Review: The Great Tree of Iris, by Jess Skultety

 

The Great Tree of Iris: a place of unmatched healing power for humans. Top scholar Lia Tovar protects the Tree in honor of her dead father, but she has visions of its tragic demise. When Rory Elatha, an elf from the hidden city of Kyrali, arrives seeking experts to save the decaying, sacred sunflower fields, Lia suspects their situations are connected. For once, her books cannot help, and she answers the call. To save the Tree, Lia must learn to trust six allies.
When they discover one part of a deadly prophecy, Lia, Rory, and their party search desperately for a way to challenge fate. But as more natural disasters arise in their race across the continent, Lia must decide if she can let Rory into her heart, and if that will free or destroy her.

​“Everyone needs help sometimes.”

Jess Skultety's The Great Tree of Iris is a fantasy adventure in the most classical sense, a prophecy-driven quest with a diverse group of characters. Their PoVs alternate often, even in the course of the same chapter, giving it a chaotic feel that mirrors the franticness of their mission: a race against time, as an ancient tree lays dying, dragons scorch the land, and gods wait and see.

The story might have needed a little more pages to breathe, but as it stands, it's still a love letter to high fantasy and to J.R.R. Tolkien, from whom it borrows a few elements while giving it queer joy with a mostly queer cast and a variety of relationships. Especially beautiful was the reference to a poem with the fabled relationship of an Elf and a human, and the revealed layers as the story progressed. The three main couples, one already established, were all very sweet, especially the sapphic relationship involving Lia and the mysterious Elf she meets.

The Great Tree of Iris is a pretty tale.

✨ 3.5 stars

 

Snippet: The Hourglass Throne, by K.D. Edwards

 

As Rune Saint John grapples with the challenges of assuming the Sun Throne, a powerful barrier appears around New Atlantis’s famed rejuvenation center. But who could have created such formidable magic . . . what do they want from the immortality clinic . . . and what remains of the dozens trapped inside?
Though Rune and his lifelong bodyguard Brand are tasked with investigating the mysterious barrier, Rune is also busy settling into his new life at court. Claiming his father’s throne has irrevocably thrown him into the precarious world of political deception, and he must secure relationships with newfound allies in time to keep his growing found family safe. His relationship with his lover, Addam Saint Nicholas, raises additional political complications they must navigate. But he and Brand soon discover that the power behind the barrier holds a much more insidious, far-reaching threat to his family, to his people, and to the world.

"We are a people that share our love."

K.D. Edwards' The Hourglass Throne sticks the landing of this first trilogy in his Tarot Sequence, leaving the reader with many answers, general delight, bigger questions, and absolutely begging for more. This is a series of grand gestures and quiet moments, with the most beautiful depiction of found family and the many ties between loved ones that I've ever read about. Whether it be platonic or romantic, love is big and important and all-encompassing. At the same time, the author weaves an intricate plot with many moving pieces and implications that will be dealt with down the road. The worldbuilding continues to be stunning, and the main character's past trauma is always handled deftly and respectfully, never feeling like a gimmick that's there to move the story along or provide cheap conflict.

✨ 5 stars

 

ARC Review: Our Caged Fates, by Robin A. Costantin

 

In a frozen, hostile world, Elinros is on the run. After spending far too long in her beloved’s clutches—unaware of his true nature—she has now escaped into the arms of the unknown. But beyond Kastìel’s palace lies nothing but an endless forest, shaken by storms, buried in eternal snow, and teeming with monsters.
In that desolate land, Elinros wanders without memories, one step away from freezing to death and hunted by the man she thought she knew. That is, until an unexpected savior arrives, bringing truth, light, and warmth. Nattsòl is just like her: a survivor who escaped their beloved’s trap—and now she’s willing to do anything to get her revenge. But she needs Elinros’ help to stop him. Accompanied by Sliver, Nattsòl’s monster-dog, the two embark on a dangerous journey into the depths of the forest, where almost no light reaches and sinister things hide in the dark.

My thanks to the author for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Robin A. Costantin's Our Caged Fates is an atmospheric sapphic novella about escaping an abusive relationship and finding oneself again. This is reached through the age-old amnesia trope, and it's done in a way that feels fresh and effective. It's teeming with horrific imagery and near-eldritch beings, with female rage and some upsetting body-horror; but it's also a story about second chances and love.

The main character Elinros slowly relearns things about herself, slowly changing over the course of the book; her relationship to fellow survivor Nattsòl develops quickly, since this is a short novella, but it feels believable. Maybe a few more pages would have helped sell the romance more, but it's still a nice touch, and Nattsòl is very well-developed despite the lack of point of view narration.

The final third of the book is where the action and the most vivid worldbuilding really take place, making this novella pop out. The prose is also quite lyrical, something that's to be appreciated even more since English isn't the author's first language.

Our Caged Fates is a quiet gem.

✨ 4 stars

 

Review: The Last Sun, by K.D. Edwards

 

Rune Saint John, last child of the fallen Sun Court, is hired to search for Lady Judgment's missing son, Addam, on New Atlantis, the island city where the Atlanteans moved after ordinary humans destroyed their original home.
With his companion and bodyguard, Brand, he questions Addam's relatives and business contacts through the highest ranks of the nobles of New Atlantis. But as they investigate, they uncover more than a missing man: a legendary creature connected to the secret of the massacre of Rune's Court. In looking for Addam, can Rune find the truth behind his family's death and the torments of his past?

"I am, before anything else, a survivor."

K.D. Edwards' The Last Sun is a queer urban fantasy adventure that's brimming with heart, with a tight plot and poignant moments. It's witty and fast-paced, but also deals with found families while the protagonist faces the aftermath of a decades-old horrific assault, and there's even a bit of an achillean romance.

The emotional center of the book is without a doubt the platonic relationship between main character and sole narrator Rune and his bodyguard Brand. This beautiful bond of love, trust, and friendship defies the expected conventions of the genre, showing a healthy male relationship filled with moments of intimacy. Rune isn't the stereotypical main character of an action-packed urban fantasy either; he's kind and welcoming while being a competent agent and a great fighter. The romance doesn't take center stage in the narration, also because he's very tentative and traumatized, but his love interest is perfect in that regard. 

This trio of characters plays against each other very well, and I'm curious to see how things will develop in the rest of the trilogy and then the nine-books series. The rest of the cast is very well-developed, too, especially the two young boys with problems of their own.

The prose is very simple and matter-of-fact, but the world-building is very intriguing, teeming with some mysteries about the current situation came to pass and with conspiracies in the shadows, tantalizing tidbits that get the reader's attention while keeping, for now, most of the cards close to the author's chest. New Atlantis is a fascinating city, and so is the complex web of intricate influence held by the Arcana, living embodiments of the tarot cards who hold all the secular power.

The Last Sun is an excellent first installment.

✨ 4.5 stars