesting to read about. Plus half of the book Adalyn doesn't even know that her love interest, is a shifter. Even when it does come out it isn't really a super big reveal. Then somehow along the way, it's casually suggested that Adalyn herself, might have shifter genes but it isn't really taken any further. It's like the author decided to drop it in, as an FYI.  Also, I don't know who edited this book, but there were tons of typos and misuse of words. Plus at one point the author I believe, intended to say Adalyn instead of Samarra, because of the way it was written. Then there were the sexy times themselves, while there were a few steamy moments that were generally not bad.

I found most of them to be very awkwardly written,  and not at all enjoyable to read. While I enjoy dialogue during sex scenes, it was just excessive and wasn't even sexy in my opinion. What got we most about the story was this one instance, where Samarra is thinking about how envious she is that hyena shifters are intersex. That because they had a cock they could love a woman in the way that she couldn't. That part had me going wtf?! You don't need to have a dick to make your female lovers happy! Where the author thought that needed to be said at all in the book baffles me. Way to completely ignore that there are plenty of ways for lesbians to have sex, without using a dildo. Not having a male piece, doesn't mean you aren't going to be able to please your girlfriend. Plus it seems in general that Samarra has this complex, about using her dildo. To the point that she wears it ninety percent of the time. It's totally fine that she wants to use it in the bedroom, however, to me it's clearly an issue of hers as to why she uses it. Which begs the question, could she be transgender? I don't know because it never gets brought up, so it leaves me to think that she has a narrowed minded view on the different ways you can make love.

Another instance that had that me shaking my head, is when the police hint at the idea of Adalyn sleeping with her boss in the past. Instead of stating that she's never been with a male and that she prefers women. Her response is to affirmatively tell him that she's a lesbian, and not bisexual. The whole tone of that seemed slightly biphobic, by the sheer audacity in her tone. It wasn't a huge thing, but it still made my eyebrow twitch. Lastly, when the big showdown finally arrived it was pretty much fell flat. It wasn't anything spectacular, it was over and done within a few sentences. Which makes the entire book lackluster and made me go 'That's it?'.  There were just so many holes within this story and I could honestly go on and on, but I am gonna end it here. I did not like this book and would not recommend it. 

This is a co-written work between Bridget Essex and Natalie Vivien. I have read several of Essex's work and a couple of Vivien's. Both are very talented authors and I look forward to each new work of theirs. 

However this piece while engaging and very imaginative was not as good as I expected it to be. I'm a huge fan of vampire literature and other peoples take on different characteristics they may or may not have. Add in lesbians and you have me sold!

The world itself is set up like an alternative United States where it's only been a few years since vampires have come out of hiding. In this world, they even have a woman president who is also a vampire. Props. Throughout the story, it shows the discrimination vampires face, which is similar to what homosexuals and persons of color have faced throughout all over the world. Just a lot hate mongering from people who don't want to understand someone whose different from them. Which is a very interesting take and imaginative in my opinion. I even like the main character and her to be love interest. It's very sweet and romantic.

But the elephant in the room that I could not ignore was the fact that the main character Courtney; is still in a relationship. I will interject and say that she doesn't cheat on her girlfriend, but it's clear she's attracted to Lare. (her to be love interest) Throughout the story, you come to find out that her girlfriend, Mia isn't very good to Courtney. In fact, she's downright sleazy if you ask me. She looks at other women is clearly sleeping around on her girlfriend. The kicker? They have only been together for FIVE months. Mia has been doing all this to someone who she has only been going out with for a short period of time. Which is frustrating that Courtney continues to put up with her for nearly sixty percent of this book. All while feeling a deep pull towards Lare. I could see it being hard if it was like five years, and the other woman was good to her.

But there's really no real reason why they should still be together in any sense of the word. There are multiple examples of times where Courtney should have left Mia. But she doesn't. It makes zero sense to me and after a while it just got old. Especially when she keeps repeating that she needs to leave Mia but she keeps avoiding it. There was really just no need of this back and forth over a five-month relationship. It just really dimensioned the book as a whole; that wasn't even super long, to begin with. 

This could have been much better and I wish it had been because I do adore both authors works. That aside I will continue to look forward to their work, but this one just didn't quite resonate with me as well as I had hoped for it too.

I was really excited for this series after finishing the first two of the author's works. Having thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Riordan's  Greeks and Roman renditions; I was left feeling disappointed with the first book in his Kane series. Which is a shame because I love Egyptian myths and the overall history surrounding Egypt. I guess I expected the same charm and air that the other two series had. But that is not what I got while reading this book. It was often difficult to connect with the main two characters Carter and Sadie. The latter of whom tended to get on my nerves more often than not. I didn't find her snark quirky and felt often her superior attitude over her brother to be annoying. While she does get better I don't feel it's enough for me to say that I like her all that much. Plus throughout reading this book I felt myself becoming distracted and I wanted to finish it as quickly as possible. I do intend to read the last two remaining books to see if the series improves. That and me and my wife bought the box set thinking we were really going to enjoy it. And so far as for myself I just haven't.

I'm a big fan of fantasy works but especially ones that come from the author's own mind. I felt the author did a really good job with her world building, but I would love to know more as well! As far as the story goes I found it to be very interesting, and the characters were thoroughly entertaining. It was very enthralling and from start, to finish I kept wanting to know more and more. All the while anxiously waiting to see, what would unfold. I was also very pleased with the fact, that this story was a fantasy adventure which included queer characters. While I did wish there were more romantic interactions between the two, I totally get why there isn't either. There are more things going on presently within the story, that romance isn't the largest factor. The author makes this known, with the way she spins her tale. At the same time, she has these characters, that are obviously attracted and growing closer to one another.

But the story isn't consumed by it, it makes it normal rather than making a huge deal out of the two women experiencing feelings for one another. I want to read more stories like that, in the near future because it makes reading about queer women so much more refreshing. Lastly, I just have to say I hope a paperback comes out of this in future because I would really like to read this in book form. While it was wonderful to read on my tablet, something tells me it'll have even more charm in printed form.

I'm not sure what Miss Tellford is doing lately but I'm not really enjoying these shorts of hers. The overall plots draw me in but when I begin reading them I'm left feeling like the attempt was very poor and the dynamic was executed poorly. This was supposed to be a steamy one-shot, but it was anything but that. The sexual dialogue and description were very childish and silly even. It was so outlandish it was like 'Oh come already!'. Some people might enjoy that angle, but I am not one of them.