Snippet: Mammoths at the Gates, by Nghi Vo

The wandering Cleric Chih returns home to the Singing Hills Abbey for the first time in almost three years, to be met with both joy and sorrow. Their mentor, Cleric Thien, has died, and rests among the archivists and storytellers of the storied abbey. But not everyone is prepared to leave them to their rest. Because Cleric Thien was once the patriarch of Coh clan of Northern Bell Pass--and now their granddaughters have arrived on the backs of royal mammoths, demanding their grandfather’s body for burial. Chih must somehow balance honoring their mentor’s chosen life while keeping the sisters from the north from storming the gates and destroying the history the clerics have worked so hard to preserve. But as Chih and their neixin Almost Brilliant navigate the looming crisis, Myriad Virtues, Cleric Thien’s own beloved hoopoe companion, grieves her loss as only a being with perfect memory can, and her sorrow may be more powerful than anyone could anticipate.

"Memory is greater than death". Nghi Vo's Mammoths at the Gates is an exploration of grief and mourning, a novella about how memories can be shaped and how your loved ones are their own people with stories that you don't know. It's a story about change and the need to embrace the unfamiliar, sometimes funny, sometimes poignant; another extraordinary novella in the Singing Hills cycle, with so much to say about the nature of stories.

✨ 4 stars

📚📚📚 IF YOU LOVE THIS, YOU MIGHT LIKE:

* The Heretic's Guite to Homecoming - Theory, by Sienna Tristen

for: the power of stories, healing

Review: The Kingdoms, by Natasha Pulley

Joe Tournier has a bad case of amnesia. His first memory is of stepping off a train in the nineteenth-century French colony of England. The only clue Joe has about his identity is a century-old postcard of a Scottish lighthouse that arrives in London the same month he does. Written in illegal English—instead of French—the postcard is signed only with the letter “M,” but Joe is certain whoever wrote it knows him far better than he currently knows himself, and he's determined to find the writer. The search for M, though, will drive Joe from French-ruled London to rebel-owned Scotland and finally onto the battle ships of a lost empire's Royal Navy. In the process, Joe will remake history, and himself.

"Come home, if you remember". Natasha Pulley's The Kingdoms pulls you in with an intricate, layered alt!history/time-travel epic that's brimming with heart and quiet moments. In an alternate world where Napoleon won, France rules England with an iron fist and englishmen are enslaved. Joe spends the whole novel running after half-memories that don't quite make sense, chasing the truth; when he finds it, it's too late. He'll have to grapple with a complicated choice that isn't a choice at all, but this is a kinder book than what it could have been, and I love it for that.

This is my first book by Natasha Pulley, and it certainly won't be the last: it has the perfect mix of angst and time-travel shenanigans to make it a must-read, an instant classic. Its clever use of the butterfly wings effect makes for a really tense read, especially in certain moments. The alternate history that gets created with the first change is grotesque and horrifying, and we experience first-hand the confusion of our main character as he doesn't understand what seems so wrong and jarring about his life. The twist can be seen from early on, but it doesn't make it any less excruciating and it's perfectly executed.

Scenes where we see exactly what characters are forgetting are usually hit-and-miss, but Pulley executes them masterfully. I'm usually a silent reader even when earth-shattering things happen, but this book made me exclaim out-loud more than once. It made me go back and re-read certain scenes during the first read, and it was thrilling. The mystery slowly unfurls itself, and it's agonizing when that happens.

At its core, this is a love story that has very clever things to say about loss and longing, about loving someone no matter what version of them you got. The characters are all so vibrant, and well-built, they are a joy to read; the focus is on Joe and his journey, but the others get their moments to shine.

The Kingdoms is a magical, profound experience.

✨ 5 stars

📚📚📚 IF YOU LOVE THIS, YOU MIGHT LIKE:

* Time Was, by Ian McDonald

for: time-travel, narration about memory

Review: Providence Girls, by Morgan Dante

Love changes you. So do the Outer Gods. Alone in a cottage, Lavinia writes to the woman she loved. Fifteen years ago, middle-aged Lavinia Whateley escaped her hilly Massachusetts town when the townsfolk decided to sacrifice her on Halloween. After almost dying in the woods, she's saved and housed by the stoic and mysterious Asenath Waite, or Azzie. On the coastal outskirts of East Providence, they start to fall in love.
However, things change when Azzie, with her secret past and the strange "scars" on the side of her neck, begins to transform into an eldritch creature of the deep.

