Review: Umbra - Tales of a Shadow, by Freddie A. Clark

 

Fulvio Donati, cyborg assassin and thief, adopted a double identity. When night falls, Fulvio becomes Umbra: a masked vigilante, a charming and lethal shadow. Soleluna Giordani, philosopher and alchemist, searched for immortality and found it with terrible consequences. Their consciousness has been trapped within a mask for almost 800 years.
In a beautiful, yet corrupt land where crime lords, vicious celebrities, and ruthless politicians compete for the highest power, a deadly conspiracy is unfolding. While alchemists and courtesans fight to survive, and a prince searches for the one to save his life, Fulvio finds himself involved in intrigues and machinations. Together, Fulvio and Soleluna will find the answer; Soleluna with their wit and wisdom, Fulvio with his charm, skills, and access to the future Soleluna has never seen. Together, they shall save Florydia from its downfall.

​“​The city of masks is as corrupted as it is beautiful.”

Freddie A. Clark's Umbra - Tales of a Shadow s a gorgeous sci-fi novel set in a city-state inspired by Venice. A whirlwind of subplots and many characters, it follows young assassin Fulvio as he uncovers conspiracies and finds himself being more than just a shadow and an instrument for others. Along the way, he may also find love.

This was a stunning exploration of polyamory; Fulvio is a free spirit, and the relationships he creates with others are all important. The prince he saves, the woman he works alongside with; he loves all, and he loves freely. That said, the most important relationship of the book is the strange bond he forms with the spirit of a long-dead alchemist living in a mask, and the way this relationship changes him is a strong focus.

The city itself is a character, teeming with corruption and conspiracies. The worldbuilding is exquisite, and one struggles to follow along as we're pulled deeper and deeper into the city and meet many of its citizens. It was vibrant and colorful and filled with Italian names and terms, creating a truly immersive experience.

The only problem is the prose, veering between very simple, with odd turns of phrase, and long chunky paragraphs that describe what any character looks like or is wearing at any given time. This gets annoying fast.

Umbra - Tales of a Shadow is a unique novel.

✨ 4 stars

 

 

Review: The Oblivion Bride, by Caitlin Starling

 

In the glittering city state of Volun, Lorelei Steddart never thought she'd be anything but an office drone-until her family all die under mysterious and likely magical circumstances, leaving her to inherit everything. To figure out what's happened, her uncle marries her off to the city state's top War Alchemist, Nephele Corisande, an intimidating older woman who might just be able to save her. But what starts as a marriage of pure convenience becomes something deeper. Soon Lorelei and Nephele must untangle a terrible magic that has metastasized into something new and unstable, born in Lorelei's blood.

​“​Too well did he know the feeling of love where no​ love ought to live.”

Caitlin Starling's The Oblivion Bride is a sapphic science fantasy that packs so much in the form of a very short novella. Written beautifully with crisp prose, it details a tale of grief and love, entwined with a magical and medical mystery that has been killing off an entire family. The theme of arranged marriage is explored well, together with pregnancy, and the relationship between young woman and older general develops naturally despite the constraints of their contract.

The worldbuilding gives up tantalizingly little, just enough to get the lay of the land, but it works perfectly. We get the sense that it's a lived-in, complicated world with many city-states and a distant Emperor set on war. Magic twists together with science, towards an ending that feels very satisfying despite the more atmospheric shift.

The Oblivion Bride is a delicious novella.

✨ 4 stars

 

Review: The Gentleman and his Vowsmith, by Rebecca Ide

 

Lord Nicholas Monterris, the last remaining heir of a crumbling ducal house, must marry to save his family from complete decline. His father chooses Lady Leaf Serral, eldest daughter of his greatest rival, at which point Nic is sure it can’t get any worse. Until he learns the head negotiator is to be Dashiell sa Vare, an old flame he has neither forgiven nor forgotten, a man their rigid class structure forbids him to love.
Locked in the mouldering grandeur of Monterris Court (a house more haunting manifestation of dynastic ambition and ancestral guilt than home), the first dead body is troubling. The second, a warning that someone doesn’t want the contract to go ahead. But while Nic and his wife-to-be team up to banter their way through a secret murder investigation, it’s Dashiell he can’t stop thinking about. What would be worse? To love and have to let go, or to wholly deny the yearning of one’s heart forever?

​“​Too well did he know the feeling of love where no​ love ought to live.”

Rebecca Ide's The Gentleman and his Vowsmith is an achillean romantasy murder mystery with a lot of moving pieces that unfortunately don't work quite so well with each other. The plot, while simple, is all over the place, with the late addition of some twists and turns that don't make much sense. The worldbuilding is again very simple, and while the concept of the binding contracts and the illusion magic is intriguing, it's not developed enough.

On the other hand, the romance is sweet and mired with conflict new and old, and there's a delightful secondary character taking on much of the space and undertaking a compelling arc, a young woman possibly on the asexual spectrum.

The Gentleman and his Vowsmith is a nice romance.

✨ 3.5 stars

 

Review: This Vicious Hunger, by Francesca May

 

Thora Grieve finds herself destitute and an outcast after the sudden death of her husband only a few weeks into their marriage, but a glimmer of hope arrives when a family friend offers her spot at a university to study botany under a famed professor. Once at the university Thora becomes entranced by a mysterious young woman, Olea, who emerges each night to tend to the plants in the professor's private garden.
Thora soon discovers that a mysterious illness prevents Olea from leaving the garden. Hungry for connection, Thora befriends Olea through the garden gate and their relationship quickly and intensely blossoms. The visceral connection between Thora and Olea unlocks an obsessive desire in Thora as she throws herself into finding a cure for Olea's ailment. But is this really love or is it merely lustful intoxication? Thora's finally found the freedom to pursue her deepest desires, but at what cost?

"Nobody liked to be reminded of the proximity of grief; least of all the young and beautiful." 

Francesca May's This Vicious Hunger is a sapphic gothic horror novel about grief and finding one’s place as a woman in a world where women can do very little, and about overcoming abuse. The themes are very strong and the writing beautifully lyrical, but the plot is all over the place while slowly ambling, and the characters are a bit cardboard, with the sole exception of the narrator. 

The worldbuilding is confusing, using Latin and some imagery that makes it seem like it's a historical novel, but some other things point towards a secondary world. That being so unclear pulls the reader out.

The most intriguing part is certainly the focus on plants and a form of vampirism, but the abrupt end and the lack of closure doesn't do it any favors.

This Vicious Hunger doesn't hold up to its premise.

✨ 3 stars