Snippet: The Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shannon

 

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction—but assassins are getting closer to her door. Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic. Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.
Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

Lesbians and dragons; what more could you ask? Samantha Shannon's The Priory of the Orange Tree is a high fantasy stand-alone set in a world divided. For some, dragons are holy creatures; for others, they're monsters. The truth is, as ever, complex. The climax resolves perhaps a tiny bit quickly, but the journey is incredible; and the courtly love between two of the protagonists is swoon-worthy. This is a great read if you want something that takes its time to really delve into its world.

✨ 4.5 stars

Snippet: Ash, by Malinda Lo

 

In the wake of her father's death, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted.
The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King's Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Their friendship, as delicate as a new bloom, reawakens Ash's capacity for love--and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love.

This isn't the fairy tale you think it is. Malinda Lo's Ash is a lovely retelling of Cinderella that veers half-way through towards a different, exciting direction. But it's also a story about grief, and the romantic relationship is put a bit on the background. The book's pacing is quite slow, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. I have a big soft spot for this book, one of the first explicitly queer books I've ever read.

✨ 4 stars

Review: The Midnight Girls, by Alicia Jasinska

 

It's Karnawał season in the snow-cloaked Kingdom of Lechija, and from now until midnight when the church bells ring an end to Devil's Tuesday time will be marked with wintry balls and glittery disguises, cavalcades of nightly torch-lit "kuligi" sleigh-parties.
Unbeknownst to the oblivious merrymakers, two monsters join the fun, descending upon the royal city of Warszów in the guise of two innocent girls. Newfound friends and polar opposites, Zosia and Marynka seem destined to have a friendship that's stronger even than magic. But that's put to the test when they realize they both have their sights set on Lechija's pure-hearted prince. A pure heart contains immeasurable power and Marynka plans to bring the prince's back to her grandmother in order to prove herself. While Zosia is determined to take his heart and its power for her own.

This was an entertaining read. Alicia Jasinska's The Midnight Girls is intriguing, with three servant girls to three different aspects of Baba Yaga; the novel is stronger when it explores the interpersonal relationships between the three characters. But this slow-paced Young Adult novel ultimately fails to keep up with its good premise, and the romance between two of the servants, while well-developed enough, still feels rushed to the detriment of the whole structure.

The prose is gorgeous, though, and the world is lush and interesting, inspired by Polish history and by its struggle with Russia. I enjoyed the fact that the girls were unapologetically monsters and the villains of the story, but I would have liked their servitude to be explored more. One of the Yaga is underdeveloped and so is her servant, a consequence of the girl being neither a POV character or neither half of the love story. It's a mistake, because she seems to be the stronger character of the three, with a revealed backstory that piqued my interest, but we got only crumbs.

It is a solid book, though; one merely needs to readjust their expectations.

The Midnight Girls has an incredibly good premise but fails to strongly deliver.

✨ 3 stars

Review: A Taste of Gold and Iron, by Alexandra Rowland

 

Kadou, the shy prince of Arasht, finds himself at odds with one of the most powerful ambassadors at court—the body-father of the queen's new child—in an altercation which results in his humiliation.
To prove his loyalty to the queen, his sister, Kadou takes responsibility for the investigation of a break-in at one of their guilds, with the help of his newly appointed bodyguard, the coldly handsome Evemer, who seems to tolerate him at best. In Arasht, where princes can touch-taste precious metals with their fingers and myth runs side by side with history, counterfeiting is heresy, and the conspiracy they discover could cripple the kingdom’s financial standing and bring about its ruin.

It's all about the yearning. Alexandra Rowland's A Taste of Gold and Iron was easily my most anticipated book of the year and oh, it did deliver! This delicious fantasy romance had it all: two well-rounded protagonists, the slowest burn, a good tight-knit plot, and a thorough exploration of consent and power differentials. I truly enjoyed the many discussions of the concept of fealty and the incredible care shown by every character around the protagonists.

It's also always nice to find a queer-normative world where the conflict doesn't come from the queer romance. The counterfeiting plot is resolved quickly and efficiently, as the book focuses more on the romance; it's there where it takes its time, truly exploring the characters' fears and history. Kadou will stay in my heart as an incredibly relatable character suffering from anxiety and not being fixed by the narrative. Evemer is the perfect contrast and I also read him as demisexual; regardless of that being true, I appreciated that his lack of experience seems to be a non-problem. This book also excels with the interpersonal relationships outside of the romance, and I especially liked how the relationship developed with Kadou's old paramour. Evemer's relationship with his mother is incredibly sweet.

The world is well-developed, an intriguing Ottoman-inspired setting that isn't well-understood by the people coming from other countries. I especially enjoyed the figures of the kahyalar, more than mere guards, and the intricate descriptions of their work. I'm a bit sad that the touch-taste isn't fully explored, but the existence of this power also gives way to a truly tender moment towards the end of the book.

In fact, let me get back to this: this novel is incredibly romantic and sensual. There's a million little scenes that show that touch is truly the most important sense in this world; there's hair-brushing and hair-washing and comforting embraces. It's delightful.

A Taste of Gold and Iron is the perfect comfort read for fealty enthusiasts.

✨ 5 stars