"To dance fiery and without abandon after you've lost everything". Morgan Dante's Providence Girls is a sapphic horror story that draws heavily from Lovecraftian lore. Brimming with body horror and upsetting imagery, it's a tale of finding comfort and compassion against all odds, of finding solace in companionship. The book starts off with a helpful list of trigger warnings. I don't usually read horror - I'm too much of a scaredy cat - but the plot intrigued me and I told myself it couldn't be that bad. Boy, was I wrong!

Being unfamiliar with Lovecraft, I was wholly unprepared for what was coming, while still being somewhat familiar with the concepts enough that when certain names started dropping, I realized what was going on. Still, I kept reading because the prose is absolutely lovely, filled with stunning turns of phrase; the story is also incredibly compelling. It's set up as an epistolary novel, with an older Lavinia recounting their months together, while Azzie is writing as events unfold, and Lavinia is reading Azzie's words in the present. The format meant that I thought I had the outcome figured out, but I was pleasantly surprised.

For all the unspeakable horror in the story - not just the Lovecraftian horror, but the more mundane horror of domestic abuse - this is such a tender story of resilience and love. It's an ode to healing and overcoming your trauma, and to find body autonomy again.

Providence Girls is a delightful novella, but I wouldn't recommend it if you're squeamish.

✨ 4 stars

📚📚📚 IF YOU LOVE THIS, YOU MIGHT LIKE:

* The Faerie Hounds of York, by Arden Powell

for: body horror, disturbing imagery

Review: A Corruption of Souls, by Taylor Hubbard

Deklyn Delonir , Captain of the Order of the Redemptor and Knight of the Hawkeron Kingdom, has spent his entire life serving his goddess and realm to earn redemption for his past sins. Everything he does is in service to his King and the people under his protection and leadership. For his entire life, Deklyn pushed away the deepest desires of his heart, burying them and praying that they never come to the surface. When his King calls on him for the most important job of his career, one that would put an end to a war against an unknown enemy simply called The Corrupted, Deklyn doesn’t think twice before readily accepting it. Once the job is completed, the war will end and the people Deklyn swore an oath to serve will be safe and the bloodshed will end.
Crown Prince Kai of Hawkeron has never known what freedom feels like. Everything has been lain before him before he was born. Swayed by the whims of a fate outside of his control and duty that is inescapable, Kai doesn’t know who he is. Kai is a political entity, used for his father’s gain. When his father calls on him to fulfill his duty as the Crown Prince, Kai knows he is defeated. He will be sent to a neighboring kingdom to marry its princess to create an alliance that will provide his father’s military with the resources needed to put an end to the war they waged against The Corrupted. Knowing that his failure to complete his duty would lead to the deaths of many people and the annihilation of the Hawkeron Empire, Kai resigns himself to his fate.

"A knight’s oath isn’t something that should be given lightly". Taylor Hubbard's A Corruption of Souls is a standalone romantasy with minimal worldbuilding and a pretty straightforward plot. We have an older honor-bound paladin, a young prince with a duty, and more than half of the book is spent on the journey to get to the kingdom where the prince is going to get married to secure an alliance. To add to the cast there's a second knight escorting the young prince, friend to the paladin and often the voice of reason as the feelings between the prince and the paladin grow into something that cannot be ignored.

The plot truly is minimal. There's an attempt at a twist that could be seen since the first pages, but at least the execution doesn't stumble. The ending is abrupt and doesn't seem to resolve the bigger problems - namely, this kid is going to have to have heirs. His father's treatment of him isn't analysed past a few remarks. The fealty trope, on the other hand, was well-executed, but the age difference made some things uncomfortable. This book is certainly heavier on the romance part than on any kind of worldbuilding, although there were some interesting things with the figure of the paladin's goddess patron.

A Corruption of Souls is a solid romance that could work better with a bit more focus on the fantasy aspect.

✨ 3 stars

📚📚📚 IF YOU LOVE THIS, YOU MIGHT LIKE:

* Reforged, by Seth Haddon

for: fealty, guard/royal romance